Member Avatar for joytech22

when i was playing C&C 3, the game Hung causing me to try and end the process.

the same happens in Colin Mcrae DiRT.

im running Windows XP

GPU:Nvidia Geforce 9800GTX 512MB!
CPU:Amd Athlon X2 5200+ (2.7GHz ea core!)
MOBO:Gigiabyte S-series
PSU:codegen 530W
RAM:1.7gb

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  • Latest Post Latest Post by disophisis

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Below are focused troubleshooting steps and diagnostic notes that build on 's symptom (game hangs but the OS stays usable after killing the process) and 's driver/power suggestions. The approach below prioritizes reproducible evidence (logs, dumps, stress tests) so the root cause can be identified rather than guessed.

Start by gathering error evidence

  • Check Windows Application logs and Reliability Monitor for "Application Hang" or faulting-module entries around the crash time; the module name points to whether the game, GPU driver, or a DLL is failing.
  • Run the DirectX diagnostic tool to snapshot drivers and runtimes ().
  • If the game produces logs or minidumps, collect those timestamps to correlate with Event Viewer entries.

Driver and software-side actions (safe, non-invasive)

  • Do a clean GPU-driver uninstall with a tool that removes old remnants, then install a known stable driver (not only the latest). A clean uninstall utility can help ensure no corrupt driver files remain (Display Driver Uninstaller (DDU)).
  • Disable overlays, in-game recording, and background monitoring utilities before testing—these often cause hangs with certain driver versions.
  • Verify game files (or reinstall), and ensure the game has the latest official patches. Use any client verification tool if applicable.

Hardware and stress diagnostics

  • Run a RAM test from boot to rule out memory errors (MemTest86).
  • Use a GPU stress/thermal test to see if the card hangs or artifacts under load; monitor voltages and temperatures simultaneously (tools such as FurMark plus HWMonitor are commonly used) (FurMark, HWMonitor).
  • A PSU can meet wattage on paper yet fail under specific load patterns; if stress testing triggers instability while normal use does not, consider testing with another known-good PSU.

Order of operations: collect Event Viewer/dxdiag, do a clean driver cycle (DDU -> stable driver), disable overlays, run game test; if problem persists, run memory and GPU stress tests to isolate hardware. Error codes or faulting-module names from logs will usually point to driver vs. game-file vs. hardware failure.

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Member Avatar for disophisis

May be power. That is a big card.

Member Avatar for joytech22

the power is ok, because the entire ssytem is still usable.

and the power supply mees the min spec's and exceeds them

Member Avatar for joytech22

by usable, i mean i can terminate the process and coninue using the system.

Member Avatar for disophisis

Have you tried different drivers for your GPU?

Member Avatar for joytech22

i already have the most recent, and yes i have lolz.

it's just a bit hard to diagnose.

Member Avatar for disophisis

Ahh. Sometimes the most recent drivers can be unstable. But if you've already tried... How about reinstalling the game?

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