HALO - Freezing problem

DexterDexter Vancouver, BC Canada
edited November 2009 in Gaming
OK, so my kid picked up HALO Combat Evolved for PC with the last of his Christmas money. Some friends of ours, their son also got it for Christmas a couple of days earlier.

My son's works great. Our friends' kid's does not. His freezes up randomly. A CTRL-ALT-DEL to bring up Task Mgr shows the program as Not Responding.

Their system should be adequate for the game: I helped them purchase and install a 128MB Nvidia based graphics card (PCI - no AGP bus on the motherboard.) They have 384 MB RAM, and an Athon XP 1700+ CPU running at 1.4 Ghz.

Our system has less RAM (256 MB) but more CPU (Athlon XP 2500+ @ 1.8 Ghz) and a 64 MB AGP4x Chaintech Nvidia card. On the surface, it would seem that our systems are comparable, and both are far beyond the minimum spec to play HALO.

Does anyone know of any conditions which may cause random freezes in HALO?

Dexter...

Comments

  • DexterDexter Vancouver, BC Canada
    edited January 2004
    Additional info - just checked the HALO support site...should have done that first. There is a known issue on VIA chipsers if the 4-in-1 drivers have not been run....which I am guessing they have not been on their retail-bought system.

    I'll update the drivers for them and see what that does.

    Dexter...
  • primesuspectprimesuspect Beepin n' Boopin Detroit, MI Icrontian
    edited January 2004
    first step for any instabilities: make sure all drivers are up-to-date. ;)
  • NorgeNorge Sidney, Ohio
    edited January 2004
    I have all of the up-to-date VIA drivers and my version works fine. You and Prime are prolly right. Update the drivers and see what happens.

    Norge
  • SARRASSARRAS Sydney, Australia
    edited January 2004
    there's some forums over at Gearbox software that are good for Halo - its seems to run nice on mid range hardware but its a crashing pig on the high end Athlons or A64s, or with the high end Radeons (9800 Pro or 9800XT). One of my machines has BOTH of these factors unfortunately and the game has the single distinction of being the only thing that does crash that rig - and it crashes all the time with Halo.

    But it runs fine on my Athlon 2500+ with a Radeon 9600 Pro Bravo - so go figure!

    Gearbox is here BTW: http://www.gearboxsoftware.com/
  • DexterDexter Vancouver, BC Canada
    edited January 2004
    Still having problems with that friend's system.

    As suggested, I have updated the VIA 4-in-1s, and the video drivers, etc. I even backed off the video settings in the game to have it on lower quality. Still get random freezes and BSOD's. The BSOD's tell me to disable all video caching and shadowing, which I have done. The BSOD's indicate the problem occurred in/during use of an NV4 dll, obviously an Nvidia component.

    The system is like this, to the best of my knowledge:

    mobo: Bio-star M7VKQ
    RAM: 1 x 256 MB PC133 and 1 x 128 MB PC 133 (unmatched pair, see this thread. )
    CPU: Athlon 1700+
    Video: XFX Geforce FX5200 128 MB PCI adaptor (no AGP slot on mobo.)
    OS: XP SP1

    I have also downloaded the latest HALO patch, and scoured the Gearbox forums for helpful advice.

    This really ticks me off. The specs are all good, the drivers are up to date, and still the game will not function properly.

    All advice welcomed desperately..... :banghead:

    Dexter...
  • BlackHawkBlackHawk Bible music connoisseur There's no place like 127.0.0.1 Icrontian
    edited January 2004
    You could try diffrent video drivers.
  • DexterDexter Vancouver, BC Canada
    edited January 2004
    Virtues of Evil wrote:
    You could try diffrent video drivers.

    As in, older Nvidia Drivers?

    Do you know of a good older one that is more stable?

    Dexter...
  • SARRASSARRAS Sydney, Australia
    edited January 2004
    Look I'm sorry but I just don't agree with your assessment of the hardware as being suitable for that game. I TRIED Halo on a modern board (GA-7NNXP and Athlon 2500+) with an Nvidia 5200 card (AGP 8X Version) and even on the lowest settings it barely ran. And I do mean barely and I do mean 800 X 600 here - very basic settings.

    I sold that card off and with a Radeon 9600 Pro fitted to the rest of the same hardware the game runs just fine at 1280 X 1024. With a lesser rig in general AND a PCI version of the 5200 I really think you're pushing your luck severely!
  • EnverexEnverex Worcester, UK Icrontian
    edited January 2004
    The 5200 is a dire card at best. As someone said before, it's basically a rebadged GForce2 GTS and people are buying them.

    What is the exact BSOD message that you get?
  • DexterDexter Vancouver, BC Canada
    edited January 2004
    SARRAS wrote:
    Look I'm sorry but I just don't agree with your assessment of the hardware as being suitable for that game. I TRIED Halo on a modern board (GA-7NNXP and Athlon 2500+) with an Nvidia 5200 card (AGP 8X Version) and even on the lowest settings it barely ran. And I do mean barely and I do mean 800 X 600 here - very basic settings.

    I sold that card off and with a Radeon 9600 Pro fitted to the rest of the same hardware the game runs just fine at 1280 X 1024. With a lesser rig in general AND a PCI version of the 5200 I really think you're pushing your luck severely!


    Hmmm, well, all I can say is I assessed it's suitability based on the stated minimum specs from http://support.microsoft.com/?id=829479 :
    Minimum System Requirements
    Operating System: Microsoft Windows 98, Microsoft Windows Second Edition, Microsoft Windows Millennium Edition (Me), Microsoft Windows 2000, or Microsoft Windows XP.
    Computer/Processor: 733 megahertz (MHz) processor.
    DirectX: DirectX® 9.0 or later. (DirectX 9.0b is installed by Halo.)
    Memory: 128 megabytes (MB) of RAM.
    Hard Disk: 1.2 gigabytes (GB) of free hard disk space.
    Video card: 32 MB with 3D Transform and Lighting capable.
    CD: 8X.
    Sound: Sound card, speakers, or headphones with multiplayer play.
    *56.6 Kilobytes per second (KBps) modem or 10 MB network adapter. Multiplayer servers require broadband to run a server.
    *Additionally, you must have an Internet Service provider (ISP) or a Local Area Network (LAN), if you want to play multi-player games.

    They've got XP, they've got double the min processor, they've got Directx9.0b, they've gpt triple the min RAM, they've got a 60 GB HD, and they've got a 128 MB Video card (PCI) that has all the goodies available, they've got a 52x CD drive, and they have a built in sound card on the mobo.

    Furthermore, Halo tells you when you install it if something does not meet the specs: they originally could not even install the game because they were using an mobo-based 8MB VGA out. I helped them pick out the XFX Geforce FX5200 128 MB PCI card, as they had no AGP. I realize it is "lower end" (was about $90 Cdn), but according to the specs it should be MORE than good enough for Halo.

    I realize that more is better when it comes to gaming, but then why would the min specs be so low?

    /me is frustrated.... :(
  • EnverexEnverex Worcester, UK Icrontian
    edited January 2004
    Dexter wrote:
    I realize it is "lower end" (was about $90 Cdn), but according to the specs it should be MORE than good enough for Halo.

    You are only basing that on the fact that it has lots of RAM. Thats like sticking 512MB on an ATi Rage Pro and expecting it to be good. Just isn't going to happen.
    Dexter wrote:
    I realize that more is better when it comes to gaming, but then why would the min specs be so low?

    Simple, so more people will buy it. It is also the minimum spec to RUN the game, not PLAY the game or play it well.
  • primesuspectprimesuspect Beepin n' Boopin Detroit, MI Icrontian
    edited January 2004
    Okay, but it still shouldn't be crashing, enverex.. :rolleyes:

    The card DOES have 32mb, and it DOES support 3D T&L.... Forget how "good" it is...

    Dex, I would tend to think that the card itself might be defective. Can you run other intensive 3D programs on it, like 3D Mark, or AquaMark or something? Perhaps the card itself has bad RAM.
  • EnverexEnverex Worcester, UK Icrontian
    edited January 2004
    Thats an idea, run 3DMark2001 on infinite loop mode and see if it kills itself at any point (I would say 2003 but it's lame and has zero user options).
  • DexterDexter Vancouver, BC Canada
    edited January 2004
    Enverex wrote:
    Simple, so more people will buy it. It is also the minimum spec to RUN the game, not PLAY the game or play it well.

    Are you saying that RUN GAME != PLAY GAME ?

    Last time I checked, RUNNING a game meant PLAYING it. They are semantically equal.

    primesuspect wrote:
    Dex, I would tend to think that the card itself might be defective. Can you run other intensive 3D programs on it, like 3D Mark, or AquaMark or something? Perhaps the card itself has bad RAM.

    I'm at work, so can't do any of those now, but would like to try some tonight. Links please? :)

    This morning, after having shut the computer down and pulled the video card out to make sure it was seated properly, the monitor goes black when the VGA drivers initialize. I can get to Windows in VGA mode / safe mode, so I am going to have to uninstall and reinstall the video drivers now. :mad:

    I did have a look around a few websites today, I think rather than the latest Nvidia drivers, I will use the latest manufacturer's drivers (XFX.) Also, the VIA 4-in-1 I used was the version linked by the mobo manufacturer, maybe I will try the latest from ViaArena.

    I also found some more support tips at http://support.microsoft.com/common/canned.aspx?R=d&H=Articles+About+Halo:+Combat+Evolved&Sz=kbPCHalo&product=gms

    I think I will try a defrag, uninstall/reinstall HALO, set command line switches to "-use20", and back off the hardware acceleration on the adaptor settings as well.

    Hopefully one (or all) of these does the trick. My friends have been "sans compteur" for 3 days now...and I'm working for wine.... the things we do for friends... :grumble:

    Thanks guys, I'll try some of those vid diagnosis, if you could help me out with some links and save me the googling, I'd appreciate it.

    Dexter...
  • EnverexEnverex Worcester, UK Icrontian
    edited January 2004
    I would try -use14 or even try turning Pixel Shaders off entirely, that may be causing the problem...
  • DexterDexter Vancouver, BC Canada
    edited January 2004
    Enverex wrote:
    I would try -use14 or even try turning Pixel Shaders off entirely, that may be causing the problem...

    Ya, I'll start with 20 and then back up to 14 if I still have trouble.

    Thanks for your help Enverex!

    Dexter...
  • DexterDexter Vancouver, BC Canada
    edited January 2004
    Well, I finally got it working!!

    A bit more reading and researching the Mircrosoft site got me to this page:

    http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;303032&Product=gms

    And I think the thing that solved it was:
    Method 3: Adjust Graphics Hardware Acceleration

    Moving the acceleration back 2 notches, plus working with lower video settings in the game, seem to have solved the video crashouts.

    I did not even have to do the command line "use" switches.

    I also did a defrag of the hard drive to be safe, as it was 70% fragmented!

    So total changes were:

    - update BIOS
    - Install latest VIA drivers
    - Install latets Nvidia driver (was same driver from manufacturer's site.)
    - Defrag hard drive
    - Adjust video card hardware acceleration to notches from full
    - lower video settings in Halo.

    We tried it on some medium settings in the game, and it was pretty sluggish - damn those PCI video cards. Why anyone buys a motherboard without an AGP slot if they want to game, I don't understand. Oh wait, they bought the system "ready-to-go" from a retail store, that's why.... Next time they will no better and pay me to build them a box.

    Anyway, I discovered another problem when we got it back over to their house. When we tested Halo at my house on their box, it worked great. We had it hooked up to my firewall/router, so I had disabled Zone Alarm on their computer. When I went to re-enable it, and he started playing, shortly after he got a Zone Alarm generated crash. So a bit more research on the Zone Labs Forums. Apparantly the Version 4 releases of Zone Alarm are buggy with certain games, you have to make sure to have all settings to medium, and some recommend using v 3.7.211 for games like Halo, Half Life, etc. Waiting to hear back from the kid as to whether or not this is working, as I had to get going home before he could test it fully. I'm going to have to get them on a hardware firewall soon!

    //EDIT: Hard back from him, it works fine with Zone Alarm v 3.7.211 //

    And even though these are friends of ours and I told them I would work for a bottle of wine, they got me a nice gift certificate for The Keg Steakhouse for all my time, so I will be taking my wife for dinner :) Gotta like those kinds of friends ;)

    Thanks all for your input.

    Dexter...
  • MexichillaMexichilla
    edited September 2004
    i have the same problem how do i update my drivers?
  • gREEK-dUDEgREEK-dUDE
    edited May 2007
    I had the same problem with my pc shutting down (crashing to the desktop), only when I hosted a game with 10 ppl on cable. I turned down the vid card settings 2 notches, and it has worked perfectly since.
    BTW, I don't have a super fast machine, nor do I have a P.O.S, but an Abit Fat1lity A8N SLI, AMD 64 BIT 3500+, 1 GIG CORSAIR DDR DUAL CHANNEL, ATI X850 PLATINUM, WESTERN DIGITAL 320 GB SATA II ETC. I should not have to turn down any vid card settings to get this game to work but all is good now and I can host without the game shutting down.
    Thanks for all the tips from earlier posts.
  • LeonardoLeonardo Wake up and smell the glaciers Eagle River, Alaska Icrontian
    edited May 2007
    i have the same problem how do i update my drivers?
    For both your video card and the motherboard, determine their brand names and models, go to their respective sites, such as ATI, nVidia, Asus, Gigabyte, and look up the current drivers for the board and card. Download the drivers and click on the .exe files.
  • Boss302Boss302
    edited November 2009
    ok i'm not trying to be annoying here but why if i have a geforce 6600 GT on one computer and on the other a geforce 8400M GS (both computers running vista), why does the computer with the 6600 graphics card run halo better than the computer with the 8400

    p.s. what i mean by better is that the game freezes on startup on the 8400 and gets laggy while playing?
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