Guy w/gun Posted April 6, 2001 Share Posted April 6, 2001 I don't play this game against people for many reasons. I like playing against the AI, because it's fun and I can fully take in the aestetics of the game. Plus I don't want to let anyone down if I'm to busy to play or return a file. But you know what the main reason is? MY GOD $%#@ COMPUTER!!! It ALWAYS CRASHES. Especially on anything that is 3D, but also some 2D games like Baldur's Gate and Diablo 2. It crashes SO &*%#ing much I want to scream. Just a few moments ago I was playing a ME against the AI. At the end of turn 3 a hapless enemy tank wandered into the sights of my Sherman. It was Id as a Pz IV but with a question mark. My hull-down Sherman plugged the sucker from nearly a kilometer, despite having a 75mm gun! I was so amazed at, and proud of the regular crew. I started to give orders for the next turn... And then the damn thing crashes. I re-boot and reload to find that it auto saved before the turn that just happened. I played the turn again and guess what? Things didn't happen the same again. My Sherman got distracted at some inf running bettween patches of trees just long enough (we're talking not even half a second here) not to notice the Mk IV aiming at it. They traded shots, but missed. I gave the Sherman reverse orders, but he was brewed up before the command delay ended. The MG crew on it's deck was also eliminated. I was so discusted, that I stopped. That is why I don't play PBEM or TCP/IP. It would be very hard to have a game go smoothly with all the crashing. And because I will invaribly be asked what my set up is: Windows ME 500mhz PIII SBlaster PCI 128 Hercules Prophet Geforce 256 32MB DDR 256MB PC100 RAM YES all my drivers are current! ------------------ "I saw one of the new Tiger tanks at a range of around 1000 yards & fired seven times. I saw each round bounce off the front & side armour. The Tiger traversed it's gun & blew off our left track killing the driver." British Matilda tank commander Tunisia 1943 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schrullenhaft Posted April 6, 2001 Share Posted April 6, 2001 Do you have any other programs running in the background while you play CM ? What kind of utilities/programs do you have loaded up in your System Tray ? What version of the video drivers are you using; are they NVidia Reference Detonators or are they drivers from Hercules/Guillemot ? Does your sound card and video card share an IRQ ? What version of DirectX do you have installed (if it is the default version that comes with WinME it is 7.1) ? What motherboard brand do you have ? Do you know if there are any BIOS updates for it (though they won't always fix problems) ? Have you run any "Windows Updates" on your WinME installation ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest *Captain Foobar* Posted April 6, 2001 Share Posted April 6, 2001 Sorry to hear that Guy w/ gun... Although that would inhibit you from tcp/ip, I suggest you give pbem another chance. Playing against another person is one of the finer points of CM, imo.. good luck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dima Posted April 6, 2001 Share Posted April 6, 2001 Windows ME is the first thing you may want to try to get rid of. Go back to Win98 or better yet get yourself Windows 2000. On the drivers topic: what do you mean by "current"? For example I was struggling with CM crashes with my GeForce2 with ALL drivers, official and unofficial, until I got Det 7.68. But they are unofficial and there are already 11.xx version out there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Panzer Leader Posted April 6, 2001 Share Posted April 6, 2001 I have never had a crash with Win ME. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Mr. Johnson-<THC>- Posted April 6, 2001 Share Posted April 6, 2001 Did you install "ME" over 98 or 95 without wiping the hard drive clean? Or is it all fresh and brand spanking new? You system should be stable from what I can tell, but I don't know what MB or HD you got. Only thing I can say is take it too a Pro and tell them to wipe it clean, take it apart, and reinstall everything. Then If it still screws up make them pay to fix it, hehehe. And I'm very sorry if thats too big of a bullet to swallow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guy w/gun Posted April 6, 2001 Author Share Posted April 6, 2001 Windows ME isn't the problem. I've had this problem with Win98. I've also had this problem with a completely different mother board. I'm pretty sure it has to do with my Video Card. Since day one it has acted up, so much so I wonder if it's defective. It's one of the first prophet 32MB DDR's that I had seen on the shelves, so maybe later prophets are better. All the stuff about Win98, DirX 7.1 (running 8.0 incidently), motherboard etc dont add up because the problems have occured before my current set up. I always close all progarms in the back ground and often de-frag my RAM using RAM booster so I can free as much up as possible. All this started with the %#$^ing video card. I must get another one as soon as possible. And guess what? I don't trust Nvidia anymore. I'm going back to ATI. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guy w/gun Posted April 6, 2001 Author Share Posted April 6, 2001 Funny cause all this WAS done by a pro. My comp was built by the same company, Altex. Their pretty popular here in Texas for those who don't want a proprietary comp. Yes ME is completely installed. It was installed on a completely new HD. My comp went belly up not to long ago. Only thing that survived was the processor, RAM. Vid Card, and Sound Card. The guy said he would run all sorts of diagnostics to make sure it "never crashed again." I took it back home and it crashed as soon as I tried to play CMBO and Half-Life on it. So much for the pros. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guy w/gun Posted April 6, 2001 Author Share Posted April 6, 2001 MB is some sort of Iwill type, dont exactly remember the model. My Hard drive is 10 gig. Its some sort of generic type. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LuckyStrike Posted April 6, 2001 Share Posted April 6, 2001 You should still consider a fresh install of Windows 2000. Saying ME isn't the problem because you had the problem with 98 is no surprise because ME is just 98 with window dressing. I had similar problems with 98 and ME to those you are experiencing until I did a clean Win2000 install (NOT an upgrade from ME) and since then - zero problems, rock solid. Once Windows XP is out the 98/ME codebase will be history anyway, and XP is mostly just 2000. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schrullenhaft Posted April 6, 2001 Share Posted April 6, 2001 Try a 3D benchmarking program, like 3DMark 2001 and see if your GeForce has problems with it. I believe that there should be a looping mode to have it "burn in" the video card. With the number of tests this benchmark does, it may trip up your video card. With that proof, you may be able to return it to your vendor or Hercules/Guillemot for service/replacement (assuming it is still under warranty). 3DMark 2001 (approx. 38Mb): http://download.cnet.com/downloads/0-10045-100-5122338.html Do you know which IWill motherboard you have and what your current BIOS version is ? Admittedly this may not fix your problem, but depending on what motherboards you have used with your GeForce, you may be running into an incompatibility between the board and the video card (though this was more common with the AMD chipset-based motherboards for the SlotA Athlons and the GeForce line). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lcm1947 Posted April 6, 2001 Share Posted April 6, 2001 I have Windows 98 and have had no problems. I also have a old Diamond Viper 32 Mb with 128 Ram, Pentuim II at 450 Mhz. Must be something but what? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lcm1947 Posted April 6, 2001 Share Posted April 6, 2001 Oh, forgot to ask, where in Texas do you live, if I may ask. I live in Austin. Didn't know anyone else that visits this forum was from good old Texas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hawkmek Posted April 6, 2001 Share Posted April 6, 2001 Another fellow Texan here. I am familiar with the ALTEX you are talking about. I'm in Cedar Park. I was going to ask if you have an AGP video card and if so, make sure your number PCI slot is empty. I was trying to share my IRQ between a NIC in slot one and my AGP Leadtek Winfast GeForce DDR. I was having lockups all the time, I am runing ME also. After pulling the NIC and putting it in another PCI slot, all my problems went away. Good luck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guy w/gun Posted April 6, 2001 Author Share Posted April 6, 2001 Thanks for the help guys. I was hoping that this wouldn't turn into to much of a technical help thing, as I didn't want it to be locked down. But it hasn't yet, so no problem. I live in San Antonio for those who asked. I have been curious about IRQ conflicts for awhile. Is there some sort of utility (built into windows or otherwise) that can inform me of conflicts and what devices are conflicting? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olle Petersson Posted April 9, 2001 Share Posted April 9, 2001 A computer that crash every now and then is no reason for not playing PBEM! Just pick opponents that like playing at a slow, relaxed, pace. (I do...) Cheers Olle Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wolfpack Posted April 9, 2001 Share Posted April 9, 2001 <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by lcm1947: Oh, forgot to ask, where in Texas do you live, if I may ask. I live in Austin. Didn't know anyone else that visits this forum was from good old Texas. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE> I think there are quite a few people from Texas here. I live in SA now...Was up in Ft. Hood for a couple of years until I got out of the Army. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SlowMotion Posted April 9, 2001 Share Posted April 9, 2001 I've also noticed that sometimes my computer gets unstable. I think it only happens if I keep switching between CMBO and the Windows desktop. Maybe some gfx card driver problem? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SenorBeef Posted April 9, 2001 Share Posted April 9, 2001 <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Guy w/gun: All the stuff about Win98, DirX 7.1 (running 8.0 incidently), motherboard etc dont add up because the problems have occured before my current set up. I always close all progarms in the back ground and often de-frag my RAM using RAM booster so I can free as much up as possible. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Might have it there - any program that screws with the ram state (ram boosters, defraggers, ect) are generally considered dangerous programs, and if you're having crash problems, thats probably the first thing I wold kill. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vanir Ausf B Posted April 9, 2001 Share Posted April 9, 2001 Having the latest drivers is not always the best thing. I have the same video card as Guy w/gun and when I first got CM it would lock up every few minuets, without exception. I solved it by using older drivers. Right now I am using 3.90 drivers. Yes, they are old, but everything runs flawlessly with them, including CM. I am still using Dx 7.0 also. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
André Posted April 9, 2001 Share Posted April 9, 2001 You arent overclocking your vid card or your cpu are you? If you are, try setting things back to default. Also try several beta drivers for your vidcard. Heinz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brooktrout Posted April 9, 2001 Share Posted April 9, 2001 <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Guy w/gun: I have been curious about IRQ conflicts for awhile. Is there some sort of utility (built into windows or otherwise) that can inform me of conflicts and what devices are conflicting?<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> I know that Win98 has this feature and am assuming that WinME has it as well. To look at your IRQ conflicts and device conflicts: Start Menu> Programs> Accessories> System Tools> System Information. Or you can launch it directly by Start Menu> Run and type in msinfo32.exe. This utitlity gives you much more system information than the system utility in control panel. It has quite a bit of troubleshooting utils in it as well that let you turn off most everything that loads during Windows startup. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vanir Ausf B Posted April 9, 2001 Share Posted April 9, 2001 <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Heinz 25th PzReg: You arent overclocking your vid card or your cpu are you? If you are, try setting things back to default.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Whoa. I forgot about that. I had to un-overclock my card as well before CM would run right. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maximus Posted April 10, 2001 Share Posted April 10, 2001 Oh yeah, don't forget about that. CM doesn't like overclocking. Fortunately now with my current setup I don't need to overclock anything. (1.2 GHz and 64MB Geforce 2 GTS) CM runs like a dream now. Only now I'm getting strange system freezes when I'm on-line. And it seems to have to do with if the modem dials properly. If it doesn't, my mouse will freeze and then I gotta hit the old "Reset button". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skipper Posted April 10, 2001 Share Posted April 10, 2001 Here comes from an ex pro (yours truly). If you dont get freezes in normal Windows environment (Internet Explorer and such), there are 9 out of 10 chances that your problem is in the video card. Especially considering that you have already changed the MoBo. 1 out of 10 chances is that something screwed up your Windows installation. HDD, CD, FD and the sound must be alright (they are still the suspects, but very very unlikely ones). Try to get yourself a really cheap and simple video card. (if none of your friends have a leftover from an upgrade, and your comp assembly wouldnt borrow you one, you should be able to buy one for 20 bucks or less) and see if it works in 2D. If it does, you know that your individual video card is faulty (yes, it happens). Go to the PC assembly and moan for a replacement. Next thing to look at is how much empty space you have on the drive where your virtual memory sits - give it at least half a gig and defragment. The last thing to try is reinstalling the Windows. This is a big task and should be done from DOS mode, preferrably from a bootable flop. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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