Help needed... game crashes

[grindude2]

Hi all , i accidently found this site so i tought you guys maybe could help me...

I just bought a new pc and i was ancious to play newer games that my older pc didn't handled.

Specs: ASROCK 945G intel chipset ,  Pentium D 2.8Ghz Dual-Core , 512 667 mhz DDR2 ( im gonna double it as soon as i fix this problem) , Point of view Geforce 7600GS 256mb PCI-E  connected thru DVI to a 20" LCD FLAR CHIMEI monitor, 160 gb sata 2 ..

didn't oppened it up to see the cooling but the case is colder than my older pc.. and its a totally new pc so i thing its not the problem... neither is power supply..



So i come back home with the pc , install windows xp , drivers etc .. and then F.E.A.R And Elder Scrolls Oblivion .. i was pleased to see fear's loading was fast and it detected my system has High () but then the sweet surprise comes .. a 2-4 seconds halt and my pc reboots .. there i have it 2 hours after purchase and it made it first crash .. well i tried again i made pass the menu into the testing cutscene it looked beautyful until it crashed again and rebooted... i tought maybe it was the game but the same happens with oblivion and HL2 : episode 1 .. so i downloaded the latest GPU drivers from nvidia and nothing .. same thing happens ... so i try to reinstall directx but it doesnt seem to let me  ( it just doesnt installs everything it just skips to the finish part , what seems to be logical cause i already had 9.0c)

before i go back to the place i bought the pc i wanna try it myself coz i have a few days off and i wanna enjoy my new purchase

Do you guys thing reformatting and just trying everything from scrach can help  ? Well i dunno what to do i just hope its not hardware-wise..
If its the PSU what should i do ? its a new pc i thing they should think about it before they sell it..

And does having a full-of-scratches XP Disc may cause it ? should i reinstall from a diferent source?



If someone has an idea of what should i do.. Please help me !!

Oh.. and here is a everest summary of my specs

Field      Value
Computer      
Operating System      Microsoft Windows XP Professional
OS Service Pack      Service Pack 2
DirectX      4.09.00.0904 (DirectX 9.0c)
Computer Name      GRINDUDE-446489
User Name      Administrator
      
Motherboard      
CPU Type      DualCore Intel Pentium D 820, 2800 MHz (14 x 200)
Motherboard Name      Unknown
Motherboard Chipset      Intel Lakeport-G i945G
System Memory      512 MB  (DDR2-667 DDR2 SDRAM)
BIOS Type      AMI (10/27/06)
Communication Port      Communications Port (COM1)
Communication Port      ECP Printer Port (LPT1)
      
Display      
Video Adapter      NVIDIA GeForce 7600 GS  (256 MB)
Monitor      Plug and Play Monitor [NoDB]  (0)
      
Multimedia      
Audio Adapter      Intel 82801GB ICH7 - High Definition Audio Controller [A-1]
      
Storage      
IDE Controller      Intel(R) 82801G (ICH7 Family) Ultra ATA Storage Controllers - 27DF
IDE Controller      Intel(R) 82801GB/GR/GH (ICH7 Family) Serial ATA Storage Controller - 27C0
SCSI/RAID Controller      D347PRT SCSI Controller
Floppy Drive      Floppy disk drive
Disk Drive      HDT722516DLA380  (160 GB, 7200 RPM, SATA-II)
Disk Drive      Apple iPod USB Device  (27 GB, USB)
Optical Drive      Generic DVD-ROM SCSI CdRom Device
Optical Drive      Optiarc DVD RW AD-5170A
SMART Hard Disks Status      OK
      
Partitions      
C: (NTFS)      157057 MB (133128 MB free)
      
Input      
Keyboard      Standard 101/102-Key or Microsoft Natural PS/2 Keyboard
Mouse      Microsoft PS/2 Mouse
      
Network      
Network Adapter      Realtek RTL8168/8111 PCI-E Gigabit Ethernet NIC  (172.20.1.205)
Network Adapter      WAN (PPP/SLIP) Interface  (89.0.19.62)
      
Peripherals      
Printer      Microsoft Office Document Image Writer
USB1 Controller      Intel 82801GB ICH7 - USB Universal Host Controller [A-1]
USB1 Controller      Intel 82801GB ICH7 - USB Universal Host Controller [A-1]
USB1 Controller      Intel 82801GB ICH7 - USB Universal Host Controller [A-1]
USB1 Controller      Intel 82801GB ICH7 - USB Universal Host Controller [A-1]
USB2 Controller      Intel 82801GB ICH7 - Enhanced USB2 Controller [A-1]
USB Device      USB Mass Storage Device


Any piece of helpful information will be appreciated!!
Thanks in advance

[stones]

Right click my computer then go into properties then advanced
Click on the start up and recovery settings
Uncheck Automatically restart

Now when you go to play the game and it crashes it will show you a blue screen with an error code.
Write down what the error code is and its brief discription.

Reboot, come back and tell us what the report said.

[grindude2]

Ok done , but still no difference ... same halting and restarting so maybe the restart isn't iniciated by windows.. anyway im gonna re-install the OS for what it's worth

[stones]

WAIT!
Don't re-install just yet
Are you saying that there was no blue screen, it just restarted again?
If it did it would mean a hardware problem and not a software problem
The power supply could be a possibility, many times the cheapest lowest quality power supply is bundled with systems to keep costs down, just because it says it is 400watts  (for example) doesnt necessarly mean it can actually deliver, there are many garbage power supplies being sold for for under 40 bucks claiming specifications that are an all out lie and many are duds right out of the box.

Now you just bought this PC so you will have a warranty I assume and the symptoms are pointing towards a hardware problem which is not your responsibility to fix, I would get in touch with the people you purchased the system from and ask them to check it out.
They should do it for free under warranty.

[grindude2]

Yeah that's what i'll try ...seemed strange to me that a honored pc retail store would sell a system with a PSU that doesn't supply enough power... and i even tried to disable a few hardware device just to see if it has any difference..
Why don't you recommend re-installing ? it can take 1 hour and half tops ... and maybe it'll save me some headache

[stones]

Reinstalling the OS will not correct a hardware failure.

Possible devices at fault include (but are not always limited to) the RAM, video card, cd/dvd rom and the power supply.
The store you purchased from can swap these out one by one and test to see which is at fault.