HL2 crashes, screen just turns black.

[Metabo]

Hello. I purchased the game just a few days ago, but had only problems since.
At first there seemed to be the old "stuttering" error, but after checking the steam/valve support and updating sound drivers everything seemed to be okay. But now when I play the game everything turns black after a few minutes. At first everything seems fine and suddenly everything is dead and I have to turn off the power to restart the pc. I tried some suggestions like disabling the sound (which prevented HL2 from starting), turning off sound hardware acceleration, turning off all non-necessary programs that run in the background etc.
There are no error messages within the game and it runs very smoothly.
In-game setting are set on "recommended".
My system:
P4 2,6
512 MB Ram
ATI Radeon 9600 Tx (got new drivers)
Some soundcard from RealTek (AC97) I suspect(ed) of being responsible for the whole mess (new drivers, too)

 

[Beerdude26]

Have you tried running it in window mode?

1. Open Steam
2. Go to the "My Games" tab
3. Right-click the game which needs to be reconfigured
4. Select "Properties" from the menu
5. Click the "Set launch options..." button
6. Add the following command below - be sure to include a space before the "-" and anything before it.


-startwindowed / -sw / -windowed / -window / -win
Use the Window display mode (game appears as a window on the desktop)

 

[Barney Fife]

And check your CPU temp. maybe BIOS is shutting off PC?

If (When played) you end up with BSOD, its most likely driver/hardware related issue. But if PC just turns itself off and you have to manually restart PC is most likely related to overheat.

Good Luck.

 

[Metabo]

When playing the game in windowed mode, the bsod comes even faster. Imo it has nothing to do with overheat, but some driver issues. But how do I find out where's the problem?

 

[Przemek]

Write down the BSOD error message (in capital letters) and errror number, something like 000000x0, etc. Then you can use google to find possible solutions.

Do other games run fine with no problems?
Maybe your RAM generates errors? Try memtest86 or GoldMemory, if you get any errors, your memory sticks are faulty.

What mainboard chipset do you have? If it's not an Intel chipset, try updating mainboard drivers (for example, if you have VIA chipset, download Hyperion or HyperionPro package from viaarena.com). I'm not sure, but maybe Intels require proper drivers too.

Also, have you tried opening your computer case? Maybe it's overheating. When you do that, try removing all the dust - there might be an advanced civilization living in the CPU and GPU radiators

 

[Metabo]

There's no error message, it's a BLACK screen of death. Just a black screen...
How do I find out what's my mainboard/motherboard (except for looking into the manual which I can't find anywhere...)?

 

[Metabo]

I found out something: when I start the game with "-console", the screen turns black after a while as usual, but I am able to minimize and exit the game. So it seems to have sth. to do with my video card...???

 

[Przemek]

May sound odd, but have you tried older video drivers (even 5.x versions)?

To check what motherboard chipset you have, try using a diagnostic program like Everest or Sandra. They aren't freeware, but their trial versions should tell you the chipset name or the mainboard model.

Which Windows version are you using? Do you have the most recent service pack installed (press WIN+PAUSE on your keyboard to check if it says anything about a service pack)?

Do you have FastWrites enabled? Try disabling it in your BIOS or through Ati Tray Tools (http://www.guru3d.com/article/atitraytools/189/ -- look in Hardware -> Smartgart).

 

[Metabo]

At first I'd like to thank you for your help. I found the problem. It really was overheat, since my cooling system doesn't seem to work properly anymore. The computer tried to shut itself down, but that didn't work as it should. I placed a fan next to the case and now I can enjoy HL2. Thanks again