My PC is capable of high quality gaming with a Vista rating of 5.3. I get about 5 minutes of perfect gaming, and then all of a sudden the entire screen is filled with a sequence of 3 squares. This persists for about 10 seconds during which I can continue gaming with these accursed squares, then Windows shuts down to the Blue Screen (this also has the squares), and resets my PC. All games have been updated with the latest patches and my drivers for my graphics card are all up to date. What could be causing this?
I’ve edited your question, but you gave me a lot of specifics on your machine - thanks for that. You say you’ve updated your video card drivers, which is good because that was going to be my first suggestion. As long as you are sure that it is not a problem with your drivers, let’s move on with some more troubleshooting.
My first question is - does the blue screen have an error message? If so, that can really narrow down where the problem is originating. Without that information, my best guesses are memory issues, a conflict or motherboard issue.
Memory Issue
You say that you are running 2GB of Ram, which is what I would have suggested. Have you tried switching the ports, and making sure you are only using the first and second slots? Also, have you checked the sticks to make sure that one of them isn’t having an issue? You can try switching some things out to see if you can pinpoint where there is a problem. Test your memory on a website such as Memtest.
Conflict
Other gamers have had this issue when there is a conflict between the sound card drivers and the graphics card drivers. To test this theory, try disabling your sound card and then try to play one of the games that’s giving you trouble. This is most common with people who have upgraded from Windows XP to Vista either 32 or 64.
Update BIOS
You may need to update your BIOS. You can find out if there is an update available by finding the manufacturer for your motherboard and going online to check. You can find the motherboard manufacturer most easily by opening the case and checking the name on the board itself. Download the update to the desktop and install and see if that helps your blue screen problem.
Overheating
The last suggestion is to check for overheating issues. You may need a new heat sink in order to run high-performance graphics, or it could be as simple as cleaning the fans and dusting the interior so that the cooling system you have works properly. You can use an application such as Speed Fan to check your computer’s internal temperature.
I hope that one of these suggestions will help you avoid the dreaded blue screen and get you up and running quickly.
Kat Delong | March 31st, 2009
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