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[Dracogeno]

(I tried to post this in the Bugs section, but seems that I'm unable.
Since I'm only asking if it can be a bug an isn't  a bug report I suppose there's no harm in posting it here.)

I don’t think that this is a problem with DF, but I’m asking because it’s probable and I´d like to weed out all possibilities before I have to buy a new computer or change any hardware.

Until now I never had more problems with DF than the Fun ones. Since yesterday, while playing DF my computer has crashed three times to a blue screen (saying something about a windows problem) and the graphics have been corrupted even in the boot screen (vertical bars and colors changed). Reboots didn't seemed to do the trick at first, but the third time the screen returned back to normal.
If the problem is with DF it's hard to reproduce, because when the crashes occurred I had been many hours into DF.

My question is: Can DF be the cause of the crash or should I look out for other problems?

I'm using Windows Vista, GeForce 8800, and mayday semiofficial mod.

[betamax]

the fact that it affected your entire computer suggests that it probably isn't DF's fault. I'd try running other intensive programs to see if they have a similar effect, though other than that I'm not really sure what it could be.

[Thief^]

Sounds like your 8800 is dieing.

Mine did something similar when it went a year ago.

[andrewas]

Reboots didn't seemed to do the trick at first, but the third time the screen returned back to normal.

There is no way for DF, or any software, to cause problems after rebooting. That's a hardware problem, probably overheating, bad RAM, or a failing power supply. The fact is happened while playing DF suggests that its the CPU overheating - DF loads your CPU like few other games, but barely touches the GPU. Quick fix? Open the case and clear out as much dust as possible. Concentrate on the CPU cooler, and the cases air intakes, particularly if they are filtered.

[gtmattz]

8800's have a bad tendecy to cook themselves due to some design flaws.

[KcKelley]

Sounds like your 8800 is dieing.

Mine did something similar when it went a year ago.

This.

If you have onboard graphics, you can remove the 8800 and then boot back up and see if you still get the graphics errors. That should hopefully confirm the problem.

[Calhoun]

8800's have a bad tendecy to cook themselves due to some design flaws.

Mine blew it's fan, THEN cooked it's self.

[QuakeIV]

8800's have a bad tendecy to cook themselves due to some design flaws.

Mine blew it's fan, THEN cooked it's self.

That may be what hes talking about.

[Bagpuss]

I got an 8800 and mines doing the same thing. I sure 99% that it's cooked itself because it does it most when I'm playing games.

[SirPenguin]

Next time it does this write down the STOP code it spits out. It'll be towards the bottom and say something like,

"Stop 0x" followed by a string of numbers and letters. Afterwards google the stop code (or post it here) and that'll help you narrow what is causing the problem. Most likely your GPU, as has been said

[Grimlocke]

It would be strange if it were the GPU though, DF doesnt work it all that hard. It seems more likely that it is the processor. DFs tends to grind it pretty hard and continuously, so chances are only DF will bring out any flaws in the CPU.

I suggest getting some analising utilities. Run those, see whats wrong, then start replacing/repairing. Replacing a perfectelly funtioning part can be quite frustrating.

[gtmattz]

8800's have a bad tendecy to cook themselves due to some design flaws.

Mine blew it's fan, THEN cooked it's self.

That may be what hes talking about.

Actually, the 3 8800 cards that I have personally dealt with (mine, and 2 friends, all 3 different mfg, but they were variations of the GTS model) had an extremely horribly implemented heatsink which did not make proper contact with the chips on the board so they used about 1/16" of thermal compound to fill the gaps.   Thankfully, there are some very good newer cards that can be had for relatively cheap.

[shadow_slicer]

This version of DF seems to work both the CPU and the graphics card pretty hard. It'll be nice when the d# stuff is merged so it doesn't need to work so hard.

As most people have said, it's most likely the graphics card. The symptoms described (particularly the video artifacts during BIOS POST) could not reasonably be caused by anything else. At that point in the boot process the graphics card would be in either textbuffer or vga framebuffer modes. A CPU problem either cannot produce the pattern described (textbuffer), or would require problems so massive the computer is unlikely to function at all.

Anyway, CPUs seem to be designed to be much more reliable than GPUs. In all of my experience, I've never had a problem with a CPU, but have had to replace GPUs every 4 years or so.

[Leerok the Lacerta]

With the vertical bars and strange colours that affect even the boot screen, I would think that it's the graphics card. Opening your computer and using a fan to cool it should extend play time. When I had the same problem, I replaced my graphics card and everything was alright.

This version of DF seems to work both the CPU and the graphics card pretty hard. It'll be nice when the d# stuff is merged so it doesn't need to work so hard.

As most people have said, it's most likely the graphics card. The symptoms described (particularly the video artifacts during BIOS POST) could not reasonably be caused by anything else. At that point in the boot process the graphics card would be in either textbuffer or vga framebuffer modes. A CPU problem either cannot produce the pattern described (textbuffer), or would require problems so massive the computer is unlikely to function at all.

Anyway, CPUs seem to be designed to be much more reliable than GPUs. In all of my experience, I've never had a problem with a CPU, but have had to replace GPUs every 4 years or so.

I have had instances where I've had an overheating CPU, which caused predictable crashes. I was able to fix this by clearing the dust from the heatsink and reapplying thermal grease.

[Dracogeno]

Thanks for your replies.

For now I have retrieved any lint accumulated in the fans and have run some test. I managed to repeat the crash with another game more graphically intensive, but that time there wasn't any error message, the computer just froze, so no code. The tests didn't find any error whatsoever: I checked the RAM, the HDs and did some stressing of the CPU, GPU, memory, etc.

Next, I'll check the temp of the CPU and the GPU while DF is running.