Please! Need Urgent Help! Please!

[¥ KOMI ¥]

Hello,

Just today my graphics card has been acting very buggy...

I have a NVIDIA GeForce4 TI 4600, and today I was trying to play BF1942, but it would lock up just as it was about to show the map.

So I figured the game was messed up, so I tried to load up another game, Ghost Recon, and it too would lock up as soon as it was about to show the map.

I tried a 3rd game, C&C: Generals, again with the same result. I checked my graphic card drivers and even updated them, but to no avail.


Then I opened my computer to see if I could spot any trouble, and I noticed that the FAN on my GeForce card was spinning VERY SLOOOOOWWW, as if it was gimped or something. And it appears to be very hot to the touch.

What is this? Did my card burn out? I mean, wouldn't my display not even show if my card did indeed burn out? This is weird, everything else works fine, but if I try to play a 3D game, then it won't load. It's like my card has been downgraded or something.

The only thing I did before this happened was that 2 days ago I added a new 120G HD and a 450W power supply. My old one was only 250W so I figured I'd need the power, and the extra HD. And today is the first time I tried playing the games since I made these purchases. Could this have anything to do with it?

Please help.

- Mike

Your card is still fine IMO, but its on the way to be toasted.
You have to change the fan as soon as possible.
The card works fine when idle because the GPU is not pressed to the max which means it will run cooler. But when you start a game the GPU will get to the max and become very hot which causes the game to crash.

Replace the fan and it should be fine.

BTW, adding a new PSU and HD has nothing to do with your problem.

[thekingofpain]

Pull the card and try spraying the fan out with electrical contact cleaner or even canned air to try and get the fan up to speed---whats the ambient temp in the room, are you experiencing summer heat like most of us?
Try leaving the case side off with a tablefan blasting in the side and see if it gets any better---run it at night when its cooler and see if that helps at all...

[JPMiller]

Yes kenkun is correct...you may even be able to fix the fan yourself...
open case...unplug card...take out card and first inspect the fan and heatsink...is it crusted up with dust and lint?
This is a generic guide to what has to be done to re-lube the fan...do not use WD40 ...it does not last long enough..use something a little thicker like "magic oil" or clipper oil or sewing machine oil...anything that is a little heavier than WD40.
If it is held on by clips to the card then you could also remove the whole HSF assembly...lap the underside of the heatsink and reapply with a better thermal paste like Artic Silver 3 or something a little better than the white grease most of them use...

[¥ KOMI ¥]

Hey guys,

Your advise worked like a charm. I took it apart and oiled her up and now the fan runs as fast as ever! I hope this solves the problem

P.S. I used 'Revive Fogging Oil' to lube it up, I think it's meant for engines during storage, should that work ok?

Again, thanks a lot.

Glad that your card is ok and you will enjoy your games again
The oil is fine but remember o keep checking from time to time on your video card's fan, because if it stops that means you might burn the $$$ card.