Is This Your Issue Too?

[G-Dog]

Ok, I have been unable to play HL2 for more than 20min without a crash.

Starts with a sound stutter, then graphics lockup...sound stutters more then screen either goes black, or a crazy distorted view of the last thing i was looking at. 95% of the time it is hard lock and I have to re-boot.

AMD64 3000+
1024 mb DDR-SDRAM (2 x 512 mb sticks)
Radeon 9800 Pro 128mb (Newest Catalyst Drivers)
Seanix mainboard MS-6471
Creative SB Audigy LS Soundcard (newest Drivers)

Now I used to think I was getting the same crash as the "memory Crash" experienced by so many people, but Im not getting any errors in my Event Viewer after I reboot.

Im just getting this terrible awful hellish lock-up after anywhere from 5-15min of play.

Anyone experiencing the same problem?
thanks

 

[^Ben]

Yas, when my graphics card was overheating I would get exactly the same thing.

Do any other newish games get the same symptons?

 

[G-Dog]

Actually yes, just recently my game DAWN OF WAR started doing somthing similar.....but it WAS working fine?

So may be a heat issue you think?
How can I be sure?

 

[clarky003]

all my other games work fine.. 9600 XT is working fine.. HL2 is just a resource hog at the moment.. low framerates when complex stuff happens.. and it'll lock up every now and then.. similar situation.. if you want to be a bit more sound of mind.. im pretty sure its game engine to system compatability issues, I have a theory that an update a week or 2 ago.. 'for some reason' has caused instabilities with certain types of memory chip sets. which is why im going to fiddle with my memory configuration 2 morrow :/ .

 

[G-Dog]

all my other games work fine.. 9600 XT is working fine.. HL2 is just a resource hog at the moment.. low framerates when complex stuff happens.. and it'll lock up every now and then.. similar situation.. if you want to be a bit more sound of mind.. im pretty sure its game engine to system compatability issues, I have a theory that an update a week or 2 ago.. 'for some reason' has caused instabilities with certain types of memory chip sets. which is why im going to fiddle with my memory configuration 2 morrow :/ .

ummmm thanks

Read my specs and you will see I can handle a game this demanding.

My FPS are staying up around 75 in the first "trainstation" level which is pretty large, while peaking out at 150 in tight places.

Obviously its somthing between the game engine and my system, considering Im trying to run the game.......on my system.

This happens regardless as to what is happening on screen, even if I just sit at the options screen, which does suggest my graphics card is overheating. Longest I have gone before crashing is about 20 min. I cant belive my new system is giving me grief already!?

I have everything tweaked way down in the game now, and it goes for a little longer without crashing, but Im not going to enjoy a game in 10 min nitervals! heh heh

Any sugestions?

If I was getting an error it would show up in EVENT VIEWER correct?

Thanks all

 

[clarky003]

its not your G card. its resource access problems,, suggesting its memory based problems (doesnt mean your memory isnt working properly, just might mean the engine doesnt want to co-operate with it).. it deteriorates... so its definately the game engine, it doesnt seem to be co-operating with certain types of computers/ types of configurations.

the best thing is to post your specs to valve... and help them along with getting ontop of this strange problem.. which for the life of me (sorry valve ) seems source engine related.

10 minute intervals,, lol, same for me... ah well. should get sorted out sooner or later

 

[Beavis]

Boy am I glad to see someone else is having trouble playing the game. All my other games play perfectly but for some unknown reason the most expensive one is the one that doesn't run anymore.

Just my luck.

 

[^Ben]

No it's the graphics card.

Does your card have some kind of filter? Has it got execcisve dust around the fans? Are you overclocking it.

 

[clarky003]

it may of been your card Ben, but I highly doubt in this case that everyones graphics cards are causing this problem, its pretty blatant, unless hundreds of peoples graphics cards arnt set up right to play one game,, the engine should beable to adapt. + it cant be,, ill quite happily play farcry, and DoomIII with no problem atall.. as soon as I play HL2 its like Gordon has intermitant parkinsons disease, that eventually freezes him in time.

 

[Jangle]

this is the exact problem im having, and nobody would try to solve it. They just told me to look on valve website, but there is no help that works. I emailed valve but they didnt reply. You think this can be sorted?

 

[^Ben]

"Actually yes, just recently my game DAWN OF WAR started doing somthing similar.....but it WAS working fine?"

Another game has started doing it, a tell tale sign that his graphics card is overheating while playing games.

 

[Evolution_rulz]

ummm hmmm well i had this trouble with doom3 with my old graphics card, i tried setting it on different settings with rad linker and stuff, then it kinda screwed it up, plus if u HAVE overclocked at some point, and not done it properly it can start to screw things up, mine did this aswell i learnt my lesson lol

 

[Kruel]

Same prob here... I've got a GeForce4 4600 TI and HL2 won't last 10 minutes without freezing up.

I had the same problem with Q3 and my old GeForce2. The way I solved it back then was by underclocking my video card. I just downloaded some software and I'm about to try that with HL2.

 

[Beavis]

My problem isn't consistent. I just played Counter Strike for over an hour without any problems. I would bet my next paycheck that I could reboot my machine and run Counter Strike again and it would freeze up.

Very strange.

 

[Evolution_rulz]

hmmm how long have u had/played the game for and when did this start to happen? somtimes reinstalling the game can help

 

[G-Dog]

So it seems to be Graphic Card overheating problem, the crashes in both HL2 and Dawn Of War are fairly similar, crashing about 5 min in and resulting in a hard lock with crazy display.

So wtf I just need to add fans......set my card to lower level of perfomance? Seems like it SHOULD work fine on its own...its dust free and never been overclocked.

I can play other games endlessly, so I suppose it is the demanding new games I have......and subsquently cant play because of my new video card....pissles!

 

[Maxi]

I'd RMA the card.

 

[^Ben]

Well the problem with mine was that my graphics cards fan has a filter and that had become clogged up. And once I removed that it was good to go.

Maybe underclock the card by 5HZ shouldnt be much speed lost and a decrease like that usually helps.

 

[Evolution_rulz]

just make sure u know what ur doing, dont go and screw ur card up by doing somthing u shouldn't

 

[Sid Burn]

how could that be? I myself has a pretty weak PC...
P4 1.5GHz
512MB SDRAM
Radeon 9200SE 128MB DDR RAM
Win XP Pro

though my game run perfectly... except for the damn bugs!!!

 

[G-Dog]

I'd RMA the card.

Im guessing RMA is meant to be remove?
Maybe Id remove it to check for any marks from overheating, my borther has same card, 9800PRO 128mb and his has actually burnt one of the connector receptors on his power cable from card.

But I really dont wanna replace a $400 CND video card when it may be somthing else.

Do I roll back drivers....
Do I underclock it as suggested below....
Do I need to install additional fans to cool it....

Im going to look into all of these but anything helps.

**It was running "Dawn Of War" (3D intensive...I think) fine about a month ago...now I am getting similar type of graphics crash where it locks with crazy colour stripes on screen****

What else can I tell you all to get more suggestions, ummmmm
There are no logs in the EVENT Viewer after it happens that give me any clues? (how can I copy that to show others?)

Having an unstable system and not being able to figure out the problem....as you all know is, very, very unsettling.
Thanks for any help!

 

[^Ben]

RMA means end it back to the manafactures or to the place you got it if it's still under warranty.