GhostRider3/3 Posted March 12, 2004 Share Posted March 12, 2004 Hello and can anyone help sort this out. Basically im running Windows XP voodoo 2 and have AMD Athlon i think it is K7 it is a 1.3ghz 40gig hard drive with 512megs of ram. Have updated all of my drivers 9.0 from micrsoft. Basically the games run fine for awhile and then either crash during editing, replaying the battles or just basically in the game from time to time, Im running the 1.03 patch for CMBB and they say you do not need the patch for CMAK since I have purchased both of them via mail. Can somone please tell me what else I can do...or have any suggestions. Thank you. James 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schrullenhaft Posted March 12, 2004 Share Posted March 12, 2004 You should check your CMAK version anyway. I'm not absolutely sure that they've been shipping 1.01 on CD as of yet. However the patch won't most likely solve this particular problem. I'm surprised that you can run the Voodoo2 under Windows XP with 3D capability. What driver version are you using ? What do you experience in the 'crash' ? Does the machine just freeze (mouse and everything) or does it dump you to the desktop (and possibly freeze there too) or is there a 'blue screen of death' error ? Is there any consistency to how long you run CMBB or CMAK before they crash ? This might indicate that your system is overheating in one manner or another. This could be either the CPU or the Voodoo2. You may want to open your case and examine the fan for the CPU and/or case to see if they are spinning correctly or overly caked in dust. I can't recall off-hand if the Voodoo2 had a fan (I doubt it did). You can also leave the cover off for awhile when running CMBB or CMAK to see if that makes any difference (assuming that the 'case temperature' is too high and causing other components to fail). Do you play any other 3D games that seem to be trouble-free ? Though that won't be an absolute indicator that something is wrong or not. [ March 12, 2004, 10:37 AM: Message edited by: Schrullenhaft ] 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GhostRider3/3 Posted March 12, 2004 Author Share Posted March 12, 2004 Well it could be a little better than the voodoo 2...I will have to check...However there is no consistancy of crashing... But when it does the screen freezes in whatever was going on and you hear this fast beating sound over an d over again like a really bad drum beat or something. nah nah nah nah nah nah nah.. anyway its hard to describe. My machine has never had any over heating problems at all so I really doubt thats the case..... I have played many games where graphics were alot better than CMAK or CMBB. It is a big engine however. Last night I played CMAK for about 4 hours and it locked up only 3 times. I played CMBB and it locks up whenever it feels its time. I have downloaded the latest patch for CMBB and will try it again tonight. Thanks James 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schrullenhaft Posted March 12, 2004 Share Posted March 12, 2004 Actually you already have the latest patch for CMBB, 1.03. CMAK on the other hand has 1.01 out and you may want to download that. What soundcard do you have in your system and what is the chipset that your motherboard is based on ? Have you updated the drivers for either ? It's possible that certain WAV files or just a certain amount of them attempting to play is causing problems for your soundcard. There can also be some chipset issues with PCI soundcards that could be a potential culprit here. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GhostRider3/3 Posted March 13, 2004 Author Share Posted March 13, 2004 Well I have a sound blaster sound card....but not sure if thats the case since most sound cards are not very advanced....and this game looks like it does not reqire a state of the art card or perhaps maby they should have specified...? Just a little mmffdd about both of these games....both scoring in the 90% as being awesome...I have yet to see them perform as stable platforms...and my machine has been running the best games for the past 2 years. I am really clueless...and so is my roomate...who is a wizard at problem solving.... I have never seen this kind of crash before....I even switched mouses..from intillimouse to old school...that was not the case either...and not sure if it is sound related...because it crashed while in the editor. Again I am at a loss here. Can anyone help...or give suggestions...Im begining to feel I just blew 70.oo on two games I would like to play....but cannot without it crashing every 1-3 20 turns...or even in the editor. James 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schrullenhaft Posted March 13, 2004 Share Posted March 13, 2004 When it crashes in the editor does it occur in the 2D editing portion or the 3D preview ? The CM series puts a heavy strain on the CPU, even in the editor (to my knowledge). What it does is take all the available CPU cycles (especially during game play). It's possible that such loading of the CPU may overheat some of them to the point of locking up. CM actually has some fairly heavy sound data moving around. While it may not have EAX or some 5.1 sound format, it does have a lot of sounds playing simultaneously. This can overwhelm less capable cards or their drivers (which can be the case with nicer cards that have problematic drivers). Do you know which specific SoundBlaster you have and what motherboard you have. Generally the issues seen with some SoundBlasters are incompatibilities (mild) with some chipsets. It's because the SoundBlaster series (up to the Audigys) don't bus-master on the PCI bus. Generally this has resulted in 'crackling' sound or other problems with certain chipsets (most notably the VIA chipsets, but quite a few others have had this problem). I don't know if this is the cause of your problem (especially if the game locks up in the 2D editor). A high CPU or GPU load could push some systems over the edge and cause lockups. Though it wouldn't seem to be the case with the 2D editor, its possible the amount of CPU time that CM is using may significantly warm up some CPUs. I suggest making sure that almost all applications/utilities are close before you launch CM, just to eliminate them as a source of the problem. CM can lockup with some instant messaging programs (receiving messages while in CM). 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GhostRider3/3 Posted March 14, 2004 Author Share Posted March 14, 2004 well I have sound blaster PCI....not sure what that means but it may be an old card...I dont remember it locking up in the 2D mode but when it was in 3D placing units and such I think it locked up...it defenitely locks up in game play..often....Im going to Kill my Messenger...make myself logged off...but I have no one messaging me...anyhow good point. I think your right about the sound...there is alot going on..and at times maby that is why.. I will check out some sound cards...do you know of any that is compatible with a AMD Athelon and my graphics card is a Nvidia64mb card sdram. Thanks for your help with this...I relly appreciate it. James 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Praxis Posted March 15, 2004 Share Posted March 15, 2004 Its funny you should mention this crash. I have the exact same problem. My machine runs anything else fine, AK, BB and BO now crash occasionally. I have updated eveything like you. I have also had the machine formatted with new installs of everything, to no avail. The funny thing is that I used to play BO and never get a crash, now it too crashes. I would suggest that it could be heat or the soundcard. After a crash you should have a look at the temp in BIOS. I found that after a crash the system was running 5 to 10 degrees C hotter than normal. I took the case off and cleaned all the dust and still have the problem. I also suspect it could be a conflict between the sound card and the game. All I know is that it is not software. I have tried for 6 months to fix the problem and I am now holding out for an upgrade. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Praxis Posted March 15, 2004 Share Posted March 15, 2004 Its funny you should mention this crash. I have the exact same problem. My machine runs anything else fine, AK, BB and BO now crash occasionally. I have updated eveything like you. I have also had the machine formatted with new installs of everything, to no avail. The funny thing is that I used to play BO and never get a crash, now it too crashes. I would suggest that it could be heat or the soundcard. After a crash you should have a look at the temp in BIOS. I found that after a crash the system was running 5 to 10 degrees C hotter than normal. I took the case off and cleaned all the dust and still have the problem. I also suspect it could be a conflict between the sound card and the game. All I know is that it is not software. I have tried for 6 months to fix the problem and I am now holding out for an upgrade. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GhostRider3/3 Posted March 16, 2004 Author Share Posted March 16, 2004 Yeah I have just downloaded all current drivers...even for the board and sound card...Im thinking I need to upgrad my soundcard...its beeen about 3 years!! I hope I can get it to work...I really want to play all the scenerios and would like to play the scenerios and campaigns of my design...this is the ultimate game...but this crash is killing everything. I hope you too Praxis can resolve this...evedintely Matt and Shrullnhaft are the experts... I really doubt it is a heating problem...my machine is more than capable of handling this software. I think it is the sound card. let me know if you come up with any answers and I will do the same....good luck comrad!! 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GhostRider3/3 Posted March 16, 2004 Author Share Posted March 16, 2004 Also I am going to unclock my machine....from 1.2ghz back to the original 1ghz. We will see if that changes anything tommorow...or by Wednsday. Jurgen 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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