Really Frustrated PLEASE HELP!!!! Computer randomly shutting off!

[hckyfrk2k7]

Ok guys, I'm in desperate need of help with my gameboy emulator!!! I have three different versions of VBA (I think v 1.7.2, 1.8.0, and 1.8.0 beta 3). Now the problem is that i cannot play it without my computer shutting down!!! I know that there is either something wrong with the emulators or the ROMs, but I've tried removing the existing games and replacing them and the same with the emulators themselves. It does not do this with any other programs on my computer, I have run virus, trojan, spyware scans and my computer is fast enough to run VBA as I have played it before on my same computer! I havent got a clue as to what the problem could be so if you guys have any suggestions as to what I could do, please do tell. By the way, the games that I'm trying to run are Pokemon Fire Red and Leaf Green if that may be of any help! Thanks

[Reaper man]

is it shutting down or restarting?

what operating system are you using?

[hckyfrk2k7]

its just shutting down and Im using windows XP service pack 2

like i said it worked perfectly fine before but then all of a sudden one day it stopped working

[Reaper man]

its just shutting down and Im using windows XP service pack 2

like i said it worked perfectly fine before but then all of a sudden one day it stopped working

so does it instantly turn off completely or does it say "windows is shutting down" etc?

[hckyfrk2k7]

it turns off instantly and i never know when its going to.... sometimes it will turn off after about 5 min of using the emulator, other times it can go to about 15 min..... its pretty much random, thats y i cant figure it out!!!!

[(wraith_)]

it turns off instantly and i never know when its going to.... sometimes it will turn off after about 5 min of using the emulator, other times it can go to about 15 min..... its pretty much random, thats y i cant figure it out!!!!

That sounds like a heat-related issue.

How old is your machine? Is it running stock settings or do you overclock?

[Reaper man]

it turns off instantly and i never know when its going to.... sometimes it will turn off after about 5 min of using the emulator, other times it can go to about 15 min..... its pretty much random, thats y i cant figure it out!!!!

this is not a problem with your emulator, it's a problem with your computer. It's more than likely a heat issue. Get Sisoft Sandra lite (link (http://www.sisoftware.net/index.html?dir=dload&location=sware_dl_3264&langx=en&a=)) and run the burn in utility. If your PC turns off after running it for a while, then yeah your PC is overheating.

also this is more a tech talk thread, moving...

[ToastyCheesy]

I would also like to mention some alternative problems it may be... Your power supply may not be supplying enough power (which can be from heat issues) or you may want to check your drivers if this is something that happens whenever you use, i.e. Direct3D

[The 9th Sage]

I would also like to mention some alternative problems it may be... Your power supply may not be supplying enough power (which can be from heat issues) or you may want to check your drivers if this is something that happens whenever you use, i.e. Direct3D

I would also suggest that it could be bad memory...I had a bad stick of RAM that was causing something very much like what he describes. You could use something like Memtest to test that out.

http://www.memtest.org/

[(wraith_)]

Also, try to right-click on "My Computer" and choose "Manage."

Look under System Tools -> Event Viewer and look through the various logs for warnings and errors.

Of course, the easiest way to determine if overheating is the issue is to install your motherboard's hardware monitoring program.

[hckyfrk2k7]

well ill try taking into consideration all the suggestions, I just have one question though. If it is the computer overheating or bad memory or whatever, why does it only do it with Gameboy Advance emulators? I mean, I've got NES, SNES, N64, PS1, PS2, and Gamecube Emulators on there that work perfectly fine! I mean, I think what you guys are saying makes sense, but why is it that all those other emulators and games run fine with no problems. I would think that if it was a power or heating issue, that at least the N64, PS1, PS2 and Gamecube emulators wouldn't run, right? Plus also, my computer is about 4-5 years old, but its got 5 fans in it and its running at about 58 degrees, which is actually about 10 degrees cooler than when I was running it earlier this summer..... well anyways thanks guys if I cant fix the problem, I'll just wait till I get my new computer this Xmas!!!

[The 9th Sage]

well ill try taking into consideration all the suggestions, I just have one question though. If it is the computer overheating or bad memory or whatever, why does it only do it with Gameboy Advance emulators? I mean, I've got NES, SNES, N64, PS1, PS2, and Gamecube Emulators on there that work perfectly fine!

We are not omnipotent. :P It was just a suggestion to keep in mind, based on the details you actually gave to us. We're trying to help, why argue with us about it? ;) Besides, it isn't as though it would hurt to test these things.

[ToastyCheesy]

If you seriously have n64 emulators, and even Gamecube or PS2 emulators that work "perfectly fine" then that's going to throw drivers out of the picture... Have you tried running a virus scan?

[Reaper man]

If you seriously have n64 emulators, and even Gamecube or PS2 emulators that work "perfectly fine" then that's going to throw drivers out of the picture... Have you tried running a virus scan?

OBJECTION!

he's saying that his PC turns off COMPLETELY, which means that it's a hardware issue of some sort. The fact that it's only doing it his GBA can mean only 1 of 2 things.

1. The emulator is the only one that manages to use 100% CPU (for whatever reason)
2. Strictly coincidence (unlikely, but possible)

he needs to run a burn in test to rule system instability out of the question.

[Rattlehead]

well ill try taking into consideration all the suggestions, I just have one question though. If it is the computer overheating or bad memory or whatever, why does it only do it with Gameboy Advance emulators? I mean, I've got NES, SNES, N64, PS1, PS2, and Gamecube Emulators on there that work perfectly fine! I mean, I think what you guys are saying makes sense, but why is it that all those other emulators and games run fine with no problems. I would think that if it was a power or heating issue, that at least the N64, PS1, PS2 and Gamecube emulators wouldn't run, right? Plus also, my computer is about 4-5 years old, but its got 5 fans in it and its running at about 58 degrees, which is actually about 10 degrees cooler than when I was running it earlier this summer..... well anyways thanks guys if I cant fix the problem, I'll just wait till I get my new computer this Xmas!!!

Wait...lemme get this straight. Your computer is 4 and a half years old, it's got 5 fans, and it runs at a little under 60 degrees.

Right...I believe you. :rolleyes:

OBJECTION!

he's saying that his PC turns off COMPLETELY, which means that it's a hardware issue of some sort. The fact that it's only doing it his GBA can mean only 1 of 2 things.

1. The emulator is the only one that manages to use 100% CPU (for whatever reason)
2. Strictly coincidence (unlikely, but possible)

he needs to run a burn in test to rule system instability out of the question.

Easy there, Phoenix Wright. If a CPU is running at 100%, that usually means that the offending program has either:

A. Quit responding.
B. Is just about to enter a non-responsive state.
C. Is way too CPU-intensive for the system's hardware.
D. All of the above.

Am I right in saying this?

[ukcalibrauk]

I had this problem and it turned out to be the power supply........under certain loads it just fell over..........so could be a few minutes or more !!!!

Try a spare one if you have one

Calibra

[Rattlehead]

I had this problem and it turned out to be the power supply........under certain loads it just fell over..........so could be a few minutes or more !!!!

Try a spare one if you have one

Calibra

I don't know one person that doesn't have a spare PC power supply laying around the house. :rolleyes:

[The 9th Sage]

I don't know one person that doesn't have a spare PC power supply laying around the house. :rolleyes:

Actually, I don't. :P

[Reaper man]

Actually, I don't. :P

I have spare PCs with power supplies in them... does that count? ;p

[Shadow]

I got some spare PCs, too. And generations of notebooks... aww... if it goes on like this the next fifty years people might think I live in a museum... oO""""

[symbolic X]

Not to bump this thread, but I want to throw in that there were numerous times where my laptop would shut off in the middle of installing windows XP.

Because the laptop I have currently is a 2.0 GHz AMD Sempron and because of the fact that all windows XP installers do not have any drivers or the technology to handle excessive-heat CPU's, of course it has no other option just to cut off.

The only way I was able to get my laptop to behave as I did install XP was to simply turn on the cold air (A/C) in my home and sit my laptop over the vent. The cold air would cool down the CPU to a reasonable temperature long enough for XP to install and run. Have you even tried that?

On a ghetto note, especially for desktops, mount/run hoses between the vent straight to the core of your CPU. Make sure that your thermostat in your home is not running heaters! It has to be A/C or the heater will build on and possibly shut off your computer.

[The 9th Sage]

It would only shut off while installing XP? That is messed up. ;)

[mustangemu]

hey,
i had the same problem. i figured it out on my older computer(4 or 5 yrs old). i updated my ati 9600 drivers (all my emulators would work)with the new 8.9 drivers and my computer would randomly shutoff and i had to download a fix. try your original drivers and see if it still crashes. it fixed mine. but i figured out how to get the new 8.9 drivers to work. there is a agp hotfix. the settings had to be changed because the new drivers push the video card harder and made it overheat and restart the computer. i guess.
my settings:
agp 8x
fast write-off
agp read-on
agp write-off
pci write-off
pci read-on

my computer stays on now. i thought i would share because i had a similar problem to yours. good luck..........

[sephiroth111]

I don't know one person that doesn't have a spare PC power supply laying around the house. :rolleyes:

only one? i have like eight.

[symbolic X]

Another thing I forgot to mention - CPU also heats up and shuts off when I run XP in safe mode. Perhaps the AMD drivers/services aren't there when you need them.