Fallout 3 crashes/freezes !?!???!!

[aerozol]

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!

 

[SanitysEdge]

I've tried every fix the only one that worked was uninstalling all codecs
vista default no crashes or glitches since

 

[windsheer]

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_codec_pack_download.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.

 

[nforce4max]

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

 

[osbert]

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.

 

[SanitysEdge]

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

 

[miguel8339737]

will that game work for windows vista home edition

 

[swanand]

you are using xeon?
i doubt it. i have core 2 duo and some softwares show that its xeon.
lower the gfx settings and install latest drivers.that might help

 

[bebster07]

i used to have that all the time now i dont get crashes anymore 😛 i could play 6 hours straight or more without a single crash. i got a pentium care dual core CPU E5200 @ 2.5 ghz, 1.0 gb ram, and an nvidia geforce 8400 gs. i dunno if it'll work for you but i spent days in figuring out what to do. i uninstalled and installed the games thrice just to make it right. and i downlaoded and installed sooo many torrent patches. DIDNT HELP AT ALL. so i hope this helps and i baight the original cd of the game, im not sure if its gonna work for the torrent files if ever you have it.


I first updated my video card driver.

then made the falloutlauncher.exe to windows 2000 compatability mode, to go there go to My computer>C:>Program files>Bethesda softworks>fallout 3.

http://www.examiner.com/x-1726-Minnesota-Game-Examiner~y2009m1d15-Fallout-3-crash-bug-fixes

After that i had to change something else in the saved games folder of fallout3. First go to My documents>My games>fallout 3. your gonna see the the fallout configuration settings. open it using notepad then change the following settings using this:


Under [General]

bUseThreadedBlood=1 (default is 0)
bUseThreadedMorpher=1 (default is 0)
bUseThreadedAI=1 (default is 0)
bUseThreadedTempEffects=1 (default is 0)
bUseThreadedParticleSystem=1 (default is 0)
iPreloadSizeLimit=104857600 (default is 26214400)

For those with a 8800 (and other video cards that support Pixel Shader 3.0) find under [Display]

bAllow30Shaders=1 (default is 0)

Under [Audio]

bMultiThreadAudio=1 (default is 0)
iMaxImpactSoundCount=64 (default is 32)


COURTESY OF: username Circuitbomb

http://www.flyninja.net/?p=564
here is the website.

After that, i downloaded the latest file patch from the official fallout website, patch version 1.7 UK version, since i didnt buy the cd from the US.

http://fallout.bethsoft.com/eng/downloads/updates.html

THEN, before actually playing the game, i set my quality to low and set the game in windowed version (which is ok for me rather than getting crashes every 20 minutes).

THE TADA! FINISHED! it was miraculous! whew! took me DDDAAYYSSS to figure it out.

BUT REMEMBER, ALWAYS PLAY THE GAME FORM THE PROGRAMS FILE FOLDER>BETHESDA SOFTWORKS>FALLOUT 3. dunno why but it works for me that way. i always play it from the fallout3.exe.

but i was so paranoid at first that i used to play it form the patch haha! just TO MKAE SURE. and then there! I WANNA THANK ALL THE PEOPLE WHO POSTED THEIR SOLUTIONS FOR THE CRASHES! IT IS A GOD SEND

 

[bebster07]

oh and dont forget to download windows live!

 

[marcusob11]

Had the same problem with my ait x1900xt going into vpu recovery, got rid of the control centre (uninstall), and rolled back the driver to version 8.591 - works like a treat. Just keep going back a driver version - the temp adn psu ratings might be relevant for some people - but turn off vpu recovery - uninstall control centre and rollback drivers worked for me. Just loving this game now

 

[noelmasson]

If you are having problems with the 1.7 Patch, then you're using "Game of the Year Edition".

To fix it, uninstall Fallout 3 by inserting DVD1 and running setup, selecting remove (you will have the option to keep your saved games!).

Then goto Control Panel>Programs and Features (for Windows 7 users). On the left you will see "Turn Windows Features On or Off" - click it. Click on the [+] box next to Windows .NET Framework 3.5.1 to expand the selection and tick the two empty boxes that appear. The click OK and wait patiently until it silently installs the required features.


Once the installation is removed and you've updated the .NET framework, run setup again from DVD1 to create a clean installation. Choose a SIMPLE installation rather than custom. When this has completed, do not run the game.

Insert DVD2 and run setup. When this has completed, run the patch making sure you have dowloaded the correct one (I'm using the UK version of the game so I use the UK patch!).

WHen the patch has installed it will exit. Cancel any other messages.

Re-insert DVD1 and select Fallout 3 from Start Menu>Games.

All done and dusted!

 

[Mousemonkey]

This topic has been closed by Mousemonkey