Games keep crashing after 10 minutes

[Adolfa]

I recently bought a Gainward 9600GT 512 MB. I am running Windows XP service pack 2 on my system. But i have trouble running games like Modern Warfare 2, NBA 2010 etc. When i start playing the games, it works fine for 10-15 minutes and then my system just freezes, the screen flickers and then i either have to close the game using the task manager or have to restart the whole system. When i am watching a movie sometimes, the screen just freezes and the sound continues playing. But after a few minutes it goes back to normal. My system specifications are as follows, Gainward 9600GT 512MB graphic card, 2x1GB RAM Kingston ddr2, Intel C2D E4300 1.8GHz. I also have a 500W power supply unit. I don't understand why my games keeps crashing after every 10-15 minutes. Please help.

[Ninja-X]

Starting off you should first check whether this is an issue with your cpu or gpu. Overheating is mostly likely the culprit in such things and i do not think this case is any different. Try running a system diagnostics utility such as EVEREST to see what kind of temperature is being encounter by your system when you put it under stress. Check whether the temperatures are normal or too high in case of your cpu and gpu especially. Make sure you are not running too many applications while running the game which could be taking a toll on your system resources. I suggest you to try uninstalling and reinstalling your graphic card drivers once and see if it makes any difference while running the game.

[reddevil6]

I have a solution which had worked for me. Download and install a software called driver sweeper. Uninstall Nvidia drivers before that. Reboot in safe mode and then start driver sweeper. The program is used to scan for driver left overs. Let it scan for driver left overs on your system. Remove those leftovers using driver sweeper. Be careful in that. You do not want to remove or touch the components of other native drivers. For example if you have a Nvidia chipset or the sound card then you do not want to disturb the drivers of those. Restart your computer and then install the Nvidia drivers again.

[Hitman22]

Checking for overheating and confirming whether it is the issue at hand should be your first priority. Use some system diagnostics tool and take a reading of the system when it is idle and after running the game for 10-15 minutes. See how the temperatures fare up. If they are too high especially for the gpu and cpu then you need to see if your cooling is failing you inside the case, the fans are failing you. You need to see if there is a lot of dust inside on the fans and the case which might have settled in there. Run the system while it is open and see if the fan is actually moving around or not. If it is a cooling issue then you will need to check the heat sink as well to see if it is properly fitted near the cpu and is latched on. Do these checks step by step and you should be done overruling whether overheating is a possibility or not.

[Mr. Boo Bear]

Try reattaching your graphic card in its slot and see if that makes any difference. Update your drivers and also try the method described by the poster above with driver sweeper. Make sure your system has the proper compatibility to run the games you mentioned on a higher resolution if you are using it in the first place. Try running it on a lower resolution as well to see if the games stop crashing. When you are resetting the card make sure you hear the click sound that it makes when fitted perfectly.

[robodude]

the card not being fitted properly in the pci slot is definitely a major issue when such problems occur. You should check whether your system's power supply unit can handle the load you are putting it under. If it is faulty then when you run applications and the game at the same time then it will overload itself and make the system freeze or restart. The same could be possible if the cpu overheats. Although the cpu's nowadays are fit enough to work under a high temperature for a while before they buckle under, but still it is a possibility. Try resetting your CMOS and if nothing works then try using a different power supply unit and/or a different graphic card to test.