I'm Done

[robbo180265]

Originally Posted by danlisa

You can (quite cheaply) purchase a CD/DVD cleaner which will remove minor scratches. They are very easy to use.

@ The MODS. pbbbllffftttttt!

Bet you didn't see that answer coming.:rotfl:

Well at least I found your answer hillarious Dan:rotfl:

[Spin Doctor]

Unfortunately, I have nothing to add that's helpful, except that it has to be a probem with your comp. I've had SH3 since day one and it has never crashed. Not once. It's the most stable program I've owned.

[TarJak]

The only time I've ever seen CTD's is when I've tried to add a mod that conflicts with something else. Since reading the posts on this board about how to set mods up correctly using JSGME I haven't seet a single CTD.

Simple way to avoid problems is to keep your HDD defragged as well. Performance improves immensely if you do this regularly.

Good luck with your next challenge.

[Steel_Tomb]

I noticed that if you manage to activate sticky keys by pressing shift too many times that causes the game to crash, same with any alt + tab kind of thing. Apart from that its NEVER ctd'd me.

[codmander]

Originally Posted by Spin Doctor

Unfortunately, I have nothing to add that's helpful, except that it has to be a probem with your comp. I've had SH3 since day one and it has never crashed. Not once. It's the most stable program I've owned.

I'll second that never a crash

[XanderF]

Originally Posted by codmander

I'll second that never a crash

Same here. I play a LOT of games - I mean, LOTS, and every one is far more unstable than Sh3. (Well, not EVERY one. The 2d adventure games like 'Syberia', et al, are rock-solid stable. And I've never had anything from LucasArts crash. That puts them on the same league as Sh3, though - never crashed once. 'Oblivion' is freaking BUGGY, though, in comparison.)

To whit, the problem is almost 100% certainly your PC. But I'm a techy by trade, so just saying "works here" isn't enough for me. :p

EDIT: And now, for some more grouping and helpfulness :

Section 1 - Make sure your software environment is not in trouble

• Easily, the most common affliction of general use PCs is Spyware/Malware/viruses. Ad Aware is free, and nabs most of them. It doesn't run interactively, though, so periodically let it run and do its thing, and use something like Windows Defender for 24/7 use.
• The most common software instability in GAMING systems is audio or video codecs that get into the DirectX decoders group. I have no idea how tweaks guides keep missing this (maybe because so many people who think they are 'smarter than Windows' tend to engage in piracy on the side, and a cornucopia of codecs are pretty much required for viewing of most torrent movies and audio). FFDSHOW, for example, causes an ENORMOUS amount of stability issues with games. So much so that the release notes for 'Oblivion' specifically mention it. Run DXDIAG.exe in Windows and check the section "DirectShow Filters" especially - a lot of nonstandard CODECS in that list can cause issues. Try removing these from your 'Add/Remove' programs. FFDSHOW, the Nero Codecs (ESPECIALLY! - deleting the folder "C:/Program Files/Common Files/Ahead/DSFilter" breaks nothing in Nero and improved stability SUBSTANTIALLY for me in 'Oblivion')

Section 2 - Steps to verify and troubleshoot the component you need to fix:

• Download Orthos SP2004. This performs rather intense formula computations and compares acquired results vs expected returns to determine single-bit errors in computing. Run the test for 'CPU and memory' overnight. Then try just maxing out the CPU for the following night. If either test fails or returns any warnings - YOUR CPU OR RAM ARE BAD. No exceptions. If these things are retuning math errors at ANY point, the system is in a disastrous state.
• Download 3dMark03 (yes, there are two newer versions, but neither allows infinite looping of the test unless you buy them. Certainly, 3dMark06 is a more stressful test and better indicator of stability on higher-end systems. You should, in any case, ALWAYS be able to run all the way through either test with no issues). Select the first 4 tests to run, and set it to keep looping them, and just let that run overnight. This tests for video card hardware or video driver issues. Note that, if you have a higher-end video card - Radeon X800/GeForce 6800 or better - you will want to enable 4xAA to stress it more.
• Finally, a PSU test. Basically, just try to use every part as much as possible. Run Orthos SP2004 (above) with a full-screen 3d app like RTHDRIBL. Note that RTHDRIBL has an FPS counter, make sure you keep kicking the FSAA up (or down) until your FPS is averaging in the 20s. Let this run overnight.

Not perfect tests, but these all use freely available products that ARE stable. If any of these crash, result in system reboots, blue screens, CTDs, etc...you have a buggy OS or hardware issues, and we can work on diagnosing them from that point.

Section 3 - additional reading

If you want more reading, there is a handy article on the 'Oblivion' forums that covers improving stability in some detail (I keep coming back to that game because it's UNBELIEVABLY unstable. If you can get that game even more-or-less stable, then pretty much anything else will be rock-solid. Side note - that article mentions ScanDisk and Disk Defrag. These are ABSOLUTELY a good idea...once you know your CPU and RAM checks out. There is nothing that will completely corrupt an OS installation faster than running ScanDisk with a CPU throwing bit errors all over the place.

Let us know how this testing goes! Seriously, Sh3 - even with GWX, Sh3Gen, and Sh3 Commander (my set of mods) - IS one of the most stable titles I have (as in, 'in the list of 100% rock-solid games'), and I am confident we can get you to this point!