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Getting a black screen during gaming.

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3074326

3074326

Adios
The last couple days I've decided to do some PC gaming with a friend of mine. Usually between 15-45 minutes of playing, my screen just randomly turns black. Game music still plays. My mouse cursor says something is loading, but nothing ever happens and I have to restart.

Pretty annoying, and probably not good for my computer. Any idea what it could be? Overheating maybe? I can't go to the task manager when this happens. I can't do anything other than watch the black screen/loading icon.
 
I used to have similar problems when I played games on my PC. I can't recall now what exactly caused it, or if I found out for sure, but I have some suggestions.

First, and probably most importantly, check the settings on the game, and make sure they are in line with your system. The start menu for the game should have an option for the settings, open it and make sure it's set for the correct Windows version, resolution, etc.

It's always a good idea to clean off all the junk from your hard drive. Go to your computer's Control Panel from the Start Menu, and delete the buildup of temporary files, cookies, etc. It's under "Free up space on your hard drive" on Win XP. If you haven't done so in a while, defrag your hard drives ("Rearrange items..." on XP). Pick a time when you won't need your computer for awhile, it takes forever. It's also a good idea to run a malware search such as AdAware, or SpyBot, to make sure there aren't processes running without your knowledge (this also takes awhile).

If the gameplay doesn't require an internet connection, you may want to disconnect while you're playing the game. You may also want to turn off any processes that may start running or try to access the internet while you're playing the game. This could include anything from screen savers to security programs, or anything that periodically searches for updates. Just remember to turn any security stuff back on.

IIRC, when my screen would go blank during gameplay, I could hit the Windows key (between the Fn and Alt keys), and the game would go to it's menu (pause), as the screen brought up my desktop, with the game program listed as a tab on the bottom toolbar. I'd let the system settle down for a few seconds, then I could click on the game tab, which would bring up the menu screen, and continue the game. Still frustrating, but much better than losing all your progress.

If all else fails, most games have a number for customer support in the instructions. I'm sure you already knew most of these, but just trying to be thorough. Of course, the obvious solution is go out and make some friends, geek! :p
 
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Pull out the video board and check it for physical damage. I've had video cards that have blown their capacitors off the board and would lock up completely in 3D games, but run fine during day-to-day use just surfing the Web and so on.
 
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There is software that allows you to monitor your card temps. You can even do it while gaming. It just sits in the upper corner. If you see it hitting over 100 C you have a heat problem.

I am not sure what is the best. I use an EVGA monitoring program, so unless you have an EVGA card that is not of help.

Rivatuner can monitor temps. Not sure if that has a display. Yet I am sure there is something out there.

Certainly seems like a GPU problem (assuming you have a GPU).

If you do find something to monitor temps, if you want to check it out and not game just use 3DMark06. It's free. It is a benchmark program, but it also stresses the card. You can watch temps without having to play a game. Anything near 100 C and you have an overheating issue.

There are certainly other things that can go wrong but I would start there.

edit: If none of the above sounds appealing, you can always just open the case and have a fan blow right on the GPU to see if that helps. You can also check for physical damage while it's open.
 
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generaladm;1510407; said:
I used to have similar problems when I played games on my PC. I can't recall now what exactly caused it, or if I found out for sure, but I have some suggestions.

First, and probably most importantly, check the settings on the game, and make sure they are in line with your system. The start menu for the game should have an option for the settings, open it and make sure it's set for the correct Windows version, resolution, etc.

It's always a good idea to clean off all the junk from your hard drive. Go to your computer's Control Panel from the Start Menu, and delete the buildup of temporary files, cookies, etc. It's under "Free up space on your hard drive" on Win XP. If you haven't done so in a while, defrag your hard drives ("Rearrange items..." on XP). Pick a time when you won't need your computer for awhile, it takes forever. It's also a good idea to run a malware search such as AdAware, or SpyBot, to make sure there aren't processes running without your knowledge (this also takes awhile).

If the gameplay doesn't require an internet connection, you may want to disconnect while you're playing the game. You may also want to turn off any processes that may start running or try to access the internet while you're playing the game. This could include anything from screen savers to security programs, or anything that periodically searches for updates. Just remember to turn any security stuff back on.

IIRC, when my screen would go blank during gameplay, I could hit the Windows key (between the Fn and Alt keys), and the game would go to it's menu (pause), as the screen brought up my desktop, with the game program listed as a tab on the bottom toolbar. I'd let the system settle down for a few seconds, then I could click on the game tab, which would bring up the menu screen, and continue the game. Still frustrating, but much better than losing all your progress.

If all else fails, most games have a number for customer support in the instructions. I'm sure you already knew most of these, but just trying to be thorough. Of course, the obvious solution is go out and make some friends, geek! :p
Click to expand...

A lot of that stuff would show up right away, and would cause low frame rate. When a screen goes black it's often the GPU shutting down. I have only seen that when heat is an issue. Your case actually seems like a heat issue also. You let things cool down and then went back.

Someone else mentioned drivers, and I have only seen that cause blue screen of death or kicked out to Windows. Yet I have heard of some other crazy stuff and that could be an issue.

In the end heat should be the first thought. Maybe a bad fan, or poor airflow through the case. This time of year is normally the worst for it.
 
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scott91575;1510554; said:
In the end heat should be the first thought. Maybe a bad fan, or poor airflow through the case. This time of year is normally the worst for it.
Click to expand...
This time of year is also bad if you have pets. Our border collie has been shedding so much the past month we could make two more dogs out of the hair she's leaving on the floor. Get a bit of that sucked up inside the PC and that'll really choke the airflow, while insulating the case and making it hotter.

Pet hair + PCs = deadly combination.
 
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I agree with the overheating crowd - I've had the exact same symptoms. In my case, there wasn't damage, and a cheap $10 fan that sat on top of the video card solved the problem. Might be a good place to start before thinking about changing cards or anything.
 
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Most PC's will reboot or shut down when the overheating occurs. Even if its the GPU overheating. Of course the overheat protection could be turned off in the bios or something as well. I would still check the driver first though for the hell of it. a drive issue can cause alot of different things to happen.
 
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