PC freezes and monitors go blank

[DeadPoolX]

So far Bejeweled 3 seems to be playing okay, but I need to give it more time. There were days where I could play B3 on Steam for hours without a problem, so the overall stability of the non-Steam version has yet to be fully tested.

As for Borderlands... well, that's got me -- and it seems everyone else -- completely baffled. The problem I have with it (monitors turn off and PC locks up) seems to be a VERY common issue. Unfortunately, no one knows how to fix it.

It's really difficult to troubleshoot because it's SO random and spans SO many different configurations that there's no common factor.

So far, the people who've come across this bug have had the following in their machine:

OS: Windows XP or Windows Vista or Windows 7
Video Card: ATI or Nvidia.
Processor: AMD or Intel.
Processor Type: Single Core or dual core or quad core.
RAM: 1GB to 8GB (spanning different operating systems)

As you can see this includes just about every single setup that's possible on a PC.

What's weird is that some people (probably more than we know of since most people only post if something's wrong) can play Borderlands flawlessly. Maia, for instance, can play it without a hitch; however, I've seen other people who have the same configuration as her, but experience the same issue I have right now.

[Tawmis]

Once again, like Lord of the Rings - what about sounds cards?

[DeadPoolX]

Once again, like Lord of the Rings - what about sounds cards?

Honestly, I don't know. No one ever lists those. Before you mentioned it, I wouldn't have thought of it.

[Tawmis]

Once again, like Lord of the Rings - what about sounds cards?

Honestly, I don't know. No one ever lists those. Before you mentioned it, I wouldn't have thought of it.

Nor would I, until I found that thread about LOTRO. Like I said, I tried everything with my video drivers - roll back, update, different versions... Would have never looked for sound... was actually googling like "Lord of the Rings Online Blue Screen" - and stumbled across the thread that proved to be the fix. Just figured I'd throw that out there to mention possible sound cards, and see if everyone has a similar brand installed, since video cards don't seem to be the common issue.

[DeadPoolX]

I updated my audio drivers and nope, it didn't make a difference. So I have no idea WHAT the problem is now.

At least I know Steam isn't the reason Bejeweled 3 crashes since PopCap gave me the game from their site. Unfortunately, that doesn't change the problem.

I haven't tried Borderlands again. I guess I should, but it's even worse when I crash in that game. It's an Action/RPG, so when it crashes, I lose my progress.

Gah. This is really annoying.

[Collector]

You might take a look at what processes and services are running. Use MSCONFIG to turn the non MS ones off one by one to see if that makes any differences. Also, try turning your AV off before playing the game to see if that makes any difference.

[Tawmis]

Disable all sound within the game and try it out.

[DeadPoolX]

You might take a look at what processes and services are running. Use MSCONFIG to turn the non MS ones off one by one to see if that makes any differences. Also, try turning your AV off before playing the game to see if that makes any difference.

Yeah, I've been in MSCONFIG before to get rid of some processes that don't need to start up.

Here's what's set to start up in MSCONFIG:

SBDrvDet
itype
CLIStart
avastUI
KHALMNPR
CTHELPER
CTxfiReg
Adobe Gamma Loader
Logitech Setpoint

That's it, plus a bunch of processes I disabled a long time ago. Normally, I have anywhere from 28 to 32 processes active according to Task Manager; obviously fewer are set in MSCONFIG.

Disable all sound within the game and try it out.

I've done that already. In fact, I usually turn off all sound when playing a PopCap game so I can use WinAMP and listen to my own music.

[Collector]

Take a look at services, too. Not every service will show up as a process. http://www.blackviper.com/ has a list of various services that can be safely disabled.

[DeadPoolX]

Take a look at services, too. Not every service will show up as a process. http://www.blackviper.com/ has a list of various services that can be safely disabled.

Been there, done that. I've been going to that guy's website a long time to streamline my services.

Thanks for the link, though.

It's absolutely amazing what MS throws into the OS and puts on "automatic." Considering how little most people seem to know about their computers, I can see why MS does that.

[Collector]

MSCONFIG allows you to hide all MS services so you can easily identify non MS services. It is these third party ones that are most likely to cause problems.