hey guys,I think I am having problems with fs locking up because of overheating. while playing i hear the computer fan getting louder and louder and then my whole computer will suddenly restart or the game will freeze causing me to have to reset the computer. I also recently installed 256 mb ram so that could be the problem but i bought the ram from the compaq website and it specifically said the ram was for my computer.anyways with all that said is there a way to prevent overheating or any other suggestions would be appreciated.thanx in advance,geoff

Hi Geoff,A few more pieces of information would be useful. For instance, what processor are you using (AMD or Intel). And more to the point, how hot does the CPU get when under a full load (i.e. with MSFS running)? There is freeware available that will allow you to monitor your temps. I don't have links, but I'm sure someone else can help you out.

start by testing your idea....take your case apart by removing the cover or the side panels depending on what kind of case it it. If you have a room fan, you could use it on your pc. That alone should lower the cpu temp by a fair amount ~10C. If the lockups continue, its not heat.Other causes, driver conflicts....my fs2002 froze randomly with the Diamond drivers for my mx300 monster sound card, when I removed the card and just used the ac97 sound chip on the mobo, lockups went away. Could be a power supply issue also....older or underpowered psu can give you the flakes....other possiblity is that the memory you added is different from the memory you had, causing problems with timing. could be the new slot that is being used now is finiky.Aint pc building a kick!Good luck,Bob Bernstein

sorry guys i meant to post my specs but i had to leave the computer suddenly and just forgot. Im on a Compaq Evo N1000v laptop:P4 2.0 ghz512 mb DDR RAMATI mobility Radeon 7500 32mb (the one for laptops)Microsoft Windows XP pro with updatesi dont know what kind of motherboard i have and dont know how to find out so thats about all i knowappreciate it

Hi Geoff,The fact that your on a laptop certainly presents a unique challenge. It will certainly be difficult to remove any side panels, although that was an excellent piece of advice. While I have a laptop, I've never attempted to run MSFS on it. Those buggers can get pretty hot just running standard software, so I wouldn't be surprised if it's getting real toasty when running the sim. If it is getting too hot, then your options may be very limited. The best solution I can offer is to elevate the computer so the bottom has unrestricted air access. The other thing to do is to install and run the freeware 3D Mark2001 SE. This is a graphics benchmarking tool, but if you have a graphics engine problem, this will help you uncover it. You might also want to find some software that will allow you to monitor your CPU temperature, this way you can at least get an idea of how hot the CPU is running. Good luck to you.

One possibility, your power supply, if it is about 300 or less, think about upgrading to 350 or even 400.Abe

Sorry, I missed the laptop part.Abe

http://mbm.livewiredev.com/Excellent temperature monitor. Just follow the readme instructions to set everything up properly

thanx for all the responses guys. im gonna try themhow can i upgrade my power suppyly?