Dolphin, the GameCube and Wii emulator - Forums

Just to get it out of the way, because I'm not sure if it'll show up here or not, this is what I'm running:

AMD FX-8120 3.1 Ghz 8-core AM3+ CPU, stock clocks
Nvidia EVGA GTX 660 2.0 Ghz GPU, stock clocks
Corsair Vengeance 8 GB DDR3 1600 Mhz
750w Corsair PSU
Dual monitors - 1440x900 and 1920x1080


I'll use Animal Crossing to describe what's happening.
I've tried this with both maxed and minimum possible settings.

I create a new save, get through the entire sequence. Not once does my FPS dip below 60 FPS. Things run smoothly without a hitch. I get to the town, talk to Tom Nook. Things are still going fine. I walk in the house. "Hey, things are great!" But in the time it takes to get from the title screen to there, the computer suddenly shuts off. No warning, no error message, nothing. Fans stop, screens go blank, all lights shut off, everything ceases to function. You attempt to restart the computer and it crashes during the next startup before completing. The next boot, however, boots perfectly fine like nothing ever happened.

I have no idea what's causing it, nor can I find out as of right now. I hate being that guy asking "o hay how duz this werk", but I legitimately cannot find the issue. Regardless of any setting combination I try, the computer force quits. However, games like Pokemon Colosseum is a hit or miss. It will either shut down my computer in the first 5 minutes or run fine indefinitely for as long as it runs. The fact that it still forces my computer to essentially kill itself, though, is making me too nervous to attempt it.

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I'd also like to add that I can run games like Skyrim on max settings with the HD texture pack, realistic water mods, lush forest mods, etc etc. without any issues.



EDIT: Changed the title to make it more relevant.

Tried the same with Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles. Crashed the PC before the opening cinematic finished.

Monitor temperatures while you are playing dolphin, and look at the windows event log to see if there is anything suspicious reported when computer turns off.

The symptoms point to hardware or driver issues to be frank. Is dolphin the only application/game you have problems with?

This does not happen in any other games or programs. The temps tend to run at 75-78C with this emulator, which is actually slightly cooler than a couple other games that run at 79-80.

I'd just like to mention that, without running Dolphin since the last post, the computer has been 100% stable, even during PS2 emulation in HD as well as other games on steam.

Well, we can't help without information. If the computer is actually crashing, it would help if you post the .dmp files that are appearing in c:\windows\minidump, or c:\windows\memory.dmp. If it is crashing and these files don't appear, then you need to enable recording them: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/hardware/ff542953(v=vs.85).aspx

If it's not crashing, then the issue is most likely something which has already been covered in this thread.

If your system is shutting down, not crashing i.e. no blue screen it could indicate a power issue with the motherboard or power supply. Dolphin could be causing increased power draw which will cause the system to shut down. Components such as the psu usually have a protection mechanism that will shut the system down to prevent damage to the hardware. Test with other intensive applications and games to be sure the issue doesn't exist outside of Dolphin, bench the system using Prime95 and 3Dmark while keeping an eye on voltages. Also make sure nothing is shorting out in your case and everything is hooked up properly.

(11-07-2013, 04:01 AM)shuffle2 Wrote: [ -> ]Well, we can't help without information. If the computer is actually crashing, it would help if you post the .dmp files that are appearing in c:\windows\minidump, or c:\windows\memory.dmp. If it is crashing and these files don't appear, then you need to enable recording them: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/hardware/ff542953(v=vs.85).aspx

If it's not crashing, then the issue is most likely something which has already been covered in this thread.

The most recent file is long before I downloaded Dolphin, so they're of no relevance. There's no time for it to even create one. It goes instantly from running smoothly to being completely off without even a frame in between. As stated, more demanding programs run perfectly fine. Also, I've found that it seems to be a hit or miss with Animal Crossing, as well. 90% of the time it will crash within 5 minutes, but the remaining 10% it will continue on as long as it's running. Next launch, however, risks the same issue.

(11-07-2013, 04:15 AM)Xtreme2damax Wrote: [ -> ]If your system is shutting down, not crashing i.e. no blue screen it could indicate a power issue with the motherboard or power supply. Dolphin could be causing increased power draw which will cause the system to shut down. Components such as the psu usually have a protection mechanism that will shut the system down to prevent damage to the hardware. Test with other intensive applications and games to be sure the issue doesn't exist outside of Dolphin, bench the system using Prime95 and 3Dmark while keeping an eye on voltages. Also make sure nothing is shorting out in your case and everything is hooked up properly.

As stated above, other applications run perfectly. I've run countless benchmarks before such as Unigene and 3Dmark without any issue aside from some low framerates depending on the benchmark itself. Everything is hooked up properly and voltages, according to Speedfan, seem fine throughout.

(11-05-2013, 10:47 AM)wuverul Wrote: [ -> ]the computer suddenly shuts off. No warning, no error message, nothing. Fans stop, screens go blank, all lights shut off, everything ceases to function. You attempt to restart the computer and it crashes during the next startup before completing.

If you reboot and it fails on the next reboot, you have already taken Dolphin out of the equation and you are likely looking at temps too high, unstable overclock or perhaps a failing component.

Forgive me if this was posted but I didnt see it. what are your CPU and GPU temps when you play dolphin? You can use GPU-z and RealTemp/CoreTemp. It is important to get the temps as you are playing not after you close Dolphin or after the crash.

Also if you have any overclocks (CPU or GPU) get rid of them to see if the issue persists. If it doesnt, tweaking your overclock will likely help.

Also it may be a RAM thing. You can try to run memtest to see if that is the case.

To ensure I understand, the computer just switches off correct? No freeze, no blue screen just powers itself off? If so you likely have a failing PSU.