Halo startup question

Archived from groups: microsoft.public.games (More info?)

Hi Danny,

"Danny" <Danny@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message news:6B323D7C-02F1-49A6-AFDC-575D70611F5B@microsoft.com...
| When i start halo it minimizes and says EXCEPTION! Gathering Exception files
| or something like that, what do i do?

Here's a few specific solutions I've found for Halo Exception Errors:

First and foremost, it's a good idea to always install the latest drivers.
Read how to UPDATE or reinstall your DRIVERS further on.

For HALO error messages and technical troubleshooting:
http://www.microsoft.com/games/halo/support_alerts.asp

Halo Technical Support forums are located at Gearbox:
http://www.gearboxsoftware.com/for [...] =technical

And now... Here are some of those solutions I promised you...

ATI Radeon 9800 PRO 128: If you experience inconsistent
graphic performance with textures make sure the Mipmap Detail
Level in the ATI Direct3D Control Panel is not set to High Quality.

If you are a Radeon 8500 - 9000 - 9200 user and experiencing
random system restarts as well as an instant restart if changing video
resolution in game you need to go to ATI's Site and download the
new 4.10's which have fixed that BSOD for some players.

Go into Control
Panel / Display / Settings / Advanced / Geforce Tab / Performance
& Quality settings / set Antialiasing and Anisotropic to "Application".

Switches such as -USEFF and others are explained in detail at: http://halo.bungie.net/site/halo/f [...] cefaq.html

Via Motherboard Chipsets: If you have a Via brand motherboard,
you may need to update to the latest "4-in-1" motherboard chipset
drivers to avoid crashes. More info is in the driver upgrade section.

Don't use refresh managers like ReForce which can cause DX errors,
or could possibly cause exception errors. Either go to Start / Run:
dxdiag and setup the refresh rates in the More Help tab / Override...

Or you can use the -vidmode w,h,r shortcut switch which Forces the
game to run at width, height, refresh rate. Read the COMMAND
LINE SWITCHES section further down in this post for full details.
ex: "C:\Microsoft Games\Halo\halo.exe" -vidmode 1024,768,75

* Don't discount that the switches aren't worth trying. One player
got his game working by using the -useff switch when all else failed.

EXCEPTION ERRORS & POPUP-AD BLOCKERS can cause
Halo to crash and cause "Gathering Exception Data" error messages.
If the error continues click Start / Run: msconfig and disable all of the
programs that are listed in the Startup tab. This has helped others in
fact I have a system troubleshooter for general software / hardware:
issues that occur: http://mvps.org/nibblesnbits/Troubleshooting.html

Asherons Call players: If you have Decal running it can cause conflicts.

============== HALO KB ARTICLES ===============

Known Multiplayer Issues in Halo: Combat Evolved
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=829469

Known Game Controller Issues with Halo: Combat Evolved
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=829470

Known Sound Issues in Halo: Combat Evolved
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=829477

Known Video-Related Issues with Halo: Combat Evolved
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=829478

Minimum System Requirements for Halo: Combat Evolved
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=829479

Halo: Combat Evolved Is Slow or Performs Poorly
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=829471


=========== HOW TO UPDATE DRIVERS ============

Try updating your Video drivers using the instructions at:
http://www3.sympatico.ca/nibblesnb [...] ml#drivers

How to update your Chipset Drivers:
http://www3.sympatico.ca/nibblesnbits/Video.html#v11

TROUBLESHOOTING:

In HALO lower the settings for both Video and Sound setup options
until the game is working, and then bring them up again one notch at a time.

Perhaps the old Nvidia drivers did not completely uninstall. If that's the
case, use this utility to completely uninstall the drivers and go to step 7:
http://content.guru3d.com/index.ph [...] rip&menu=0

For Software and Hardware issues I've setup a troubleshooter at: http://www3.sympatico.ca/nibblesnb [...] oting.html


======== HALO COMMAND LINE SWITCHES ===========

These shortcut / command line switches are great for troubleshooting.
Make a copy of your HALO shortcut and edit it's properties to play in
WINDOW mode, which may help improve your game performance.

To play in window mode, right click the Halo shortcut, and in the
"Target" Box add -window to the end of the shortcut so it looks like this:
"C:\Program Files\Microsoft Games\Halo\halo.exe" -window

Other command line switches you can use to troubleshoot problems, or
workaround an issue until it can be properly resolved are as follows:

-nosound
Disables all sound.

-novideo
Disables video playback.

-nojoystick
Disables joystick/gamepads.

-nogamma
Disables adjustment of gamma.

-useff
Forces the game to run as a fixed function card.

-use11
Forces the game to run as a shader 1.1 card.

-use14
Forces the game to run as a shader 1.4 card.

-use20
Forces the game to run as a shader 2.0 card.

-safemode
Disables as much as possible from the game.

-window
Runs the game in a window.

-width640
Forces the game to run at 640x480.

-vidmode w,h,r
Forces the game to run at width, height, refresh rate.

-adapter x
Forces the game to run fullscreen on a multimon adaptor.

There you have it, if you have any questions feel free to post them! :-)

--
Cheers, Windows XP MVP Shell / User
Jimmy S. http://mvp.support.microsoft.com

Game FAQs: http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=FH;[LN];gms
Visit my Zone.com / Gaming Helpsite: http://nibblesnbits.tk or Call / Contact
MS Support at: http://support.microsoft.com/defau [...] ;en-us;top
My advice is donated "AS IS" without warranty; nor do I confer any rights.
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