Windows 7

[CoolFunkMan]

You're an exception by the looks of it, everyone else seems to be fine. It's very odd, but it points to a driver or hardware problem specific to your machine rather than a problem with Windows 7 itself. The easiest way to find out which would be just to reinstall W7. If it works after that then it was driver related, if it's still not working then it's probably hardware related.

 

Alternatively pop over to http://forums.nvidia.com/ and see if anyone can help you there.

 

Yup, I think it's a hardware problem. I reinstalled Winodws 7 yesterday, but it's still messing up on me. Though I just thought, I've overclocked my processor, and when I bought my card a few years ago, it arrived factory overclocked. Could that be causing this?

 

UPDATE...

 

Okay, I've sort of got games working. I installed the motherboard chipset drivers from disc, as well as manually updating my audio drivers.

 

After this I installed CoD4, and upon first playthrough, all was well. However, I quit to the main menu, and when I went to continue my game it froze again. It just keeps freezing on the loading screen, just before going in game again now.

 

Team Fortress 2 works fine on first play, but when it goes to load a new map between rounds/after quiting a server, it also crashes. I can still play a round after rebooting though.

 

Seriously, what the hell is going on here?! I think I might manually install my graphics drivers, although the Windows auto update says they're the latest version, plus being as I can actually get into a game first time, I don't think that's the issue here...

Edited November 3, 2009 by CoolFunkMan

[Guest Stefkov]

The reason I haven't got my Windows 7 disc is because they hadn't actually sent it yet.

I'm sorry for bothering you guys on here about it.

So much rage right now it's blinding.

[Wesley]

Have you tried burning it to a disk?

[Guest Stefkov]

No.

 

mhghgnhgf

[CoolFunkMan]

UPDATE...

 

Ok, this issue gets stranger and stranger. I installed the Nvidia 191.07 drivers manually, and my games still froze, I tried everything, to no avail. So I then went for the 195.39 BETA drivers, tried Team Fortress 2... and it worked! I quit a game, loaded a new server, it worked again! However, I attempted CoD4 again, and it froze. I rebooted my computer, loaded TF2 and when it was loading a server, it froze just before going in-game, again! I attempted to run the Left 4 Dead 2 demo today as well, but that also froze at the loading screen.

 

Seriously... WTF?! O.o

 

EDIT...

 

Okay, if this is a hardware issue (which it probably is, knowing my luck), then it's probably best to detail my hardware, and here it is:

 

Gigabyte X38-DS4

Intel Core 2 Duo E6420 overclocked @ 2.66ghz

GeIL 2GB (2x1GB) DDR2 PC2-6400C4 800MHz RAM

BFG GeForce 8800 GTS OC 640MB

Creative SoundBlaster Audigy 2

Western Digital Caviar Blue 500GB SATA-II 16MB Cache HDD

Asus DRW-1814BLT 18x DVD±RW SATA Dual Layer Lightscribe ReWriter

Corsair HX 520W ATX Modular SLI Compliant Power Supply

 

Anything in there that would make Windows 7 behave so erratically? The graphics card is an overclocked model, so it's always been that way, and I had no problems with my OCed E6420 on XP. Could that be an issue?

Edited November 4, 2009 by CoolFunkMan

[Ten10]

Control Panel > Administrative tools > Event viewer. Check for any related errors.

[CoolFunkMan]

Cheers for that! I've looked it up, and there's tons of stuff there! I managed to get to the error report stuff though, and it isn't good. Here's a few as an example:

 

Fault bucket 645889341, type 5

Event Name: RADAR_PRE_LEAK_32

Response: Not available

Cab Id: 0

 

Problem signature:

P1: iw3sp.exe

P2: 0.0.0.0

P3: 6.1.7600.2.0.0

P4:

P5:

P6:

P7:

P8:

P9:

P10:

 

Attached files:

C:\Users\Tobias\AppData\Local\Temp\RDRD3A3.tmp\empty.txt

 

These files may be available here:

 

 

Analysis symbol:

Rechecking for solution: 0

Report Id: 73901d0a-c887-11de-aee1-001a4d5c0313

Report Status: 0

 

Fault bucket , type 0

Event Name: AppHangB1

Response: Not available

Cab Id: 0

 

Problem signature:

P1: hl2.exe

P2: 0.0.0.0

P3: 470c11ae

P4: 8a10

P5: 0

P6:

P7:

P8:

P9:

P10:

 

Attached files:

C:\Users\Tobias\AppData\Local\Temp\WER3073.tmp.appcompat.txt

C:\Users\Tobias\AppData\Local\Temp\WER37C4.tmp.WERInternalMetadata.xml

 

These files may be available here:

C:\Users\Tobias\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\WER\ReportArchive\AppHang_hl2.exe_e03137d57ef6c81d1aa0a45152cb613f88aa809f_0d5838eb

 

Analysis symbol:

Rechecking for solution: 0

Report Id: 5d1dbbcb-c825-11de-ae39-001a4d5c0313

Report Status: 1

 

Fault bucket 729360461, type 5

Event Name: PCA2

Response: Not available

Cab Id: 0

 

Problem signature:

P1: Steam.exe

P2: 1.0.0.0

P3: Steam 732897

P4: Steam

P5: Valve Corporation

P6: 200

P7: -1

P8:

P9:

P10:

 

Attached files:

C:\Users\Tobias\AppData\Local\Temp\{667a2120-19d4-4de8-aeb0-c6a78213a3a5}\appcompat.txt

C:\Users\Tobias\AppData\Local\Temp\Tab2C0F.tmp

 

These files may be available here:

C:\Users\Tobias\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\WER\ReportArchive\NonCritical_Steam.exe_c9ed71f9f249d7377ac43cfe78f63eda021fd59_0e587b86

 

Analysis symbol:

Rechecking for solution: 0

Report Id: bd8aed4e-c946-11de-b253-001a4d5c0313

Report Status: 0

 

Fault bucket 795086063, type 5

Event Name: RADAR_PRE_LEAK_32

Response: Not available

Cab Id: 0

 

Problem signature:

P1: left4dead2.exe

P2: 0.0.0.0

P3: 6.1.7600.2.0.0

P4:

P5:

P6:

P7:

P8:

P9:

P10:

 

Attached files:

C:\Users\Tobias\AppData\Local\Temp\RDR14A8.tmp\empty.txt

 

These files may be available here:

 

 

Analysis symbol:

Rechecking for solution: 0

Report Id: 216aca9c-c93c-11de-9a77-001a4d5c0313

Report Status: 0

 

What the heck does all that mean? Although I'm sure I've read somewhere about memory leaks. Could that be it. If so, then what do I do?

[Ike]

Try this, the problem sound similar so it might work:

 

Question

 

I'm running Windows Vista or Windows 7, and some or all of my GoldSrc games (Half-Life, Half-Life: Blue Shift, Opposing Force, Counter-Strike, Day of Defeat, Team Fortress Classic) will get to the loading screen just before the menu appears, then crash to desktop. How can I fix this?

Answer

 

This may be caused by Data Execution Prevention (DEP) which is a security feature enabled on recent operating systems. Older games, such as GoldSrc games, were not created with DEP in mind and may trigger DEP's security features inadvertently. Please try the following:

 

1. Go to Start > Control Panel > System > Advanced > Performance > Data Execution Prevention.

2. Select "Turn on DEP for all programs and services except those I select:"

3. Select "Add", navigate to C:\Program Files\Steam (or your default Steam directory), and add Steam.exe to the exception list.

4. Additionally, you will need to add the executable (hl.exe, for example) for any game you are seeing issues with. These files will either be in \Steam\steamapps\common\<Game Title>\ or in \Steam\steamapps\<Your Steam account Name>\<Game Title>\

 

https://support.steampowered.com/kb_article.php?ref=8079-KZXN-6067

[Ten10]

Ok I did a google search on iw3sp.exe error. Seems to be quite a common problem. It is quite possible you have a corrupted game file which is causing iw3sp to close each time you run COD4.

 

I know it might be a pain but I suggest trying some of the solutions people tried in this forum: http://www.straferight.com/forums/call-duty-series/174889-call-duty-iw3sp-exe-error-1.html

 

I don't have COD4 so I can't provide any further support on that front.

[CoolFunkMan]

Try this, the problem sound similar so it might work:

 

https://support.steampowered.com/kb_article.php?ref=8079-KZXN-6067

 

Thanks for the idea anyway, but TF2 still crashed when I tried this method.

 

Ok I did a google search on iw3sp.exe error. Seems to be quite a common problem. It is quite possible you have a corrupted game file which is causing iw3sp to close each time you run COD4.

 

I know it might be a pain but I suggest trying some of the solutions people tried in this forum: http://www.straferight.com/forums/call-duty-series/174889-call-duty-iw3sp-exe-error-1.html

 

I don't have COD4 so I can't provide any further support on that front.

 

Thanks for this! I'll try it later. I've got to head to work now, unfortunately. :/

[Ten10]

Fair enough. Also I would say check firewall / any defense programs you have running. I was having trouble running the orange box collection due to my defense program blocking certain files from running until I had cleared them for system access. Thought I'd mention it as it just happened to me this second trying to launch portal.

Edited November 4, 2009 by Ten10

[CoolFunkMan]

Okay, I haven't tried anything else yet, but thanks for that update Ten10, you seriously might be onto something here!

 

I'm currently running AVG for my anti-virus, and upon reading your post I decided to search it. Lo and behold, the official steam troubleshooting guide says this...

 

AVG 7.5, Norton/Symantec and Nod 32 software has been known to cause game crashes. AVG 7.5 must be fully removed from your system in order to prevent these crashes.

 

I'm going to seriously try this and, if it works, I'll need a new anti-virus program. Any recommendations? I was using Avira AntiVir, but that doesn't support Win7 yet, does it?

 

UPDATE...

 

Ah, it still crashed... not my anti-virus software then.

 

A friend of mine at work thinks that my PC specs aren't good enough to run games on Windows 7, though that can't be right! Of course, I am planning to upgrade my PC's graphics card and processor, plus add more RAM i the not too distant future anyway...

 

UPDATE 2...

 

Okay, another interesting error. I just tried to run TF2 again, this time by right clicking and selecting "Run as administrator", and it loaded mt first game.... but then crashed again when I tried a different server. :/

 

Also, my friend reckons it could be a DirectX issue, and that the settings could be altering/clashing, which makes sense. Dxdiag say I'm running DX11 atm, but my card is only DX10. It also mentions some files not being "digitally signed", but ten I'm running beta drivers. Could any of these factors be an issue?

 

Urgh, this is infuriating! I'm off to bed... T_T

Edited November 5, 2009 by CoolFunkMan

[Ten10]

Well I'm pretty much in the same boat as you. Running win 7 got a Directx 10 card. Not using beta drivers but just whatever win7 installed. Got my ATI catalyst control software installed also. But I can run TF2 just fine. (Can't seem to find any servers but that is another issue) From within steam have you tried right clicking and checking the game files integrity?

[khilafah]

managed to get a copy of Windows 7 Ultimate off my friend and very happy with it compared to Vista but for some reason I get a crackling sound from my laptop speakers. This never happened before so dunno what is up with that.

 

Tried re-installing the drivers but still no joy.

[CoolFunkMan]

Okay, nothing anyone's suggested has actually worked, thanks again anyway though!

 

I figured it could be my processor's overclock screwing up my games, so I've downloaded a program called RealTemp. Upon running it, it says that the processor cores are running at 60c idle! That's seriously not right, is it? :S

 

UPDATE...

 

Okay, it looks like this issue is now fixed! It was the overclock on my processor that was causing all these errors. I can game on my PC again, finally, all's well now. Thanks for the help though folks! ^^

 

Oh, and how do you adjust the volume control of each speaker seperately with a 5.1 system? My rear speakers are alot louder than my front ones, for some odd reason, plus my subwoofer appears to not be working...

Edited November 5, 2009 by CoolFunkMan

[McPhee]

An unstable overclock? It's always the simple things, eh?

 

BTW, your DX version in DXDiag should be 11. It's the software version, not the hardware

 

managed to get a copy of Windows 7 Ultimate off my friend and very happy with it compared to Vista but for some reason I get a crackling sound from my laptop speakers. This never happened before so dunno what is up with that.

 

Tried re-installing the drivers but still no joy.

 

Oddly I've noticed something similar on my new headphones, it's almost like a shit in-game Uzi sound effect (like from the original Tomb Raider games or something). Lasts about a second.

 

I'm putting up with it at the moment, not a clue where to start on sorting it.

[Charlie]

I'm going to seriously try this and, if it works, I'll need a new anti-virus program. Any recommendations? I was using Avira AntiVir, but that doesn't support Win7 yet, does it?

 

Sack the antivirus software altogether. As long as you know what you're doing on a computer you'll be fine without it. Don't open dodgy files. Use a decent browser and you're sorted.

[Ike]

Sack the antivirus software altogether. As long as you know what you're doing on a computer you'll be fine without it. Don't open dodgy files. Use a decent browser and you're sorted.

 

Good plan until one of your "trusted" sites gets hacked and spread viruses around.

[Jimbob]

Good plan until one of your "trusted" sites gets hacked and spread viruses around.

 

And i know that all too well.

 

Curses Norton *Shakes Fist*

 

I also blame PC World for selling me Norton, i've had bugs and viruses slipping through thanks to this program. Hence why i changed.

 

At least Kaspersky is 100% compatible with 7. And it even comes with a Browser thingy, which checks all URL's of all the sites i visit. Blocks them when they are hacked and untrusted.

 

Edit: Just discovered that 7 can download all of my videos and pictures from my phone. Vista didn't quite do this.

Edited November 5, 2009 by Jimbob

[Cube]

People seem to forget that Norton IS a virus.

[Ten10]

I've been using comodo av ever since I started using Vista on the home pc. I love it. I've got the functionality of zone alarms fire wall and avg rolled into one. I had used a ZA AVG combo for years but they stopped playing nicely with certain programs I had running under vista. And often ZA would kill all internet access completely.

[The Lillster]

Well I've finally got Windows 7 installed. Is it a good idea to change the user name of the Admin acount and change my user to a normal user? Or does that not matter anymore?

 

People seem to forget that Norton IS a virus.

 

Fuck Norton.

[Cube]

If you're going to install programs then you'll be wanting to use the Admin account all the time.

[The Lillster]

If you're going to install programs then you'll be wanting to use the Admin account all the time.

 

Ok! SO it doesn't matter if I set my user to admin, permanantly(can't spell, whatever)?

[Ten10]

You can just right click and run as administrator. I do it at work all the time saves having to log out and in all the time.