crash reboots system

[Caseus]

Okay this isn't fun anymore.

Periodically when playing the Starfury the game will crash. The crashes usually involve a quick BSOD and then the system reboots. I'm currently on a pirate mission and shortly after I engage my target the system will reboot...every single time.

The one time I could read the BSOD it said "Bad_Pool_Caller", which I think is either faulty drivers or buggy software.

I have an Athlon 1200mhz w/512mb, Geforce2 MX/400 (yes, I know, I need to upgrade my system), SoundbLaster Live Value, Windows 2000, running at 1024x768x16. I have the latest Nvidia drivers, the latest SoundbLaster drivers, and have decreased my audio hardware acceleration by one notch. I've installed the Starfury patch, which did not solve the problem. Yes, I have the full Version.

Currently the game is unplayable, so any ideas would be appreciated.


Caseus

[Executron]

Well it must be from drivers... have you installed the latest drivers for your Sounds BLaster?

[Suicide Junkie]

and have decreased my audio hardware acceleration by one notch.

The thing to do is set it to minimum and then work up by notches. If the problem dosent go away at minimum, it must be something else.

I suggest emailing Aaron with all the details you have.

[Phoenix-D]

Originally posted by Caseus:
[QB]I have the latest Nvidia drivers, the latest SoundbLaster drivers,

[Executron]

ooops.... thanks for pointing that out Phoenix

[David E. Gervais]

Caseus, I have almost the same system as you.. AMD Athlon 1700+ (1.4ghz), nVidia Grorce2 MX/400, and the SB Live Value. (the game runs fine for me.)

The drivers I have are,..

VEDEO:
nVidia 45.23_win2kxp_international_whql.exe (19,339kb [ 19,802,673 bytes])

I added the _whql to let me know this Version is certified. Also, there is a v45.23 english driver that is 8mb or so in size. that one didn't work for me. One more note about nVidia, there is also a third party set of Drivers called the 'Omega Drivers' they might help too, if the video is the cause of the problem. (and I suspect it might be. I had the exact same problem with Morrowind before I installed the international drivers.)

SOUND:
LiveDrvPack.exe (25,305kb [25,911,874 bytes])
LiveDrvPack_Patch.exe (6,314kb [6,465,104 bytes])

The first is the full install, the second is the most recent patch. Check soundbLaster.com or do a search on the net for the filename.

FYI When I go to the control pannel system/hardware/Device Manager/Sound, video and game controllers/Creative SB Live! Value and look at the propities driver tab, these are the driver date and Version..

Driver Date: 7/24/2002
Driver Version: 5.12.2.252

I can give you more info if needed by going to the driver details and fetching all the individual driver file Versions. (ie: a3d.dll is Version 80.0.0.3)

I hope this helps.

Cheers!

[DeadZone]

Sounds like the processor to me
I use to get the same problem on certain games with my AthlonXP 1700+ (1.47Ghz)

Wot it is is that it is overheating for wotever reason, I suggest opening your case and cleaning out any dust, especially on the CPU and case fans, *when touching inside your PC, make sure you have grounded yourself, if you dont you run high risk of destryong your PC*
If you dont wanna risk above sugestion then just take your covers off and leave them off, I also suggest getting a faster fan to help keep it cooler

If none of the above work and you have all the latest drivers and have tried all suggestions here then either re-install windows as it could be a corrupted file or get someone who knows wot they are doing to look at the PC to see if anything is physically wrong with it as I (and other PC tech heads here) can only do so much across the net
If after all this it still dont work and/or you're getting the error with other games/programs I strongly suggest you to look into a brand new PC (you can get some really good ones at low prices nowadays)

[Caseus]

Thanks for the responses!

I cranked the sound acceleration all the way down and was able to get past that darn battle. A few minutes later I dropped to desktop (thank heavens for the autosave when you enter a system!). I went back in, played a few more minutes and got the crash/reboot.

I tried cranking my video acceleration down 2 notches but that didn't help.

I have the listed Nvidia & SoundbLaster drivers but I'm not positive I have the patch. I'll check when I get home. I'll also crack the case and clean it out. It's been about 6 months since I've done that.

I'd be a bit surprised if dust was the problem, though. Photoshop runs well on my system, and you'd think it would push the system enough to trigger problems.

Incidentally, I have a minor problem with AoW:SM. Periodically the game will freeze, but becomes unstuck when I change video resolutions in-game. I wonder if that could be related to my Starfury problem.

I'll be upgrading my system in November when my company offers its annual upgrade-your-computer deal. I plan on buying a top of the line laptop (which I'm sure will cause its own set of problems).


Caseus

[Mephisto]

Search for "VCool" on the net. It's a small utility that will show the temperature of CPU and Motherboard and will sent it into a cooling state if it gets to hot. The program itself is very small and free.