ET ALWAYS freezes - it never used to

(neh) #1

STarting a new thread on this to try and get sd to figure it out

the game worked fine - really enjoyed it etc etc

then suddenly it just locks EVERY TIME I PLAY

(a bit like a lot of other people)

– i have gone to extraordinary lenghts to sort this out

new PSU (higher wattage), dumped XP Pro for 2pro gone trhough ALL the drivers etc etc … tried pb_system - compiled_vertex array - mobo drivers etc etc

i am convinced its not directly the setup at myend - but it HAS to be somechange in server / client code (PB update or someshite)

I’m not expecting any useful help tbh - I am just registering my protest and hoping that SD will do some work to track down the issue and offer a patch

ps if it helps heres a brief sys spec
Athlon XP 2000+ (at 133 FSB)
512DDR pc2100
ECS K75SA SiS based mobo (1.16a AGP drivers) - gfx window set at 128M
Radeon 9700pro - 3.5 catalysts
DX9.0a
WIN2kPro (though also same problem on XP Pro) - latest update etc as at last wednesday

cheers

(kingsand) #2

i hawe the same problem i can play fore 2 min then my cpu totaly freeses
and i have checked all i can think of and cant finnd any thing wrong on my computer gona go crasy soon i whana play it

this is the only game that freeses and i have removed it and installd it mor than one time=(=(=( :bash:

i got
xp2400
521 ram
asus delux
radeon 97 pro 128
win 2000

if any one culd help me plesse email me to blackdragon60@hotmail.com

(=MLK=FOO) #3

what do you mean locks up? Where and when does it do this? Any other errors? Give us some more info.

(Wils) #4

Do you still get these freezes playing on servers which don’t have punkbuster enabled (having also disabled it yourself on your client)?

(Freedom[]Tickler) #5

Are you getting hard locks, or is the game freezing you out of your PC?

I join teamspeak before I play, and have had ET freeze and my keyboard lock me out, but I can still chat on teamspeak, so I know its the game and not a hardware lock up. I run a teamspeak server and would be happy to help you troubleshoot this issue, just PM me to set up a time, Im on eastern US time zone, Im guessing your in UK.

if you can, try to determine if your app is freezing, or if you are experiencing a hardware lock up. Once we know this, we’ll know the more likely trees to bark up.

Since Im addicted too ET like it was crack, I FEEL YOUR PAIN !! heh

(neh) #6

i dont recall - i will try now (just putting sp4 on win 2k) .

(neh) #7

the system freezes … i have to power off to reboot - isnt that what people mean by freezes???

(bogs) #8

i know this sounds lame but if you get a kind of greyish screen just after you start ET… Just leave it sit for a full half hour. The problem might resolve itself. If this fixes it, I’ll tell you what was broken :slight_smile:

(neh) #9

its exactly the same m8 - just to reiterate - this NEVER happened for weeks - but suddently started with me making no major sys changes … this is why its sp wierd - especially as it now appears not directly to be pb … very odd :frowning:

(neh) #10

nah m8 - the system freezes in game

(neh) #11

actually fuck it - its leaving my hdd - i cant be bothered to fuck about with it anymore - at the end of the day theres obviously something very wrong with it somewhere - and this problem has been somehow introduced recently …

theres nothing more I can do myself to get it working

shame becuase in the days it actually used to run it was great fun …

sorry :frowning:

(Awol) #12

If you still read this. What changes did you make to your system before it kept crashing? The answer is there heck it could be win2k SP4 wouldn’t be the first time MS messed up a SP. Or the SP replaced some directX stuff so you have a mix match of files.

I would suggest reinstall Direct 9 and then reinstall ET and see what happens.

(DasMonkey) #13

full explanation of the freezes… if its the same thing I’m getting right now… which is extremely frustrating…

during gameplay, everything runs smooth, no pre-cursor to the freeze… then randomly it freezes to the point where being kicked would, no movement at all, not a CI or anything. like if i get the freeze at the same point as someone calling for a medic… I’ll hear need a medic, need a medic, need a medic, need a medic… for most of the freeze time. My computer, which is nothing special can recover from it though if i give it enough time. usually a solid minute or two of no movement at all, and I always know once back I’ll be dead. I also know from having a friend on the phone, that in game I’ll show up as 999 ping. and my modem activity light stays solid for the the length of the freeze

my cheesy system specs; p4 1.7ghz, 768sdram, gf3 TI500, sb live…

I wouldn’t say these freezes make the game unplayable for me… however they make me not want to play, just a huge pain in the arse. Despite the freezes i still pulled off a 600+ pt round on goldrush… but I’d rather not have them to deal with.

(neh) #14

i didnt change anything … PRIOR to the freezes - i changed loads after they started to try and fix it …

(Freedom[]Tickler) #15

Neh,

the first priority is to determine if its the app (ET) your hardware (overheating grfx card for instance) or OS related (IRQs for instance)

If you disabled PB in ET and joined non PB servers, then its most likely not the game that is making your rig lock up. Because its a recent problem, it could indicate a PB update, or a peice of hardware went tits up, Im willing to help narrow it down w/ you.

Freezes and lock ups can be different, if youre a desktop tech for instance : )

I had a similar issue w/ q3 and an overheating grfx card that was new at the time. I discovered by being on roger wilco that my computer was not locking up, it was the game freezing. The only way out was the reset button. I could still talk on roger wilco so I knew my computer was still working underneath the game. Thats when I opened the case and found my TNT2 very hot to the touch, card was 3 months old at that point. Thats why I offered to help over team speak.

Dont mean to yammer on about this, but it is the necessary first step.

(MFM|Timewarp) #16

Hi Guys,

I could fix my freezes by turning of my Virus Scan. Never had Problems
with it but it was the reason. You might also try to enter \pb_system 1 in the console. I read that this might also fix freezes.

Good luck

(DasMonkey) #17

to add to my previous post here… its only just happened the past couple days, I have not changed anything in the past couple days, at all… my drivers are all up to date… and I’m getting the freezes on both PB and NON PB servers.

(=OSS=BLACKIE) #18

I have been looking for info on this for one of my clan mates, he is having this problem when we play on PB servers he get real bad “lag” you know choppy game play, but when he plays on non PB servers it runs great.
Any help on this matter would be great since we don’t like playing on non PB servers.

Peace :drink: :drink:

([=O=]SMYLER) #19

From a ex pc engineers point of view when chips that got as hot as athlons came out even the “recommended” heatsink and fans wouldn’t cool the cpu enough in the summer time (and if you’re in the UK at the min it’s pretty damn hot (well here anyway)) and lock the machine when running something as graphically intense as ET. Also if it’s not the cpu thats falling over due to overheating the heat produced by the cpu and hence floating around inside your case is not cooled/vented other things like the mobo and video cards will get sunstroke and start falling over.

I have fitted two more fans to my case this week to stop this happening, thats four case fans never mind one big assed one on the chip two on the GF4 and one on the mobo. Believe me the hot weather has a LOT to do with the summer time pc blues.

(neh) #20

me ponders extra case fan

this makes more sense tbh … but the thing is it doesnt happen with any other game - I can vice city no bother at all - and I’d argue that theres a great more gfx processing being handled there than in et - but it’s certainly a possibility and would explain the sudden start of locks - it could easily just be the DDR on the gfx card cooking … hmm