Crash - Memory Can't be "Read" - Tried everything

M

MegaloX

Guest
I am getting a Memory error (Instruction 0xblah blah. Memory could not be "read".). After every Loading... screen during levels. It saves the game but then closes. I also get the error at random points.

I know this is a common problem. I am just asking if anybody has any other tips on how I could fix it.Here are a list of the things I have tried:

-Increased my page file to 4x my physical memory, then to 2x, then back to 4x
-Updated my video and audio to newest drivers
-Updated BIOS to newest
-Set heapsize to half my memory
-Played with -nosound
-Moved my RAM to different slots
-Reinstalled program
-Validated my cache
-Had Steam install the files
-Put on lowest graphics (even though it recommended medium)
-Vsync is OFF
-Copied Bin files to hl2 folder and put hl2 files in bin folder

Computer Specs:

Intel P4 530 3Ghz
1024MB DDR-SDRAM (Dual Channel)
800Mhz Bus
200Mhz FSB
On-Board Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 900 (I know, I know)
256-bit graphics core
8/16/32 bpp
Up to 8.5 GB/sec memory bandwidth with DDR2 533 MHz
1.3 GP/sec and 1.3 GT/sec fill rate
128 MB maximum video memory
2048x1536 at 85 Hz maximum resolution
On-Board Audio - Realtek
DirectX 9.0c

Please help, this is very frustrating!
 
Half-life 2 needs a graphics card to run well or AT ALL, anything intergrated it will kick you back to desktop with that error usually (cant believe you are running it). Buy a graphics card, you are in serious need. Its dragging your entire system down the pan.
 
What kind of card would you recommend? I would like to get the best for my money, and have it able to run games for a few years to come. But try and keep it under $200
 
MegaloX said:
What kind of card would you recommend? I would like to get the best for my money, and have it able to run games for a few years to come. But try and keep it under $200
Click to expand...

A few years? As in you want to be able to play the newest games, on a card you buy today, in 2007? All for under $200...

That quite a challenging task.
 
I, too, am in the same boat with an integrated graphics card (DELL 82865G Graphics Controller with 96 mb memory). Do you think installing the game on a computer with a geforce4mx with 64 mb of memory will see any significant changes in gameplay? I can run the single-player fine with a slight slowdown occasionally but multiplayer is nrealy impossible to play unless it is on small, unpopulated server.

My Specs:
P4 3.00 Ghz
512 ram
DELL 82865G Graphics Controller with 96 mb memory

Other computer specs:
AMD 2.1 Ghz
512 ram
geforce4mx with 64 mb of memory
 
hey guys...i have the same exact problem with the "memory could not be read" error however i do have a graphics card....ive done everything that megalox has done and i have gotten absolutely nowhere. I get to the very end of the loading stage before i can begin a game and i get the error. Help would be appreciated! Also, nothing is overclocked.

System Specs:

Athlon 64 3500+
1024 MB Corsair 3200 XL Dual Channel (2-2-2-5-1T)
MSI K8N Neo 2 Platinum
ATI X800XT
74 GB WD Raptor
Creative SB Audigy 2 ZS
Lite-On CD-RW
Lite-On DVD-RW
Logitech Z-560 Speakers
Lian Li PC-65B Case
470 Watt Enermax PSU
4x 80mm Fans
 
Radeon 9250 or above will do fine. Just don't expect next-gen graphics. Thats what I use, and the game looks damn good, as do far cry, doom 3, and chronicles of riddick. A geforce mx with 64 mb of ram, was my old video card. It worked, but the game just wasn't impressive visually.
 
Mega - that X600Pro is fine, I don't know why Lahire said it is crap. It won't be able to run games from late 2006/2007 at highest quality and great frame rates, but if you're putting up with an integrated graphics solution right now, then I don't see why this should be an issue for you in the future anyway.

However:

The X700's are better than the X600's, if the X700 is significantly more expensive than the Geforce 6600, then go with the Geforce 6600 as it's roughly equivalent to the X700.

Note that the latest series of cards (Radeon Xx00 and Geforce 6x00 line) usually come in two flavours, AGP or PCI-e. Make sure you get the right card for your motherboard.

Also, PCI-e will be the way of the future, so hopefully you've got a PCI-e capable motherboard, otherwise you'll be stuck with a dead-end AGP card (although there is a new adaptor card that you plug an AGP card in, but they probably won't be in retail for a few more months).
 
SealD and to anyone else who has this error -

I too had the same problem for a long time and i tried just about everything. Just about everything includes - startup parameters in source games, changing ram settings in bios, removing one stick of ram (i have 2 corsair 512 dual ddr sticks), verifying files, changing video settings, changing graphics settings in bios - if you search for tips on how to fix the problem, i've probably done it.

I've solved the problem now - and i know to alot of you it will seem illogical or even impossible, but i believe the nature of the problem is pretty slippery, so something like this could just work for you!

First of all - if you have dual ddr sticks of ram - MAKE SURE THEY ARE INSERTED IN THE CORRECT DUAL DIMM SLOTS!

Read your motherboard manual! I realised, after a year and a half of using my system i hadn't even been using dual ddr :| I didn't realise you needed to use a specific configuration - i just plugged the suckers in.

If that solves your problem, congratulations - it solved mine.

But then it came BACK!

so then i tried another dual configurement on my motherboard - and problem solved again.

It also seems as if whenever i changed the sticks around after i start getting the problem (happened a couple of times) it works again - i can't explain this, i have no idea why that would work, perhaps someone else could explain it...

But it worked for me, so if anyone else has this problem with 2 sticks of dual ram - try it and let me and everyone else know if it works.
 
'Dual channel ram' is just a marketing scam that you seem to have been suckered in to.

That is, buying a specific set of dual channel ram has no advantage over just buying 2 ram sticks at the same time made by the same manufacturer. Unless you go for the rediculous "golden sample" type high-end OTT gimmicky ram, in which case it is a better performer, but you pay through the nose for it.

Also, having any 2 ram sticks in a non-dual channel configuration shouldn't have anything to do with it - dual channel doesn't enable some magical abilities in the ram, all it does it make it run more efficiently.

So if changing your ram sticks around in your motherboard really -was- the solution to your problem, and not just a conincidence, then it sounds like your motherboard has got dodgy ram slots and you might want to run a ram diagnostic program to find out, rather than your ram somehow being 'configured' wrong.
 
"A geforce mx with 64 mb of ram, was my old video card. It worked, but the game just wasn't impressive visually."

I'm not too picky on how well a game looks visually. How did the game perform on the card. My main problem with my current card is the slowdown I get at open areas and the fact that I cannot play on any deathmatch maps other than steamlab or any counterstrike map other than prodigy. Thanks for the help.
 
If you want cheap take a Radeon 9600 or X300 (my card). You can actually run HL2 at 1280*1024 at max settings on an X300 if you're willing to play at 20-30 fps. No AA/AF though.
 
I thought that these Memory reading errors were just a mistake in coding... I've encountered the same problems with other software, where it was a matter of a dodgy piece of code somewhere, so the problem may lie within the engine somewhere.
 
Memory reference errors:

I had them for a bit, usually got a message about a missing texture or something first, then quickly followed by the memory reference error.

I copied one of the GCF files from another version of HL2 which was working at the same point where my other PC crashed. I then pasted the copied file into the relevant folder and allowed it to overwrite the existing, non-working one. This worked first time, and I've never had the problem come back once.

They key was to identify the 'missing file', track down the right GCF (where it was located) and then simply C+P it in place. I've mentioned this solution before but no-one seems to have a) tried it or b) if they did, they never said if it worked or not.

You have to have access to a working version of Half Life 2 in order to do this though - even copying the GCF files from a mate's PC if you have to. The GCF in question for me was sourcematerials.gcf. I'd tried all the suggested fixes and none worked, but my solution did - well for me at least.

If you do try it, please let me know if works via PM :)
 
just throwing this out here, but can the people with this problem tell me two things: how much free space do you have on your HD, and how many mods/other source games do you have installed?
 
quick question...how do you go about finding which GCF file is causing the problem...your soulution sounds interesting however i will need some more direction in order to carry it out...anything to play HL2, im growing quite uneasy!
 
Well, it's only going to work if you get a 'missing bla bla bla in bla bla' before the memory reference error pops up. I had two errors y'see. First was about the missing texture, second was the memory reference one.

If you get the 'missing' message, it will show you a path in the error message itself. Somewhere in that message will be a .GCF reference (eg sourcematerials.gcf) - if that's the case, then copy 'sourcematerials.gcf' from a working version of HL2 to your non-working version.
 
mingmong said:
just throwing this out here, but can the people with this problem tell me two things: how much free space do you have on your HD, and how many mods/other source games do you have installed?
Click to expand...

Well, my OS drive (where Steam is installed) has 35GB free on it (74GB raptor), and I have no MODS installed, only HL2, HL2DM, and CS:S.

I've got this error from time to time, though only this error, nothing else.
It's infrequent, but not rare enough (I'd say 5 times in the last 3 months).
It also only happens for me after playing for over an hour, in Deathmatch only.
 
My error occurs when I attempt to change the video settings the game. I'm at medium and would like to switch some values to low but when I make the change and click apply it freezes and sometime the error message will pop up while others it remain in a deep freeze.
 
Busithoth said:
Well, my OS drive (where Steam is installed) has 35GB free on it (74GB raptor), and I have no MODS installed, only HL2, HL2DM, and CS:S.

I've got this error from time to time, though only this error, nothing else.
It's infrequent, but not rare enough (I'd say 5 times in the last 3 months).
It also only happens for me after playing for over an hour, in Deathmatch only.
Click to expand...
Thanks. How much RAM do you have?
 
Lanthanide said:
'Dual channel ram' is just a marketing scam that you seem to have been suckered in to.
Click to expand...

I wasn't suckered into anything, it worked out cheaper to buy the 2 stick set :).

Lanthanide said:
Also, having any 2 ram sticks in a non-dual channel configuration shouldn't have anything to do with it - dual channel doesn't enable some magical abilities in the ram, all it does it make it run more efficiently.
Click to expand...

Yeah, it really shouldn't have anything to do with it. It's bizarre. I know that's what dual channel does by the way :thumbs:

Lanthanide said:
So if changing your ram sticks around in your motherboard really -was- the solution to your problem, and not just a conincidence, then it sounds like your motherboard has got dodgy ram slots and you might want to run a ram diagnostic program to find out, rather than your ram somehow being 'configured' wrong.
Click to expand...

That's what i thought too, so i ran memtest 86 and it found no errors, ran through about 10 times while i went and did stuff.
I can say with absolute confidence it's not a coincidence - i can create memory errors by switching them around, or setting it up to not use dual channel - however it's not 100% consistent. Some days are good, some are bad.

It's a freaky problem, and a freakier solution on my part. Right now though, after doing that - everything is running smoothly with no crashes.

Oh yeah, and another note to people - check your system temparature, i realised that some of my crashes were a temparature issue.
 
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