Example:
I play Robin Hood: tLoS, and I finished 31% of the game. And, suddenly, the computer reboots each time I load a mission. How can a game do that? Why does it happen? Can the reason be high resolution (there is that squeaking sound coming from the monitor)?

That used to happen with a few more games, though the names elude me now.

Sorry, I dont think I can help you, I have had problems like that, but I found that it was due to overheating.
Your problem doesnt sound like that because it happens when you start the game.

It happened this morning when I turned the computer on. It couldn't have possibly overheat.

The most common causes for spontaneous rebooting like that are overheating or a bad/overloaded power supply. A faulty monitor shouldn't cause this -- unless (grasping at straws) your monitor gets its power from the computer instead of directly from the wall outlet? Ever have "brownouts" or power sags in the household current? That'll make it reboot too, and if you're focused on the game you might not even notice.

I'm currently cramming for my CompTIA A+ certification (for PC maintenance/troubleshooting) & this was covered in the hardware section. One thing that surprised me was the suggestion in my study guide that removing the slot covers from the back of the machine *causes* overheating instead of helping cool the innards because that disrupts the internal airstream.

Edit: just read your 2nd post. Never mind about overheating...

[ 07-21-2004, 10:07 AM: Message edited by: VulcanRider ]

A couple of possible issues...

1. You've got a virus
2. Your power supply is failing or underpowered
3. Your computer has it in for you
4. You may have driver compatibility problems (heck, they get blamed for everything, don't they) :D

Does the reboot happen at the same time and place? Consistent behavior makes it easy to resolve problems.

You might also eliminate as many other programs as possible when you're playing. Use Task Manager to stop all non-essential applications.

So is this the only game that it happens with?

<font color=skyblue>As mentioned above,

What vid card do you have and how many watts is your power supply.

The thing to do is make a check list and find all the things that are okay.

In this instance, we are saying that sometimes your power supply is too small to generate enough power for your system. Can you prove to us that you're okay in that area?

Once you've done that, we can see what else to look for.</font>

[ 07-21-2004, 10:06 AM: Message edited by: Larry_OHF ]

The problem occurs whenever I load an area. The area loads and I get control over the party, then poof. Everything was fine until today. Reinstallation didn't help either.

A few minutes ago I started Project:IGI, loaded a level, and poof again.
...
And, also with IGI, when I kill a specific enemy on a specific level, it poofs as well.

Eh, now I see that both these games are not originals. It is surely some kind of a wicked piracy protection. Or error. Or CD scratch.

The video card is ATI Radeon ve, and I have the driver for Radeon 7000 series.

Other electrical appliances and lights work OK, so I don't think power is an issue.

try updating your video drivers, other than that it could be a video card physical problem, but lets hope it isn't

If you're using Windows XP, you need to turn off the option to automatically reboot after each error so you can see the error.

I am using Xp. Where and how can I do that?

<font color=skyblue>Control Panel / System / Advanced / Start-up and Recovery Settings / System Failure section. There is a box to uncheck, called "Automatically restart".</font>

As Larry said. Now that you've got that taken care of, if it's a Windows error, a blue screen will pop up showing you a long STOP code. Copy that code down and head over to the MS Knowledge Base and do a search for it.

If it still reboots after you've unchecked that box (and double checked to make sure you did) it's either a heat, power or memory issue. There are several good freeware programs that can test your memory for you, as well as several programs that can monitor your system temps. If your memory and and temperature check out than chances are good that your Power Supply is not up to the task.

If you are running multiple hard drives, 2 or more sticks of memory, a high end CPU, and a high end video card then a quality 450W PSU should be a minimum.

*shakes head* What I meant, not what I said [img]smile.gif[/img]

Okay, we're talking about the power supply in your computer. Even though it's plugged in, you can almost consider it to be a battery for all the elements of your computer -- CPU, hard drive, memory, NIC, CD drive, vid card, sound card, and anything else in there.

I'm building up a new machine with an Athlon 2800+ (or thereabouts) CPU. AMD and the motherboard maker recommended that I have a power supply that can generate up to 350 watts (IIRC). The power supply that came with the case can generate up to 300 watts. That means that if I'm running everything, I could be trying to use more power than it has available.

When that happens in a city, it's called a brownout -- some things work, some don't. Or a blackout -- the system just shuts down. In a house, you can blow a fuse or circuit breaker.

When it happens in a computer, the power supply can also go through a blackout or a brownout. And then it reboots. And it does that without affecting the electricity in any other part of the house -- not even anything plugged into the same outlet. So you can't take your clues from the lights and stuff.

I replaced the power supply in my new PC with a 400 watt power supply. Take the suggestion, and add a little more room to it. If your machine is older, it may have as little as a 250 watt supply, and if you've upgraded your components, you may be doing the same thing and forcing a blackout or brownout. Hence the suggestion to see just what wattage your power supply can give you.

This first happened on one of my other computers that I had upgraded over the years. A new power supply meant the end of a number of frustrating crashes.

So... back to the original question. How big is your power supply, and how much stuff are you running? And I know that's probably not the original question, but it should be :D