Most games cause computer to reboot without showing an error

[Sir. Stangg]

Exactly what it says on the tin. The first thing anyone sees when they think of this is "o noes! cooling/power problem!" While I'm not prepared to rule either of them out, I highly doubt they are the source of my troubles. So far I have noticed these games causing my computer to reboot, either as soon as the engine loads, or after the screen gets busy.

Spinter Cell: Chaos Theory
Prince of Persia
Battlefield 2
Battlefield 2142
FEAR



This is the strange thing. Every single one of these games has run on this machine without any problems in the past. I'm not sure what has changed to cause this behaviour, and I can't pinpoint when it started, but has been ongoing for several months. The stranger thing is, that I can run Stalker, Company of Heroes, Quake 4 and all the source games without this problem happening.

This leads me to believe that it is not simply due to my computer being unable to run advanced games anymore, but rather the specific engine/graphics used by the games themselves.

Specs:
AMD 3000xp (2.2ghz)
Radeon 9800 pro
1gb ram

I do have a suspicion that it may be graphic driver related. I am using the latest ATI catalyst drivers, after a fresh re-install of windows (so there is no chance of conflicting with previous versions). When I open computer management and check the logs, out of the jargon I can see something to do with an exception error related to ATI processes.

So. Any ideas? At the very least I'd like to get 2142 working again, for obvious reasons:p

Thanks in advance!

[SpungE]

http://www.tweakxp.com/article36976.aspx Any relevance?

[Sir. TheHeartSmasher]

First thing to try is to replace your power supply :D with another one you have laying around somewhere. If you don't have one, then you will have to go out and get one for troubleshooting or ask a friend.

Same thing goes with your graphics card, but I have never had a graphics card restart my machine, it normally just shuts itself off or if it is at the critical level then it stops working and the fan doesn't spin up and you have to use the integrated graphics card until your able to repair or replace the card.

If it restarts post back the blue screen information.

[DesolatorDan]

Sounds like your powersupply. The parts in it DO degrade over time, and an unwarranted shutoff is most often linked to a failing power supply. Do you know the wattage/brand/age?

[Sir. Stangg]

It's 550w, I couldn't tell you the brand without pulling it apart. It's about 2 years old, maybe slightly more.

[Sir. Slug]

Dust/power supply.