*CRASH* The memory could not be 'read' error, for HL2 and CS:S

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update to blame?

I started getting this error msg;

--The instruction at "0x454c4941" referenced memory at "0x454c4941" the memory could not be read.

It started happening when I downloaded the feb 24/05 update for CS, it has affected all of my source games.

Any ideas I'd like to hear them, Im going to try some things suggested in previous posts.
 
I fixed my problem!

I dunno if this will help anyone else, but I found this soln on some random forum( I dont know which) when I first got HL2, when i was having the same problem, it doesn't really make any sense but it seems to work, and this is the third time i've had to do it, seems like after every major update it needs to be done.


"Originally Posted by Dominator5158
I HAVE FOUND THE ANSWER!!!!!!!

OK DO THIS IT WORKED AND HAS NOT CRASHED FOR ME AT ALL...

GO HERE

C:\Program Files\Valve\Steam\SteamApps\YOURACCOUNTNAME\half-life 2

Then go into where you see Bin folder and then press CTRL+A then CTRL+C then go back to :


C:\Program Files\Valve\Steam\SteamApps\YOURACCOUNTNAME\half-life 2

Then PASTE ALL OBJETCS!!!

Then COPy EVERY SINGLE THING AGAIN THT U SEE HERE :


C:\Program Files\Valve\Steam\SteamApps\YOURACCOUNTNAME\half-life 2

EVERYTHINGGG!!! EXCEPT EXCEPT EXCEPT EXCEPT EXCEPT
EXCEPT EXCEPT EXCEPT EXCEPT EXCEPT EXCEPT EXCEPT
for
BIN folder and then go into BIN Folder and Paste and if it asks you to Replace Press YES!!!

AND IT WORKS!!!!!
works for me and others....i hope and i give you guys my best luck to get your game you payed for working!!!"
 
Pestilence[EDA] said:
I started getting this error msg;

--The instruction at "0x454c4941" referenced memory at "0x454c4941" the memory could not be read.

It started happening when I downloaded the feb 24/05 update for CS, it has affected all of my source games.

Any ideas I'd like to hear them, Im going to try some things suggested in previous posts.
Click to expand...

same here it's gettin terrible, before the update i was fine.
 
an update started giving me the error almost a month ago. every forum i post in people usually tell me my computer sucks, but it was running the game beautifully since i bought it and minutes after the update it started giving me the referenced memory error.
 
i actually got a blue screen of death, but there was no eror message while playing source.
 
the fix posted by 5hfifty and pestilence worked. i owe you guys, thanks for the help. this error was driving me nuts. everyone try this fix!
 
I have never gotten this error message. And then I added a widnow to one of my buildings adn went to test it and got the error... Now why in god's name would THAT happen?

[edit] it says one version of it is caused by "Alt+Tab" ing to the desk top. But I've done this since day one of mapping and never had the problem.

Could it be Nvidia's 5500 FX video card's new beta driver (though I've had it for a week w/o problem)...
 
I am getting now that when i buy a scout the game give's me a memory read error. Also the game puts the scout into my left hand but all other guns in game are in the right hand(so if i'm speccing it looks like there left handing scouts only). This is really wierd.
 
So that method that Pestilence posted.. the last step you copy all the files and everything but the bin directory? That means you copy the \hl2 directory into the \bin.. that kinda sucks since it's 250mb or so. But I guess if it works it doesn't really matter. And what about when the next update happens? The same procedure?
 
I posted in with the problem (and my system info) back on page 69 of this thread (post no 1028 to save quoting it).

Something else that changed for me about the time it started was I had a driver update for the laptop's Radeon from Dell (can't use ATi's). Earlier this week I had another update and tried HL2 again. It seems that although I can't use the corrupted saves, I can now save/autosave and pick these new files up another day. So I'm hoping I'm out of this issue now. Here's hoping.

I'm now on driver version 6.14.10.6497.

I'm blaming the old graphics driver. Bad old driver.
 
couple of questions...where exactly am I first copying the files from?

inside the \half-life 2 folder are 2 folders,bin and hl2 then the hl2.exe..

am I copying the contents of \hl2 to its own bin folder or to the \half-life 2\bin folder?

all the examples given end on \half-life 2,which has me slightly unsure of what to do!

and does this fix all source games on its own or do I have to do the same thing to each one?
 
Same crash (memory can't be read)

I am getting the same crash as most of you, I have a Asus MB - P$4 3.4 ghz overclocked 5%, an ATI 9800 Pro, Soundblaster Audigy LS and a gig of ram. It only happens very close to the end of the game.

Would be nice if a fix were in the works as i can't finish the game.

BigBob
 
no shit...

same exact problem.
ive updated my gfx drivers, updated my BIOS, updated damn near everything. tried the copy and paste fix...and im still getting no love from half-life 2.

as far as i can tell, it seems to be pretty random when it happens...there are no specific points in game, and when it happens in deathmatch, it seems to be when something explodes...but not everytime. like i said...random. valve better figure something out soon...the typical guy with the typical computer ought to be able to run this game without having to go diving into the BIOS. hell, most store-bought PC's wont even let you modify your BIOS, i know mine wont.

ive got a dell 4500
2.0 gHz
1 gig RAM
radeon 9550 256mb
windows xp sp2
 
Same Mem Read error!

Bought HL2 4 days ago and have been pis*ed off ever since. Tryd re-install, ram dimm changes, driver changes, cvar extentions, graphic setting changes, HL2 cache validation. Nothing *ucken helps! Memory cant be read. I waited 4 months to buy the game after it came out, so i wouldnt have to deal with any major playability problems and now i find out that thousands of other poor bas*ard gamers have the same issue restricting from playing the "best game ever"(pcgamer). 71 pages of forum and no sollutions. Valve + VUG Get your head outa your asses and fix this obvious flaw in your Source engine now!

AMD Athlon 64 3000+
Gigabyte K8NS Pro
Nvidia onboard AC97 Audio
ATI Radeon 9800 Pro
512Mb Corsair PC4000 Pro
512Mb Elixir PC3200
 
Apocalypse said:
Bought HL2 4 days ago and have been pis*ed off ever since. Tryd re-install, ram dimm changes, driver changes, cvar extentions, graphic setting changes, HL2 cache validation. Nothing *ucken helps! Memory cant be read. I waited 4 months to buy the game after it came out, so i wouldnt have to deal with any major playability problems and now i find out that thousands of other poor bas*ard gamers have the same issue restricting from playing the "best game ever"(pcgamer). 71 pages of forum and no sollutions. Valve + VUG Get your head outa your asses and fix this obvious flaw in your Source engine now!

AMD Athlon 64 3000+
Gigabyte K8NS Pro
Nvidia onboard AC97 Audio
ATI Radeon 9800 Pro
512Mb Corsair PC4000 Pro
512Mb Elixir PC3200
Click to expand...


Have you tired removing one of your RAM sticks and running HL2 like that? You have two different kind so that might be a cause of the problem although I'm not too entirely sure on that. I recomend you take one out and seeing if you get that Memory Read error.
 
I feel ya

Have the same problem, tried all the fixes out there, etc... Ran Memtest and other assorted diagnostics and everything checks out. Not OC"ing processor or video card, and cooling in the case is more than adequate. I never had this problem before I let steam update the files recently. Far as I know I am free of spyware/trojans/adware. Everything else "just works".

X800pro: Audigy LS: FX-53: SK8V socket 940: 1 Gig of Kingston HyperX registered/ECC DDR 400
 
You can run mismatched Memory, however you have to set the Timings to the slower Memory Stick and further reduce the Timings because you are running two Sticks. See if 3,3,3,10 works. When dealing with the newest technology you have to be patient there are always going to be little bugs.
 
I have this problem too
It started after i installed SP2 for XP although it could have been caused by any number of things
P4 3 gHz
128 mb Radeon 9700
512mb Ram
 
I'll never had that ''crash'' but it looks like a memory problem or something..I cant help you sorry .. But sometimes it workes to reinstall windows or something but thats not that funny ..but Css keep up the fraaging :D
 
Data Excecution Prevention in SP2

Completely unistalled steam / reinstalled and re-downloaded Half Life 2. Tried to start a new game and I crash during loading screen with ENGINE ERROR:"could not load model GMAN_HIGH.VVD" followed by the memory could not be "read" error. Apparently, Event Viewer does not make note of the crash. I consistently get this crash, though HL2 used to run like a scalded dog before. Have verified files /defragged all that good stuff.


Is it possible that AMD 64 users are getting memory errors because of the Data Excecution Prevention feature? I really doubt this is the problem but I'm exploring all possibilities since I cannot get half-life2 running again. Experimented with turning of DEP for HL2.EXE and STEAM.EXE and made no difference. I suspect that if this was the problem, DEP would "notify" you as it says below.

Microsoft knowledge base had this to say...

Data Execution Prevention (DEP) helps prevent damage from viruses and other security threats that attack by running (executing) malicious code from memory locations that only Windows and other programs should use. This type of threat causes damage by taking over one or more memory locations in use by a program. Then it spreads and harms other programs, files, and even your e-mail contacts.

Unlike a firewall or antivirus program, DEP does not help prevent harmful programs from being installed on your computer. Instead, it monitors your programs to determine if they use system memory safely. To do this, DEP software works alone or with compatible microprocessors to mark some memory locations as "non-executable". If a program tries to run code—malicious or not—from a protected location, DEP closes the program and notifies you.

DEP can take advantage of software and hardware support. To use DEP, your computer must be running Microsoft Windows XP Service Pack 2 (SP2) or later, or Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 1 or later. DEP software alone helps protect against certain types of malicious code attacks but to take full advantage of the protection that DEP can offer, your processor must support "execution protection". This is a hardware-based technology designed to mark memory locations as non-executable. If your processor does not support hardware-based DEP, it's a good idea to upgrade to a processor that offers execution protection features.

I'm probably swinging at nothing, but I have tried nearly every solution i can dig up. I doubt that it is an issue with my RAM, I'm running registered memory that is supported/recommended by the manufacturer, timings are set by Serial Presence Detect and they are correct according to the manufacturer. Experimented with ECC on and off, different AGP aperature sizes - running out of stuff to try. Everything is current and up to date. Anyone still having this problem?

Windows XP Home SP2
Sapphire X800XTPE
asus SK8V/AMD64 FX-53 socket 940
1GB Kingston HyperX registered/ecc DDR400
Soundmax VT8237 integrated audio
Enermax 470w PSU
 
Darkfallen said:
Completely unistalled steam / reinstalled and re-downloaded Half Life 2. Tried to start a new game and I crash during loading screen with ENGINE ERROR:"could not load model GMAN_HIGH.VVD" followed by the memory could not be "read" error. Apparently, Event Viewer does not make note of the crash. I consistently get this crash, though HL2 used to run like a scalded dog before. Have verified files /defragged all that good stuff.


Is it possible that AMD 64 users are getting memory errors because of the Data Excecution Prevention feature? I really doubt this is the problem but I'm exploring all possibilities since I cannot get half-life2 running again. Experimented with turning of DEP for HL2.EXE and STEAM.EXE and made no difference. I suspect that if this was the problem, DEP would "notify" you as it says below.

Microsoft knowledge base had this to say...

Data Execution Prevention (DEP) helps prevent damage from viruses and other security threats that attack by running (executing) malicious code from memory locations that only Windows and other programs should use. This type of threat causes damage by taking over one or more memory locations in use by a program. Then it spreads and harms other programs, files, and even your e-mail contacts.

Unlike a firewall or antivirus program, DEP does not help prevent harmful programs from being installed on your computer. Instead, it monitors your programs to determine if they use system memory safely. To do this, DEP software works alone or with compatible microprocessors to mark some memory locations as "non-executable". If a program tries to run code—malicious or not—from a protected location, DEP closes the program and notifies you.

DEP can take advantage of software and hardware support. To use DEP, your computer must be running Microsoft Windows XP Service Pack 2 (SP2) or later, or Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 1 or later. DEP software alone helps protect against certain types of malicious code attacks but to take full advantage of the protection that DEP can offer, your processor must support "execution protection". This is a hardware-based technology designed to mark memory locations as non-executable. If your processor does not support hardware-based DEP, it's a good idea to upgrade to a processor that offers execution protection features.

I'm probably swinging at nothing, but I have tried nearly every solution i can dig up. I doubt that it is an issue with my RAM, I'm running registered memory that is supported/recommended by the manufacturer, timings are set by Serial Presence Detect and they are correct according to the manufacturer. Experimented with ECC on and off, different AGP aperature sizes - running out of stuff to try. Everything is current and up to date. Anyone still having this problem?

Windows XP Home SP2
Sapphire X800XTPE
asus SK8V/AMD64 FX-53 socket 940
1GB Kingston HyperX registered/ecc DDR400
Soundmax VT8237 integrated audio
Enermax 470w PSU
Click to expand...
Via just released a new set of Hyperion Drivers today also run Check Disk and click on fix errors.
 
Thanks for the heads up on the new chipset drivers... still crashing in the same spot tho...

Have ran a chkdsk recently on both arrays , i'm gonna schedule another one for next reboot just in case. Previously reported both arrays clean.
 
Darkfallen said:
Thanks for the heads up on the new chipset drivers... still crashing in the same spot tho...

Have ran a chkdsk recently on both arrays , i'm gonna schedule another one for next reboot just in case. Previously reported both arrays clean.
Click to expand...
What do you have your memory timings set at?
 
My fix was just to mess with BIOS setting and stuff and it finally stopped doing it lol. But I can honestly tell you that I dont know what fixed it, maybe it was the new ram or new power supply <---Underrated thing to check out and fixing my memory timings and even still i get it ever so often. Very annoying
 
Changed Tras to 10, and command rate to "auto" which defaults to 2t. still crashing in the same spot. Appreciate the help and giving me new things to try. Would rather not relax the timings any further, feel like they were set pretty conservative. Half-life 2 ran error-free up until now... I think the problem lies within an application that wont release those memory locations that half-life 2 throws the models into.

edit:"auto" setting defaults to 1t command rate, "enabled" setting forces 2t.
 
Darkfallen said:
Changed Tras to 10, and command rate to "auto" which defaults to 2t. still crashing in the same spot. Appreciate the help and giving me new things to try. Would rather not relax the timings any further, feel like they were set pretty conservative. Half-life 2 ran error-free up until now... I think the problem lies within an application that wont release those memory locations that half-life 2 throws the models into.
Click to expand...
Those are not relaxed timings they are the suggested timings for your setup.
 
Ram datasheet says suggested timings are 3-3-3-8-1 for dual channel kit

I'm leaving it there unless I start having problems with another game or application.

The fact that it used to run flawlessly makes me suspect that a steam update has changed the game in a way that my hardware doesn't like.

Gonna toy around some more, probably overlooking something...
 
Seems some x800 pro/pe users have got around this problem by rolling back their drivers to catalyst 5.10 or as far back as 4.12... I'm a big fan of the game, but I'm gonna hold out until Valve or ATI come up with a better solution for this crash... submitted request for help and msinfo to Steam support and ATI, hope to get some kind of response.
 
michaelsil1 said:
Those are not relaxed timings they are the suggested timings for your setup.
Click to expand...

ya, SPD timing tables set by the manufacturer are often set more aggressive than the motherboard manufacturer recommends. I usually go with the SPD timings if i'm not having issues.
 
Older Drivers Fix my Memory Read Error

Finally broke down and uninstalled the new Catalyst drivers. Used some year-old driver 6.14.10.6444 (4.10?) and now Half Life 2 runs FLAWLESSLY and butter smooth, when before it would not even get past the first loading screen when starting a new game.

Thanks for help all.
 
Well, to let you all know about this error, me and a couple of guys figured out that the ASUS A8V Deluxe motherboard has problems with Half-Life alone, seeing that this is the ONLY game that crashes on the computer. My current system is down below, and another guy's is right below and is having the same issue:

Mine:
ASUS A8V Deluxe
AMD 3200+ 64-bit 939pin
1gig DDR 400 (2 x 512)
ATI Radeon X800 XT

His:
ASUS A8V Deluxe
AMD 3500+ 64-bit 939pin
nVidia 6800GT
1gig DDR 400 (2 x 512)

So there you have it. We think that there's an issue with the motherboards themselves. I still think that this is an issue with Steam, seeing that this motherboard model isn't the only one... I hope.

Oh... and a solution? Still nothing. If anyone can help me with this, much is appriciated. This is the third forum I've been to, and hopefully this is the one I'll stick with if this problem is fixed.
 
^^slightly off-topic


Did you just decide to post that in some random thread? There is a hole in the wall, put a box or something there and jump up.
 
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