[jeremy20]

Pls some one help me when im at safe mode it does not shut down what suppose to be the problem is it the video card, memory, proccessor or power ram, it happens when i play a game or idle for 15 mins


pls some one help me.

[mphenterprises]

Hi Jeremy and welcome to the PCWorld Communities. :D




First, I have changed your Discussion title to give a clearer indication of your question. For future reference, please be as descriptive as possible in both the heading of your Discussion as well as the post itself.

Now, when you state that the LED Indicators are still on, do you mean the LED Indicators on the outside of the computer or the LED Indicators within the computer on the motherboard?

Additionally:

- Have you installed any new hardware components?

- What are the exact specifications of your computer, including Power Supply peak wattage? (You can find the Power Supply peak wattage on the inside of the computer on a sticker on the side of the Power Supply.)

[coastie65]

Hi Jeremy and welcome to the forum. You mentioned being in safe mode and playing games. Are you playing these games in safe mode ? I thought I would ask although it seems highly unlikely, as in safe mode it uses a generic graphics driver which would not lend itself to playing games. Also when exiting "Safe Mode", the machine reboots back to normal desktop, rather than shut down if I remember correctly ( it's been a while since I've been in safe mode). As MPH said, we need some more information in particular, what operating system are you using. coastie65

[jeremy20]

sorry for not replyin in time my pc's specs is asus,intel p4,64mb gforce tornado, 256 mb ram my psu is 300w and i havent installed any hard ware and i was pertaining about the led outside the pc could you help me pls.

[jeremy20]

i mean my pc shuts down but the fan and led indicators are still on at normal mode it happens when i play a game or idle or 15 mins

but when im at safe mode my pc does not shutdown pls help me.

[coastie65]

Hi Jeremy, OK, I got the idle part, but when you talk about about playing a game, do you mean that, if you stop for a break during the game, and the computer " shuts Down" or it shuts down as you are actively playing the game ? coastie65

[mphenterprises]

Okay, unless we are misunderstanding your situation, this appears to be a power issue. That being said, what games are you playing when this happens?

Your system specifications are that of an older computer so, depending on the games you are playing, the Power Supply may be taxed and, in an effort to save itself and the computer, shuts your computer down.

Let's start there and progress accordingly.

[coastie65]

Hi mph, That was my thought when I made that last post, not quite sure if I was asking the right questions to get to where I was going though. :D You always manage to find the shorter route. :D coastie

[jeremy20]

okay, the games that i played are warcraft3 and counterstrike source, should i change my psu? and what watts of psu should i use? and one thing ive encountered a problem when im about to format my computer and in the proccess of windows setup is about to start then my computer shutsdown again.

[coastie65]

Hi jeremy, Yeah, that sounds like a failing PSU. Depending on your video card, at least 450w and preferably 500w to give yourself a little headroom. coastie65

[mphenterprises]

jeremy20 said:

>

Quote

okay, the games that i played are warcraft3 and counterstrike source, should i change my psu? and what watts of psu should i use?.....pc's specs is
asus,intel p4,64mb gforce tornado, 256 mb ram my psu is 300w....

>
>



Okay, let's break this down:

System Requirements for Warcraft 3:

- 600 MHz processor or better

- 256 MB of RAM

- 32 MB 3D Video card




System Requirements for Counter Strike Source:

- 2.4 GHz Processor

- 512MB RAM

- DirectX 9 level graphics card

- Windows 2000/XP






My opinion, this is not a computer problem. This is a problem with you playing games that your computer cannot handle. The easiest thing you can do to rectify this situation is to play games that your computer can handle.



To be honest, that will not be easy since your computer specifications are very minimal. The simple fact is that your current computer specifications are not even enough to play the most basic of popular games. In my opinion, you will have to increase the Power Supply, the memory, and the graphics card just to be able to play these games. It will be more cost effective to buy another computer.

We can sit here and recommend components but the bottom line is that your current computer is not going to be able to handle playing these games.

[coastie65]

Hey mph, His processor should be fine, depending on The speed. He definitly needs to upgrade the memory and Video Card as well the PSU to accomodate the new Video Card. As far as I know the P4s are 1 Ghz or better, although he should have at least a 2 ghz or better processor for gaming. coastie

[mphenterprises]

Hi Coastie. True, the processor may be fine; however, that is the only component that may not need upgrading. At the very bare minimum, total for a new Power Supply, memory, and graphics card could exceed $150-200. There definitely is no easy way to rectify this issue.

[coastie65]

Hi mph, If that processor is under 2 Ghz, then all bets are off on that as well. You need at least 2 gigs for the "newer" games, and more for the "latest" games. Like you, I'm thinking a crash, due to not enough hardware for the app. after reading his specs. I don't recall if he said what OS he was running, but if it is XP, he only has 256 Mb of ram. As you know, that is bare minimum for running XP Home and doesn't leave a lot. Depending on the other apps, such as security apps, he may be pushing the envelope in regards to the memory. coastie

[jeremy20]

well guys tnx for the info's by the way my proccessor is 2.0 gig and im using xp pro so if my memory cant handle lots of app's does this have to do with the problem that ive encountered about formating my pc then when its in the process of windows setup then suddenly just shutdown but the fans and leds are still on.

[mphenterprises]

I am not sure I follow your issue. Let me see if I follow you: You start to reformat your computer and during the reinstallation format, the computer shuts down but the fans inside the computer and the power LED lights on the outside of the computer stay on. Is that correct?

I do not think that has anything to do with your memory; however, I am not sure why you are attempting to do a reinstallation anyway. Have you only attempted a reinstallation once?

[coastie65]

Hi mph, I've been giving this some thought and It occured to me that I have had a similar experience. I would be going along and the screen would suddenly go black, yet my on button was still lit and the fans were running. That is a graphics issue. After changing my Graphics card, I had no more problems. The computer is not shutting down, the graphics are, probably from over heating, but most likely they have gone bad. coastie

[mphenterprises]

Hi Coastie. That is a good thought. If that is indeed the case, there really is no choice but to upgrade everything. Here is why I believe that is the case. If the video card is dead, the least of the modern video cards would be a 128MB video card. The current system specifications would, by no means, meet the requirements of this video card. The Power Supply would have to be upgraded to at least 400-450 Watts and the memory would have to be increased to at least 512MBs-1GB (preferably 1GB). The only thing that was not touched was the hard drive and the processor itself.

[coastie65]

Hi mph, Seeing as how he is running XP, that memory should have been upgraded as 256 Mb cutting things a bit thin to say the least. I did get by running a PCI-E video card with a 300w PSU for a bit, but did Upgrade to 500w. Getting that memory up to speed should be his first priority. Whatever the case, it brings up the question if he wants to invest the money in upgrading that computer and would it be worth the investment, or buying a new computer. We haven't gotten enough information on the computer to do an assessment. I know with a P4, it could be either a 478 socket type or LGA775 socket type for instance. If it is a 478 socket type. it is definately an older machine. coastie

[mphenterprises]

Yes, at this point, we really should shy away from making any further recommendations for upgrades until Jeremy comes back and confirms that he wants to go that route. It may be easier to just get another computer....unless the he is willing to do the upgrade himself.