Computer Trouble

[Thy]

I just got a new computer a month ago that worked perfectly. We had the "Geek Squad" at Best Buy put all out hardware updates (RAM and video card) Games ran smooth and we had a fast internet. About 2 weeks ago, we go a message that hal.dll was missing or corrup, so we did a complete sysyem restore. We installed all the hardware software back on and the computer seems very slow and games will freeze up almnost 80% of the time we try to play them and C+A+D doesn't work. We have all the latest patches for each game. I have even tried windowed mode on most games and nothing.

Comp specs that I know:
XP HE (we updated
HP Pavillion
AMD 3000+ processor
Nvidia GeForce 6800
1 gig of RAM (I don't know whether it is duel 512MB or single)

Ganes that freeze:
Sims 2 DVD
SimCity 4
Star Wars Battlefront
Battlefield 1942
Battlefield Vietnam
MoH: Allied Assult
Far Cry

Everytime that the computer crashes and freezes, the "Windows has suffered a severe error" message pops up at start-up and says that Nvidia caused it. I have downloaded and installed the lated drivers and it still does it. Any ideas?

[kainashi]

http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/xp_haldll_missing.htm

see if anything on that site is helpful. otherwise, you could try reinstalling windows or wiping your hard drive and starting from scratch.

[RedStarWarrior]

Could it have been a virus/spyware, John?

[Thy]

The hal.dll problem is gone, we did a complete system restore before the computer started going nuts. As for a virus and/or spyware, I do have Norton installed and the latest Spybot S&D. I use them almost everyday. I tried to reinstall the Nvidia drivers. I seemas to have istalled okay. Hopefully that solved the problem.

[Carbonite4]

See, the problem is...you're using Windows

[Aipom Of Doom]

If it says the drivers are causing it, I'd focus on them... Maybe try older ones, rather than the newest, to see if they don't make your computer freeze? And make certain you have the right drivers for everything.

See, the problem is...you're using Windows

Yeah, since if you don't use windows, the games won't ever freeze... They'll never run in the first place . Well, unless you can get them running using Cedega, I guess .

[Chris]

See, the problem is...you're using Windows

Just so you know, your post was thoroughly unhelpful and provides nothing to the thread at all. We've done the Windows vs Linux debate before, and this isn't it. I'd suggest not doing this again.

It does indeed seem that the drivers are at fault here. Are you sure you downloaded the right ones and installed them correctly? Also, are you sure you picked up the latest version? Does this just happen with games, or are there graphics problems when you do something other than play games?

[Thy]

I found out the problem. Yes I use Windows (I only use it for games) and two, the people at Best Buy forgot to unplug the original video card. I had two cards running at the same time. We left the original card in there because the Geforce needs it run or something (I'm not a computer techie). So I unhooked it and everything works now.