Oh god what have I done(PC issues)

[tim31]

Been suffering a recurring General Protection Fault in Blands which would kill the game after 30-60 minutes of playtime. Apparently a common problem with Vista/7 installs of the game because Gearbox has a suggested fix that involves isolating the game to a single processing core(go on consolers, have a laugh)

Anyway that didn't work so in frustration(no fast travel network in the expansion packs means that when it crashes on you you have to cross half the map to get back where you were), downloaded a third party party 'fix' which had net positive reviews. Results were:

*On initial restart after installing, Vista wouldn't boot
*After fooling it with a boot disk, I got it into safe mode, then...
*Finally into the full deal. Performance is so sluggish that even running Firefox can cause a system lockup.
*Returned to safe mode, ran Malwarebytes full scan. Nothing insidious.

Any ideas people?

[Purple]

Run a full scan with an anti virus software, not just an anti malware one.

[Bounty]

What's the 'fix'?

Does your PC also run slow in safe mode?

Anything fishy under Services or in your startup items?

Is everything on the PC backed up in case you need to do a format and reinstall?

[tim31]

What's the 'fix'?

I'm ashamed to admit, but found via youtube

Does your PC also run slow in safe mode?

Yes. Not as cripplingly so; I suspect Steam was trying to use resources it couldn't have.

Anything fishy under Services or in your startup items?

Nothing I've found so far.

Is everything on the PC backed up in case you need to do a format and reinstall?

Most certainly is!!

[AniThyng]

Run a full scan with an anti virus software, not just an anti malware one.

You do know viruses are a subset of malware, right?

Anyway, I downloaded the file mentioned in that youtube link and it looks like what it does is download and install the following Physx update as the gpf fix:

http://de.download.nvidia.com/Windows/9 ... ftware.exe

As well as the latest DirectX and VC runtimes...

Might want to look elsewhere to try to determine what's wrong - perhaps you could try looking for and uninstalling the PhyxX modules and see if that changes anything.

[Bounty]

PhysX and ATI cards sometimes don't mix...

Have you tried System Restore?

[Purple]

Run a full scan with an anti virus software, not just an anti malware one.

You do know viruses are a subset of malware, right?

I also know that the scanner in question Malwerbytes (I use it my self so I know) scans for different things than AV programs like Kaspersky or Nod32. That is why I was suggesting running a second scan with something else.

[tim31]

PhysX and ATI cards sometimes don't mix...

Have you tried System Restore?

Card is an 8800GTX, so it seems an unlikely conflict.... I'll look more into that avenue when I get home and let you all know how I went.

[Civil War Man]

Open up the task manager. What's the CPU and physical memory usage? Which processes are using the most memory?

And now the comedy replies:

Vista

There's your first problem.

[StarSword]

PhysX and ATI cards sometimes don't mix...

Um, Bounty? He's got an nVidia card, not an ATI.

Also, should this maybe get moved over to the G&C forum?

[Thanas]

Moved.


And really, downloading a file from the internet from a no-name site (not even a mod site)?

[tim31]

Yeah, yeah, I know. And made by a German guy, as well.

Hard drive has now failed entirely. May all have been a coincidence, but asks the follow up question: why does my PC keep killing HDDs? That's the third one in the last few months!!!

[tim31]

...and now it's detecting the HDD and has booted Vista to safe mode.

What the hell is going on here?

[someone_else]

I had "general protection issues" with Mass Effect on the same card (although on a laptop) and they (mass effect guys in a patch log and in the site) said that the card driver above the version 186 would fix it. I had the version 270 and downloaded the 280, that fixed the problem.

May not save you from a fresh reinstall, maybe of something less crappy than Vista, but may be useful anyway.

[Bounty]

Yeah, yeah, I know. And made by a German guy, as well.

Hard drive has now failed entirely. May all have been a coincidence, but asks the follow up question: why does my PC keep killing HDDs? That's the third one in the last few months!!!

When you say 'killed' do you mean, physically wrecked (ie, click of death) or are they just not detected? Whichever it is, I suggest you look into *that* problem first.

And as for the PC, as much as this may sound like just another 'lol vista' thing, I strongly suggest you take the opportunity to ditch Vista and upgrade to Windows 7. It's really a major step up and the upgrade version shouldn't be that expensive.

[tim31]

You're right on that end. I had been using XP SP3 for years and had an unused copy of Vista sitting around that I decided to give a go after the last crash. Hasn't been stellar.

As for HDD crashes, it's weird... Three of them now have spontaneously died; I've replaced and carried on. One of those, under recent inspection in an external dock, suddenly started working again... With all data still on it. It had not worked in the dock when first tested.

[someone_else]

Some general questions you may want to answer.

What computer is that? Where is it placed?

Also, what do you mean for "dead" exactly?

Did you use SATA hard disk on a motherboard that does not really like them? (older ones needed IDE)
In that case the faulty component is (very) likely to be the SATA-IDE adapter. Plenty of cheap crap that does fuck up things.

Another thing may be the power supply. Be sure that it has enough wattage to power everything and has some to spare. And that it's brand is a quality one. Cheaper brands tend to make stuff that gives less wattage than advertised.

Lastly what temp does the HDD reach? Anything more than 50 celsius is usually not good in the long run (although most laptop HDD indeed survive higher temps).

[tim31]

Hooked up a hard drive that had XP installed on it. Zero issues so far. The other HDD must be a bit stuffed and on the way out.