I think I fried my video card...

[Frog Girl]

HELP!!!:h3lp:  I think my video card has had it.:sad4:  When I play my game it runs fine for about 10 to 15 mins then it start to go to a blue screen and then comes back for a few mins, then it goes blue again.:smt104  After doing this a few times it goes from blue to black, keeps flashing and I have to shut down my puter.:computer:  Is this a video card problem or could my hacks be doing it?
I planned on getting a new card, but not yet. I just bought one for my hubby for our anniversary and I got his and the kids got mine. But if this problem is the card, then I want to get a new one before Seasons comes out so I can get that and play it.
Any and all help is welcome and very appreciated.:happy8:

Thanx!!!:tongue3:

[kim]

Before you go off and buy a new card did you try to update the driver.

[Frog Girl]

Yes. It is the newest one. The main reason I think it is fried is because we overclocked it and you run a risk in doing that.
Thanx tho.

Frog Girl:happy8:

[Bejac]

No, your card isn't "fried".... it still functions.  This is a situation that occurs frequently, especially with cards using the nVidia chipset.  What causes it, no one has yet satisfactorily explained, but the easiest "solution" is when the screen begins to flash, minimize to desktop, wait for reset, then maximize again.  That will correct whatever arcane memory/cache problems your card can't seem to figure out until you turn off or restart your comp.  BTW, this eccentricity is not limited to Sims, as I have experienced the same routine with WoW as well.

[Frog Girl]

 What causes it, no one has yet satisfactorily explained, but the easiest "solution" is when the screen begins to flash, minimize to desktop, wait for reset, then maximize again.

I dont know what you mean by reset. I have minimized it and it still happens. The only way I can get it to stop is to get out of the game. It happens every time I play.
Thanx:happy8:

[Bejac]

Oh.  Sorry, you apparently have some other issue then, and I wish i could help.

[Squinge]

Do you have another monitor you can try? it may be your monitor that is bad.

[Frog Girl]

I can do everything but play my game for more that a half hour. That is the only time it messes up on me. I am pretty sure it isnt the monitor.
But thanx.

[XPTL297]

I use AMD processors and the only problem I had was once my comp started to switch off at my face. It was getting hot like the hell. My comp stops if temperature overpass 60 degrees. My new system has better cooling procedure that drops the speed of the GC when temperature is critical.
If your GC is overclocked it can be that it is getting hell hot too. Anyway overclocking is never a good solution. Better save a little bit and get another GC big enough for your system.

[Frog Girl]

Thanx XPTL297, but it isnt an overheating problem.:blob6:  We overclocked within the range that the card can go, and I have a fan on the card, on the processor and two in the tower. But again, thank you all for trying to help me figure this out. :happy8:

[Frog Girl]

I am going to remove all my downloads tomorrow and see if that does anything. I havent been playing for a few days but I am going to spend some time messing with it and see if it is a download or my computer.
I want a new video card so I'm almost ok with that being the problem.:shh:  After all I just bought one for my husband so it is only right I get a new one too. Right?:happy8:

[Frog Girl]

I have already messed with all the in game settings and turned them all down to the lowest settings. That was one of the first things I did. Then I unclocked my card and it still happens.

[Frog Girl]

I am going to take out the downloads file tomorrow. If I delete the Sims 2 folder I wont have my game anymore. That is not a folder you can delete and then play the game. that folder is the game. I am not going to uninstall it. If taking out the downloads doesn't work, then I am going to start looking for a new card.

[BeosBoxBoy]

Frog Girl - what indigocrystalca meant is the folder named "The Sims 2" in your My Documents or Home folder.  There is a 2nd folder also names "The Sims 2" with programme files for the game, but there should be a 2nd folder named "The Sims 2" where your Downloads are stored.  There are other files in that general folder that can cause bung ups with the game:  SavedSims can contain a corrupted file that kills the game, or perhaps the Collections folder, or even one of the settings files may have become corrupted.

If you are on a PC - the user files folder should be here:

\My Documents\EA Games\The Sims 2

If you are on a Mac - the downloads folder should be here:

Home/EA Games/The Sims 2

Whereas, the game's installation files on a PC should be here:

C:\Program Files\EA GAMES\The Sims 2 or whatever hard drive is your normal install drive for programmes.

The location on a Mac is just about any where since you can install it where ever you like.

In the game's installation folder is a UserData folder, and this should never be used as you player user files folder.  So if you have somehow set up the game to use the folder

C:\Program Files\EA GAMES\The Sims 2\TSData\Res\UserData

This is not good.  Some versions of the game had weird installation problems in some language versions that caused this to happen, but this was never the intention of Electronic Arts.

After reading this thread - it is entirely possible you have cooked your video card - the fans that are on the video cards tend to be designed for a very limited range of heat and over-clocking can easily cause damage to a video card.  Another consideration is the video's memory's refresh rate (a fairly esoteric thing) - but forcing the video card to work at a faster rate will produce much more heat than the memory can shed without additional cooling measures, so the VPU might be unharmed, but the memory can become laced with heat fractures on a microscopic scale that render it useless.

[Frog Girl]

I thought that was the folder I needed to play the game. So if I take it out I can  still play? If that is the case I can give that a try too. I wont delete it tho. I will just move it to my desktop cuz I have ALOT of things that I dont want to lose if it isnt a game problem but a card problem.

I just want to really thank all of you who have taken time to read and respond to this thread. The help I get here means alot to me and I want to make sure everyone is thanked for it.:happy8: :angel: :happy8: