Closed - game is crashing constantly

[Lopez]

Name: C. Lopez

Rank: Pfc.

Type of Issue: Honestly, I'm not sure what it is exactly.

Brief Description of Issue:

So ever since I build my new computer (well my brother was the brains and I did the construction), DODS has been crashing with consistency. Typically, I can't play more than 30-45 minutes without it timing out or crashing. I'm not sure what exactly is wrong, sometimes its my video driver crashing, other times I time out I guess, or my game just mysteriously closes with absolutely no message or indication of why. Its kind of a mess. Was wondering what I can do to attempt to fix it, last time I tried to mess with this stuff myself I fuck up my whole PC lol, so some troubleshooting guidance would be greatly appreciated.

***Medical Supply Staff ONLY Below this line***

Current Status: Pending Reply

Main Technician: J. Candy

Supporting Technician:

Edited September 13, 2013 by Candy 1st MRB

[C. Small 1st MRB]

Is this only on DOD.S or any other game? and is it only on our servers?

[Lopez]

Only DODS, and honestly I'm not sure if other servers. I'll check later today, I sorta only play on our servers...

[Göthe 1st MRB]

Have you got the latest drivers installed for your videocard?

Is it a new build from scratch the computer and you are sure it is nothing wrong with the build (I have built about 10 pc from scratch and i have hade fuckups)

Does the computer shut off or do just the game crash?

Have you tryed to reinstall the game or verify the files?

[Lopez]

Have you got the latest drivers installed for your videocard?

Is it a new build from scratch the computer and you are sure it is nothing wrong with the build (I have built about 10 pc from scratch and i have hade fuckups)

Does the computer shut off or do just the game crash?

Have you tryed to reinstall the game or verify the files?

I have the latest drivers, it IS built from scratch, only the game crashes.

I tired reinstalling and ended up needing to system restore cause I sorta fucked up.

How do I verify files? Sorry sorta a tech noob.

[Göthe 1st MRB]

You mean that your entier computer hade to get restored?

What happend, like it's kinda hard to make a computer give up when you reinstall a game?

And to verify your files you go to the game library and then right klick on the game go to properties and local files and there is a button that says something like "verify the integrety of the game files"

[C. Small 1st MRB]

did this work for you lopez?

[Lopez]

Nope, I re installed the game, verified my files and the game still continuously crashes

[Holland 1st MRB]

Please refer to this post. The problems may be related.

If there are any further questions, feel free to post them here or in the other topic.

[Lopez]

Please refer to this post. The problems may be related.

If there are any further questions, feel free to post them here or in the other topic.

All I have in my custom folder is "readme.txt"

Is there supposed to be anything else in there? I feel like deleting that won't do anything, but would love to be told otherwise.

[Holland 1st MRB]

Did McDowell's suggestion work for you? Please post back with an update on what the situation is, and we would be happy to assist you further.

[Lopez]

Did McDowell's suggestion work for you? Please post back with an update on what the situation is, and we would be happy to assist you further.

Nope, sorry I forgot to post. Didn't work.

I have noticed when only running DODS, the game tends to run longer before crashing. However my computer should be able to run DODS and more for hours, so I'm not sure if this pattern I've subtly noticed is indicative of the problem or not.

[Holland 1st MRB]

How much physical memory (RAM) do you have installed in your computer?

As for the connection issue, make sure you have DOD:S (hl2.exe) and Steam (steam.exe) set as an exception to your firewall.

How do you connect to the internet? (Router, Modem) Do you use wireless, or wired technology to connect your computer?

Edited July 8, 2013 by Holland 1st MRB

[J. Kirk]

In addition to hollands questions can u pm me the hardware of the build

[Barney]

Lopez, a couple of dumb questions; when you say the game is cashing, is just the game crashing, bringing you back to Windows? Or is the whole computer shutting off/power cycling after the crash? What other games, specifically, are you able to play & for how long are you playing them without the computer or game crashing?

It could just be some software/DoDs issue or it could be something more serious like a failing GPU or part, that when stressed to a certain degree, is causing a crash .

1) Please download heavyload and run it on your system. http://www.jam-software.com/heavyload/ This tool is a hardware stress test that will stress out your machine, more importantly it will stress out your CPU and GPU. Let us know if there are any errors or if the program or your computer crashes while running it.

2) Open up your case, and turn it on, inspect the unit to make sure all fans are operating properly, especially the one on your graphics card, if you have one.

3) With the computer turned off, and unplugged from all components/peripherals/power source, inspect your motherboard for any blown/leaking capacitors.

this is also a how to for looking for bulging/leaking capacitors:

Some of this may sound dumb, since it's most likely a software issue, as only one of your games is crashing but I only recommend things I have seen work for similar problems before in the past. I've had machines where one game is crashing consistently, and other things work fine... come to find out a graphics card needs to be replaced or that a motherboard is shot with bad capacitors. But please run the stress test and check into the things I mentioned. At the very least it will let the others rule out bad hardware for sure.

Just figured I'd jump in and give my two cents since it's still pending and figured it couldn't hurt.

GOOD LUCK!

Edited July 17, 2013 by Barney 1st MRB

[Barney]

Also, be aware of any bulging capacitors, as these too are a smoking gun of already bad and failing hardware components.

Edited July 17, 2013 by Barney 1st MRB

[Lopez]

To answer Holland:

Ram: 8 GB

They were already exceptions to my firewall and I use a router.

Kirk, I'll send that after I post this.

Barney;

When I say crashing, I mean all kinds of things.

-Sometimes I just lose video, like I'll think the game has stopped responded, but I noticed when I go to task manager it is still responding, so I open it again and everything works fine except I am looking at a black screen.

-Audio will just cut out, I'll hear a loud buzzing noise and everything goes silent

-Game will just exit out without a message, as if I closed it myself

-Game will stop responding, open task manager to close it

-bsod

All happen with about equal frequency to be honest. In the 3 days all of the above have happened. When playing other games, they tend to work for about a half hour and then stop responding, so I'm getting the impression it might be a hardware or more general software issue. Just bought Darksiders and it crashed after the first 30 minutes.

I'll work on the heavyload and hardware checks when I get in a chance in the next couple days. Might not get a chance till next week, but when I do I'll post and let you know

Thank you guys so much for the suggestions for my problem. Even if it all goes down in flames, I really appreciate the help

[Barney]

To answer Holland:

Ram: 8 GB

They were already exceptions to my firewall and I use a router.

Kirk, I'll send that after I post this.

Barney;

When I say crashing, I mean all kinds of things.

-Sometimes I just lose video, like I'll think the game has stopped responded, but I noticed when I go to task manager it is still responding, so I open it again and everything works fine except I am looking at a black screen.

-Audio will just cut out, I'll hear a loud buzzing noise and everything goes silent

-Game will just exit out without a message, as if I closed it myself

-Game will stop responding, open task manager to close it

-bsod

All happen with about equal frequency to be honest. In the 3 days all of the above have happened. When playing other games, they tend to work for about a half hour and then stop responding, so I'm getting the impression it might be a hardware or more general software issue. Just bought Darksiders and it crashed after the first 30 minutes.

I'll work on the heavyload and hardware checks when I get in a chance in the next couple days. Might not get a chance till next week, but when I do I'll post and let you know

Thank you guys so much for the suggestions for my problem. Even if it all goes down in flames, I really appreciate the help

Awesome, thanks for the extra info, Lopez! Yes, please run heavyload when you get the chance. Hate to be a negative nancy but I'm almost positive it's a hardware issue... is your sound card dedicated or built into/onto the motherboard? At the least you may have a bad GPU.

I ask about the audio being built into the mobo because I'm also starting to fear your motherboard could the problem after what you've noted.

Running heavyload will hopefully narrow things down. Another option is to spend some cash on even a crappy graphics card (like 60 bucks) from a local retailer, install it, and run the games to see if the issues still persist. Or if you have an older GPU laying around you can use that. ***just make sure you understand their return policy so you can get your money back either way*** (for example best buy has a 15 day return policy, but they will give you your money back even if you've opened it, used it, and just didn't like it. However other retailers may differ, so make sure you ask or read the receipt)

Good hunting!

[Holland 1st MRB]

Is there any further assistance required on this ticket?

Please respond with a status report about the issue.

[Lopez]

Sorry, haven't had much time to work on the PC, here is what I've done since then;

Ran stress tests that didn't reveal anything to be wrong with my RAM, video card and such.

Uninstalled/Re-installed Steam

Here is how it stands thus far:

Crashing happens less often, but still with enough frequency where the problem hasn't been solved. I think it might have been I had multiple problems at once. I've yet to check if all my sticks of RAM are functional.

I'm still not sure if its hardware or software because all of my computer parts are new (build this last winter). Also, if I'm not playing a video game, my computer functions completely normally and has never crashed.

Unfortunately, I won't have much time to work on this, I'm taking a ELOA because I'm moving into freshman dorms in the next week. Things around here have been quite hectic leading up to this because my move is across the country. When I get back I'll check it again and let you know how its all working.

Thanks guys!

-Lopez

[Candy 1st MRB]

Lopez,

Have you ran a virus check? some viruses such as boot-sector viruses can get into your high memory and are very difficult to get out. You may need a full system restore to get them out.

[Arevicci]

Have you done what Candy has suggested lopez? If so post your results.

Edited August 23, 2013 by Arevicci 1st MRB

[Candy 1st MRB]

Lopez,

A few questions, I have had a similar problem of late on different games.

What video card are you using? Nvidia or AMD?

Do you run a browser in the background with a page that runs flash video? There is a know issue that I found where Flash can cause issues and crash your computer. It is recommended to turn off hardware acceleration in Flash. This page will tell you how. http://forums.adobe.com/thread/891337 Make sure you click the name not where it says in the example.

Edited September 13, 2013 by Candy 1st MRB

[Holland 1st MRB]

Have the above suggestions made any progress on this issue? Is there any further information you could provide us to help us get to the bottom of the problem?