I need alot of help!

[JennyLegg]

I was advised to use this site from another Sims Fan. I am very new at this so don't expect me to know anything.
When The Sims 2 first came out I brought the game (my system meets all the specs) after a few days the game started to crash. I contacted EA Games for help and was told to update drivers, reinstall the Game and turn off all anti-virus and firewall software to play the game. I did so.
But still the game kept crashing. I then was told by EA Games to install a new patch to the game. I tried and the patch came up with an error every time it got to the file packageinstaller.exe. I then tried the Sims 2 community and got serveral completely different things to try, some more useful than others. After a long time of trying to get help, I was told to reformate my hard drive. Which with aid I did. But still the game kept crashing. And to add to this now my computer crashes for no reason and when I do send error reports to microsoft I get messages back saying corrupt error messages can be caused by faulty RAM. So I used a test which is supposed to find any faults or errors on the RAM and I set it to do the longest one so it did a complete check, but no errors are found.
These recent errors have happen when I was doing nothing simalar to the other crashes (like random errors). I've had programs freeze up, computer not responding, blue screens, application errors, restarting, screen going black for a few seconds and microsoft error reporter seems to come up every time I turn on the computer.
I am thinking that they might be something seriously wrong with this computer and I really don't what to be told that I have to pay out thousands to get it fixed.
So any help wanted (as long as its free or very close to being free)

Thanks any relpies.

 

[Zoron]

Download and run memtest and let it run overnight... this will definately tell you one way or another if your RAM is bad / failing. If the RAM does check out ok... I'm thinking you have a possible power supply issue. Faulty power supplies can cause all sorts of weird things... from random crashes to random reboots.

 

[JennyLegg]

I've already done a test on my RAM (microsofts advise) and everything turned out OK, I broaden the test and still everything was Ok.
Is there anyway to check the power supply? (I've had this computer for ages and it has been getting alot worse recently)

 

[Zoron]

I would still use Memtest, as it's a much more thorough test and it keeps testing until you stop it. Sometimes flaky RAM will pass 1 or 2 test passes in a row, but the error might only show up after 5 or 6 passes.

The only real way to test the power supply reliably is with a volt meter. The easiest option is to borrow another power supply from someone and see if that helps.

Also... you may want to check your chipset drivers and motherboard's BIOS. Sometimes an update on those will fix stability issues.

 

[Proximon]

....I've had programs freeze up, computer not responding, blue screens, application errors, restarting, screen going black for a few seconds and microsoft error reporter seems to come up every time I turn on the computer.....

What OS are you uising?

If XP, did you apply all the fixes and SP2?

Did you update your motherboard BIOS before re-installing?

Are you running security software including virus scanning, firewall, etc.?

The "memtest" being mentioned is one that you run from a bootable floppy disk. You want to use this type because it's more thorough than something run from Windows. Because you are having so many issues, I would say that running this 8 hours would be enough... if it's clean by then it's not likely the issue.

System stability that declines rapidly over time can often be a cooling issue. You should verify that your CPU fan is spinning, and any other fans in your case.

 

[JennyLegg]

I'm using xp,
I'll run the memtest thing overnight (from floppy)
My fans are working (I can heard them and I open up the computer to check they still spin)
I've contacted ASUS (motherboard) about which drivers I need and I am yet to get anything back.

Without sounding stupid, what do you mean by "all the fixes and SP2"[/quote]

 

[sturm]

All the windows updates including Service Pack 2 (SP2).
How old is the computer - list specifications.
Zoron is right, a bad, or going bad, power supply will cause all sorts of problems. If you can try a different power supply and see if errors are still happening.

 

[JennyLegg]

I did have service pack 2 on it before, but when I reformatted I decided not to reinstall it as I've heard that the service pack also causes computers to crash.
The computer is fairly old (4-5 years) but my brothers was brought at the same time and his works fine and my dad still has a 95 that works prefectly (10 years old).
Specs:
op sys: xp home edition
BIOS: Intel Pentium 4 processor
memory: 512 mb
Video card: NVIDIA GeForce MX 440 (driver: nv4_disp.dll)
Sound chip: C-Media wave device (driver: cmuda.sys)

With this power supply thing, I've had a look at the side of it and it says that it should only be open by a qualified person (which I am not). Will I have to get someone to try this?

 

[sturm]

is this a store bought or custon/self built? If store bought what brand as some of them use proprietory components that arent really compatible with off the shelf stuff.
If you havent messed around on the inside of a computer alot you might be best to take it to someone for the power supply swap. You dont actually open the power supply itself if thats where the sticker is. You change out the whole unit, cables and all.
Its not that hard to do but you can fry components if you dont ground yourself first.

As for SP2, I have it on at least 5 computers at home and over 70 at work with no problems.

 

[JennyLegg]

It store bulit but I have really forgotten who the company was, and I do know that it shut down, I think it was a small local shop (chemsford, in essex, in England).

 

[sturm]

Maybe have your brother do it? Its not that hard. Just remember to mark or draw out where each connection went on the board, drives, and fans. Undo usually 4 screws on the power supply to release it from the case. Do the reverse with the new power supply and test it.

If not comfortable with this then I would take it to a local computer store and have them do it. They might be able to test the power supply for you before buying a new one.

 

[JennyLegg]

I can't get my brother to do it again, and at the moment I can afford to get someone to fix it. BUT I will try and save up and get help (I think it needs it, it still getting worse, like random turning offs, rebooting, and screen complianing that I've disconnected it when all the wires are where they should be)

Thanks to all helpers

 

[Zoron]

Random reboots and shutting off definately makes me suspect the power supply. It would be nice to be able to test it with another known good one before buying a new one and finding out that wasn't the problem.

I'm pretty sure it is... but that's why we swap out components... so we know for sure.

 

[Proximon]

Also, if you haven't yet, open the case, take it outside, and use a can of compressed air to blow the dust out.