just within the last week I would say, I've been getting lots of black screens when using FS9, also a few blue screens - now I cant use fs9 at all for more than 20 min then black screen and rebootbut I noticed also that when I turn my computer on in the morning I'm also getting this: (see screen shots below)if anyone could give me any clue as to what to do, it would be great, thankshere are my specs as well:Windows: Windows XP5.1 (Build 2600) Service Pack 3Internet Explorer: 7.0.5730.13Memory (RAM): 2048 MBCPU Info: AMD Athlon 64 FX-55 ProcessorCPU Speed: 2619.7 MHzSound card: NVIDIA® nForce AudioDisplay Adapters: NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GTS | NetMeeting driver | RDPDD Chained DDMonitors: 1Screen Resolution: 1280 X 1024 - 32 bitNetwork: Network PresentNetwork Adapters: NVIDIA nForce Networking Controller - Packet Scheduler MiniportCD / DVD Drives: E: SONY DVD RW DW-D26ACOM Ports: COM1LPT Ports: LPT1Mouse: 8 Button Wheel Mouse PresentHard Disks: C: 232.9GB | D: 69.2GBHard Disks - Free: C: 147.9GB | D: 25.1GBUSB Controllers: 2 host controllers.Firewire (1394): Not DetectedPCMCIA (Laptops): Not InstalledManufacturer: Phoenix Technologies, LTDProduct Make: System Product NameAC Power Status: OnLineBIOS Info: AT/AT COMPATIBLE | 06/08/05 | Nvidia - 42302e31Time Zone: Mountain Standard TimeBattery: No BatteryMotherboard: ASUSTeK Computer INC. A8N-EModem: Not detected: ciao!Brian Sommers

Sounds like a component may be overheating, or possibly a memory/hard drive failure. First thing's first, you'll need to pop your case open and inspect it while the computer is running. The purpose of this is to inspect the operation of the system's various fans. Nforce boards of this generation are notorious for having south bridge fan failure, which can cause the exact symptoms you are seeing. The South Bridge is located near your SATA ports, it should be the only chip in the area with a heatsink and small fan on it. Be sure this fan is clean, and spinning properly without any abnormal noise emissions. The next fan to check is the graphics card fan; also check the heatsink which the fan is mounted in for dust buildup. Next up the CPU heatsink/fan and finally the power supply fan. Once you have inspected all these fans for proper operation (and any others you may have), turn the system off and clean them with compressed air or a vacuum. Be careful not to touch any components while cleaning, as you could cause a short which may damage components irreparably. Also note, you'll want to hold your fans in place to prevent them from spinning while being cleaned. The best method for this is to place a finger firmly on the center of the fan (the fan hub). If using compressed air you'll want to hold the nozzle tip at least 6" away from the area you are directing air towards. For a vacuum, you can get a little closer depending on how strong the vacuum is. During this cleaning procedure you'll also want to check the fans for resistance. Spin the fans manually with a finger (not too hard, just enough to allow them to spin for a couple seconds). If any of the fans does not spin freely and you feel a physical resistance, this is a sign of a failing fan and you'll want to replace any fans that do this.If you have no failing fans you'll need to start the system back up and test again. If the symptoms do not change (particularly the time to failure) then we know the cause lies elsewhere, perhaps with the RAM or hard drive. At that point I would recommend you download a utility called Hiren's Boot CD (google for image to download and burn to disk) and run the included utilities "MHDD" and "Memtest" by restarting the computer and booting from the CD in the drive. If your system does not present you the option to boot from CD you'll have to check your boot order in the BIOS, or choose the bootable device at startup. Check the available keys listed at the bottom of the screen during startup for these options.This is a CD I use on a daily basis as a PC technician. These applications are huge time-savers for me as they can very quickly find failures. When running MHDD you'll want to look for any sectors 150MS and slower (these sectors will be colored, and listed in the key to the right side of the screen). If you have any, this is a sign of a failing hard drive. Also look for IDNF and AMNF errors which are also a sign of a failing drive. In memtest it's a bit more straight-forward as you'll see red-highlighted error messages on the screen if any problems are found. If errors are found and you have more than one memory module installed in your system, you'll want to test the sticks individually, and try different slots as well.I hope this helps. If you have other questions let us know!Regards,Max

One of my favs is a simple Checkdisk run. Find it in My Computer > C > Rt clk > Properties > Tools > Error Checking. I run this at the first sign of any weirdness . . cuz it really can fix stuff and it's quick n' easy. Then get a trial copy of Everest and run their system stability bench. Watch volts and temps on the graph. Try to get it to break on demand. Then you can fix it.Of course a full spyware/virus run is always on the list of things-to-do.Does sound hardware-ish, but ya never know.

I get, at random, a black screen with sound but no picture. Generally happens when I ether go into the menus or task switch.

Hi,There's one potential cause which is rarely mentioned, if at all, these days and that is the phenomenon known as 'Capacitor Plague'. I have reason to be interested in this as I have a second PC which is currently exhibiting this affliction. It's the rig I used before my current one and after 6 years is still running stable and is now used primarily as a guitar tutor aid. I opened the case today to do a routine dust check and noted the tell tale signs on 3 capacitors adjacent to the cpu (P4 2.4GHz).Anyone interested can quickly learn more by googling 'capacitor plague'. I gather it was quite a serious problem several years back, hopefully less so these days as manufacturers have improved their component quality control.I cleaned the mess off the tops of each of the affected capacitors and observed that the internal pressures have caused some bulging at the grooves. Said grooves are placed there deliberately to allow gaseous escape rather than having the capacitor pop or explode.For the moment I'm just keeping an eye on things, but I know that it's virtually gauranteed I will be faced with problems sometime in the not too distant future.I monitored the temps and voltages using Everest Ultimate Edition over a few hours and nothing untoward occurred....yet! Ah well, c'est la vie :(Mike