If your computer experiences little freezes or crashes during games, this checklist may help you overcome some of the problems. Note that Redguides does not own or support any of the following programs, and the information herein is meant as a directory for informational purposes only. In short, we are not responsible if something breaks, and you should contact the manufacturer if you have a problem rather than read this.
Making sure Windows is up to date should be your first priority. That can be done by going here:
http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com
If that doesn't fix things, try closing down any programs you have running in the background like AIM, teamspeak, and so on, until it's just your game running.
Next you should make sure your computer is free of virii and spyware.
AVG Free edition
Is one of the best free virus scanners available. It even keeps itself updated, a must for virus scanners since they go out of date so quickly.
spybot
Will find most spyware on your PC and destroy it, but you may still need adaware to get all of it.
adaware
Will find most spyware on your PC and destroy it, but you may still need spybot to get all of it.
Now that your computer is free of virii and spyware, it's time to update your video and sound card drivers. That can be done by going to the manufacturer's website and downloading the newest drivers.
Popular video card manufacturers are:
ATI
Nvidia
And popular sound card manufacturers:
Soundblaster
Turtle Beach
Note that your sound or video card manufacturer may not be on the list above, and could possibly even be built into your motherboard. Consult your computer's manual if you don't know, and double-check windowsupdate for drivers or go to the manufacturer's website.
Bad RAM is becoming more common these days as price competition increases, so if everything above has failed you may want to check your RAM. Go to the following website:
http://www.memtest86.com/
Download the bootable ISO and burn it to CD. Now reboot, and in your computer's BIOS make the first bootable drive your CD. Now reboot again with the CD in the CD drive and the RAM test will run.
If the RAM checks out fine and you still have problems, it could mean your computer is overheating. Open the case (will void the warranty on some PC's) and look in there. Don't touch anything or you may be electrocuted and die, but just look and see if the fans on your power-supply, video card and CPU are running. If they are not running, they need to be replaced.
Try pointing a house-fan into the case and turning it on full blast. If that fixes the problems, your computer is overheating and needs to have fans replaced or added. Note that a house-fan is not a permanent fix, and could lead to problems caused by dust in your PC.
If overheating is not the problem, it could mean you have a bad video card, sound card, or other device which unfortunately is not all that uncommon. To pinpoint which one is causing the problem, you (or preferably a specialist) will have to replace each device with one that is confirmed working until the problem device is found. Consult the manufacturer's safety warnings before trying any of this.
If anyone has anything to add, please reply!
Making sure Windows is up to date should be your first priority. That can be done by going here:
http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com
If that doesn't fix things, try closing down any programs you have running in the background like AIM, teamspeak, and so on, until it's just your game running.
Next you should make sure your computer is free of virii and spyware.
AVG Free edition
Is one of the best free virus scanners available. It even keeps itself updated, a must for virus scanners since they go out of date so quickly.
spybot
Will find most spyware on your PC and destroy it, but you may still need adaware to get all of it.
adaware
Will find most spyware on your PC and destroy it, but you may still need spybot to get all of it.
Now that your computer is free of virii and spyware, it's time to update your video and sound card drivers. That can be done by going to the manufacturer's website and downloading the newest drivers.
Popular video card manufacturers are:
ATI
Nvidia
And popular sound card manufacturers:
Soundblaster
Turtle Beach
Note that your sound or video card manufacturer may not be on the list above, and could possibly even be built into your motherboard. Consult your computer's manual if you don't know, and double-check windowsupdate for drivers or go to the manufacturer's website.
Bad RAM is becoming more common these days as price competition increases, so if everything above has failed you may want to check your RAM. Go to the following website:
http://www.memtest86.com/
Download the bootable ISO and burn it to CD. Now reboot, and in your computer's BIOS make the first bootable drive your CD. Now reboot again with the CD in the CD drive and the RAM test will run.
If the RAM checks out fine and you still have problems, it could mean your computer is overheating. Open the case (will void the warranty on some PC's) and look in there. Don't touch anything or you may be electrocuted and die, but just look and see if the fans on your power-supply, video card and CPU are running. If they are not running, they need to be replaced.
Try pointing a house-fan into the case and turning it on full blast. If that fixes the problems, your computer is overheating and needs to have fans replaced or added. Note that a house-fan is not a permanent fix, and could lead to problems caused by dust in your PC.
If overheating is not the problem, it could mean you have a bad video card, sound card, or other device which unfortunately is not all that uncommon. To pinpoint which one is causing the problem, you (or preferably a specialist) will have to replace each device with one that is confirmed working until the problem device is found. Consult the manufacturer's safety warnings before trying any of this.
If anyone has anything to add, please reply!
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