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Question

Help! My Computer goes into sleep mode during game play!

Jul 27, 2014 2:07PM PDT

My step-dad who is a professional computer tech recently rebuilt my computer for me so that I could experience better game play. Ever since the upgrade I have been having issues. Whenever I play a PC game (the game is Sims 3 but I don't think that matters) my computer will freeze and then the screen goes black and says "Entering Power Saving Mode" I'm not able to wake it back up by moving the mouse or doing a ctrl+alt+del. I have to restart my computer by the power button. This usually happens between 10-30 minutes of game play. It happens EVERY time. The cables are all new, as well as everything in the computer, so I don't believe it's a faulty power source or overheating. I have tried going into my computer setting and changing the power saving and standby modes to NEVER as well as any screensavers, but it still does it. The same thing happens on My step-dad's computer with my game and some of his. We both have the exact same computers and neither of us can figure out what is wrong.

The monitor is a Dell S2240M
It's Windows 7 Professional
The processor is AMD FX 8320 (Eight Core)
64-bit
The Graphics card is an NVIDIA GeForce GT 610

Discussion is locked

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Answer
check the BIOS settings
Jul 27, 2014 2:19PM PDT

You may have sleep mode enabled in it. Also if you are using a gamepad instead of a keyboard, it may not be set to "wake" the computer or be recognized as the computer still in use so it will stay out of sleep mode. You can test this by tapping a key, like CTRL every 5 minutes or so, and if that won't do it, then wiggle the mouse. If one or both of those keep it awake, then you know what the problem is.

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Checked BIOS
Jul 30, 2014 5:30AM PDT

..as you suggested and there are no power saving options in it

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Answer
Doesn't sound like
Jul 27, 2014 11:23PM PDT

Doesn't sound like sleep mode so much as the computer is shutting off and the monitor, no longer getting a signal to display, goes into a default power save mode.

This sounds exactly like a case of overheating and with an 8-core CPU it seems all the more likely, unless you have some nugget of info you neglected to share about how you did common troubleshooting steps to isolate heat as a problem. I wouldn't even rule out an underpowered PSU come to think of it, so see my previous comment only replace heat with power. Particularly since you state it only happens when you're playing a game and make no mention of it happening at any other time.

If your step-father is the one who built it and does this sort of thing for a living, why aren't you asking him for help? Not only is he (presumably) local, but is the person who built the thing so knows the hardware configuration much more intimately than any of us. I have to wonder why you're not taking advantage of this excellent (and free) local resource and are opting to come here. Unless your step-father's area of computer expertise lies well outside the realm of hardware and basic troubleshooting. Of course even people who have built dozens of computers can get burned by a defective part now and again. Everything they did was perfect, but there was some defect in say the PSU that will cascade through and ruin everything.

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Well...
Jul 30, 2014 5:27AM PDT

Since my step-dad works on computers everyday for a living, the last thing he wants to do when he gets home is fix more computers. He's been saying he would check it out for months now, and every weekend when he says he will he doesn't. I'm tired of waiting 6 months to get my computer fixed so I decided to turn somewhere else. I initially looked up this issue when it first happened and was told the same thing (overheating or the powersource) I mentioned these things to him and he refuses to acknowledge the possibility

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Understandable
Jul 30, 2014 10:55AM PDT

Understandable, having been there done that myself, but it doesn't change the fact that he's still your best bet of getting this fixed. Heat is almost guaranteed to be the problem, but there's at least a decent chance the PSU is at fault. So if your step-father refuses to even consider those possibilities, no offense, but we have to seriously question his competency.

I got a new computer a few months back and noticed that if I tried to reboot it, it would be really slow to reboot. Like 2-3 minutes slow for a not quite top of the line, but pretty close, level system. Everything kept pointing me back towards these two external HDDs I store copies of my music and movie collections on. I really didn't want to believe that was it because I had an older computer that booted just fine with those same two drives connected, but again the evidence kept pointing pretty squarely at those drives. So one day I finally broke down and removed them and did some more testing to narrow it down to one specific drive, pointing me to the root cause of the problem and letting me focus on potential solutions. No competent hardware repair tech would ever rule out any possibility that fits the symptoms until they have actually tested against those symptoms. Only people who take a shotgun approach to fixing computers, just randomly replacing parts until they stumble across the solution, would disregard classic symptoms.

I'm afraid you're just going to have to step up your game of being the annoying bratty daughter until he finally breaks down and takes a good hard look at the thing. That or take it to someone else to get it looked at and fixed, likely paying for it yourself. A third option that does occur to me, is you could make it into kind of a father-daughter bonding thing, him teaching you how to fix computers. And gee, wouldn't you know it, your computer has a problem! What a convenient place to start!

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Answer
Help! My Computer goes into sleep mode during game play!
Jul 29, 2014 5:46PM PDT

Maybe it's some new virus.
It is necessary to install an antivirus program.

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I don't think it's a virus.
Jul 29, 2014 5:53PM PDT

I tend to agree with Jimmy, although James might have a point, but that's easy to try. It sounds as the computer shutting down (heat or power) and the monitor telling it has no signal.

Kees

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Answer
See If Your Monitor Has Power Saver Mode Enabled
Jul 30, 2014 3:14AM PDT

I recommend you check your BIOS or General Settings and see if you have Power Saver Mode enabled on your computer Monitor. I too have experienced the same problem in the past, and it was resolved by Turning OFF the Power Saver Mode on my Monitor.

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As stated above
Jul 30, 2014 5:29AM PDT

I have already gone into my computers setting and shut off all power saving options, it still does it

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Answer
"not able to wake it back up by moving the mouse or doing a
Jul 30, 2014 5:36AM PDT

"not able to wake it back up by moving the mouse or doing a ctrl+alt+del. "

No, that's not sleep mode but a full on lock up and crash. The monitor lost the video signal and will display something about the monitor going to sleep.

-> Try the usual. Get out the canned air and see if the usual helps.
(canned air, what it is and use is on the web!)

-> Next, try dropping the CPU cores in half if the usual didn't help. Here's how. Try FOUR!
http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/66504-processors-limit-number-used-windows-7-a.html
Bob

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Sure fire cure for it!
Jul 30, 2014 5:59AM PDT

Swap your computer out with your dad's when he's at work.

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Lol
Jul 30, 2014 1:13PM PDT

Not a bad idea, but I actually have my Sims game downloaded on his computer as well and and it does the same thing, along with a few of his own games. We have identical comps.

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I don't think it's a heat matter
Jul 30, 2014 1:36PM PDT

although it could be, but two identical computers doing the same thing at the same time with the same software would indicate more a software problem like bad drivers for the system if this happens while using almost any program, and specific program if it only happens when using that one.

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This might be the cause of it.
Jul 30, 2014 1:42PM PDT
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2645594

This article introduces an update for computers that are running Windows 7 or Windows Server 2008 R2 and that have a processor from one of the following series installed:

AMD FX
AMD Opteron 4200/4300
AMD Opteron 6200/6300
AMD Opteron Bulldozer

Currently, the CPU scheduling techniques that are used by Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 are not optimized for the AMD Bulldozer module architecture. This architecture is found on AMD FX series, AMD Opteron 4200/4300 Series, and AMD Opteron 6200/6300 Series processors. Therefore, multithreaded workloads may not be optimally distributed on computers that have one of these processors installed in a lightly-threaded environment. This may result in decreased system performance for some applications.

Important The power management policy for processor core parking on your computer may prevent this update from producing the desired performance increase. To disable core parking, install the hotfix that is described in Microsoft Knowledge Base (KB) article 2646060.
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So where
Jul 30, 2014 11:41PM PDT

So where exactly in that KB article does it state that it will cause the system to lock up and/or shut off? All I see it saying is that it might double up processes on a busy core when there is one free. All that does is cause a performance hit, like the article says, it won't cause the problems described.

But with the new information that identical computers do the same thing with the same game and knowing that The Sims 3 is a well known bug-riddled turd that would make even Bethesda studios look competent, we might be looking at something else entirely.

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we'll know if they install
Jul 31, 2014 12:26AM PDT

the "fix" and it stops the problem, but I also mentioned it could be one particular program. I've seen updates from Microsoft intended to fix a problem and have unintended consequences, so it's even conceivable they got it already as an update and then the problems started. Either way, the only ones who can determine that will be her or the father.

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seems there's several updates for FX chips
Jul 30, 2014 1:48PM PDT
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Answer
Cheap test
Jul 30, 2014 10:04AM PDT

Take the side panel off.
Point a small desk fan at the innards.

Any diff?