Tom's Hardware > Forum > Games General > PC Gaming > Fallout 3 crashes/freezes !?!???!!
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cr720   07-20-2009 at 10:23:00 PM
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Last message on previous page:
Xbox? ouch. I would think you're kinda screwed until they release an update for it...

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Blacktronic   09-10-2009 at 03:05:55 PM
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Admiral Ackbar wrote :

I found the fix for one of the freezing problems and it worked for me.

 

I had played Fallout 3 in the last few weeks and had no problem.

 

I recently did a clean vista install and also added a new video card. A 1GB 4870 Sapphire.

 

I started playing F3 and it started crashing. sometimes within five minutes,s ometimes within 15.

 

So I started looking all over the web for a solution. I did the fddshow trick, the bios problem was only with the 512mb versions of the Sapphire 4870.

 

Then I found the following link.

 

http://www.pdsys.org/blog/post/200 [...] going.aspx

 

Turns out the patch for 1.1 breaks quad core support. The game can't handle 4 cores anymore. So if you have a quad core pc and you install the latest patch the game will start crashing. There are instructions on how to fix this.

 

Open up the fallout.ini file in: My Documents\My Games\Fallout3
Find the line:

 

bUseThreadedAI=0

 

change it to:

 

bUseThreadedAI=1

 

Add another line after it and insert:

 

iNumHWThreads=2

 

This will limit the game to 2 cores and prevent the engine bug from causing the game to freeze.

 

I tried this and it worked for me. And I have a quad core pc. Also, I didn't have freezing issues before the patch. Only after the patch. I thought the culprit was my new graphics card but this was my problem. After I made the fix, I played two hours without freezing.

 

So give this a try. It MAY fix your problem.

 

Anyone with a Quad-Core Processor and the 1.7 update installed, who experiences semi-random in-game freezes and stuttering while opening the Pip-Boy 3000 or V.A.T.S. should try this tweak. I tried to ignore the crashes at first, but when I got to the Abandoned House inside Tranquility Lane, the game became virtually unplayable for me. It crashed every few seconds after I loaded my save game. Admiral Ackbar, I can't thank you enough. You really saved my ass out there! *You have gained Karma* ^_^"


Message edited by Blacktronic on 09-11-2009 at 12:23:29 PM
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Fajita3053   09-26-2009 at 06:30:57 PM
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Fajita3053:

My Fallout 3.... the effin video freezes randomly, but the sound still works. I have to close it with task manager. No fukin clue.

My specs:
2 Intel Xeon 3.6ghZ HT
6 GB DDR2
ATI Radeon HD 4870
Windows 7 Ultimate

Any help is greatly appreicated

Reply to Fajita3053
SanitysEdge   10-14-2009 at 12:39:52 AM
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My fallout 3 doesn't crash but the game will freeze randomly from 30 to 45 seconds
it freeze's often
tried all the fixes in here no dice
if bethesda could build me a machine that could play this i'd buy it but i bet they can't

specs
intel 9550 quad
8 gigs of ram
ati 4870x2
windows vista 64

Message quoted 1 times
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aerozol   10-14-2009 at 01:58:02 PM
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I've had similar problems - black flashes on my screen, artifacts, and freezing.
This is with a GeForce 7950 GX2, single or SLi


It works fine now, things to check:

Clean your fans/ hardware of dust < An oldie but a goodie
Get the newest Patch - if you downloaded/stole a pre-cracked version, you'll have to find an uncracked FalloutLauncher.exe for the Patch to work.
Update to newest K-Lite Codec pack
Update your drivers (including audio card, GFX card)
Change the .ini file to use 2 cores (described in an earlier post)
If you are using Mods, make sure you've installed them correctly, and loaded them in the correct order etc -
This is useful as a Mod load order guide: http://amito.freehostia.com/Fallout/FO-mods-order.htm

Edit: Spybot S&D running in the background caused issues as well, I had to turn it off.
Second Edit: Still crashes sometimes. F*ck it!

Good luck!


Message edited by aerozol on 11-02-2009 at 09:11:28 AM
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SanitysEdge   10-20-2009 at 05:59:45 AM
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I've tried every fix the only one that worked was uninstalling all codecs
vista default no crashes or glitches since

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windsheer   10-20-2009 at 09:18:57 PM
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I just bought the GOTY edition on my new computer and ran into this same junk. This game has been out for a long time. What are the doing over there. My issue was random freezing that required an end task between 20min-2hours of gameplay. There was no common factor. Here is what i did.

Patch game> still freezes
Checked FFdshow settings > already done by game install
tried to ingnore the freezes > made me more angry at bethseda
tried to get help from bethseda forum > they wanted me to sign up to do a search !@#$ them...

THIS IS WHAT WORKED FOR NEW GOTY INSTALL ON NEW COMPUTER
then did this configuration and downlaoded the latest codec pack here I am guessing the codec pack was more of the key.
http://www.free-codecs.com/K_lite_ [...] wnload.htm
>

Open up the fallout.ini file in: My Documents\My Games\Fallout3
Find the line:

bUseThreadedAI=0

change it to:

bUseThreadedAI=1

Add another line after it and insert:

iNumHWThreads=2

This will limit the game to 2 cores and prevent the engine bug from causing the game to freeze.

Reply to windsheer
nforce4max   10-22-2009 at 03:11:30 AM
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I used to have crashes till driver updates with my 9800gt 1gb but had to wait and ended up running it on a x1900xt for months. Then one day popped in a 8800gtx to test the card after repair and loaded the game to find that it was stable. So in went my 9800gt and it worked no more crashing while out in the waste land any more. :)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FgSs8rujFAs

Reply to nforce4max
osbert   10-25-2009 at 09:29:52 PM
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SanitysEdge wrote :

My fallout 3 doesn't crash but the game will freeze randomly from 30 to 45 seconds
it freeze's often
tried all the fixes in here no dice
if bethesda could build me a machine that could play this i'd buy it but i bet they can't

specs
intel 9550 quad
8 gigs of ram
ati 4870x2
windows vista 64




Im having exactly the same problem, have tried all the suggested fixes strewn across the net, default controls, the editing of the .ini file, removing my sblive soundcard and using the onboard sound, exempting fallout3.exe from ffdshow video and audio setup, running windowed, running everything on lowest detail and worst resolution.

NOTHING WORKS.

so infuriating, it's frozen atm and i have cpu-z and gpu-z all showing it's nothing to do with overheating or anything like that.

Task manager shows cores 1 and 3 seem to be running the prog, as while 0 and 2 are not exactly idle, they are doing a lot less processing... (this is running a clean install by the way, only default windows services running in the background).

It will play ok for between 2 and 6 minutes, and while I was timing it before it would consistently freeze for 45 seconds, now it can be slightly longer, up to a minute say... but it's never less than 45.

Fallout 3 Patched to 1.7 UK
Q6600 G0
4G OCZ Platinum
Force3d 4870 Black edition w/ latest catalyst
Vista x64 Ultimate

Been struggling through a few quests, up to level 5 now, but seriously considering jacking this in.

Reply to osbert
SanitysEdge   10-29-2009 at 06:30:07 AM
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Uninstall all codecs
don't use anything except default codecs
this was the thing that made the game run glitch free for me
i put a shortcut to the codec to reinstall when i want to watch something
and uninstall to play fallout 3

Reply to SanitysEdge
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