System Freeze w/ looping squelching sound

billy269 said:
Yep, I am still having this problem.
Click to expand...
Same here.
And now with CSS as well. Oh well, I guess we just have to put up with it.
Luckily it doesn't happens often enough to make the games unplayable.
 
ive sorta given up on this game. for some reason ive just lost interest, though im sur eill come back to it someday. it sounds weird, but the only game im playing now is Zelda: A Link to the Past on a snes emulator. i never played this one back in the day, and damn if it isnt fun.
 
Oh my, this thread still lives huh?

Well, all I can really suggest for any of you is to update your RAM by another 512 stick. It fixed just about 80% of the problems I had when I was still on 512 MB.
 
I had the same problem. you have to lower the x8 agp to x4. but the thing that pisses me off is that i cant run any valva games to my optimal performance with my 9800pro =\
fix this valve!
 
Oyaji291 said:
Oh my, this thread still lives huh?

Well, all I can really suggest for any of you is to update your RAM by another 512 stick. It fixed just about 80% of the problems I had when I was still on 512 MB.
Click to expand...



Just bought more RAM. From 512 to 1.25 gb, it did NOTHING.
 
El Scorcho said:
I had the same problem. you have to lower the x8 agp to x4. but the thing that pisses me off is that i cant run any valva games to my optimal performance with my 9800pro =\
fix this valve!
Click to expand...


How/where do you do this?
 
x8 agp to x4
Click to expand...
Most of the time this can cause large amounts of problems with newer video cards (Radeon 9XXX series or the X300/600/800/XXX series)
 
Similar crashes as the rest...

Hey all,

This is directed to sirRealist specifically as you have done some major legwork some 9 months after your original post. A lot of people (myself included) would have given up on Half-Life 2 if they experienced the crashes that all of us have.

Now, don't laugh at what I am about to tell you, I thought you might find this interesting though. My system specs:

Tyan Mobo w/ 512 cache
1.2 GHz Intel P3 CPU
512 MB PC133 SDRAM

I experience the exact same crashes you originally did. I haven't gone through all the fixes listed in this thread yet, I will post those results after I try them.

What I am really getting at here is whether you are playing on an Intel or AMD, 133 FSB or 400 FSB, 512 MB or 1.5 GB of memory, the problem remains and it is very obviously a bug on Valves shoulders that needs to be resolved. HL2 is a great game, I'd like to play it for more than 10 minutes at a time though.

I will post back here when I have gone through all the steps you all have gone through.

Thanks!
 
i used to have the same problem, probably complelty irrelivant, but it was due to overheating of my graphics cards, ended up having to get a new pc tower, now its fine. was a lack of ventelation aparently,
 
Sorry for digging up an old thread guys, but I really need some help/advise. This is pertaining to CS:S/DoD:S. I've read through numerous threads here with no luck. Let me start off by listing my system specs:

Pentium 4 3.4GHZ HT 800FSB
Abit "Fatality" Motherboard
1GB Kingston DDR2 PC-4200 533 RAM
Western Digital 250GB SATA HDD
ATI OEM X700Pro PCI-e
NEC 16XDL-DVD Burner
Asus 52X CDROM
OCZ Modstream PSU (450Watts)
Thermaltake "Tsunami" Case
SB Live

I'll start off saying this. My soundcard is the upmost spot. I've had the same results with onboard sound. All my drivers are up to date. My problem? Almost the same as everyone else's in this thread. What does mine do exactly? Well, let me start by saying I just reformatted. I reinstalled everything and it worked fine for the first couple of days. Prior to reformatting I had real problems. I would boot up PC, fire up CS:S, and prepare to play. I'd say, 5/10 times I wouldn't get past the loading screen. I let it sit several times only to hear my CPU alarm going off. I don't know what was triggering it. Here's where it gets interesting... This would always require a hard reboot of the PC. When I actually did get in, it would freeze within any amount of given time. Sometimes, I could press the windows icon on my keyboard, it would minimize, and I could maximize CS:S and play for hours and hours. What's odd is, it all started happenening suddenly. I notice a couple of times when I would exit the game the screen would appear fuzzy. Big sections would be distorted. Some times it refreshed and fixed itself, sometimes I'd have to click refresh and open/close an application. I would constantly 2/10 times hear the microsoft USB sound for device being unplugged on startup. If I didn't mention already, I got either the looping sound/pre-load freeze. Okay, it got progressivly worse over time. I was up to the point where it would distort the loading screen. I would reboot 2-3 times before I could actually play. I get no errors. Moving on.... I reformatted, it ran smooth for a while. Soon after I started noticing the distortion when I exited the game. Well, then came my first lock up. I left my computer for a sec to grab a drink, came back, moved, FROZE. I refomatted a week ago and It's happened maybe 5 total times since then. I have adequate air flow through the case, I know that's not the problem. I can boot up after being shut off all night, it will crash, so it's not a heat issue. This happens with NO other games, none. I play BF2, BF1942, Far Cry, NFSU2, DooM3 with no problems. Wouldn't that mean it's clearly a HL issue? I've been struggling with this for some time now. Any suggestions/insight would be greatly appreciated.
 
Josh5442 said:
Sorry for digging up an old thread guys, but I really need some help/advise. This is pertaining to CS:S/DoD:S. I've read through numerous threads here with no luck.

I'll start off saying this. My soundcard is the upmost spot. I've had the same results with onboard sound. All my drivers are up to date. My problem? Almost the same as everyone else's in this thread. What does mine do exactly? Well, let me start by saying I just reformatted. I reinstalled everything and it worked fine for the first couple of days. Prior to reformatting I had real problems. I would boot up PC, fire up CS:S, and prepare to play. I'd say, 5/10 times I wouldn't get past the loading screen. I let it sit several times only to hear my CPU alarm going off. I don't know what was triggering it. Here's where it gets interesting... This would always require a hard reboot of the PC. When I actually did get in, it would freeze within any amount of given time. Sometimes, I could press the windows icon on my keyboard, it would minimize, and I could maximize CS:S and play for hours and hours. What's odd is, it all started happenening suddenly. I notice a couple of times when I would exit the game the screen would appear fuzzy. Big sections would be distorted. Some times it refreshed and fixed itself, sometimes I'd have to click refresh and open/close an application. I would constantly 2/10 times hear the microsoft USB sound for device being unplugged on startup. If I didn't mention already, I got either the looping sound/pre-load freeze. Okay, it got progressivly worse over time. I was up to the point where it would distort the loading screen. I would reboot 2-3 times before I could actually play. I get no errors. Moving on.... I reformatted, it ran smooth for a while. Soon after I started noticing the distortion when I exited the game. Well, then came my first lock up. I left my computer for a sec to grab a drink, came back, moved, FROZE. I refomatted a week ago and It's happened maybe 5 total times since then. I have adequate air flow through the case, I know that's not the problem. I can boot up after being shut off all night, it will crash, so it's not a heat issue. This happens with NO other games, none. I play BF2, BF1942, Far Cry, NFSU2, DooM3 with no problems. Wouldn't that mean it's clearly a HL issue? I've been struggling with this for some time now. Any suggestions/insight would be greatly appreciated.
Click to expand...
You absolutely sure you don't have any other problems (e.g. freezing) in other games? Because everything you describe sounds like :
A) Overheating issues.
B) Serious hardware conflicts.

I'm a bit at a loss here, but try updating all your drivers (sound, graphic card, directx, etc.) . Some people have been able to get rid of the crashing by updating their graphic card drivers.
 
I'm 100% sure it's only with HL2 related things. It's not an overheating issue, I know that for a fact. I can game for hours and it sits at pretty low temps for the proccessor I have. And, how could it be overheating issues when It would happen when totally cold? Hardware conflicts, I don't see how as I just reformatted and it's been running ok. I had a LAN at my house and my computer was being used all day. I shut the game down maybe a few times. No problems with freezing all day. I restarted 2-3 times today, just to keep it that way. I don't understand how it gets progressively worse like that. How can I diagnosei f it's a hardware conflict? I'd like to nail this problem before another format is required. Thanks for your reply. Oh yeah, all my drivers are up to date.
 
Well, you could look for IRQ conflicts (Google it, I don't know the procedure by heart).

If you bought the computer premade (or let it be made), you can also check with the person or company that made it to check for possible conflicts caused by new hardware you may have put in.
 
I've had this same problem for since release of DoD:S. In the beginning, I just couldnt keep HDR on, but since Lost Coast, it has just kept going worse. Now I cant even play HL2 singleplayer, it crashes after ive played about half an hour. I do, however have lots of problems with other games, but they are different, for example CoD2 and Urban Assault (a RTS game from 1999) crash, show a blank blue screen, and then reboot. CS:S and DoD:S also first stutter like shit, then lose models, and then disconnect from the server. WTF?

Im about to get seriously angry, I cant ****ing play anything. I have no idea why it's doing this. I have probably done everything there is to be done, and no help.
 
Beerdude26 said:
Well, you could look for IRQ conflicts (Google it, I don't know the procedure by heart).

If you bought the computer premade (or let it be made), you can also check with the person or company that made it to check for possible conflicts caused by new hardware you may have put in.
Click to expand...

I built the machine myself with all brand new parts.. I will google that and post back on my findings. Thanks.
 
billy269 said:
Just bought more RAM. From 512 to 1.25 gb, it did NOTHING.
Click to expand...

No, I hear ya.

Actually, this is kind of ridiculous this has gone on this long. I recently upgraded my mobo/cpu from a VIA chipset+Athlon 2800 to a Gigabyte mobo+Athlon 64 3500+, and honestly, the game ran better on the LAST setup I had... WTF?

1gb pc2700 RAM, A64 3500+, Radeon 9800 Pro 128, onboard audio, etc etc.

Do you guys think Valve gives a shit or is trying at all? I mean, it's been a YEAR already...
 
Oyaji291 said:
No, I hear ya.

Actually, this is kind of ridiculous this has gone on this long. I recently upgraded my mobo/cpu from a VIA chipset+Athlon 2800 to a Gigabyte mobo+Athlon 64 3500+, and honestly, the game ran better on the LAST setup I had... WTF?

1gb pc2700 RAM, A64 3500+, Radeon 9800 Pro 128, onboard audio, etc etc.

Do you guys think Valve gives a shit or is trying at all? I mean, it's been a YEAR already...
Click to expand...
No, they just can't support everyone. Maybe it's because of Steam, maybe it's because some random code of firmware ****s around with the games, we don't know :|
 
Whatever it is, the fact is that I KNOW I'm not the only one having these problems. Not to mention that Steam NEVER runs right. I can't even get Offline mode to work anymore.
 
Oyaji291 said:
Whatever it is, the fact is that I KNOW I'm not the only one having these problems. Not to mention that Steam NEVER runs right. I can't even get Offline mode to work anymore.
Click to expand...
Hmm... A Steam reinstall might do you some good :|
 
I'm having the same problems as everyone else, AMD 64 1g ddr ram etc etc. Enough people seem to be having this problem - what have people heard from steam/valve? Do they intend to finish Halflife? I just bought the game and I'd take it back if I thought this problem will continue. Buy it in a year or so when its complete and in the bargain bin.
 
Freezing and looping sound

Glad so many of u still playing this awsome game i gave up 6 months back du to memory issues but now i decided to replay the hole game from scratch.
i to have had so many issues since all the updates from steam.. looping sounds system freezzing .. ,i had to resset my pc 50 times in 1 day due to this game. but apparently the game loves to be on 4X antiasing and 8x anostrophic in the game settings ,not only does it look 10 time better this forces the game to use diffrent graphic patterns for some odd reson this has stopped any crashes :dozey: and if u been told to lower memory from 400 to 333mhz dont total crap,, oh and if use the hardware force mangment command in the cosole, dont it makes the game not as fluid with the mouse.
Heapsize should also be 128000, not any higher this causes to currpt the video frame buffer when changing resolutions in other word crashes to desktop

hopes this helps
 
I'm using a Radeon 9800 PRO. Beautiful card, but just can't run HL2/CS:S anymore without it crashing. It just crashes to desktop. Super annoying.

As suggested, I tried 4X anti-aliasing and 8x anisotropic filtering, but it did not work. I crashed instantly.

I agree that lowering the RAM FSB from 400 to 333 probably isn't the answer either, concidering my motherboard's FPS maxes out at 266 and I have the same problem as you guys with better mobos.

I've compeltely removed my soundcard and disabled the onboard soundcard within the BIOS. Still crashes.

My motherboard only supports 4x AGP, yet I still have the same problem as you guys with 8x.

I checked fast-writes, and it's grayed out. My motherboard does not support it. Yet again, still having the same problems as you guys.

I was a little worried about over-heating even though I do not overclock, so I picked up a VGA cooler, but still kept my card clocked at stock settings. Didn't change a thing.

So, in summary:

Anti-aliasing / Anisotropic filtering settings are not the issue
Soundcard (PCI placement or drivers) is not the issue
8x AGP is not the issue
Fast-Writes is not the issue
Over-heating is not the issue

Hey Valve, whacha gonna do?
 
Nothing.

You should be checking in your hardware more indepth.
 
Really. What's left to analyze?

I should mention I have the latest drivers for my soundcard (when it was installed), my videocard and my motherboard (including AGP).

And another note, as many other people in this thread have mentioned, none of the other games we play crash.

Clearly Valve is the culprit.
 
I am having exactly the same problem as you but ihave an Nvidia graphics card and all other games are fine. The only way i can play the game without the game crashing after 10minutes is to turn off hdr and bloom.
 
something similar happens to me. AND IT PISSES ME OFF.
I first noticed it around the time that they started useing that spiffy new lighting system they made.

is there a tech help desk i can call or mail for stam???
if so some one please let me know.

im not sure if its a hardware issue or a softwere thing, but I do know that I need help.
every time i play any of my steam games, they lock up my whole system after a couple min. they play fine for a while. then it acts like a lag but it never comes out of the lag. CTRL+ALT+DELETE has no effect, and all i can do is turn off the power and reboot. this has only started hapening a month or two ago.

I reinstalled steam with HL2 and CSS. that didn't work.
I even up-graded my video card from raidon 9800 pro to an X1600 pro (AGP) . it had no effect.
im running a 2.2ghz AMD athalon 64 with 1 gig of kingston ddr ram.

If anyone has any ideas im all ears.
I WANT ANSWERS
if it is what that guy says about AMD prossesors... i ran my amd for almost a year with no problems till now. WHEN WILL THEY UPDATE TO FIX THIS PROBLEM?????


-[Silver]777
 
well,..i can tell ya that the cpu type is not the problem. I have a P-2.8 dual core and I'm getting the same freeze up about 2mins or less into the game.
-
comp=PowerSpec MCE 520
Mobo=Intel/I945G-M7
cpu = P2.8GHz DualCore
Mem= 1GB
Video= Radeon X1300 PCI Express 16/512 MB
HD=250 GB
OS=Windows Media Center

-
Video settings are on Balanced or App Managed depending on option for it.
background apps Off
firewall/AV/AntiSpyware- not running
-
Play without issues:
DOOM3 (demanding game)
EQ2 - (demanding game)
WoW- (some zones demanding)
Guild Wars - (low demand game)
UnReal'04
DAoC
Linage2
--No issues with any of the listed games at anytime,.

I've tried almost every setting combo of the vid card.
I've even cleared CMoS to defaults
Reinstalled Direct 9
Reinstalled Vid Card

If I'm able to 3 finger salute I see that my CPU useage is Maxed out to about 96%,..I end task on the game and get performance back but still have to reboot because of performance issues.
it seems like HL2 is sucking up every bit of cpu I have and freezes when it can't get enough.
I REALLY Hope to find a resolve soon..

Thanks!
 
Good Lord I Fixed the issue and I've played for a full 2 hours without a Freeze! OMG! LOL... 3 days and many of tweaks and cussing it's finally working!! :thumbs:

Here's what Fixed it For Me! I hope this works for you!
--------------
//enter CMoS (hit Delete at boot up)
go to "Frequency/Voltage Control"
Set the "CPU Votage Regulator" to +15% (was set to Default)
Save and Exit!!
---------------
That's ALL!
After changing that one setting I was able to play with out any Freezes at All! omg the dam thing Works!
:cheers: :cheers:
 
Problem Solved?!?

Hi,
After reading the post about changing the voltage etc I couldn't find it in the BIOS, (maybe due to AMD chip) but I turned up the voltage and the VU using the little knobs that are on the front of the box itself and hey presto no more freezes for 3+hrs continuos play now!! Mainly happened in Deathmatch not in the game as such. :cheers:
RB (still with fingers crossed though!)
 
well i had the same problem freeze with looping sound and i fixed it by removing my video/sound codec pack (i use CCCP but it must work to anyone with K-Lite or any other codec pack)

ill try that voltage thing cuz i really need the codecs (it worked tho)
 
hm OMFG i have the same stupid problem. WTF is going on with this game they still havent patched this game correct yet.

My god i have over 10 games installed on my computer that are just as demanding as hl2 and this is the only game where hl2 just random maybe 10-15 min just freeze with a high pitched sick sound and i cant do shit and have to reboot.

Now i have tryied all my PCI slots i thought first something might be wrong but no all 3 give the exact same result. I tryied removing drivers and install them again several times - no luck and latest drivers from creative of course every time. I changed from Low to high to medium to low sound quality - no luck. And since i can play almost any other game i really doubt my computer is an issue. It must be something with the soundcard that hl2 does not like but wtf can that be ? Tryied searching maybe on Creatives forum on this but no search found there. What to do ? I run only a 2.1 setup so i dont have any surround or that kind of thing.

CPU isnt overheating its bareley over 40 degrees, same with graphics card a little over 60 but an x1900 can handle that + i got 6 case fans blowing.
 
Whats your spec?

Try lowering Sound card hardware acceleration and sample rate conversion quality just a bit.

Star, Control Panel, Sound And Audio Devises, Speaker Setting, Advanced, Performance.

Good Luck.
 
for audigy 4 soundcard ? youre kidding right ? i could play on high even on my crap onboard sound so an audigy should def handle this game with ease.
 
No I'm not kidding, if I was kidding, I would have said "get a sand paper and scrape that Audigy clean".

Did you try and see the results? Some times Audigy can have issues.
 
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