Warlords causes computer to cut out.

[Simon Appleton]

I have a strange problem with Civ4: after playing a while (sometimes many hours, sometimes half an hour), my computer just cuts out. The whole machine just immediately stops, as if I had turned off the power (although the power light is still on). Sometimes I can't start the computer again and have to wait until morning. Sometimes when I restart, I get a message that the computer has recovered from a serious error. I can't decipher the problem, although IIRC once Microsoft's automatic error reporting system said it was hardware problem and advised me to back up files, then contact the manufacturer.

Has anyone got any idea what could be the problem? Or how I could go about finding out what is the problem?

The strange thing is that it only happens with Civ4, not other games I would have thought were similarly demanding in graphics - e.g. Oblivion, Medieval 2 Total War, NWN2 etc. Also, I don't recall it happening with vanilla Civ4 before - just lately, when I've started playing Warlords. It may be that it is upgrading the graphics card imbetween Civ4 and Warlords that has caused the problem.

My suspicion is that the game causes the graphics card to get overheated and the computer switches off as a precautionary measure. Is this plausible? I don't suppose there is any way to make the game less demanding on your graphics card? It's annoying because the game really does not need good graphics (unlike a shooter or something).

 

[Morfydd]

its a matter of the graphics engine simple cheap solution is to add a fan that blows on the heat sink for video card.. oh and none of the games you have listed have anythign close to the number of polygons as civ iv especially late game

 

[Simon Appleton]

Thanks. I think my first step is to diagnose the problem. Reading this forum a bit more, several people mention encountering the same phenomenon.

Overheating and insufficient power seem to be the two culprits most often suggested as causes. My new graphics card did mention something about needing a certain amount of power, so that may be an issue (although it does work ok outside of Civ).

I have downloaded Speedfan which can monitor my computer temperature and volts, although I don't have a clue what would be worrying values. I also noticed my new card can monitor temperature (its a Geforce 7800GS).

 

[auldian]

There may be some information in the logs Windows generates in Event Viewer (run "eventvwr.msc").
Let us know if and how you resolve it.

 

[Morfydd]

okay the card is in tis slot have you added the extra power plug to it <i know my 6800 has a standard drive power connector on it to get additional power as required im guessign the 7800 has that as well<

 

[Simon Appleton]

When I installed the card, I did worry about an extra power plug, as something like that was mentioned in the card manual but it did not appear my computer's power source had the required extra lead. But then it worked fine without it so I did not worry about it anymore. Do you think that omission could be connected to the overheating issue?

There does seem to be a heat problem: Speedfan reports CPU temperature at 65C immediately after a cold morning start. My office computer is 33C. After a while, my home computer gets past 70C and can touch 80 C, even 90 C.

I don't think the problem is Civ4 specific anymore - my computer cut out playing System Shock 2 for a few minutes last night.

I'm a little suspicious that the temperature is misreporting - even a kettle takes a while to reach 65 C. But Speedfan is corroborated by another utility I got from the web. Could my thermostat be playing up? Someone on another forum suggested a BIOS update to see if that fixes things.

Or is this all related to the installation of the graphics card? As a layman, it is not clear why a lack of a second power plug would lead to overheating but maybe I am wrong.

Uninstalling the card would be one "solution", I guess, although I am reluctant to discard such an expensive piece of kit. Plus I get nervous fiddling around inside my computer. (I'm completely clueless on tech matters).

 

[auldian]

The different utilities are likely reporting the same sensor. These dense chips generate a great deal of heat.
If your card requires a power cord, it does need to be installed. Y-adapters are cheap. Examine your power supply to confirm it's ample for the card and your other peripherals. My next one will be 850W or better, a huge jump over my current 350W.