- last post: 01.01.0001 12:00 AM PDT
It could be many things; but the two basic categories are: Hardware; Software
Software:
Posted by: Angellmajick
...The other thing to do is set the acceleration at different speeds and see if that helps. Oh yeah and don't run any other programs while your troubleshooting.
And I would add that you absolutely minimize the number of programs running, period. Including those idling in your windows tray, ESPECIALLY those that have anything to do with popping windows or messing with sound or video settings. Minimize (eliminate) programs sitting in your tray as much as you can. Some of these "helpful" programs in the tray will insist on being on top when they pop up, fighting your program for control of the video card settings. Also, get SEVERAL spyware/adware eliminators (make sure Spybot is one of them) and run all of them. (I got like 900 hits the first time I did this; and I have virus scanning and run-time protection software. If you surf a lot, you ARE infected.) Then defrag your disk. As a last resort: It could be your virus scanning or runtime protection software that is causing the problem.
Hardware:
AeroDragon is also right: faults that consistently occur at roughly a fixed interval after you power up, could be indicative of a hardware problem. (Though, if it is happening only after you start Halo, and not other video games, I would rule out hardware and start looking at drivers and settings.) One thing that won't hurt is to blow the dust out of the insides of your machine, using compressed air, and paying very special attention to the CPU, CPU fan, CPU heat sink fins, Computer case vents, and power supply vents. Many CPU fans and heat sinks are undersized: having just enough capability to reliably get you past the expiration date for the warranty period. Heat will kill your machine, and the demise can be slow and malingering, as your CPU slowly starts skipping cycles and dropping bits randomly.
By the way, I have worked as an ASIC designer, designing the guts of those chips that you see inside of electronic devices. The inside scoop is that a MAJOR manufacturer of PC chipsets and CPUs (who's name you would definitely recognize) decided, about 3 years ago, that it would relax its process constraints so as to manufacture chips supporting an average minimum-assured machine life of 3 years, instead of the then-existing target of 7 years. This lowered their costs, and was justified by the assertion that most customers upgrade after using their machines for 2 years. One of the major factors in figuring machine life --and the only major one you have control of after the sale-- is operating temperature; so by lowering the temperature (by beefing up your cooling), you can greatly extend the trouble-free life of your machine.