Tales of Monkey Island crashes PC

[tomfooled]

Played Episode 1 without a problem but now started Episode 2 and the game constantly freezes/crashes my entire computer. The sound turns into a buzzing noise and the monitor signal turns off. I have to manually reboot the PC as I can't CTRL+ALT+DEL. Any suggestions please? :confused:

[DjNDB]

Please post a dxdiag log.

dxdiag
Windows XP: Go to your start menu and click on run. Type in "dxdiag" and hit enter
Windows Vista / 7: Press the windows key on your keyboard or click on the start menu. Type in "dxdiag" and hit enter.

Now click on the button that says "save all information".
It will prompt you to save a file. Save it where you can find it.

Then zip the file (http://www.howtozip.com/indexsubmenu.asp?submenu=windows_-_compressed_folder_1) and attach it to a reply in this Thread.

[tomfooled]

Hi,

I've attached the DxDiag text file within a zip file.

Thanks
James

[DjNDB]

Card name: NVIDIA GeForce GT 220
Driver Date/Size: 6/26/2009 23:01:00, 9476608 bytes

Description: Speakers (Realtek High Definition Audio)
Date and Size: 6/3/2009 03:15:14, 1766944 bytes

I would try updating your Graphics Driver (http://www.nvidia.com/object/win7-winvista-64bit-275.33-whql-driver.html) and Sound Driver (http://majorgeeks.com/download.php?det=5513).

[tomfooled]

Hi,

I have updated both my graphics and sound driver. However, I am still facing the same issue as before. I attach an updated DxDiag if that helps.

Thanks
James

[DjNDB]

I have updated both my graphics and sound driver. However, I am still facing the same issue as before. I attach an updated DxDiag if that helps.


It was worth a shot.

Does it still crash, if you run the game during a clean boot?

Booting clean in Windows Vista / 7:
1. Click Start --> Run --> Type MSCONFIG --> Click OK
2. On the General tab, choose Selective Startup
3. Uncheck Load Startup Items
4. Select the Services tab
5. Check Hide all Microsoft services
6. Click Disable all
7. Click on OK
8. Click Restart.
9. After reboot, run the game to see if it works.

After performing the necessary steps, restore your system by doing the following:

1. Click Start --> Run --> Type MSCONFIG--> Click OK
2. On the General tab, choose Normal Startup
3. Click Ok
4. Click Yes, when asked to restart your computer

Based on Will's post (http://www.telltalegames.com/forums/showthread.php?p=156449#post156449)

[tomfooled]

Hi,

I tried the clean boot as suggested, and it still crashes.

Thanks
James

[DjNDB]

Okay, let's try a different approach.
Please uninstall the episode, make a fresh download of the installer, and then reinstall it.

[tomfooled]

OK, uninstalled, then reinstalled. Still crashed.

[DjNDB]

OK, uninstalled, then reinstalled. Still crashed.

I see. This looks a bit hard to track down, but let's keep trying.

Let's see what happens if you use minimal graphics settings.

Please start the game.
Select "Settings". Click the red arrows until you see "graphics settings".
Set "quality" to 1 and test the game.

[tomfooled]

OK. Tried this. Still crashing.

[DjNDB]

I am wondering if it is a heat issue. I realize that Episode 1 worked before, but I am running out of reasonable ideas, and you never know. The display turning off and the system hanging sounds like it's possible.

Let's try logging the CPU and GPU Temperatures, until the game crashes.

Logging your CPU and GPU Temperatures

CPU: Download Core Temp (http://www.alcpu.com/CoreTemp/). Start it and activate logging in the menu under "Tools/Logging on".

The log file created is called similar to "CT-Log [TIME][DATE].csv".

GPU: Download GPU-Z (http://www.techpowerup.com/downloads/SysInfo/GPU-Z/).
Start it, select the "sensors" tab, and activate "Log to File" at the bottom of the window.
Choose a location for the log file.

Run the game until it crashes.

Then Zip the log files (http://www.howtozip.com/indexsubmenu.asp?submenu=windows_-_compressed_folder_1) and attach them to a reply in this Thread.

[tomfooled]

Hi - please find attached the log files.

[DjNDB]

Hi - please find attached the log files.

Thanks. Sadly the GPU log stopped after 3 seconds, so it doesn't say much.
Can you please run it again?

[tomfooled]

Ah, ok. Are these any better?

[DjNDB]

Ah, ok. Are these any better?

Wonderful. Looks like we found the problem. You GPU Temperature goes up to 109°C before your system crashes. The GPU has a specified max. Temperature of 105°C.
The GPU Fan is running at 100% already, when the GPU reaches 89°C, but the temperature keeps rising.

You need to check you PCs cooling system. Make sure that all fans actually run, and that the heatsinks and air filters are as dust free as possible. Give special attention to your graphics cards cooling solution.

[tomfooled]

OK, I took the cover off the PC and made sure all the dust was gone. I also just took it out of the computer table and onto the floor for maximum ventilation, then tried the game. No problems after that, so far. I had the temperature monitors going and they were a little better.

[DjNDB]

OK, I took the cover off the PC and made sure all the dust was gone. I also just took it out of the computer table and onto the floor for maximum ventilation, then tried the game. No problems after that, so far. I had the temperature monitors going and they were a little better.

That's great :)
What Temperature does the GPU have now after 10 Minutes of playing?

[tomfooled]

I ran the game for 10 minutes without it crashing and took the Core Temp and GPU logs - please see attached.

[DjNDB]

I ran the game for 10 minutes without it crashing and took the Core Temp and GPU logs - please see attached.

Thanks. Now it reaches 105°C after about 6 minutes and reaches 107° at max.
That's still high, and could crash again any time soon.
I've looked at some GeForce GT 220 Benchmarks, and they had temperatures between 50-80°C under full load, depending on the model.

Maybe there is a small gap between Heatsink and GPU, that prevents it from working properly.

[tomfooled]

I'm a little bit inexperienced when it comes to the innards of computers - could you possibly tell me what the GPU and associated heatsink look like? Then I can look inside and make sure they are properly aligned.

Thanks.

[DjNDB]

I'm a little bit inexperienced when it comes to the innards of computers - could you possibly tell me what the GPU and associated heatsink look like? Then I can look inside and make sure they are properly aligned.


If you're not sure ask someone who knows how to handle hardware.

Here's an image of a graphics card. I highlighted the GPU and the Heatsink.
There should be no visible gap in between. You should use a bright light source behind the card to check if it is shining through.


http://img638.imageshack.us/img638/6725/gpuheatsink.jpg

[tomfooled]

OK I think I've fixed it! GPU fan was still a little clogged up with dust, so I sorted that out. Temperature only reaches 70 max now (see attached).

Thanks for all the help!

[DjNDB]

OK I think I've fixed it! GPU fan was still a little clogged up with dust, so I sorted that out. Temperature only reaches 70 max now (see attached).

Thanks for all the help!

You're welcome, and good job :-) I'm glad we checked the results again after it stopped crashing.