brand new 'puter, sh4 crashes and crashes :(

[hardwir3d]

Hello everyone,

After lurking around this forum for almost three years and having envied lots of people here for being able to run SH4 for almost 2 years now, I finally got around to purchasing a new rig to play SH4. Finally got rid of the 512MB P4 :up:

Ofcorse, 1st thing I did after installing the OS was installing SH3 and 4. SH3-GWX runs fine (@220-250 fps), but SH4 keeps crashing and crashing :damn:

First, my system specs:
i7-920 (not overclocked... yet :smug:)
6 GB Kingston HyperX DDR3-1600
ATI Radeon HD4870 OC 1 GB GDDR 5
Soundblaster X-fi
2xSamsung Spinpoint 700GB -> 1.4 TB RAID0 :doh:
Windows Vista SP1 & :down:
Windows XP Corp x64 SP2
ATI Catalyst 8.12
SB Drivers 2.18.0008

I have SH4 and Uboat missions installed, which patches it to V1.5... right?

Second, the problem that occurs:
In both Vista and XP x64, everything runs fine until the actual game starts. It immediately 'stutters' and everything is 'garbled up', like seeing 2 portions of the interior mixed together. Uh, this may sound a bit vague, but I've got no clue how else to describe this. The problem seems to be largely concentrated to the sub's interior. If I switch to free camera view, the game behaves much better, almost like normal (tho it still tends to crash way too often). Windows XP x64 runs the game better than Vista does (crashes 'only' after 3 minutes, instead of seconds on avg. in #$%%^ Vista. (damn. vista is a real pain in the ass. bill still manages to make things worse and worse))

I get no error code or error message or anything. It just garbles things up, stutters, hangs and crashes to desktop as soon as I move back into the interior from freecam mode. In Vista it is almost impossible to even get to freecam mode, as it tends to crash before that, in XP I usually manage to go to freecam before it crashes.

I've tried different graphic settings, different drivers, different OS's, different resolutions, it all doesn't matter, SH4 stutters, hangs, crashes, stutters, hangs, crashes.

I'm really at a loss here. *sniffles*

And I FINALLY wanna play this game so bad! I hope some subsim kaleun can save me from my misery :dead:

[AVGWarhawk]

I'm running SH4 with Phenoms/4 gig ram and 9800 GT, Vista 64 bit. No problems. I suspect your problems are coming from you vid card. Last night, I reinstalled SH4 into the Microsoft Games folder. When done, the game would load but no screen. Just black. I defaulted my settings in the Nvidia control panel and then reset them to where I wanted them. Problem solved. Set your vid card up to the default values and see how it runs. If it runs like it should. Start your tweaking

[FIREWALL]

Welcome Aboard Hardwir3d :sunny:

I have a dual boot XP Pro sp2 and Vista Ultimate 64 setup.

I just let SH4 UBM Gold install by default on Vista and no problems. Try a reinstall first before fecking with everything.

In the past once with XP I installed SH3 and didn't have any sound.

Swapped out sound card and almost bought new speakers.:damn: :doh:

Try the easy shet first. AND... Let us know when you get it going so as to help others.

Catch you later and enjoy SH4 :D

[Soundman]

I run SH4 on two computers, both with vista. It runs great on both of them. I doubt vista is the issue here.

[hardwir3d]

I suspect your problems are coming from you vid card.Yeah, so do I. I just don't have a clue what the exact problem is. Crysis crashes all the time too. And much quicker when all GFX settings are to max. Weird, cos it runs very smoothly even then. It's almost like Vista sees the GPU temp and just crashes when it gets high. Even tho I've read Radeon 4870's should be able to operate normally at 135C. Dunno if thats true tho. It's really noisy after it CTD'ed. And I suspect someone like Bill Gates is truly capable of releasing an OS that doesn't give my Radeon permission to operate at high temperatures, even if the Radeon is built to operate at extremely high temps. M$ Vista being that wonderful... Well, it wouldn't really wouldn't surprise me. This OS is an insult to one's intelligence.

"Bill Gates doesn't give your Radeon permission to operate at temperatures over 90C. Vista will now 'protect' your hardware. Click 'next' to continue, if you have permission to click 'next'."

It isn't anywhere near that noisy when SH4 crashes. But I don't know. Maybe Catalyst 8.12 really has ****ty drivers. Red Alert 3 runs like a dream tho.Set your vid card up to the default values and see how it runs. If it runs like it should. Start your tweakingAre you talking about GPU overclocking? All system settings are still default. There's an ASUS Triton 81 CPU cooler in my system, for future overclocking. Heard ~4Ghz should be possible with a good cooler. And the Radeon... well, maybe +8 or 10%? I just haven't gotten around to do that, as I'm still trying to figure out lotsa other new things that come with a new system and OS. (Like Vista refusing to install 64-bit codecs demmit) Besides, I haven't even been able to stretch this system to the max. (First Futuremark test still isn't performed :p) No matter what I do with it, it just happily complies while still picking it's nose.

I really hope I don't have to wait for a next driver release. Only to see the SH4 problem isn't fixed.


Are there other kaleuns here who have a Radeon 4870?

Welcome Aboard Hardwir3d :sunny: Thank you. How very kind. :)I have a dual boot XP Pro sp2 and Vista Ultimate 64 setup.

I just let SH4 UBM Gold install by default on VistaI have installed it under Vista. Besides Crysis CTD's (which does run properly before it crashes, no stuttering and all) I dont have much problems with all other games I own.and no problems.I wish. :roll: SH4 is one of the most important games I wanna play on this system. Another one is the upcoming Cities XL. I'm already having nightmares CXL won't run properly either.Try a reinstall first before fecking with everything.Check. *stutter, hang, CTD* :damn:

What videocard do you have?In the past once with XP I installed SH3 and didn't have any sound.

Swapped out sound card and almost bought new speakers.:damn: :doh:

Try the easy shet first. AND... Let us know when you get it going so as to help others.If I get it running, I'm gonna hire a small biplane with a 'SH4 runs like a dream on my i7-920' banner. That's how happy it will make me.Catch you later and enjoy SH4 :D I have... a bit. Freecam in the harbor in XP x64. For five minutes. Perhaps I should start playing it in XP and save it every 2 minutes. And only go to the interior when it's really needed. "I'll take the first, second, third and fourth watch!"

[FIREWALL]

I suspect your problems are coming from you vid card.Yeah, so do I. I just don't have a clue what the exact problem is. Crysis crashes all the time too. And much quicker when all GFX settings are to max. Weird, cos it runs very smoothly even then. It's almost like Vista sees the GPU temp and just crashes when it gets high. Even tho I've read Radeon 4870's should be able to operate normally at 135C. Dunno if thats true tho. It's really noisy after it CTD'ed. And I suspect someone like Bill Gates is truly capable of releasing an OS that doesn't give my Radeon permission to operate at high temperatures, even if the Radeon is built to operate at extremely high temps. M$ Vista being that wonderful... Well, it wouldn't really wouldn't surprise me. This OS is an insult to one's intelligence.

"Bill Gates doesn't give your Radeon permission to operate at temperatures over 90C. Vista will now 'protect' your hardware. Click 'next' to continue, if you have permission to click 'next'."

It isn't anywhere near that noisy when SH4 crashes. But I don't know. Maybe Catalyst 8.12 really has ****ty drivers. Red Alert 3 runs like a dream tho.Set your vid card up to the default values and see how it runs. If it runs like it should. Start your tweakingAre you talking about GPU overclocking? All system settings are still default. There's an ASUS Triton 81 CPU cooler in my system, for future overclocking. Heard ~4Ghz should be possible with a good cooler. And the Radeon... well, maybe +8 or 10%? I just haven't gotten around to do that, as I'm still trying to figure out lotsa other new things that come with a new system and OS. (Like Vista refusing to install 64-bit codecs demmit) Besides, I haven't even been able to stretch this system to the max. (First Futuremark test still isn't performed :p) No matter what I do with it, it just happily complies while still picking it's nose.

I really hope I don't have to wait for a next driver release. Only to see the SH4 problem isn't fixed.


Are there other kaleuns here who have a Radeon 4870?

Welcome Aboard Hardwir3d :sunny: Thank you. How very kind. :)I have a dual boot XP Pro sp2 and Vista Ultimate 64 setup.

I just let SH4 UBM Gold install by default on VistaI have installed it under Vista. Besides Crysis CTD's (which does run properly before it crashes, no stuttering and all) I dont have much problems with all other games I own.and no problems.I wish. :roll: SH4 is one of the most important games I wanna play on this system. Another one is the upcoming Cities XL. I'm already having nightmares CXL won't run properly either.Try a reinstall first before fecking with everything.Check. *stutter, hang, CTD* :damn:

What videocard do you have?In the past once with XP I installed SH3 and didn't have any sound.

Swapped out sound card and almost bought new speakers.:damn: :doh:

Try the easy shet first. AND... Let us know when you get it going so as to help others.If I get it running, I'm gonna hire a small biplane with a 'SH4 runs like a dream on my i7-920' banner. That's how happy it will make me.Catch you later and enjoy SH4 :D I have... a bit. Freecam in the harbor in XP x64. For five minutes. Perhaps I should start playing it in XP and save it every 2 minutes. And only go to the interior when it's really needed. "I'll take the first, second, third and fourth watch!"

My new homebuilt rig with parts from TigerDirect

Intel DX58SO Socket LGA1366 Motherboard CPU Bundle - Intel Core i7 965 Quad Core, 3.20GHz, 8MB L3 Cache, Hyperthreading, Extreme Edition Processor



Thermaltake ProWater 850i Liquid Cooling System


Corsair TWINX Dominator Dual Channel 2048MB PC14400 DDR3 1800MHz Memory (2 x 1024MB) x 2

Sapphire Radeon HD 4870 X2 Video Card - 2GB GDDR5, PCI Express 2.0, CrossFire, (2) Dual Link DVI, HDTV

Ultra X3 ULT40070 1600-Watt Power Supply - ATX, SATA-Ready, PCI-E Ready, Energy Efficient,
Modular

Cooler Master RC-1100 Cosmos S ATX Full-Tower Case

[AVGWarhawk]

Go to 3DGuru and there is a ATI vid card utility there. I forget the name. Do a search. I found the Catalyst with ATI are horrible. In fact, the one ATI card I had I did not like. Any, fool around with your card and see how it goes.

[FIREWALL]

Go to 3DGuru and there is a ATI vid card utility there. I forget the name. Do a search. I found the Catalyst with ATI are horrible. In fact, the one ATI card I had I did not like. Any, fool around with your card and see how it goes.

I'm going to keep this tip. While I've always used the drivers that came with vid card with no probs you never know.

I did put in new drivers with this card compatable with Vista tho.

[Fish40]

Didn't see it mentioned, unless I missed it, but what wattage PSU are you useing? You would be surprised at the havoc an underpowered PSU could cause!:o

[hardwir3d]

Didn't see it mentioned, unless I missed it, but what wattage PSU are you useing? You would be surprised at the havoc an underpowered PSU could cause!:o630WMy new homebuilt rig with parts from TigerDirect

Intel DX58SO Socket LGA1366 Motherboard CPU Bundle - Intel Core i7 965 Quad Core, 3.20GHz, 8MB L3 Cache, Hyperthreading, Extreme Edition ProcessorNice :up:Sapphire Radeon HD 4870 X2 Video CardAh, another Radeon... So SH4 runs on your computer with Catalyst 8.12?Go to 3DGuru and there is a ATI vid card utility there. I forget the name. Do a search. I found the Catalyst with ATI are horrible. In fact, the one ATI card I had I did not like.That's a tip worth checking out.Any, fool around with your card and see how it goes.I will as soon as I've had enough coffee to start the day :p

Will get back here later to tell you all how it went.

[Gato76]

Don't forget to install the chipset drivers for you motherboard,and if you have onboard sound make sure is disable in the Bios,and last I could be wrong but I think ur video card has integrated sound build in.Go to control panel --Sounds, if im right you will see two choices there like HD audio and xf sound blaster disable hd audio and hit apply Hope it works.

[RickC Sniper]

@Firewall.

Holy Sh** that's a heck of a pc!! I did not even know they made a 1600 watt psu.

Would you build one for me?

:p

[hardwir3d]

Go to 3DGuru and there is a ATI vid card utility there. I forget the name. Do a search. I found the Catalyst with ATI are horrible. In fact, the one ATI card I had I did not like. Any, fool around with your card and see how it goes.Don't forget to install the chipset drivers for you motherboard,and if you have onboard sound make sure is disable in the Bios,and last I could be wrong but I think ur video card has integrated sound build in.Go to control panel --Sounds, if im right you will see two choices there like HD audio and xf sound blaster disable hd audio and hit apply Hope it works.Thank you all for your suggestions. :yep:

* Downloaded "ATI-DNA-8.6B" (URL (http://downloads.guru3d.com/DNA-ATi-8.6B-for-Vista-download-1986.html)) from guru3d.com, and installed it.

* All mobo drivers are present without conflicts, onboard sound was of course disabled.

* Disabled the Hi-def audio listed under Soundcontrollers.

Although I noticed some differences (like an "Intel Core2" or whatever logo suddenly appearing when loading Crysis), the same problems remain. SH4 tends to crash a bit later: most of the time I am able to quickly switch to freecam before it CTDs. Again, the game behaves normal in freecam, except -forgot to mention this earlier-, when rotating the freecam, the water gets kinda 'blurred', like the scope does when you raise it at periscope depth. It does this even when I'm high up in the sky, for about 1 second, then the waves behave normal again. Crysis too, still crashes within 5 minutes.

There is this ATI hotfix for Catalyst 8.12, but it fixes a problem with crossfire and AGP radeons, so it doesn't seem to apply to my system.

I have a Gigabyte GA-EX58-UD5 mobo, are there any known issues with that perhaps?

I almost don't dare to ask, but.... suggestions, anyone? :-?

This system should be able to run SH4 like a dream, or am I really just being plain stupid?

[Gato76]

Open the case and check if the heatsink is properly attach to the CPU,not loose or anything like that.the same for the video card and the memory sticks if everything is ok the next step is to test your system with a different video card ,you mention garbled up display ,that is a video card problem.I would replace that video card

[AVGWarhawk]

This is the tool I was telling you about at 3DGuru. ATI Tool Try. It works better then the ATI catalyst. I have know idea what you downloaded as noted above.


http://downloads.guru3d.com/ATI-Tray-Tools-1.3.6.1042-download-733.html

[Rockin Robbins]

I will now insert the typical nVidia fanboy taunt...... eh, maybe not. I don't wish this kind of problem on anybody, even if they don't have my favorite video card manufacturer's equipment. Keep at it. You've already found people with comparable equipment running SH4 well. Don't give up.

[gimpy117]

try getting your drives from the manufacturer and doing an update....that's the only thing

I think Catalyst is still a little wonky for the 4800 series, I got a 4850 with the 1 GB and the darn control center won't anti alias half the time, even when I restart and click the button that tells CCC to handle it...(otherwise I can't use AA with SH4!! :damn:)

it's ironic now that my dual core can't shove commands fast enough to the new card, so my frames aren't that much better, but I can now run AA without much problem...hooray! and when I turn on "mat_queue" mode in TF2 (tells my CPU to use both cores) I get 35 FPS to about 45-50+ now with settings maxed....

[Spike88]

Open the case and check if the heatsink is properly attach to the CPU,not loose or anything like that.the same for the video card and the memory sticks if everything is ok the next step is to test your system with a different video card ,you mention garbled up display ,that is a video card problem.I would replace that video card

If the system was overheating wouldn't it shut down instead of just crash to desktop?
If thats not the case, why don't you put a thermometer in your Case and see if temperatures spike during playing.

[I'm goin' down]

I too had computer crashing problems, as I had a decent computer with a good video gaming card. Someone suggested I reduce the refresh rate on the windows display. That did the trick!! Other than that suggestion, I am a computer illiterate but I wish you luck. I gave SH4 to my young nephew and it crashed his machine, so you are not alone.

[longam]

Don't forget to allow DirectX 9 install when you install SH4. Sounds dumb but its needs it.

my 2cents

[gimpy117]

btw anybody ever had problems with Catalyst not Anti aliasing etc. and fixed it??

it seems to work sometimes and others not for no really good reason...is it a setting of windows or??

[hardwir3d]

Don't forget to allow DirectX 9 install when you install SH4. Sounds dumb but its needs it.

my 2centsIt does? Well I haven't tried that yet. Didnt even know it was possible to have DX9 and DX10 installed. I will give that a try, tho the XP64 installation has DX9, dunno what version tho. Maybe it works if I allow SH4 to install it's DX.I will now insert the typical nVidia fanboy taunt......:)I've always had Nvidia cards up until now.eh, maybe not. I don't wish this kind of problem on anybody, even if they don't have my favorite video card manufacturer's equipment. Keep at it. You've already found people with comparable equipment running SH4 well. Don't give up.I won't... I'm gonna be really sick if I can't get this to work considering the upcoming GWX4. If the system was overheating wouldn't it shut down instead of just crash to desktop?
If thats not the case, why don't you put a thermometer in your Case and see if temperatures spike during playing.I use coretemp or something, displays my core's temperatures in my tray. The CPU remains very cool even under heavy loads. I really wonder how far that Asus Triton is gonna take me once I start overclocking :pThis is the tool I was telling you about at 3DGuru. ATI Tool Try. It works better then the ATI catalyst.I think I have that installed in the XP64 install. I'll check it out.I have know idea what you downloaded as noted above.Me neither.
But:
I've got about 475 fps now when rendering 'just waves and sky' (or: when no ships are in view)
425 - single ship
about 375 in the interior, according to SH3's build-in fps function.

This is in SH3 / Full AA / Full Anisotropic / Full Everything / High Quality everything @ 1024x768 in SH3/GWX3. Looks nice. Very smooth indeed.

Anyway, thank you all. Perhaps the DX9 suggestion does the trick.

[AVGWarhawk]

Yes, load DX9! 64 bit Vista will run your DX9. Your vid card will run DX9. Both DX9 and 10 will work on systems set up for DX10.

[Fincuan]

The problems you're having sound really weird, but also quite similar to what I was experiencing with my two Radeon x1950 Pros on Windows XP 32 bit. They were running really hot, and after a few hours I'd get rainbow colors and all kinds of weird anomalies. I'm not exactly sure what was the final cure, but here's what I did:

1)Added an extra fan to the case and removed all dust from the components and fans. This had a huge effect on the GPUs' temperatures.
2)Got a new PSU. The old one failed completely, and made a nice POOOF! sound with smoke effects in the process.
3)Installed new Catalyst drivers as they kept coming. I've also been using Ati Tray tools instead of CCC all along.
4)Followed the advice in this thread: http://forums.guru3d.com/showthread.php?t=217673

At this point I was able to run SH4 pretty well without practically any crashes or glitches, but it would still sometimes stutter and be strangely slow. One final thing which really made a difference was Windows 7 beta 64 bit. With it SH4 is extremely smooth and stable, much much better than before.

Here's a good PSU calculator, which might help you to rule out that PSU as the origin of problems: http://extreme.outervision.com/PSUEngine

[Soundman]

This is a long shot but.......I got a new monitor a couple weeks back and after hooking it up, setting resolutions and fiddling with some of the settings until I was finally happy with the desktop view. Now I was ready to try this new puppy out on SH4. Well, when the game finished loading, the screen looked as you described, kinda like two screens with a very fast studder, fast studder like a strobe light. I thought "what the hell?"....I tried different settings, rebooting and nothing worked until.....When loading the game and the studder started, I simply turned the monitor off and then on again and viola, all was well! I still don't know what the deal was and it still does this occasionally and not just with SH4, it does it with some other games as well. It seems like you have tried the obvious solutions without success, so give this a shot and see what happens.

[XLjedi]

SH4 use to studder and do funny graphical things after I played it for about 10-15 mins or so.

I happened to notice the GPU was getting ouchey hot. I cut a big whole in the case and installed a couple 120mm fans and the studdering stopped and the GPU is no longer feverish.

[Urge]

Fincuan wrote...
4)Followed the advice in this thread: http://forums.guru3d.com/showthread.php?t=217673

I have a Diamond Radeon HD 3850/512MB GPU which I am mostly happy with but I would be interested in what settings you tweaked and how that impacted the game? I am using the CCC although I did download the ATI Tray tools but I haven't used them as of yet. I had the impression(mistakenly?) that they were mostly for overclockers and so far I haven't felt the need to try OCing my machine.
My system: DFI lANPARTY P35 T2RS MB with an Intel Xeon E3110 CPU@3GHz ( FSB 1333MHz), 2 gigs Corsair XMS2 DDR2SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400), DIAMOND Viper Radeon HD 3850 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 (Built-in HDMI with Multi-channel 5.1 surround audio) , 2 WD sata HDs 10,000rpm & 7200rpm, a Corsair 650W PSU and a used Lian Li case. I built this system myself almost a year ago for $7-800.

Urge

[Fincuan]

Ati Tray Tools is not only for overclockers, but a tool with plenty of features. I use it as a replacement for Catayst Control Center, with different profiles for different games. The main differences are that ATT uses less memory and has lots of more options than CCC, but you can certainly do just fine with only ATT or CCC. You should not run both at the same time, although you can have both installed.

What comes to that tweak thread, I did precisely what they recommend you to do. It might have resulted in a slight frame-rate improvement and a more stable system, but I'm not sure. What I did was to adjust a setting, start up Armed Assault and see if it made a difference. I did this for each of the tweaks, and concluded that at least none of them lowered my rig's gaming performance. Everything runs pretty well without any stability problems whatsoever. Here's the same information in an easier to read form: http://www.tweakguides.com/ATICAT_10.html

[drazic]

is direct x 10 an edvantidge in this game ?

[Fincuan]

No idea, but as I wrote above it runs absolutely great on a 64bit Win 7 beta, which has DirectX 11 installed by default :up:

[hardwir3d]

I've installed ATI 9.1
SH4 works a lot better now. Still stutters at times, but playable. Interior works smoothly now. I hope all gets well before the release of GWX4.

All of you, thanks again for your responses.

[Gato76]

Enable Vsync in the options menu and the stuttering will go away

[hardwir3d]

I suppose all of you here also have that little file called 'GU.EXE' in your SH4 directory?

Amazing. I was wondering what it was, double clicked it to find out, and all of a sudden SH4 boots without the intro movie and WITHOUT ANY PROBLEMS!

:yeah:

No freecam problems, no interior crashes, no stuttering, all smooth and fast! Finally! :D