[sanna07]

About half of my games (list to come) will freeze 2-10 seconds in (this is from when the game loads in just after i click the desktop icon) and its a complete freeze. Graphics lock as i'd like to call it, even the sound stops. The only way i can get full control back is to reboot, and if i hit the keys alot it will bleep (I assume this is buffer overflow). A couple of times where its done this i've gotten the nv4_disp.dll error, but almost everytime that does not appear. It first started with Fear Combat (free download, multiplayer component of Fear) where it would lock a few seconds in. I could restart several times trying over and over and eventually i'd get "a good boot" which would allow it to actually run fine, NO FURTHER CRASHING. Even if i shut down the game and reloaded it, it is absolutely fine. Until i reboot and get "a bad boot" and the problem would return, only being solved by several reboots.

List of games this happens in:

Fear Combat
Command and Conquer: Generals (& Zero Hour)
The Wonderful End of The World (low graphics requirements for sure)
Spore
Plants vs. Zombies (2D game on Steam)
Guitar Hero III (rare)

List of games it doesn't seem to happen in:

Half Life 2 and all related games (Source engine based)
Frets on Fire
Guild Wars
World of Warcraft


Can't think of any others. Also since I installed Windows 7 RC1 (free download from microsoft.com) Windows XP has been doing it too. It will boot up to the desktop and usually freezes around the time the login sound plays. Happens roughly 3 out of 4 boots, but can go periods without doing it much at all.

Fix: Reinstalling/Upgrading/Downgrading graphics drivers appears to have generally positive effects, temporarily. For example, I originally got it on fairly new drivers and decided they were the culprit so i downgraded to a much older set, the problem disappeared for a few days only to return. I upgraded to latest, same problem, I am currently running Xtreme-G 177.92 drivers with the same problem.

I have personally decided this cannot be a heat issue with any of my components, as it can occur on a completely cold boot with the exact same symptoms.

Hardware:

AMD Athlon 64 3000+ @2.0Ghz
2048MB Crucial RAM @400Mhz
XFX Nvidia Geforce 7 7600GT (AGP Version)
2x Seagate Barracuda Hard Disk Drives (250GB and 120GB)

Software up-to-date where appropriate. Dual Boot with Windows XP on 250GB drive and Windows 7 on 120GB drive.

Thank you for any help, I realise this is a complex issue and that it may take a while for a response, I also acknowledge this is a huge post and i'm sorry for that! :rolleyes: