Second Life Forums Archive - New computer keeps crashing SL...

Harmony Levee

Registered User

Join date: 8 Dec 2008

Posts: 189

06-09-2009 13:29

I just got a new computer today and it keeps crashing SL as soon as I hit apply in the menus or do anything really. I searched for fixes but ofcourse typing in "crash" or "vista" etc etc brings up the same threads as if you typed in "dog" "red" or "groceries". So anyway, heres my comps specs...

OS
windows vista
home premium 64-bit with SP1

Video
ATI Radeon HD 3200
Integrated Graphics

Processor
AMD Phenom X4
9100e Quad-Core Processor

Memory
4 GB DDR2

Harddrive
640 GB

Memory Card Reader
15-in-1

I'm pretty computer illiterate so keep that in mind :X

thanks for any help

SuezanneC Baskerville

Forums Rock!

Join date: 22 Dec 2003

Posts: 14,229

06-09-2009 13:56

You could try turning off Catalyst AI.

You might need to disable VBOs.

You might need to use a different driver, older or newer, whatever's different.

_____________________

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Ceka Cianci

SuperPremiumExcaliburAcc#

Join date: 31 Jul 2006

Posts: 4,489

06-09-2009 15:44

is it a brand name computer or one that was made for you..

like is there a ton of things running at the same time..
i know some of the brand name pc's like gateways and dells ect come packed with things already running and taking up resources..

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Distilled1 Rush

written in the Pixles

Join date: 29 Jul 2006

Posts: 504

06-09-2009 17:28

integrated ATI ...

_____________________

Dell XPS-700 (this is a fantastic case!)
XP media
Intel Core2Duo 2.38ghz
Nvida 9800GTX+ 512mg
4 G RAM
Dell XPS 1530 Red
Core 2 duo VISTA and I like it!
Nvidia 8600m 512
6 G RAM
Compaq amd 3200 XP home
POS!
Nvidia FX 5200
2 G RAMM
White Box XP pro
P 4
Nvidia Shared 128k some odd old PCI card
1 G RAM
*(STILL RUNS THE 1.21 CLIENT AND LATEST RC! )

SuezanneC Baskerville

Forums Rock!

Join date: 22 Dec 2003

Posts: 14,229

06-09-2009 21:18

You can try turning off anti-aliasing in Preferences / Graphics / Hardware , and if the texture memory is over 256, try setting it to 256.

_____________________

-

So long to these forums, the vBulletin forums that used to be at forums.secondlife.com. I will miss them.

I can be found on the web by searching for "SuezanneC Baskerville", or go to

http://www.google.com/profiles/suezanne

-

http://lindenlab.tribe.net/ created on 11/19/03.

Members: Ben, Catherine, Colin, Cory, Dan, Doug, Jim, Philip, Phoenix, Richard,
Robin, and Ryan

-

Shirley Marquez

Ethical SLut

Join date: 28 Oct 2005

Posts: 788

06-10-2009 06:45

From: SuezanneC Baskerville

You might need to use a different driver, older or newer, whatever's different.

Definitely word on that one. About every four or five releases ATI seems to put out a driver that's a lemon for Second Life, forcing you to revert to the previous one. The next (approximately monthly) release usually fixes it.

NVidia has also had a couple of releases that are bad for SL, but not as consistently.

For the original poster: although the HD3200 is good as integrated video goes (i.e., it only somewhat sucks), investing $100 in a separate video card will dramatically improve your system's Second Life performance.

Harmony Levee

Registered User

Join date: 8 Dec 2008

Posts: 189

06-10-2009 07:22

Its a premade one, store bought one. Couldnt afford to have a custom made so I went with the already built one. its a gateway also. I've been using cool viewer and it seams ok with that as long as I dont make any changes that seam to make the computer work harder. Also as far as shutting off programs that are running on my computer from the start-up...on my old pc which had XP i knew how and hat to shut off, but when i go to the processes in vista...i havent a clue as to what to shut-off. Vista is totally new to me and, it scares me :x.

also as far as buying a new video card, how do i know what is, and isnt compatible with my rig?

Shirley Marquez

Ethical SLut

Join date: 28 Oct 2005

Posts: 788

06-10-2009 12:17

From: Harmony Levee

also as far as buying a new video card, how do i know what is, and isnt compatible with my rig?

The main issue when buying a video card is determining what type of slots (and how many) your computer has for a video card or cards. Since you have a modern system with an AMD 780G chipset (that's the motherboard chipset that includes the HD 3200 graphics) it will be a PCI Express x16 slot, though you should check your system manual to make sure. Any card that fits that type of slot should work.

Another possible constraint is power. If your computer's power supply is marginal it might not be up to the demands of a high-end video card. Some video cards require one or more power connections in addition to what they get from the slot they plug into; most modern power supplies have the necessary connectors, or you can use adapters (often supplied with the video card, or available inexpensively if you didn't get one) to convert the standard 4-pin hard drive power connectors to the ones that the video card wants.

Some high end gaming systems have the ability to take two (or even three) video cards that get connected to work together. There are two competing schemes: SLI (used by NVidia) and CrossFire (used by ATI/AMD). Your computer probably only has one PCI Express x16 slot, not two, so you won't be able to do that -- and even if it did have the slots it probably doesn't have a big enough power supply. (It would be outside your budget anyway.) Going to SLI or CrossFire for Second Life performance isn't cost-effective until you have already stepped up to the top of the line cards; you'll do better with a single high-end card than with two cheaper ones. There are also NVidia and ATI cards that have two graphics processors on a single card; you don't need a special motherboard for those, just a big power supply and lots of money.

I recommend NVidia rather than ATI cards for Second Life because their drivers have (mostly) had better OpenGL support and thus work better with SL. I'd look for a 9600GT if you have $60 to spend, a 9800GT for $100, or a GTX260 for $175 (all prices approximate); each step up the ladder gets you about twice the rendering performance of the step before, which means you can use larger displays, antialiasing, and/or turn on shadow rendering in the latest RC viewers. The 9800 and GTX260 will require a power cable to be connected from your power supply (see above).

New computer keeps crashing SL...
Harmony Levee Registered User Join date: 8 Dec 2008 Posts: 189	06-09-2009 13:29 I just got a new computer today and it keeps crashing SL as soon as I hit apply in the menus or do anything really. I searched for fixes but ofcourse typing in "crash" or "vista" etc etc brings up the same threads as if you typed in "dog" "red" or "groceries". So anyway, heres my comps specs... OS windows vista home premium 64-bit with SP1 Video ATI Radeon HD 3200 Integrated Graphics Processor AMD Phenom X4 9100e Quad-Core Processor Memory 4 GB DDR2 Harddrive 640 GB Memory Card Reader 15-in-1 I'm pretty computer illiterate so keep that in mind :X thanks for any help
SuezanneC Baskerville Forums Rock! Join date: 22 Dec 2003 Posts: 14,229	06-09-2009 13:56 You could try turning off Catalyst AI. You might need to disable VBOs. You might need to use a different driver, older or newer, whatever's different. _____________________ - So long to these forums, the vBulletin forums that used to be at forums.secondlife.com. I will miss them. I can be found on the web by searching for "SuezanneC Baskerville", or go to http://www.google.com/profiles/suezanne - http://lindenlab.tribe.net/ created on 11/19/03. Members: Ben, Catherine, Colin, Cory, Dan, Doug, Jim, Philip, Phoenix, Richard, Robin, and Ryan -
Ceka Cianci SuperPremiumExcaliburAcc# Join date: 31 Jul 2006 Posts: 4,489	06-09-2009 15:44 is it a brand name computer or one that was made for you.. like is there a ton of things running at the same time.. i know some of the brand name pc's like gateways and dells ect come packed with things already running and taking up resources.. _____________________ Free Your Mind http://www.flickr.com/photos/ceka_cianci/
Distilled1 Rush written in the Pixles Join date: 29 Jul 2006 Posts: 504	06-09-2009 17:28 integrated ATI ... _____________________ Dell XPS-700 (this is a fantastic case!) XP media Intel Core2Duo 2.38ghz Nvida 9800GTX+ 512mg 4 G RAM Dell XPS 1530 Red Core 2 duo VISTA and I like it! Nvidia 8600m 512 6 G RAM Compaq amd 3200 XP home POS! Nvidia FX 5200 2 G RAMM White Box XP pro P 4 Nvidia Shared 128k some odd old PCI card 1 G RAM *(STILL RUNS THE 1.21 CLIENT AND LATEST RC! )
SuezanneC Baskerville Forums Rock! Join date: 22 Dec 2003 Posts: 14,229	06-09-2009 21:18 You can try turning off anti-aliasing in Preferences / Graphics / Hardware , and if the texture memory is over 256, try setting it to 256. _____________________ - So long to these forums, the vBulletin forums that used to be at forums.secondlife.com. I will miss them. I can be found on the web by searching for "SuezanneC Baskerville", or go to http://www.google.com/profiles/suezanne - http://lindenlab.tribe.net/ created on 11/19/03. Members: Ben, Catherine, Colin, Cory, Dan, Doug, Jim, Philip, Phoenix, Richard, Robin, and Ryan -
Shirley Marquez Ethical SLut Join date: 28 Oct 2005 Posts: 788	06-10-2009 06:45 From: SuezanneC Baskerville You might need to use a different driver, older or newer, whatever's different. Definitely word on that one. About every four or five releases ATI seems to put out a driver that's a lemon for Second Life, forcing you to revert to the previous one. The next (approximately monthly) release usually fixes it. NVidia has also had a couple of releases that are bad for SL, but not as consistently. For the original poster: although the HD3200 is good as integrated video goes (i.e., it only somewhat sucks), investing $100 in a separate video card will dramatically improve your system's Second Life performance.
Harmony Levee Registered User Join date: 8 Dec 2008 Posts: 189	06-10-2009 07:22 Its a premade one, store bought one. Couldnt afford to have a custom made so I went with the already built one. its a gateway also. I've been using cool viewer and it seams ok with that as long as I dont make any changes that seam to make the computer work harder. Also as far as shutting off programs that are running on my computer from the start-up...on my old pc which had XP i knew how and hat to shut off, but when i go to the processes in vista...i havent a clue as to what to shut-off. Vista is totally new to me and, it scares me :x. also as far as buying a new video card, how do i know what is, and isnt compatible with my rig?
Shirley Marquez Ethical SLut Join date: 28 Oct 2005 Posts: 788	06-10-2009 12:17 From: Harmony Levee also as far as buying a new video card, how do i know what is, and isnt compatible with my rig? The main issue when buying a video card is determining what type of slots (and how many) your computer has for a video card or cards. Since you have a modern system with an AMD 780G chipset (that's the motherboard chipset that includes the HD 3200 graphics) it will be a PCI Express x16 slot, though you should check your system manual to make sure. Any card that fits that type of slot should work. Another possible constraint is power. If your computer's power supply is marginal it might not be up to the demands of a high-end video card. Some video cards require one or more power connections in addition to what they get from the slot they plug into; most modern power supplies have the necessary connectors, or you can use adapters (often supplied with the video card, or available inexpensively if you didn't get one) to convert the standard 4-pin hard drive power connectors to the ones that the video card wants. Some high end gaming systems have the ability to take two (or even three) video cards that get connected to work together. There are two competing schemes: SLI (used by NVidia) and CrossFire (used by ATI/AMD). Your computer probably only has one PCI Express x16 slot, not two, so you won't be able to do that -- and even if it did have the slots it probably doesn't have a big enough power supply. (It would be outside your budget anyway.) Going to SLI or CrossFire for Second Life performance isn't cost-effective until you have already stepped up to the top of the line cards; you'll do better with a single high-end card than with two cheaper ones. There are also NVidia and ATI cards that have two graphics processors on a single card; you don't need a special motherboard for those, just a big power supply and lots of money. I recommend NVidia rather than ATI cards for Second Life because their drivers have (mostly) had better OpenGL support and thus work better with SL. I'd look for a 9600GT if you have $60 to spend, a 9800GT for $100, or a GTX260 for $175 (all prices approximate); each step up the ladder gets you about twice the rendering performance of the step before, which means you can use larger displays, antialiasing, and/or turn on shadow rendering in the latest RC viewers. The 9800 and GTX260 will require a power cable to be connected from your power supply (see above).

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