Radeon late game crash

[mr mercurio]

Was there ever a fix for this? Every link to anything useful seems to be dead. I gots a ATI Radeon 9800pro/XP; drivers&DirectX all up to date. Haven't tried the new user acct approach yet but next; still, the prob is w/the video card so wanted to look here first. Still no luck-very upsetting to see this longstanding issue uncorrected.

 

[mr mercurio]

Realized some detail might be useful-I'm a big Civ fan & very disappointed I can't finish a good game. If anyone has a solution PLEASE let me know. I've seen many references from a few years back that describe the same problem I'm having-when my game hit 1400AD my ATI Radeon 9800PRO video card crashed & locked my whole system on a black screen. Tried driver fixes mentioned but I can't find what I need w/my level o knowledge. Plus the links on 2k & this site to a mentioned solution are dead-does anyone know what's up with that? HELP!

 

[crunch]

There can be zillions of reasons. You did not even write what game you're ranting about, if it's Civ4 vanilla or some expansion pack (Warlords, BtS).

Anyway, here's some generic advice.

* apply the latest patch (this will probably prevent you from continuing in your save though)
* turn off all unnecessary applications such as antivirus software, windows indexing service, anything, really
* open your computer and vacuum-clean it, especially the fans, your computer might be overheating
* play smaller maps
* turn down the graphics settings, disable movies, eye candies of all kinds

 

[Lemon Merchant]

* open your computer and vacuum-clean it, especially the fans, your computer might be overheating

Bad advice

Never, ever, vacuum a computer, unless you have an anti-static vacuum, or one specifically designed for use in a computer. The components on the inside of a computer are very static sensitive, and a normal vacuum will generate static electricity at the business end because of the air movement through the nozzle. This can cause a static discharge to occur to the motherboard or expansion card and it can destroy components.

The preferred way to clean a computer is with a can of compressed air. You blow the dust out, and you should do it about once a month in normal use.

This from the IT fellows at work, and my former room mate, the electrical engineer.