PC freezes up

Hi My PC: cpu intel celron 2.80 G 32 bit system memory 1535 MB OS Vista business MY problem: All seems to be fair except I installed MS games such as hearts . solitare. the basic ones from MS When I go to play hearts or solitare it comes up and the pc freezes up I have a Nvidia graphics card agp 256 mb thanks mschroe919

Does it freeze consistently at the same point when the game starts - that is, can you duplicate on demand? Or can you play for awhile and then it freezes randomly - this information is critical as they point to totally different causes.

Is your system clean of heat trapping dust and dirt? Including the CPU fan and heatsink and graphics card? Do all fans turn freely?

Are there any errors listed in Device Manager?

I would suggest you go to Start, Run, and enter: dxdiag in the text box, then press Enter. Then run through all the tests and see if you pass.

If the problem is consistent and at the start of the game, it sounds like a graphics driver issue. Check the graphics card maker's site for newer drivers. Follow the makers installation instructions carefully - some require you remove all old drivers first, then install new, rebooting a time or two in between.

thanks for the reply, I will do what you suggest. Seems like I read somewhere Vista business requires a min of 512 graphic card, mine is 256. Thanks again Milt

No - 256 is more than enough for most folks, but a 512Mb board is nicer (and more expensive, louder, more power hungry, and hotter) for extreme 3D animated gaming - of which Microsoft solitaire is not. In fact, MS goes to great length to ensure it will run on as many systems as possible - including systems with on-board graphics - running perhaps with only 32Mb of RAM dedicated for graphics - the minimum required for Vista Home (128Mb for Business) - see Vista Minimum Hardware Requirements

Thanks again, I just checked and I was mistaken, my graphic card ia a agp 128mb. I don't know if that makes adifference? I know the site you gave me says 128 ukay?? Milt

Well, that's the minimum - and MS tends to rate their minimums conservatively. I don't see buying anything less than 256Mb these days.

You asked:

Does it freeze consistently at the same point when the game starts - that is, can you duplicate on demand? Or can you play for awhile and then it freezes randomly - this information is critical as they point to totally different causes.

It does freeze up the instant I open the game?
Milt

Then we're back to the other suggestions.