PC bluescreens everytime I play TRS 22

[Little_Boy921]

Also, I am hoping to take my computer into Microcenter today to see if they can figure it out! Though @Forester1 may have been on the nose about the power supply being at fault. My motherboard is healthy according to the guys at microcenter who looked at previously, all four of ram sticks are new, the cpu is being cooled by the thermal paste I put in last month, and my GPU has the latest drivers for it. That all narrows down to the power supply which I wouldn't be surprised might be failing because my pc has had a lot of crashes in general this year, outside of trainz and bluescreens

 

[Forester1]

I am curious if it could be an interaction between the hardware and something like the DirectX version or the Visual C++ redistributable. If it is not the hardware itself, it has to be something that is interacting with it. Not much help maybe.

 

[JCitron]

I would seriously check the power supply. Trainz pushes the hardware, especially the graphics card. When your video card works harder, just like other components, it will draw more power. If your power supply is marginally well, it'll work fine for light duty but fail when under load.

Many years ago, I saw this happen not with Trainz but with other graphics intensive programs. I could browse the web, use Word, Excel, and work on my programming homework, but as soon as I opened up 3ds R4 DOS, or World Builder and rendered some objects, my computer would freeze then BSOD.

I ran diagnostics on my system, with the RAM coming up faulty. I changed the RAM under warranty and still had the problem!

I replaced my hard disk because the drive made some weird noises before the system crashed. Some disk diags, I think Gibson Research Spin Rite found some marginal sectors or something, after I had some write errors but that didn't help. My new drive made the same noise, and my old one became a spare.

Since this was occurring under load, I put a DVM on the power rails and watched the voltage drop on the +5V and +12V rails when my hard drive was accessed just before the failure.

I replaced the power supply and that solved the problem.

 

[pdkoester]

Aside from Windows Me, Vista, and 8.x, I mostly have hardware issues in the past. Overclocked items add to the complexity of the issues in the past for me. Windows 9x, 2000, XP, 7, 10, and 11 have been pretty good otherwise, in my feeble experience. You don't need to buy top of the line parts, but don't skimp on some things like the PSU, either. Good motherboard, RAM, and drive(s) are a good start.
For a GPU, don't really need to get the super triple fanned OC versions. That can have hardware issues down the road, sometimes nonstandard driver, and occasionally there are some titles that don't behave nicely with overclocked or nonstandard speed components. Just wanted to make that known.
You might consider refreshing the operating system or reinstalling it. That may help with a clean slate to work from and less chance of that being the overall problem once done.
It could be something with just Trainz, if that is the only title causing a problem.
What is the type of CPU, make/model of the motherboard, and RAM details like speed?

 

[skittlekicks]

I dont even know if it is windows 10 thats causing this because it only crashes if I have trainz open and even then, this hasnt been a thing until recently. In general, Windwos 10 has not been buggy or crash prone in the 5 years Ive used the OS. Why would it wait until now to start being problematic and only with a specific game its never had issues with until 3 months ago. I mean I can understand why computer hardware could fail because theyre physical components but I dont think an operating software can degrade overtime. Is that even possible?

Everytime you install, uninstall or reinstall things in Windows it creates registry keys, and most times they are never overwritten or properly removed. The same is true for the folders programs create. That's the laziness of developers.

So over the years of use there comes a point where random things you experienced crop up. Yeah weird I know.

I've found that Trainz can be temperamental, and as many long time Trainzers point out is running extended database rebuild and prebuild the asset cache after. Sometimes this will correct instabilities for the game. Also if the game crashed during a build or drive session always revet changes. Less things break like TRC assets.

Hardware drivers (especially the GPU) may have bugs in a recent update. NVidia has become notorious for this lately.

You don't have to a computer tech like myself to realize that Windows does funky stuff. Even Linux isn't immune.

If this was a one off incident, just chalk it up to this is what technology is. If it is constantly failing, ask yourself what changed? What were you doing when it happened? Did you update drivers or something else.

It is worth mentioning that Microsoft purged their Windows 10 repair tool database because Windows 11 is what they want everyone on. So unless you have to get app on a USB drive you may not be able to correct the issues.

 

[Little_Boy921]

Forgot to update this thread but the microcenter guys found something at fault with the motherboard, specifically with the ram slots. So that means it might be that specific part of the motherboard thats at fault :/ I ended up taking my computer home the same day since that specific microcenter didnt have my exact motherboard in stock, and because I need my pc to work on my student film for school.

Not really happy if this is happening again but all I need to do is get the same motherboard type and I should be fine....hopefully that fixes the issue with trainz

I would seriously check the power supply. Trainz pushes the hardware, especially the graphics card. When your video card works harder, just like other components, it will draw more power. If your power supply is marginally well, it'll work fine for light duty but fail when under load.

Many years ago, I saw this happen not with Trainz but with other graphics intensive programs. I could browse the web, use Word, Excel, and work on my programming homework, but as soon as I opened up 3ds R4 DOS, or World Builder and rendered some objects, my computer would freeze then BSOD.

I ran diagnostics on my system, with the RAM coming up faulty. I changed the RAM under warranty and still had the problem!

I replaced my hard disk because the drive made some weird noises before the system crashed. Some disk diags, I think Gibson Research Spin Rite found some marginal sectors or something, after I had some write errors but that didn't help. My new drive made the same noise, and my old one became a spare.

Since this was occurring under load, I put a DVM on the power rails and watched the voltage drop on the +5V and +12V rails when my hard drive was accessed just before the failure.

I replaced the power supply and that solved the problem.

I will also ask them if they could check the power supply to see if its faulty. Not going to lie this has definitely been a crappy year for my computer lol

 

[pdkoester]

Forgot to update this thread but the microcenter guys found something at fault with the motherboard, specifically with the ram slots. So that means it might be that specific part of the motherboard thats at fault :/ I ended up taking my computer home the same day since that specific microcenter didnt have my exact motherboard in stock, and because I need my pc to work on my student film for school.

Not really happy if this is happening again but all I need to do is get the same motherboard type and I should be fine....hopefully that fixes the issue with trainz

I will also ask them if they could check the power supply to see if its faulty. Not going to lie this has definitely been a crappy year for my computer lol

So, what motherboard is installed, the faulty one?

 

[JCitron]

Forgot to update this thread but the microcenter guys found something at fault with the motherboard, specifically with the ram slots. So that means it might be that specific part of the motherboard thats at fault :/ I ended up taking my computer home the same day since that specific microcenter didnt have my exact motherboard in stock, and because I need my pc to work on my student film for school.

Not really happy if this is happening again but all I need to do is get the same motherboard type and I should be fine....hopefully that fixes the issue with trainz

I will also ask them if they could check the power supply to see if its faulty. Not going to lie this has definitely been a crappy year for my computer lol

Let's hope the new year brings better luck for you and your computer. The good news is the techs found something wrong. The RAM slot probably has a bent pin or something inside that doesn't have any issues when the computer remains cool. When Trainz and other stressful programs push the computer, the inside heats up causing the bad pin to bend. When the pin bends, it pulls away enough to cause the computer to crash.

I agree, have them check the power supply at the same time while they have it in the shop. That will save you time in the end if they find something.

 

[Little_Boy921]

So, what motherboard is installed, the faulty one?

Its an MPG X570 Gaming Plus, and the only part that has become faulty are the slots where ram is inserted it seems :/

 

[Little_Boy921]

Let's hope the new year brings better luck for you and your computer. The good news is the techs found something wrong. The RAM slot probably has a bent pin or something inside that doesn't have any issues when the computer remains cool. When Trainz and other stressful programs push the computer, the inside heats up causing the bad pin to bend. When the pin bends, it pulls away enough to cause the computer to crash.

I agree, have them check the power supply at the same time while they have it in the shop. That will save you time in the end if they find something.

Im thinking of getting the same exact mother board since my main hard drive is connected to it and if I got a new motherboard, Id have to get that one backed up. Although is there a way to fix those slots or would I need to buy an entirely new motherboard?

 

[johnwhelan]

Im thinking of getting the same exact mother board since my main hard drive is connected to it and if I got a new motherboard, Id have to get that one backed up. Although is there a way to fix those slots or would I need to buy an entirely new motherboard?

I suspect you'll need a copy of windows as well. For reliability in Windows you want a high volume mainstream motherboard. Do the sums and see if a refurbished dell tower workstation would work, transferring your GPU. I suspect you're spending a fair amount at the repair store. A 5820 would be nice but at 45% discount today there might be something that will work.

Cheerio John

 

[pdkoester]

Being over six years old, you probably would be better off with a replacement motherboard. If you think it is possible to get the same board, go for it.

 

[Little_Boy921]

I suspect you'll need a copy of windows as well. For reliability in Windows you want a high volume mainstream motherboard. Do the sums and see if a refurbished dell tower workstation would work, transferring your GPU. I suspect you're spending a fair amount at the repair store. A 5820 would be nice but at 45% discount today there might be something that will work.

Cheerio John

The reason I want to stick with the same motherboard is because of my c drive as I said. Buying an entirely now motherboard type would require not only a new mother and other parts, but needing to back up that drive in order to install it into the new motherboard, of which would require buying another external drive to do the recovery and paying for that along side the recovery. Which is not something I want to go through again if Im being honest.

 

[johnwhelan]

The reason I want to stick with the same motherboard is because of my c drive as I said. Buying an entirely now motherboard type would require not only a new mother and other parts, but needing to back up that drive in order to install it into the new motherboard, of which would require buying another external drive to do the recovery and paying for that along side the recovery. Which is not something I want to go through again if Im being honest.

Ugreen make an external case for internal hard drives that plugs into a USB port. If you've been running on a UPS then I'd go the motherboard route but if you haven't then it's a matter of cross your fingers and pray nothing else is a problem. The cost of having someone replace the motherboard is something to take into account as well. I always remember some well meaning technical guys added 64 gigs of ram to one of my servers without mentioning anything to me. They'd done it many times before but this time they managed to toast the server. Yes I've pulled machines apart and added GUPs, RAM etc often enough to know what I'm doing but I tend to be cautious and these days prefer not to open the box.

Best of luck

Cheerio John

 

[JCitron]

Im thinking of getting the same exact mother board since my main hard drive is connected to it and if I got a new motherboard, Id have to get that one backed up. Although is there a way to fix those slots or would I need to buy an entirely new motherboard?

You'll need a new motherboard. Fixing memory slots is beyond the skill of most people.

You'll need a fresh Windows license because the license is tied to each machine and not the user. You may be able to transfer the license between your machines. I did that once back in 2016 when a brand new MSI motherboard died and was replaced under warranty. I called Microsoft and a support tech assisted me with the process. Being nearly a decade ago, I have no recollection on what I did. Way too many things have occurred in the intervening years that have clogged what little memory I have left.

 

[rwk]

Why does Micro$oft force people to upgrade? What if someone has a pc that is not compatible with Win 11? Then they have to spend a grand or more for a decent Win 11 pc. I have a Win 8.1 and a Win 10 pc. The Win 10 pc says that you need a new computer to install Win 11. So they drop support for Win 10 but some people can't upgrade to 11 without buying a whole new computer. What if someone is in a financial hardship? Decent computers for gaming aren't cheap. I understand that technology keeps marching on, but not everybody is rich.

 

[Little_Boy921]

Another update: It might not actual be my power supply that is failing. When I asked the people at microcenter if they found any issues with it, they said no.

And after running my pc with task manager open, Ive found that it isnt just trainz specifically that causes my pc to bluescreen. If my memory usage goes above 70 percent, its going to crash at some point and not just because of trainz specifically. Any program that takes up high memory usage is going to cause my pc to have a stroke (usually adobe products). I did order a new motherboard but its not going to arrive any earlier than January 20th. In the meantime, Im going to monitor my pc's memory usage and if I am going to play trainz, close any program that will drive the memory usage above 60 nearing 70, while also saving constantly. I have been implementing this technique over the past couple of days and it has worked rather well

 

[Little_Boy921]

You'll need a new motherboard. Fixing memory slots is beyond the skill of most people.

You'll need a fresh Windows license because the license is tied to each machine and not the user. You may be able to transfer the license between your machines. I did that once back in 2016 when a brand new MSI motherboard died and was replaced under warranty. I called Microsoft and a support tech assisted me with the process. Being nearly a decade ago, I have no recollection on what I did. Way too many things have occurred in the intervening years that have clogged what little memory I have left.

I thankfully still have my windows 10 install disc from 2020 so I'll be able to transfer it over to the new motherboard. This is not the first time I had to get a motherboard replaced, and I had used the disc to install windows 10 on the pc I used before my current one. I refuse to downgrade to windows 11

 

[JCitron]

I thankfully still have my windows 10 install disc from 2020 so I'll be able to transfer it over to the new motherboard. This is not the first time I had to get a motherboard replaced, and I had used the disc to install windows 10 on the pc I used before my current one. I refuse to downgrade to windows 11

You may still have trouble activating Windows 10 this time around.

 

[Little_Boy921]

You may still have trouble activating Windows 10 this time around.

Shit