LOOOOOOONG Loading Times...

joule

joule

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I've tried many things to reduce the loading times. I don't know what the problem is. Is it my computer or the game?

Here are my specs:
P4 2.26 GHz
768 DDR-SDRAM (PC-3200) [CORSAIR]
This video card

I've done the following to help reduce loading pauses:
* -heapsize 256000
* mat_forcemanagedtextureintohardware 0/1
* cl_smooth 0
* sv_forcepreload 1
* Set the video options to an enjoyable level

I'll be waiting anywhere from 15 seconds to 1.5 minutes. ;(

I think the patch that was released made the stuttering even worse. So I disabled it.

Please help. Thanks.
 
You didn't mention defragmenting your hard drive? Have you tried that yet?

Unfortunately The load times you mentioned seem par for the course, at least for me.
 
Loading isn't great in general, but I'd say nearer 10-15 seconds for me. Certainly nowhere near minutes. Some thoughts:

Have you got DMA turned on for all drives? What's your AGP aperture size in the BIOS?
 
I have the same problem - it takes up to 3 mins for the game to load to the menu screen and around 30-60 seconds between loading zones.

<<My Rig: P2.8Ghz @ 400FSB, 1Gb Matched DDR, Radeon 9600 Pro>>
 
Latin_Jones said:
You didn't mention defragmenting your hard drive? Have you tried that yet?

Unfortunately The load times you mentioned seem par for the course, at least for me.
Click to expand...
I haven't defragmented since the 15th. I guess I'll go ahead and defragment again. :hmph:
 
koopa said:
Have you got DMA turned on for all drives? What's your AGP aperture size in the BIOS?
Click to expand...
Explain. I have no idea. :rolling:

Sorry for the double post. :O
 
Not only for HL2, the fact that I get load times at all in HL:S is rather annoying. Sure they're about 15 seconds, but pre-steam HL used to load instantly. What the heck is the source engine doing?
 
In the launch option for HL2 (or in the command line if you use the shortcut) add -console to the end. This will remove the 3d background to the menu, thus shortening the time it takes for HL2 to load up. Cant help you with the map load times though.
 
joule said:
Explain. I have no idea. :rolling:

Sorry for the double post. :O
Click to expand...
Hmm, so you made a double post, and either knew you were making one to put "Sorry for the double post" in it.. or you went and edited this one to say it, so you know about the edit button..

Busted :)
 
How do I change my AGP aperture size in BIOS? How do I get into BIOS?

TigerRei said:
In the launch option for HL2 (or in the command line if you use the shortcut) add -console to the end. This will remove the 3d background to the menu, thus shortening the time it takes for HL2 to load up. Cant help you with the map load times though.
Click to expand...
Yeah. I know about that. I have done that. I just want to reduce my loading pauses in-game.
 
ScRaTcH-A-HoLiC said:
are you talking about the main loading time or in between each level??
Click to expand...
In between each level. Like when I am walking in the game and then all-of-a-sudden I hit a loading screen where it says "LOADING..." in the middle of the screen.

The Dark Elf said:
Hmm, so you made a double post, and either knew you were making one to put "Sorry for the double post" in it.. or you went and edited this one to say it, so you know about the edit button..

Busted :)
Click to expand...
:O :LOL:
Not busted. I edited my post afterwards without stating "EDIT". I do know about the edit button, as you can tell. :)
 
Is this your first time playing through the game,it may be downloading bits and pieces off Steam.Tis just a thought.
 
When I had 512m of memory I used to have long loading times,
but when I upgraded to 1 gig all in dual channel mode, my loading times were cut down alot.



do you have 3 sitcks or 2 sicks of memory in your motherboard??
 
Voodoo_Chile said:
Is this your first time playing through the game,it may be downloading bits and pieces off Steam.Tis just a thought.
Click to expand...
No. This isn't my first time playing through the game. I bought the Collector's Edition last week and have been playing ever since.
ScRaTcH-A-HoLiC said:
When I had 512m of memory I used to have long loading times,
but when I upgraded to 1 gig all in dual channel mode, my loading times were cut down alot.



do you have 3 sitcks or 2 sicks of memory in your motherboard??
Click to expand...
I have one stick of 512 and one stick of 256. Which equals 768. :p
 
post your system specs and how many memory slots you have..


edit: are the two sticks of memory the same brand and timings?
 
ScRaTcH-A-HoLiC said:
post your system specs and how many memory slots you have..
Click to expand...
My system specs are in the first post. :O
I have two memory slots. Both are taken up. One by the 512 and the other by the 256. :E
 
I have one stick of 256
My loading zones are a minimum of 2 minutes ^_^
If it wasn't such a good game; it'd really ruin it.
 
Ikerous said:
I have one stick of 256
My loading zones are a minimum of 2 minutes ^_^
If it wasn't such a good game; it'd really ruin it.
Click to expand...
...And what did you contribute that was so useful to this thread?! :frown:
 
ScRaTcH-A-HoLiC said:
i didnt say speed(pc3200)400 i said timings.
Click to expand...
Yes. Both are the same.

But as someone said in the first page of this thread, how do I change the AGP aperture size in BIOS or something like that?
 
joule said:
Yes. Both are the same.

But as someone said in the first page of this thread, how do I change the AGP aperture size in BIOS or something like that?
Click to expand...

yah its right in the bios.

hit delete when your booting up and you can get in.

also you should read up on tweaking your memory, maybe that could help..
 
ScRaTcH-A-HoLiC said:
yah its right in the bios.

hit delete when your booting up and you can get in.

also you should read up on tweaking your memory, maybe that could help..
Click to expand...
What should I change my aperture size to in BIOS?
 
ScRaTcH-A-HoLiC said:
set it the same size as your video cards memory. 128
Click to expand...
Ok. Thanks. I will try that now. Be back soon.
 
Are you using high quality or medium quality textures? I find that loading times are 2-3 times longer on High than they are on Medium. Which is why I don't use high quality textures. :(
 
diluted said:
Are you using high quality or medium quality textures? I find that loading times are 2-3 times longer on High than they are on Medium. Which is why I don't use high quality textures. :(
Click to expand...
I use High Quality because I can handle it.

Also, Scratch. I changed the APG Aperture size to 128. I then played. Sadly, I see no real improvement in loading. What now?
 
FictiousWill said:
Not only for HL2, the fact that I get load times at all in HL:S is rather annoying. Sure they're about 15 seconds, but pre-steam HL used to load instantly. What the heck is the source engine doing?
Click to expand...
Physics, sounds, special effects and lighting have all been added or vastly beefed up. Then there's the general overheads of running a modern engine compared to a six-seven years old one.
 
ScRaTcH-A-HoLiC said:
damn, I try to help and you like to yell!! :angry:

wtf?

Good luck!!! :devil:
Click to expand...
Sorry if I came off like that. Didn't mean to yell at you and all. :)

But seriously, is there anything else I can do to reduce loading times? I am in desperate need. Please!
 
Apart from getting a SCSI Raid 5 Array and 2 GB of Ram, not to mention a 256 MB Video Card..oh, and not using Win XP can help too, especially SP 2 :( At some point I will install Win 2K and see how much better it runs :rolleyes:
 
Does your board support Dual Channel memory? It is obviously running in Single which doesn't help any. If your board does support dual channel memory then it would be best to ditch the 256MB stick and put in a 512MB stick. If it doesn't support Dual Channel Memory then there is nothing you can do hardware wise with that system.

The best you could do is use those heapsize and other commands, plus closing background applications. gl
 
Asus said:
Does your board support Dual Channel memory? It is obviously running in Single which doesn't help any. If your board does support dual channel memory then it would be best to ditch the 256MB stick and put in a 512MB stick. If it doesn't support Dual Channel Memory then there is nothing you can do hardware wise with that system.

The best you could do is use those heapsize and other commands, plus closing background applications. gl
Click to expand...
Alright. Thanks Asus. I have changed the heapsize and I always make sure that no background applications are open.

How do I know if my board supports Dual Channel memory?
 
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