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Author Topic: Windows XP strange problem re: games  (Read 2465 times)

PTK

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Windows XP strange problem re: games
« on: November 18, 2008, 10:20:02 PM »
Running a single-core AMD processor, older 7600GT nVidia card, 1gb DDR2 RAM....

Using WinXP Pro SP3 and all the latest drivers/updates for my hardware, I can run Fallout 3 just fine, COD 1, the expansion, COD2, COD 4, etc.


A simple game like Sins of a Solar Empire? Upon startup, as soon as the title credits are over, my machine, for whatever reason, will freeze up SOLID and require a hard reboot to fix. Same deal with even MUCH simpler games like World of Goo (look it up, we're talking ~1997 type graphics) and similar will freeze it up.

Stranger still is that Fallout 3 will run either windowed or fullscreen, but that the other games seem to not work at all - it seems more of my games work when windowed.


What should I look for as the root cause of this issue?  =|
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Azrael256

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Re: Windows XP strange problem re: games
« Reply #1 on: November 18, 2008, 10:23:22 PM »
Video drivers.
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PTK

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Re: Windows XP strange problem re: games
« Reply #2 on: November 18, 2008, 10:34:23 PM »
Video drivers as in, GPU drivers? Tried newest, beta, older stable stuff, original install CD that came with the GPU. No luck on any of them.

What else can I try?
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Sergeant Bob

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Re: Windows XP strange problem re: games
« Reply #3 on: November 18, 2008, 10:44:15 PM »
The games aren't old Windows 98 games are they?

If they are, right click on the game .exe (start shortcut) and click on "Properties"
Click the "Compatibility" tab and choose the O.S. the game was made for.
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Azrael256

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Re: Windows XP strange problem re: games
« Reply #4 on: November 18, 2008, 10:58:55 PM »
Hmm...  Get me an ADPlus dump and a perfmon at 5-second intervals...

But seriously.  Bob is probably right.  Check the compatibility mode.
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PTK

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Re: Windows XP strange problem re: games
« Reply #5 on: November 18, 2008, 11:00:01 PM »
Nope, compatibility wasn't the issue.


I did just figure it out.....



How about, "INSTALL DIRECTX 9.0C, DUMBASS?!"  :lol:

Three days, I didn't figure that one out.... how in the WORLD was Fallout 3 running on DX of a way older version but these games weren't?
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RaspberrySurprise

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Re: Windows XP strange problem re: games
« Reply #6 on: November 18, 2008, 11:39:56 PM »
Quote from: PTK on November 18, 2008, 11:00:01 PM
Nope, compatibility wasn't the issue.


I did just figure it out.....



How about, "INSTALL DIRECTX 9.0C, DUMBASS?!"  :lol:

Three days, I didn't figure that one out.... how in the WORLD was Fallout 3 running on DX of a way older version but these games weren't?

Simple it had support for it and they didn't. At least that's my guess. Counterstrike Source supports all the way back to like DX 7 if I remember correctly.
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Azrael256

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Re: Windows XP strange problem re: games
« Reply #7 on: November 19, 2008, 12:11:18 AM »
Wow, you ARE dumb.

How did the installer not catch that?
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PTK

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Re: Windows XP strange problem re: games
« Reply #8 on: November 19, 2008, 01:48:38 AM »
No freaking idea. At least it's fixed now. MAN I'm a dumbass sometimes!  :lol:
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Racehorse

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Re: Windows XP strange problem re: games
« Reply #9 on: November 19, 2008, 12:43:53 PM »
Some problems are just weird. I have a 7900GT and could not get Gears of War to run for anything. Everything else worked fine.

It turns out there's a problem with the chipset on some models of 7900GT. Overclocking the card just slightly (~5MHz) fixed it. It's just strange.
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Phyphor

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Re: Windows XP strange problem re: games
« Reply #10 on: November 21, 2008, 07:42:22 PM »
Quote from: PTK on November 19, 2008, 01:48:38 AM
No freaking idea. At least it's fixed now. MAN I'm a dumbass sometimes!  :lol:

No, the codemonkey who packaged the installer is the dumbass. 

(And here I was gonna suggest you run DXDIAG and see what ya had going on in there... )
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mfree

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Re: Windows XP strange problem re: games
« Reply #11 on: November 21, 2008, 09:50:06 PM »
Y'know, on the flipside I used to have a gaming rig that did the exact same thing... startup screen ok, then it would lock solid, or it would let me run 2-3 minutes.

My processor heat sink was marginal because the spring holding it down had lost it's tension.

But, you found your directx issues, so just file that away for future use :)
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PTK

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Re: Windows XP strange problem re: games
« Reply #12 on: November 22, 2008, 12:31:54 AM »
Now Fallout 3 won't run but the other games are fine. WTF....  :mad:
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Phyphor

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Re: Windows XP strange problem re: games
« Reply #13 on: November 22, 2008, 03:08:02 AM »
Get the latest patches for F3 and DX?
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PTK

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Re: Windows XP strange problem re: games
« Reply #14 on: November 22, 2008, 03:11:08 AM »
Yep. No dice. Running XP SP3, DirectX 9.6C is the latest. This is frustrating...  =|
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Calumus

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Re: Windows XP strange problem re: games
« Reply #15 on: November 22, 2008, 11:49:01 AM »
Try reinstalling Fallout. It may have configured its self for DirectX 3 or whatever you have installed before :)    Cheers,
Shawn
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