Better than average DELL PC - HL2 won't run

[NLplay]

I was encouraged to buy HL2 by a review at bbc.co.uk saying that the gameplay was great even at minimal specs. So I bought the game on DVD yesterday. Installation went fine, and I now reached the point at which Steam seems to be up to date, and HL2 itself occupies 838MB ("100% acquired") and is ready to be played (also in "offline mode").

The game itself won't run though. This is what happens:

• I select Play games in Steam and 'Launch' HL2
• My desktop's resolution goes down to 800x600
• The screen goes blank and shortly after the Valve guy with the thing in his eye appears
• The copyright notice is shown
• The screen flickers once and then shows the blurry city image, on which 'Loading...' is displayed
• After a minute or so, I hear the Windows Critical Error sound twice. The only way out of this situation (nothing else happens and the blurry city is still visible) is by pressing the Space Bar or Escape, which brings me back to Windows' Desktop; there's no trace of any HL2 activity anymore.

I am able to reproduce this over and over again. I think I have once seen an error dialog disappear when I returned to the desktop, but I couldn't see what it said. There seem to be known memory and motherboard issues with this game, but I don't know if they apply to me because I have no idea what the error really is as long as I don't get a real error box.

I expected my rather new machine to be able to cope with HL2 since (I'd say) it's a common computer. Surely Valve have tested their product on a Dell!

My Specs:

• Dell Dimension 2400 computer
• Windows XP Home SP2
• Pentium 4 2.8 GHz
• 512 MB RAM
• Intel 82845xx 64 MB Graphics Controller (drivers from 2004-02)
• Samsung CDRW/DVD SM-352F (drivers from 2001-07)
• 80 GB HDD, of which 50GB free (after installation of HL2)
• SoundMAX Digital Audio (drivers from 2003-11)
• IDE ATA/ATAPI controller: Intel 82801xx (drivers from 2001-07)
• Internet connection: DSL, connected when trying to play HL2
• DirectX 9.0c installed

Can anyone tell me how to overcome these problems? Has anyone experienced something similar?
Thanks in advance for any comments.

Btw, have gone through all threads on the first 20 pages of this forum section and didn't find my specific problem described there. I am sorry if this has been posted before.

 

[Edmondo]

In other threads people with Intel graphics chipsets have been reporting problems. I refer you to this post #708 here

It appears that the Intel chipset really isn't up to playing HL2. Sorry.

 

[VaPorZ]

try starting with the -console paramter

 

[^Ben]

And try.

-dxlevel 70

(Please correct me if im wrong someone, I think I am)

 

[teebeebee1]

your intel card will never in a million years play HL2, you need to get a NVIDIA or ATI card, my geforce4 isn't even working with it for some reason.

Off to doom 3

 

[NLplay]

Thanks all for your replies. Not knowing anything about video cards is what you get when you pick up playing games after a couple of years only because HL2 is released.
I guess I have to choose now: ask for a refund at the store or buy a graphics card...

 

[LordGary]

I have same graphics card as NLplay

Still wont play game. It will play on Counter-Strike. Works great.

When I first installed and loaded the game it worked till I saved the game. Now it won't pass the blurry loading screen. My guess it's something to do with the video at the beginning.

 

[freeman2]

Thanks all for your replies. Not knowing anything about video cards is what you get when you pick up playing games after a couple of years only because HL2 is released.
I guess I have to choose now: ask for a refund at the store or buy a graphics card...[/QUOT

Don't go and buy a graphics card untill you can find out what type your computer will take, you will need to know if the motherboard has an AGP slot and if it has is it a X2 X4 or X8. If you do get a new card you will need to go into your BIOS set up and disable the on board graphics.

I think it is the onboard graphics that is causing your problem, you can pick up a card for around £70 upwards to run HL2. Look out for one that supports DX9 and has 256 MB of DDR ram on it. Looking through the threads I think people have got HL2 running with 64 MB of ram on the card but it is a bit low.

Have a look through the info that came with your computer it should tell you if it has an AGP slot, or contact Dell who will be able to tell you.

This of course does not solve your problem right now but hope it is of some help.

 

[NLplay]

It is! Thanks again.

 

[JPack]

Unfortunately, the 2400 doesn't have an AGP slot due Dell using the 845GV chipset.

Check the Intel support page for the 845GV. There is a page with supported games. HL2 is on it, but it has some problems.

 

[FishFillet]

Get a 128 card to run this game. Since you have a dell, like me, get a PCI Bus version of the card. Hard to find, but they get the job done.

 

[Psychx]

the menu background for hl2 is actually a map, but shown in a cinematic sort-of view, with things moving around and noises being made... im simply guessing that you should update your video card because everything else is good with your computer, 2.8ghz, 512ram, etc... good specs

 

[Max_Payne]

with system specs u have i would definatly think about getting a 9800pro 128mg. the best bang for your buck i think.

PEACE

Mike :cheers:

 

[CastleBravo]

Unfortunately, there is a good chance that PC doesn't have an AGP port, which is shorthand for saying you are screwed.

The best PCI graphics card available is the Inno3D FX5600. Not great, but decent and has DX9 support and 128 MB of DDR RAM.

http://store.yahoo.com/amamax/ge56pciwddrd.html

 

[giant384]

i have the dimesion 2350 no agp slot present and ive never heard of a pci fx 5600 ive seen the 5500 though where have u seen this even though its no difference to a 5200 just faster

 

[NLplay]

Unfortunately, the 2400 doesn't have an AGP slot due Dell using the 845GV chipset.

Check the Intel support page for the 845GV. There is a page with supported games. HL2 is on it, but it has some problems.

I'll do that, thanks.

Unfortunately, there is a good chance that PC doesn't have an AGP port, which is shorthand for saying you are screwed.

I've found that information on the Dell support forums (where others are trying to upgrade for HL2, too :dozey: ).

 

[wassup]

I dont think you can get refunds on HL2 because of the registration stuff (EB games told me i could not), if you dont have AGP then get a sweet PCI card, they are dirt cheap now and are better than people say. 128MB is still almost better than 256MB (i have 256 AGP). A good 128MB PCI card that is not old or anything would play HL2 better than most people expect, if there are DX9 PCI cards then get that otherwise get the best for what you want to pay. You should be having fun in no time ;0) except for steam :0(

 

[NLplay]

I dont think you can get refunds on HL2 because of the registration stuff (EB games told me i could not), if you dont have AGP then get a sweet PCI card, they are dirt cheap now and are better than people say. 128MB is still almost better than 256MB (i have 256 AGP). A good 128MB PCI card that is not old or anything would play HL2 better than most people expect, if there are DX9 PCI cards then get that otherwise get the best for what you want to pay. You should be having fun in no time ;0) except for steam :0(

When I bought the game, the guy gave me till next Saturday to return the game - I doubt they know about the registration system. I could always be an honest guy and ask Steam to remove the license key from my account.
On the other hand, I really would like to play, so I'll be looking for cards first...

 

[jags71]

yeah, i have an intel card too. It sucks, i have the same exact problem as you. I was able to figure that if you minimize right after the Valve copyright info and then remaximize you will be able to get around the crash, for a second anyway...

I was able to play until the point where you stack up the boxes to get out the window. And then when u open that door crash!! About 5 minutes of gameplay. It happens everytime.

Anyway, i can still have fun just playing CS: Source because that works very well. I just cant change the video options ;(

Specs:
2.1 GHz
1 Gig DDR RAM
Intel card(dont remember all the #'s)

 

[StainlessJ-FPGA]

Yes, new games don't work if you don't have a video card. Onboard graphics is just a silly gpu thrown on there so you can watch your dvd movies and see your desktop, nothing more. It can't handle the awesomeness of games like hl2, and I'm surprised the magic smoke didn't come out of your machine after trying.

Without an AGP slot, you are pretty much screwed too. You didn't get a better than average Dell, because if you look down at my rig #1, THAT is a better than average Dell(2 years ago). If you want to play games on a PC, you gotta have the hardware for it.

 

[jags71]

yeah well on the box all it says for recommended requirements is DirectX 9.0 compatible video card

GUESS WHAT!! My Intel peice of crap is DirectX 9.0 compatible...
I think that means it SHOULD work, even if it is at lowest setting.

 

[NLplay]

You didn't get a better than average Dell, because if you look down at my rig #1, THAT is a better than average Dell(2 years ago).

Well, I know, but I was looking for a catchy thread title *and* I had some upgrades with respect to the default configuration.

Anyway, what's your comment on wassup's post?

A good 128MB PCI card that is not old or anything would play HL2 better than most people expect

 

[Korgoth]

ah man i feel for you nlplay, hl2 is a great game, i hope you get it all worked out so you can play...

I went cheap and bought a craptastic emachines computer spent about $120 extra to upgrade to 512 ram, and a cheapy nvidia fx5200... Not the best computer in the world, but I do get to play with about medium graphics settings and after tweaking I was able to turn shader and texture detail up to high and it looks and runs good.

Maybe you can find a similar pci card for a real cheap price? Good luck man.

 

[EVIL]

This is the main reason I hate preconfiged pc's.

My next pc will be one I will put together myself.

It will rock fo shizz!

 

[JImbo_152]

Not for nuthing, but my on-board intel graphics on a 2ghz emachine played the game.......just a lot of graphics lag when the action got moving

 

[NLplay]

What's your secret then JImbo_152?

I've seen pretty cheap GeForce 5200FX's - would that be good enough? (I guess I should do a forum search)

 

[NLplay]

(Where's the Edit Post button?)

According to other forum members, the 5200FX isn't the way to go. Should I go for an ATI Radeon 9200 instead?

 

[CastleBravo]

i have the dimesion 2350 no agp slot present and ive never heard of a pci fx 5600 ive seen the 5500 though where have u seen this even though its no difference to a 5200 just faster

Um, I had a LINK to where you could buy one.

The FX 5600 is quite a bit faster than the FX 5200. It is not just a FX5200. It is faster than a FX 5200, 5200 Ultra, 5500 or 5700LE, the other major PCI cards by nVidia. ATI doesn't have any comparable PCI cards, the 9100 is the fastest PCI card they've made I think (it is faster than a 9200, but not real common).

 

[CastleBravo]

PCI card comparison:

http://www.sudhian.com/showdocs.cfm?aid=445

Note that the Inno3D FX5600 PCI is now only about $100, not the crazy price the reviewer mentions. Basically, it is a tie between the FX5600 and the Radeon 9100, but the FX5600 is DX9 and the 9100 isn't. Also, the 9100 is not real easy to find.

 

[biffmofo]

i have a cheap dell 2400 with a weak onboard card and i played most of hl2 with only 2 crashes. but now i am towards the end and there is a lot happening and it is REALLY choppy. I have a PCI nvidia geforce 5200 but because of the onboard card i cant install it. anyone know of a way to disable that onboard card? i tried bios and deleting the drivers for it, but the drivers come back every time. any ideas?

 

[StainlessJ-FPGA]

yeah well on the box all it says for recommended requirements is DirectX 9.0 compatible video card

GUESS WHAT!! My Intel peice of crap is DirectX 9.0 compatible...
I think that means it SHOULD work, even if it is at lowest setting.

Your intel POS gpu is directx9 compatible meaning it can run applications that were made with dx9, but not if they require dx9 hardware. You might be able to play dx7 mode no problem, but anything higher is out of the question. There's a big difference between being compatible with the software and being compatible with the hardware.

 

[giant384]

basically hes saying u can run programs with dx9 but u just wont get any dx9 effects hows that x850 stainless

 

[StainlessJ-FPGA]

This is the main reason I hate preconfiged pc's.

My next pc will be one I will put together myself.

It will rock fo shizz!

The problems here are people buying pc's in a box and thinking they can game on them. You can still have people like Dell build a rocking PC for ya. Maximum PC dubbed the Dell XPS the laptop of the year and said it's so fast it's even better than some of the desktop systems they review. If you look at my 2 rigs in my sig, the first one is a Dell and the second one is my new Alienware. I have to say they are pretty rockin for being built by someone else. Mind you the Dell was built when that 9700 Pro was spankin new.

 

[StainlessJ-FPGA]

basically hes saying u can run programs with dx9 but u just wont get any dx9 effects hows that x850 stainless

I'll let you know when it arrives :cheers:

But I hear it rocks

 

[NLplay]

I've been able to make a screenshot of the error message (even though I don't get to see the dialog, as explained in the first post of this thread). It looks like it's the famous "memory read" error that's stopping me from playing the game. I haven't found any convincing references to the graphics card in threads dealing with that problem...

 

[cam99]

I've just got a new computer for Christmas and now have the same problem - slightly different Intel chipset but onboard as well.
I fully expected the game to work

The Intel web site has the following to say !

"Intel GMA 900 graphics now include hardware acceleration for 3D applications that utilize DirectX* 9 and OpenGL*, so you can play games for fun and enjoyment, Class Leading Performance With a powerful 333MHz core and new DirectX 9 hardware acceleration, Intel GMA 900 graphics can provide performance on par with graphics card solutions that cost significantly more.

I fully expect this to be able to play HL2 ! or at least get the first menu up !!!!!!!!!!!!

I've lodged a request with Intel & with Vivendi - but my expectations are pretty low !!

 

[NLplay]

cam99, I finally got the game working thanks to a tip in another thread. see here. I hope it works for you too.

 

[spidster]

nl crab dont listen to anyone who says you cant play hl2 on an intel extreme graphics card because you can, i should no i have a dell with same specs as yours and at first yes i was crashing the same as your but then i typed this in the launch options box and the game works fine! -
-fullscreen +mat_forcehardwaresync 0 +snd_async_prefetch_priority 1

this fixed the game for me but i still cant change the advanced graphics options but it still runs and with nearly 30 fps too.

if this doesnt solve it then defrag ur pc this solved my problem for about 30mins before i got the errors again.

 

[giant384]

i have a cheap dell 2400 with a weak onboard card and i played most of hl2 with only 2 crashes. but now i am towards the end and there is a lot happening and it is REALLY choppy. I have a PCI nvidia geforce 5200 but because of the onboard card i cant install it. anyone know of a way to disable that onboard card? i tried bios and deleting the drivers for it, but the drivers come back every time. any ideas?

if u dont c a tab in your bios that says pephrials or however u spell it u need to update ur bios u can get it off the dell support site its easy to do

 

[ahuxley]

Let's not overlook the most obvious point

I paid $60 so my young nephew could enjoy the game he wanted most on Christmas day.

After three days and countless hours of ****ing with endless problems, I have returned the crappy game back to Best Buy for full credit.

I'm not a hacker / geek who knows all when it comes to tweaking / overcoming hardware issues, but I'm not a know-nothing either. I have a fair amount of experience with computers and feel competent to solve most computer problems I've come across so far. My young nephew, on the other hand, doesn't know much about computers other than how to play games and surf the net. I imagine that many, many younger gamers (and their sugar daddy parents) haven't got a clue about applying any of the posted solutions on these forums (or even know such forums exist). Most consumers just want to buy a product, install it and enjoy it. They don't want to learn how to contort flawed programming code to fit into pristine hardware that works with every other application known to man...except HL2!

Anyone with a few minutes to spare can google the shit out of gaming forums to discover that there are legions of unhappy campers who are getting ****ed over by this crappy product in a variety of ways. There's no way Valve can dodge or slither out of this very simple and obvious fact.

It's not the responsibility of the consumer to ensure a piece of software will work on their system (beyond the published system requirements), it's the responsibility of the software company to ensure their product works with all major hardware.

Beyond the Valve "party line" that Steam provides value to the consumer, they are too spineless to admit that they are taking Draconian measures to thwart piracy and cracks.

The result?

Paying customers like me (and countless others) are being punished for purchasing their product and playing by the rules. I bought the game, it wouldn't work, my nephew's Christmas was ruined. Thanks Valve. Meanwhile, others are still able to hack, crack and steal the game, as usual, so Steam only alienates and frustrates their paying customers. Well anyway, I've gotten a $60 credit from Best Buy, a hacker friend of mine has offered to download a cracked version of the game from bittorrent and we'll take it from there.

Great business strategy, Valve...making people jump through endless hoops, then ****ing them over anyway. Classic.

Raises for everyone! :sniper: