I searched, but found no answer

[daves01902]

I bought Thief Deadly Shadows, and the install went fine, and I play the game for about 10 minutes, sometimes less, and the game freezes up, and the sound begins to sjip, like a broken record. I have to reboot. I can't Ctrl+Alt+Del, or Alt+Tab to get out of it. Also When I reboot, and begin playing again, my save games are all corrupted. I think I've gone through the first few missions about 10-12 times already. I also tried a no-cd patch, to see if it was maybe a scrath on the disk, but no, it still froze up. I have uninstalled twice, and it is still happening. Can anyone help me out with this?

My specs are:

Windows XP Service Pack 1
NVidia GeForce3 Ti 500
Soundblaster Audigy2 ZS Platinum (with front panel console)
AMD Athlon XP 1500+
768MB SDRam
Biostar M7Vig Pro
Samsung CD/RW DVD Rom combo
Lite On CD/RW

Any help is appreciated.
D

[LeatherMan]

Run the Disk Error Checking utility (http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;315265) and Defragment afterwards.

[daves01902]

Thanks for the reply, Leatherman.


I ran the disk error utility, and then defragged, but still, the same thing keeps happening. I'm getting a bit upset. I feel like Garrett has picked my pocket for the 50 bucks I spent on the game. Its got to the point where I don't even wat to play it anymore.
Please, someone, HELP!

[DreamEndless]

Check your CPU and GPU temps. GeForce 3s are rubbish with heat as it is and a game this reliant on PSs is gonna push it hard. You may be getting overheating.

On top of that check you have the latest drivers all round and try dissabling EAX: may sound daft but the Audigy 2 uses a stupid amount of CPU power and can, on weaker CPUs like your, cause crashes.

oh and check what background tasks you have running. CLose and antivirus or firewall sortware.

:)

[cccc]

Originally posted by DreamEndless
Check your CPU and GPU temps [...]

Yeap, most possible reason, i have the same problems now that the weather is getting more and more hot here (cpu temp is about 4-5 C higher than winter)
Also, crashes like this are often caused by system memory problems (temp., overclocked mem, incorrect CL etc)

[daves01902]

alright!

I DO have all the updated drivers. EAX is disabled, I'll try the antivirus thing, and the running processes are down to a minium. And as for my "weaker" system. I'm in the process of beefing it up. Every week I get a new component. Hopefully, when I get a better video card, this won't happen.

Thanks for everything, guys, you ROCK!
D

[daves01902]

sigh. still got it happening.
I actually moved my cards around, so the video card has more room for the fan to blow air, and I ran the machine without the cover on. I got maybe 1 1/2 hours of play before it started goofing up. I'm pretty sure its the video card overheating at this point.
Is there a good video card I can get, where this won't happen?
D

[LeatherMan]

Until you do get a new card, you could underclock your card so you can play longer without crashing.

[Clumsyorchid]

What are you setting the graphics options to?

[uberam]

Can't remember exactly what it says, something with "hardware mixer", in the option's audio menu. I have mine ticked on since I don't have Creative/EAX. Tick that on and see if that does anything for you.

I see also that you have 768MB ram. Is that 3*256 or 512 + 256? Same brands? I seem to remember a similar problem I had with T2. I had 2 different brands of 128M sticks. I took one out and problem went away. Play around with your mem and see if that helps any. It might also be an inadequate power supply. If you have another PS, something with more juice or is more stable, swap that in.

[daves01902]

My memory is 1 512, and 1 256, both the same brand.
my resolution for the game is 800x600
and all other settings are set to the next to lowest setting.
I have the bloom ticked off, and pretty much everything else ticked off, too.

Underclock my card? How would I go about doing that?
I don't do much tweaking to my cards, so thats a gray area for me.

[Guineapiggy]

Dependant on what is causing the heat issues, removing the cover may only make things worse. The secret to good cooling is a constant directional flow from one side to another bringing in cold air and expelling hot air, and for that, you need the case closed and all unecessary holes covered.

[uberam]

You can try coolbits registry hack (http://www.overclockers.com.au/techstuff/a_coolbits/) to underclock your card (I use it to OC). It's basically a registry entry that enables the clock freq. adjustments (built into the drivers but not activated) for GF cards.

If you want to play around with the ram, take one out and run the game with just one stick of mem installed. If problem persists, swap the other one in, change slots, bump up the voltage to the ram (you'll have to look in your motherboard's manual for that).

What about turning 'fastwrite' off in the BIOS?

[Mr. Perfect]

It sounds to me like the man needs some $5 case fans. Do you have any extra places made for puting fans in your case?

[daves01902]

I have 3 case fans already, maybe I'll go and get some more, plus, I need some rounded IDe cables. Inside my box looks like a rats nest. When I get the enegry, Ill disasseble it and try to neaten it up.
Hey guys, thanks for all the help, its much appreciated.
D

[daves01902]

YES!
problem solved. I got a total of 5 case fans now, and a new video card. Everything works friggin great. I love it.
Thanks for all the info and help, people. I appreciate it!
D