Elite melted my PC...

[jxm]

I just bought a shiny new Lakon 6, filled her up and went for a drive; was heading towards (but not at) the destination space station when my PC crashed; I mean REALLY crashed, no switching to windows, no alt-ctrl-delete - had to switch it off with the power button.

Tried rebooting and got a cpu over temperature error (oops). I let it cool for a few mins a tried again, but the same thing, so leaving for longer this time.

But what's happening in the mean time? Is my ship still floating on it's last known course? Has the space station zapped me for not docking within the time limit?

Or has elite recognised that my PC isn't responding? In which case what usually happens? Will it put my ship in the last known space station? the closest space station? Remove my ship from the game, wait for me to re-appear and then put me back exactly where I was before?

I assume that there must be some kind of recovery method for crashes and lost internet connections etc...?

 

[Mobius]

when was the last time you opened up your pc case and cleaned it of dust?

 

[Celeste]

Your ship will be fine. It will disappear in space. Before just turning on your PC again, open the side panel and look at the fan when you turn it back on. If the fan doesn't move you may want to buy another one(heatsink) before trying again.

 

[Nemesis-T-Warlock]

I just bought a shiny new Lakon 6, filled her up and went for a drive; was heading towards (but not at) the destination space station when my PC crashed; I mean REALLY crashed, no switching to windows, no alt-ctrl-delete - had to switch it off with the power button.

Tried rebooting and got a cpu over temperature error (oops). I let it cool for a few mins a tried again, but the same thing, so leaving for longer this time.

But what's happening in the mean time? Is my ship still floating on it's last known course? Has the space station zapped me for not docking within the time limit?

Or has elite recognised that my PC isn't responding? In which case what usually happens? Will it put my ship in the last known space station? the closest space station? Remove my ship from the game, wait for me to re-appear and then put me back exactly where I was before?

I assume that there must be some kind of recovery method for crashes and lost internet connections etc...?

You will be fine. However you might want to get some heatsinks in Outfitting.

 

[jxm]

when was the last time you opened up your pc case and cleaned it of dust?

I think it's just getting a bit old - 5 years old now (that must be about 80 in PC years) - I think it's starting to show the strain. The CPU fan is set to variable, so it adjusts according to the temp. So I can actually hear when the cpu is doing anything intensive. And when I'm playing elite the cpu fan sounds like a jet engine on constant thrust... the two GPU cards probably don't help the internal temperature situation much either... going to see if it will switch on this time...

 

[Cmdr Andy B]

you should find that when you log back in again you're at 20km from the station you were going too.

ED is at present unoptimised (or partially optimised at least) so does tend to run a little hot, but only a little. when you reboot your PC if you dont have one already its a good idea to install a temperature monitor to keep track of it, just to be safe.

your computers built in overheat protection should prevent damage but you may need to replace the thermal grease between your CPU and its cooler to get temps back down to a normal range.

that is after first cleaning any dust out of fans and grills and making sure nothing is blocking airflow.

this may not be entirely down to the game as with thermal grease putting too much on can be as bad as not putting any on, if whom ever assembled it did use too much it can harden and create a gap between cpu & cooler. this can also happen if its been on there for some time.

i had this problem a few weeks back as i was a little heavy with the grease when i put mine together, cleaning it off and replacing it sorted the problem out and my PC now runs half the temps it did previously.

 

[Asp Explorer]

Probably a good idea to scrape off that old, solidified thermal paste and put new silver gunk on. Blow out heatsinks, fans, PSU and any fan filters.

 

[Tonberry]

I think it's just getting a bit old - 5 years old now (that must be about 80 in PC years) - I think it's starting to show the strain. The CPU fan is set to variable, so it adjusts according to the temp. So I can actually hear when the cpu is doing anything intensive. And when I'm playing elite the cpu fan sounds like a jet engine on constant thrust... the two GPU cards probably don't help the internal temperature situation much either... going to see if it will switch on this time...

Failing that, you might want to replace the thermal paste on the cpu incase there has been some degradation over the years, restricting heat dissipation through the heat sink.

 

[Cmdr Andy B]

Probably a good idea to scrape off that old, solidified thermal paste and put new silver gunk on. Blow out heatsinks, fans, PSU and any fan filters.

Failing that, you might want to replace the thermal paste on the cpu incase there has been some degradation over the years, restricting heat dissipation through the heat sink.

that's what i love about these forums, you know good advice when you see it as 3 or more people say almost the same thing simultaneously

 

[CATPAIN KIRK]

I think it's just getting a bit old - 5 years old now (that must be about 80 in PC years) - I think it's starting to show the strain. The CPU fan is set to variable, so it adjusts according to the temp. So I can actually hear when the cpu is doing anything intensive. And when I'm playing elite the cpu fan sounds like a jet engine on constant thrust... the two GPU cards probably don't help the internal temperature situation much either... going to see if it will switch on this time...

Heed the guys advice - I usually clean my PC with a 400 ml can of compressed air once a month - it needs it - probably not as often if you - unlike me - don't smoke at your desk.

If it's really dusty, the temp is about 15% lower after that.

 

[jxm]

dang it - it broke my mirror, so now it's taking forever to boot up. But at least it's still working. Now to find my ship, dock it and call it a day... and tomorrow I'll order an air duster because I can't find mine...

 

[Tommyttk]

HWMonitor is a handy tool.
http://www.cpuid.com/softwares/hwmonitor.html

 

[Asp Explorer]

if you are using canned "air" then try to get the stuff without the bittering agents. If you spray liquid out accidentally, the residue can go sticky and make dust even harder to clean off.

 

[Comandante]

I just bought a shiny new Lakon 6, filled her up and went for a drive; was heading towards (but not at) the destination space station when my PC crashed; I mean REALLY crashed, no switching to windows, no alt-ctrl-delete - had to switch it off with the power button.

Tried rebooting and got a cpu over temperature error (oops). I let it cool for a few mins a tried again, but the same thing, so leaving for longer this time.

But what's happening in the mean time? Is my ship still floating on it's last known course? Has the space station zapped me for not docking within the time limit?

Or has elite recognised that my PC isn't responding? In which case what usually happens? Will it put my ship in the last known space station? the closest space station? Remove my ship from the game, wait for me to re-appear and then put me back exactly where I was before?

I assume that there must be some kind of recovery method for crashes and lost internet connections etc...?

Brilliant - your PC is scrap and you're worried about your ---- ELITE ---- profile. +1 to you CMDR!

You're essentially logged off IIRC and next time you log on you should be where you left off; not quite sure.

I think Asellus Primus is high tech, you should be able to get a new PC there. Sorry, I'm not helping am I?!

Crashing is apparently a common problem with this Windows stuff. Hope you get a new PC soon!

 

[Darth Sidious]

Im curious about your system
Could you post your specs including heatsinks etc?

 

[Cmdr Andy B]

Brilliant - your PC is scrap and you're worried about your ---- ELITE ---- profile. +1 to you CMDR!

You're essentially logged off IIRC and next time you log on you should be where you left off; not quite sure.

I think Asellus Primus is high tech, you should be able to get a new PC there. Sorry, I'm not helping am I?!

Crashing is apparently a common problem with this Windows stuff. Hope you get a new PC soon!

not scrap, just a little hot. CPU's can survive quite high temps without burning out, I've had my rig up to 90 C when playing ED and running Open Broadcast software to record the game. once i'd cleaned it and replaced the thermal grease it halved the operating temps and hasn't had the same issue since then.

 

[Hellhawk666]

Cooling, and case design in general, has improved just in the last few years. Up until recently my machine had been upgraded several times into the same case I bought 8 years ago, and which had a single exhaust fan. The CPU was passively cooled, the system was noisy and it ran hot enough to be near the edge, and did shut down a couple of times when pushed hard.

Recently I rebuilt it into a new case which has a total of 5 fans and uses a closed loop liquid cooler for the CPU. It's almost silent and runs at half the temperature.

 

[Flavio]

If you are a cheapskate and don't want to buy canned air, use a bicycle pump or if you are lazy like me, the vacuum cleaner will suffice but be careful you don't scratch anything.
Last time my fan was very thickly coated with dust etc that I took a screwdriver to clean it out (I don't recommend you do that though).

Now for a sensible. Suggestion - After you get your PC up and running again, you may want to check the cpu settings to make sure it isn't overclocked too much as that can produce excessive heat.

 

[Googol]

... the two GPU cards probably don't help the internal temperature situation much either...

You're right, I'm thinking this may be a big part of the problem. Not just the heat they contribute, but possibly the presence of two large cards (SLI/Crossfire setup?) inside the case is obstructing the airflow.

If you posted your full system specs I'm sure there are people who could give advice on cooling solutions.

 

[Adept]

New computer cases are amazingly good, and have way better airflow. I recommend picking up something like a Bitfenix Ghost.