Games hate my PC D:

[n00b1n8R]

so this has been going on for a few weeks now, and after having WoW (which I just installed and patched today + TBC) crash tree times in one night (twice before I had time to make my character >:U).

this only happens in games (halo, fear, DOW:DC, WoW) and is really shitting me. when it happens, either:

the PC just stops (sceen goes blank)
the PC and sound keep going, the moniter displays something about refresh rates then the PC stops (after about 5 seconds)
the screen goes blue (same colour as a BSOD but without the text) for about 5 seconds then the PC stops.Any help is appreciated D:
I think it may have something to do with the graphics card but IDK really. I'm runing XP SP2, 1 gb of ram 2.25 GHz (amd athalon 64 processor).

I don't know how to tell what graphics card I have short of opening the case, though I know it's an ati and is about 2 years old-ish.

+rep bribe for help mb :-3

[Amit]

To find out what series card you have follow these steps:

1. Go to Start, All Programs, Accessories, System Tools, and click system information.

2. Click the Little '+' sign next to 'Components' and click display from the drop down list.

3. On the right side of the window it will say "Name" and in the box to the right of it will say the name. On mine is says "Radeon X1950 Series."

[Pooky]

sounds like what happens to me when I try to run something at too high of a refresh rate or too high of a resolution, but I don't really know

[Wizardman]

sounds like when i run battlefield 2. AND MANY MORE!

[Mr Buckshot]

Go to the My Computer icon on your desktop. Right click it and select Properties. Go to Hardware, then click on Device Manager. Click the + sign next to Display Adapters, then tell us what you see.

[n00b1n8R]

I'm not on that computer, but i'll do it this afternoon, thanks (and I'll have a look at my refresh rates pooky).

thanks all :)
(though I'd still like a possible reason..)

[Mr Buckshot]

Check for malware in your computer. In the past, malware was the number one source of crashing on my PC.

[Hotrod]

It could also be hardware faliure, or it could be the WoW patch that did something to some essential files on your PC. Try re-installing your drivers for your video card (but first, do what Amit said to check what card you have).

[n00b1n8R]

It was doing this for a few weeks before I installed WoW (AKA: yesterday)

still not home yet.. i'll post my card in half an hour...

[n00b1n8R]

graphics card (using amit's method) is an AIT Radeon 9600 series.