Odd problem

**ivan_the_terrible** · December 16, 2006, 05:12 PM

Hi, I just upgraded my computer in a major way, replacing my mother board, processor, GPU, hard drive and dvd writer.

Everything works fine, except when I play RTW (patched to 1.5), BI (patched to 1.6) or EB 0.8, the game works perfectly but will freeze after afew minutes of playing. Only the game freezes, as I'm usually able to bring up task manager, although when I try to end task it doesn't respond, even to 'end now'. If it matters at all, the music keeps playing, but the visuals freeze.

My system is:
Athlon64 3500+ (socket AM2)
512MB DDR2 RAM
GeForce 7600GT

I have all the latest graphics card drivers installed. I really have no idea why this is happening, as my old system coped with RTW OK on low-medium settings.

Any help is very appreciated,
Thanks.

**selenius4tsd** · December 16, 2006, 05:51 PM

Is it just with those games? Or M2tw as well?

**ivan_the_terrible** · December 16, 2006, 06:02 PM

I don't have my copy of M2:TW right now and RTW is the most demanding game I have unfortunately, so I'm afraid I don't have anything else to compare to.

**selenius4tsd** · December 16, 2006, 06:25 PM

Hmmm... well, have you tried the -show_err command switch yet?

**Freddie** · December 17, 2006, 04:35 AM

Originally Posted by ivan_the_terrible

Hi, I just upgraded my computer in a major way, replacing my mother board, processor, GPU, hard drive and dvd writer.

Everything works fine, except when I play RTW (patched to 1.5), BI (patched to 1.6) or EB 0.8, the game works perfectly but will freeze after afew minutes of playing. Only the game freezes, as I'm usually able to bring up task manager, although when I try to end task it doesn't respond, even to 'end now'. If it matters at all, the music keeps playing, but the visuals freeze.

My system is:
Athlon64 3500+ (socket AM2)
512MB DDR2 RAM
GeForce 7600GT

I have all the latest graphics card drivers installed. I really have no idea why this is happening, as my old system coped with RTW OK on low-medium settings.

Any help is very appreciated,
Thanks.

As it's just the game that’s freezing it would suggest a problem with your graphics card. More then likely it's overheating, which can caused by poor airflow in your case.

Make sure you have a fan at the back of your case that is pulling OUT of your case. Also have a look around your case and see how many fans you have. If you have more fans blowing air into your case then blowing out the increase in air pressure is cause temperatures in your case to rise. If your case only has one fan make sure it's fitted to the back of your case sucking air out.

An extra stick of 512Mb would also help matters. It's a cheap upgrade that should give better preformance and system stability.

**Aristocrat** · December 17, 2006, 05:58 PM

What power supply do you have?

Also, just in case you kept the old hard drive as the windows drive...you did reinstall windows right?

**belson** · December 17, 2006, 06:16 PM

Yeah, it sounds like like your graphics card either isn't getting enough power or is getting too hot. I have that same graphics card and have never had any problems, so I don't think its the card itself, just something affecting the card.

**ivan_the_terrible** · December 18, 2006, 03:29 PM

Hmm, thanks for your replies guys.
Actually I don't have a system fan, but I don't think that would be a problem ATM, because half my case is opened and the room is generally the coolest in the house.
My PSU is 420W, so I highly doubt that its the problem.

I just installed Age of Empires 3 and played it for about an hour and a half without the freeze. Also, I ran 3D Mark 2001 (my internet isn't the greatest, so I didn't want to wait an eternity for the 570mb 2006 version to download) and got frame rates above 100fps with an occasional drop to 70fps.
RTW is probably the most graphicly demanding game I own, so over heating may well be the issue.

I just downloaded the 'SpeedFan' program to monitor temperatures throughout the system. The only thing is, I can't see the program's window when it does freeze. Because when it freezes, I can press ctrl+alt+del, the desktop cursor appears and I can see it change when I mouse over wht is presumably my msn conversation, so I know that the desktop is there, I just can't see it because the image of the game is frozen.
I heard that there is a way to create logs through the SpeedFan program so that I can still restart when the freeze happens, and then look over them. Does anyone know how to do it?

Thanks very much, I really appreciate your help.

Edit: I just played RTW (patched to 1.5) for about an hour and a bit and it froze again. The temperature didn't change (admitedly, I 'measured' by putting my hand near it but I still didn't notice any change in temperature) so I don't think its overheating.
I also installed and played without problem the game that came with the graphics card (Spellforce 2).

I wonder if there is something wrong with my RTW (there shouldn't be since I played it without problems on my old system, but you never know), since all other games I play on it run fine. I am going to uninstall RTW and delete all traces of it to see if that will help.

**belson** · December 19, 2006, 12:02 PM

Who makes the PSU you have. A good brand is more important than the wattage rating. Mostly because some companies will test the power output at 20-25 C instead of the 40-60C that everyone's machine runs at. Also, 420W isn't particularly high for todays machines. So who makes your PSU, how many 12v rails does it have, and what is the amperage on those rails? You can find all that on the side of the PSU.

**Aristocrat** · December 19, 2006, 04:51 PM

I'd have to say that it IS an overheating problem, despite your protestations.

To check, download 2 programs (both free).

1. Prime95...google it.
2. Motherboard Monitor...google it.

Run Prime 95's torture test while using motherboard monitor to keep track of the cpu temperature. If your cpu temp climbs above 60 degrees Celsius you have a temp issue....I have the socket 939 version of that cpu and my cpu never temp NEVER climbs above 50 degrees Celsius even in the worst Australian heat.

**Incinerate_IV** · December 19, 2006, 06:50 PM

I really hope you reinstalled Windows XP after that major upgrade. If you didn't there would be some major driver conflicts.

**ivan_the_terrible** · December 19, 2006, 08:32 PM

Yes, I installed XP again.
Aristocrat, thanks for you advice, first of all. The reason I think it isn't overheating is that I installed the game that came with the graphics card (the requirements are bigger than RTW's) and there is no issue whatsoever. Age of Empires 3 also runs perfectly.
Plus, I found an interesting post on the TW forums, here it is:

http://p223.ezboard.com/Warning-for-...cID=3650.topic

I'm doing the driver rollback they recommended right now, so I'll let you know if it worked or not right away. Here's hoping it does work.

Edit:
OK, it froze again. The only difference this time was that I was able to bring up task manager and end the program. Before I did that (in fact right away after the freeze), I opened the 'speedfan' program to check the temperatures. Everything was under 42 degrees celcius, so nothing was overheating. I'm reasonably sure its a software-related error. Again, RTW is the ONLY game thats doing this, so I'm completely at a loss as to whats going on. I should be getting Medieval 2 later this month (I'm waiting for the store I usually buy from to have a christmas discount) so I'll try that and see how it goes.

I'm now going to try those two programs you suggested Aristocrat.

I should probably also mention that I'm using a 20pin power supply connector, while my AM2 motherboard has the potential for 24pin. The motherboard manual, however, says that 20pin is fine so I doubt its the issue.

If everything else fails, I guess I will be getting a system fan to prevent overheating.

Once again, thanks very much for your help guys, I really appreciate it.

**Incinerate_IV** · December 19, 2006, 09:25 PM

Try this, the RTW/M2TW engine is extremely picky about memory speed/timings. I used to have freezes on M2TW all the time, but when I loosened the timings it stopped freezing. Since they use the same engine the same probably apply to RTW. Try to loosen the timings a little. Change it to 5-5-5-15 and see what happens. If it stops freezing you can either leave it there or tighten it a little bit at a time until you find the lowest stable timings. But really low memory timings makes no difference in games, just in benchmarks.

**ivan_the_terrible** · December 21, 2006, 01:47 AM

Hmm, intriguing incinerate_IV.
I'm not familiar with memory speed/timings. Could you please explain where I can find and adjust these settings? Or else link me to a website that explains it.

Thanks very much incinerate.

**Incinerate_IV** · December 21, 2006, 04:37 PM

First you must go to the motherboard BIOS, usually by pressing the "Delete" key, although some motherboards uses the F12 key... there should be a message on the bottom of the screen telling you what key to press to go into the BIOS. Then you have to look around for memory timings. For my motherboard it's under the "Advanced Chipset Features" tab, but every motherboard has a different

Your motherboard manual should tell you where to change the timings. If you don't have the manual they are usually available for download at the manufacturer's site.

**ivan_the_terrible** · December 21, 2006, 05:20 PM

Thanks incenerate, I'll try that.

Now that I think about it, the memory could be the problem, as its not the best quality brand - 'Ramos' or something. I figured I could save a bit by buying cheaper memory, but now I'm not so sure that was a good idea...