Fed up of game crashing.

[Col7777]

I'm starting to get fed up of the game crashing.
I delete the saved games and the SH4 folder from my documents.
Start again, sometimes it seems as it is running OK, sink a few ships, then spend time getting in position for the next kill then CRASH!
I've tried a fresh install a few times, tried it with various mods thinking maybe the last mod caused the crash, but if that was the case I would be reading of these mods doing that so I rule that out.

Col.

[Col7777]

This time I played the same game again by opening the previous save.
Then I replayed the same scenario that crashed last time, but I played it slightly different. I didn't use Time Excel and approached the ships from another angle, then after I downed them I saved the game.

I'm wondering if the Time Excel was causing the crash?

Col.

[XenonSurf]

Inform yourself about problems with high Time compression (TC) when playing SH series. In most cases you are wrong using high TC for various reasons which can also lead to CTD.


XS

[propbeanie]

Time Compression can indeed mess with the game, especially it seems, at rates above 2048, but it is very computer oriented. One person has troubles at 1024, while the next person doesn't until 4096. One big factor that can help is the use of LAA, or any other "memory manager" applet, which is really a misnomer. The "4gig" applets flips some bytes in the header of the SH4.exe file such that Windows now recognizes the SH4.exe file as capable of addressing more than 2gig of RAM. On a computer with 4 gig of RAM, you can end up with upwards toward 3gig of usable RAM. The Windows OS system comes first of course, and then what is left can be allocated to the SH4 app. On a 32-bit version of Windows with 4gig or more of RAM, you will be capped at 3gig. On 64-bit systems with over 4 gig of RAM, you can get up to 4gig - if I remember correctly... don't count on my memory though... :roll:

In the meantime, each time you change mods, you have to empty the save folder, which can make life difficult when changing configurations for testing. If you want, post back with where you have Silent Hunter installed, the path to the folder, that the game is in, such as "D:\MyGames \Silent Hunter 4..." or whatever. Also mention whether you have a Steam copy, UPlay copy, disk copy, etc. Also, let us know which version of Windows you have, and whether is it 32-bit or 64-bit. Make mention of course as to whether you have used LAA or '4Gig' patch. Do you (or can you) use MultiSH4 with your SH4 install? I am having issues on my Win10 laptop of getting more than one copy of any of the SH4 games function at one time. I do not know if this is a Steam issue (recent updates), a UPlay issue (recent updates) or a Windows issue (again, recent updates), but it is rather frustrating. I used to have a copy of Silent Hunter for each mod I was using... Anyway, along with all of that, using JSGME, click on the "Tasks..." in the middle border of the program, and choose "Export mods list to..." and "Clipboard", which puts the list in volatile memory, that you can then "paste" into your next post here.

With all of that info, someone can better help you get things set for the game better. Make mention of which of the mods you would rather use also. :salute:

[Col7777]

Thanks Pro,
I have posted this before but here goes:
My SH4 is a disk version plus I got the upgrade years ago which I copied to disk making it 1.5
I have it installed on my D: drive D:/Ubisoft/Silent Hunter 4
My PC is running Windows 7 Ultimate 32bit I have 16GB Ram, i5 CPU 3.50 GHz

The Mod I have installed is WeDiveAtDawn the Time Excel was no higher than 1024

Just out of interest I was playing one scenario and got 3 ships showing on the map, I set a course for them, I got closer and closer and no sight of them, I was almost on top of them but they were not there but they were showing on the map, I gave up and found other miles away.

Col.

[KaleunMarco]

Just out of interest I was playing one scenario and got 3 ships showing on the map, I set a course for them, I got closer and closer and no sight of them, I was almost on top of them but they were not there but they were showing on the map, I gave up and found other miles away.

Col.
i have experienced this same phenomenon and have not been able to reproduce it or explain it. very irritating.
i was not playing WDAD but some other Pacific theatre mod set.
good luck.
:Kaleun_Salute:

[Col7777]

Ha Ha Marco, glad I wasn't on my own getting this.
In a scenario now where I am in a bay and sank 7 ships, but it is telling me my mission is incomplete because I haven't been in the bay.
I'll stick around a bit longer, maybe there is a certain ship that triggers it or something lol.

Funny in the same scenario I fired off 3 torpedoes at a ship, 1 missed the other 2 struck home and sank it, as I left the area, I was miles away and got a message saying 'Torpedo Impact'

Col.

[3catcircus]

Ha Ha Marco, glad I wasn't on my own getting this.
In a scenario now where I am in a bay and sank 7 ships, but it is telling me my mission is incomplete because I haven't been in the bay.
I'll stick around a bit longer, maybe there is a certain ship that triggers it or something lol.

Funny in the same scenario I fired off 3 torpedoes at a ship, 1 missed the other 2 struck home and sank it, as I left the area, I was miles away and got a message saying 'Torpedo Impact'

Col.

Did you use LAA? Are you using only one install of SH4 or did you use MultiSH4 for a separate install and save folder for WDAD? Do you have all of the WDAD mods?

[Col7777]

@catcircus, Sorry what is LAA?

I am using multi install, this one is for WDAD, I do have all the mods for it too, hope this helps.

Col.

[KaleunMarco]

Ha Ha Marco, glad I wasn't on my own getting this.
In a scenario now where I am in a bay and sank 7 ships, but it is telling me my mission is incomplete because I haven't been in the bay.
I'll stick around a bit longer, maybe there is a certain ship that triggers it or something lol.
as far as your mission success is concerned, there are basically two main objectives:
a patrol objective has one requirements: stay in a certain area for a certain number of days. the trick is to know what the patrol radius is from the center point. this is not always shared in a forthright manner. i am in the habit of checking the objective MIS file so that i know for sure.
a sink object has two requirements. enter a certain area with a defined radius AND sink a certain tonnage of ships. the patrol radius will automatically trigger a message when you enter it, unlike the patrol objective above. the tonnage requirement is rarely publicized. don't ask me why. nominal tonnage is 4000, 5000, or 10000 tons. here again, i am in the habit of checking the objective MIS file prior to shoving off.

i hope this helps. if not, let me know.
good luck.
:Kaleun_Salute:

[KaleunMarco]

@catcircus, Sorry what is LAA?

I am using multi install, this one is for WDAD, I do have all the mods for it too, hope this helps.

Col.

LAA is short hand for Large Address Aware which is a utility to allow SH4 to use more of your PC's memory than usual.
check it out. you will want to d/l and use it. READ the instructions. lol.
https://subsim.com/radioroom/downloads.php?do=file&id=3634

good luck.
:Kaleun_Salute:

[propbeanie]

Thanks Pro,
I have posted this before but here goes:
My SH4 is a disk version plus I got the upgrade years ago which I copied to disk making it 1.5
I have it installed on my D: drive D:/Ubisoft/Silent Hunter 4
My PC is running Windows 7 Ultimate 32bit I have 16GB Ram, i5 CPU 3.50 GHz

The Mod I have installed is WeDiveAtDawn the Time Excel was no higher than 1024

Just out of interest I was playing one scenario and got 3 ships showing on the map, I set a course for them, I got closer and closer and no sight of them, I was almost on top of them but they were not there but they were showing on the map, I gave up and found other miles away.

Col.
The "Orange" text above is what prevents a full use of LAA on your computer. You basically have two options. The easiest, but scariest, it to alter your boot procedure for Windows 7. This will give you probably close to 3Gig of RAM to use for SH4 and mods. The alternative is to download a Windows 7 64-bit ISO and re-do your Windows as 64-bit. You would end up with more RAM available, maybe up to 4Gig this way. You use your same license key, but you would then be using the 64-bit version. The only cost involved with that is if you order the MS disk instead of downloading an ISO, or even a USB stick image to install with. The main problem with doing that is having to re-install ~everything~. You could look at MS's 32-bit & 64-bit Windows FAQs (https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/15056/windows-32-64-bit-faq) for a little info. Very involved but in the long-run, the better way - although, Windows 7 Support has been dropped, and it won't be long before things quit working with Windows 7, which is about as sad as XP going away for me...

Anyway, the "easy but potentially dangerous" way, of altering your boot process, in to change the Boot.ini with BCDEdit, or go to NeoSmart's site, and get their "non-commercial" copy of EasyBCD (https://neosmart.net/EasyBCD/). Look near the lower-right potion of that screen. You do have to "register" your email with them. These people also have a 4gig utility, and more info on that page. It's a bit more "safe" to do edits with EasyBCD, and they do have some helpful info there. As background, MS has all sorts of documents online, such as BCDEdit Options Reference (https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-hardware/drivers/devtest/bcd-boot-options-reference) that can give you a background of what's going on when you use EasyBCD, or if you wish to do it directly yourself. You would be most interested in the BCDEdit /set (https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-hardware/drivers/devtest/bcdedit--set) info, and the use of "increaseuserva", which has a link pointing to 4-Gigabyte Tuning: BCDEdit and Boot.ini (https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/win32/memory/4-gigabyte-tuning). All of that info is clear as mud, right? Here's what EasyBCD looks like while running:

https://i.imgur.com/4yUbGTD.jpg

You would of course use the "BCD Backup/Repair" first, and make a back-up of what you have. You should also have a Windows Emergency Recovery disk close by, just in case, and preferably all of your data backed-up. Once your boot is backed-up, then you can change things. Let me know if you want to dive that deep... :salute:

Edit - Man! that pic is ~huge~!!! what happened to the little thing on my screen :o

[Col7777]

I will admit some of this stuff scares me.
A while ago I had all my flight sim stuff on a hard drive, all my repainted aircraft and lots of other FS related files all stored on a spare drive on my PC.

I was having problems with my Flight Sim and decided to un-install it and do a fresh install, my mistake I know but I accidentally formatted the hard drive with all my stored files, I was gutted.

I forgot about getting one of those programs that brings stuff back and I reused the hard drive, I did re-install my FS but I missed all my other files and it took me ages to get some of them back but others I had from years ago and are lost.

So going back to the post above, I envisage things going wrong and I will end up spending days/weeks trying to get my PC working again, that's my luck believe me.
I do appreciate any help you guys are giving but when it gets too technical I shy away, I don't mind tweaking the odd file here and there but I know my limits.

Col.

[propbeanie]

I don't know if you have the funds, but you could go to a used computer shop and pick-up an older desktop that has an OK graphics card and Windows 7 64-bit on it, and use that as a gaming-only machine... Do like I did with mine, and put a Windows XP disk in the box with it, and Win7 "automatically" adopts the XP drive as its child, and offers to dual-boot for you, so you can play games that are no longer compatible with 7. Or, crazier still, have a DOS / Win95 / Win98 machine over in the corner, with a Sound Blaster 16 inside for all them good ole games... Talk about a maintenance nightmare though... :salute:

[jimmbbo]

Unsure how relevant this may be to the OP's problem, but in the recent past I have had a CTD when loading a saved game, and on another saved game the sonar-plotted targets were missing on the surface... Deleting the saved games and starting a new career solved those problems. Annoying but not catastrophic. (Win 10 64 PC, 32GB RAM with NVidia graphics).

Likely an unrelated coincidence, but a bigger problem arose when my PC would freeze and become non responsive at varying intervals from a minute or two to more than an hour. :hmmm:
After using Safe Mode to confirm the bare bones of the PC were working normally, researching the "Windows freeze and not responding" problem led me to clearing the Windows File Explorer history following the instructions at this website (https://www.isunshare.com/windows-10/clear-file-explorer-history-in-windows-10.html)
For good measure I also cleared the SH4 saved games and started a new career. The computer has been glitch free for more than a day, SH4 plays flawlessly, and seems to have less stutter at higher TCs...

[Col7777]

Hi Jim,

Thanks for the info, I can't get that screen in the link you posted as I'm on Windows 7, I think I have a facility to delete by browsing history and cookies but when I do that I sometimes lose my auto logon to websites, I have to re-do my sign in which can be a pain.

Col.

[jimmbbo]

Hi Jim,
Thanks for the info, I can't get that screen in the link you posted as I'm on Windows 7, I think I have a facility to delete by browsing history and cookies but when I do that I sometimes lose my auto logon to websites, I have to re-do my sign in which can be a pain.Col.

This link shows the same process for Win 7 (https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows_7-files/how-to-clear-file-explorer-history-in-windows-7/3e9f1fae-51ef-4206-93de-2446bceae28e)...

File Explorer is a Windows feature separate from browser history and cookies, so clearing the browser data would unlikely affect SH4...



Good hunting!

[XenonSurf]

[EDIT]
Obsolete with response above, I hope it works for you.

LAA and 4GB patch (alternative) work only with 64-bit OS...You go out of RAM if you don't use either of them (CTD), otherwise you must find another solution.

XS

[Col7777]

Thanks XS,

I am experiencing something unusual now, when I look in users my documents I no longer see the SH4 folder, I looked in the other folders in case by some quirk it has gone in there but sign of it, yet the sim still plays.

Also I was playing another mission and went to save it and the old saves from the previous were there, not sure where they are on my PC.

Col.