Sounds like you've performed a clean installation of the OS and drivers. I think it's unlikely that the hard drive is the problem. Since it is crashing during a game, I would be more likely to suspect the video driver. Are you sure you're using the same one as was on your old drive?
That was my first thought as well. I'm not positive about the driver versions. I'll double check that. The video driver list on the Dell support site is a bit confusing. The version number of the installed driver appeared to be newer than the one listed on the site, however, the release date for the one on the site was later than the one I had installed. I went ahead and updated since the video driver install is usually smart enough to bail if the installed version is newer. It went ahead and updated, but doesn't seem to have made a difference.
However, yesterday I put the old drive back into my computer and it ended up crashing as well, although it went much longer before crashing. Could just be a bug introduced in the latest update of the game, but it still seems suspicious that it crashes much more frequently with the new drive.
Just to eliminate the possibility of the CPUs overheating, I've installed a core temp monitor with the new drive. So far they seem to be running a "cool" 51C or so. However, I did notice a spike to 80C a moment ago, which is starting to push the danger zone. When my cores were overheating before, they would power off if the temp exceeded 90C. They're back to 50C now, which seems odd. Maybe it's just gremlins.
There's no reason why the 750GB drive would run hotter than a 250GB, is there? I'm assuming there's at least one more platter in the bigger drive, but it's hard to see how that would raise the temp of the drive more than a fraction of a degree.
Most Drives can go to 60°C but 80°C is excessive. More RPM usually means hotter drive so 5400 is not as hot as 7200 is not as hot as 10,000 rpm. When games are involved I usually install the June 2010 directx patch by extracting the files to a folder and running the DXsetup.exe file.
Well, I'm more and more convinced it's a heat problem, but I'm not really sure why. I'm having a hard time believing the drive is the problem. The old drive was 7200 and so is the new one, so it shouldn't be contributing to the problem much.
The laptop is running hot. It's consistently in the 80s and if I do anything CPU intensive, it will pop up to the 90s real quick. My anitvirus has a bug that will hog CPU cycles if a certain setting is enabled. I forgot to turn that off in the new install (since they still haven't fixed it), so I was hoping that would take care of the problem, but it hasn't.
@osprey4: I'll checkout the video FAQ. I can see a glitch in the driver causing excessive CPU utilization. Here's hoping that helps.
@SpeedStep: I have already updated DirectX. That was the next thing I did after I updated video drivers.
I appreciate you guys taking time to help out. Since I'm less and less convinced it's an issue w/ the hard drive, I'll probably post somewhere else if I continue to have trouble.
osprey4
4 Operator
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34.2K Posts
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October 11th, 2011 13:00
Hi SinglesignonFTW,
Sounds like you've performed a clean installation of the OS and drivers. I think it's unlikely that the hard drive is the problem. Since it is crashing during a game, I would be more likely to suspect the video driver. Are you sure you're using the same one as was on your old drive?
SingleSignonFTW
3 Posts
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October 12th, 2011 11:00
That was my first thought as well. I'm not positive about the driver versions. I'll double check that. The video driver list on the Dell support site is a bit confusing. The version number of the installed driver appeared to be newer than the one listed on the site, however, the release date for the one on the site was later than the one I had installed. I went ahead and updated since the video driver install is usually smart enough to bail if the installed version is newer. It went ahead and updated, but doesn't seem to have made a difference.
However, yesterday I put the old drive back into my computer and it ended up crashing as well, although it went much longer before crashing. Could just be a bug introduced in the latest update of the game, but it still seems suspicious that it crashes much more frequently with the new drive.
Just to eliminate the possibility of the CPUs overheating, I've installed a core temp monitor with the new drive. So far they seem to be running a "cool" 51C or so. However, I did notice a spike to 80C a moment ago, which is starting to push the danger zone. When my cores were overheating before, they would power off if the temp exceeded 90C. They're back to 50C now, which seems odd. Maybe it's just gremlins.
There's no reason why the 750GB drive would run hotter than a 250GB, is there? I'm assuming there's at least one more platter in the bigger drive, but it's hard to see how that would raise the temp of the drive more than a fraction of a degree.
-Sean
osprey4
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34.2K Posts
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October 12th, 2011 18:00
You could also try the video driver from the manufacturer's site. Dell-Chris M has links and instructions in the video FAQ.
80°C seems a bit worrisome but the physical dimensions of the drive are the same, so I wouldn't expect it to cause the CPU to overheat.
speedstep
9 Legend
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47K Posts
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October 13th, 2011 13:00
Most Drives can go to 60°C but 80°C is excessive. More RPM usually means hotter drive so 5400 is not as hot as 7200 is not as hot as 10,000 rpm. When games are involved I usually install the June 2010 directx patch by extracting the files to a folder and running the DXsetup.exe file.
http://www.microsoft.com/download/en/details.aspx?id=8109
DirectX End-User Runtimes (June 2010) - Microsoft
This patch applies to XP, Vista, or Windows 7.
SingleSignonFTW
3 Posts
0
October 13th, 2011 15:00
Well, I'm more and more convinced it's a heat problem, but I'm not really sure why. I'm having a hard time believing the drive is the problem. The old drive was 7200 and so is the new one, so it shouldn't be contributing to the problem much.
The laptop is running hot. It's consistently in the 80s and if I do anything CPU intensive, it will pop up to the 90s real quick. My anitvirus has a bug that will hog CPU cycles if a certain setting is enabled. I forgot to turn that off in the new install (since they still haven't fixed it), so I was hoping that would take care of the problem, but it hasn't.
@osprey4: I'll checkout the video FAQ. I can see a glitch in the driver causing excessive CPU utilization. Here's hoping that helps.
@SpeedStep: I have already updated DirectX. That was the next thing I did after I updated video drivers.
I appreciate you guys taking time to help out. Since I'm less and less convinced it's an issue w/ the hard drive, I'll probably post somewhere else if I continue to have trouble.
-Sean