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Odd computer problem.

Less searchable M0rd4nt

18:41 / 29.01.04

Having some problems with the PC at the mo. and wondered if anyone could help.

It started with Knights of the Old Republic. The game played fine for the first few days, and then started freezing and stuttering. This got worse and worse over time. Now it's unplayable.

But it's not just this game. Other games seem to be affected, although to a lesser degree. This includes slightly less graphics-hungry games by the same company, and also games by unrelated companies. The worst affected are other Star Wars games and also Neverwinter Nights. All the games worked fine before.

Windows XP has been updated with the latest patches, as have the games themselves and the drivers for the graphics card. The CD-Rom drive has been replaced. A virus check and a defrag have also been performed. All the fans have been dusted down and checked for wear and tear and the usual symptoms of overheating do not seem to be present.

There is an ongoing problem with the wires that connect to the on/off switch (these are a little loose and sometimes come adrift during cleaning or maintenance, resulting in a dead 'puter). But I don't think this could be related, really.

Any guesses?

20:45 / 29.01.04

Could be all kinds of things but sounds like you've checked it all.
Here are some ideas anyway:
What software do you have running in the background? Maybe you have something that is scheduling lots of tasks, like a virus checker or ram/cpu enhancement utility.
Something else that could cause regular stuttering is network activity. Try playing the games without any network cables plugged in, that should be a quick test.
You could try searching (Google Groups?) for known problems or artefacts that can appear with your specific video card. And you could try swapping in a replacement card to test if your current one is simply breaking, if you can acquire something equivalent. Make sure you get the shop returns policy in writing and keep the receipt.
Let us know when you solve it.

STOATIE LIEKS CHOCOLATE MILK

21:22 / 29.01.04

I think it may be something to do with KOTOR itself- I had what sounds like exactly the same problem with it- huge lockups, characters freezing in a pose and spinning round, immense amounts of slowdown, and effects starting to show in other games. I gave up on it.
However, I tried it again this morning on the off-chance, and it seemed fine again.

21:23 / 29.01.04

Shutting down background programs helps, but it doesn't cure the problem and it didn't used to be necessary. I think its either a heat problem or the graphics card is shagged.

06:03 / 30.01.04

I'm going to assume you have a newer version of windows. As you already know, if you hit alt-ctrl-delete the task menu pops up. Move your cursor to the green-grid icon at the bottom of the screen corresponding to the task menu. A little window should pop up showing your cpu usage.

What is your cpu usage at while you're not running any games?

I'm asking because I had the same problem this weekend, and it was at about 50% while nothing else was running. It turns out that I had a group of viruses that weren't being detected by my shitty ass anti-virus software (AVG).

09:35 / 30.01.04

Hmmm. I've had weirdy problems with Lucasarts games before - although if they worked fine before then this may be no help at all. Still, I thought I'd share.
Basically, if you've downloaded updates or drivers or whatever since installing the games, check your sound configuration and have a monkey around with it. For some reason Lucasarts games tend to have odd conflicts with certain sound setups and there seems to be no obvious pattern to this. The problems are not expressed in terms of poor sound, but in slowdown, graphics bugs etc. I found that a bit of random tinkering with my sound setup helped, although as I say there does not seem to be a formula or pattern to this so I can't really offer any more specific advice.
Hope that helps?

nedrichards is confused

10:11 / 30.01.04

Side issue: KOTOR isn't LucasArts, it's made by BioWare, kings of RPG and uses their rather spiffy game engine. Sadly I played (and thoroughly enjoyed it) on the Xbox so I can't give you any tips better than the ones above. Er, persist! It's great!

10:14 / 30.01.04

nedrichards: Oops. I was going by the abstract - haven't played it myself. My last post is probably irrelevant, then. Sorry all.

Less searchable M0rd4nt

17:40 / 30.01.04

Bugger this for a game of soldiers. Earlier this afternoon I upgraded the cooling unit for the main CPU (which I think wanted doing anyway; the PC was definately running a touch smoother afterwards). Then Lurid formatted the hard drive and re-installed Windows XP from scratch.

Still the games are shagged. I'm going to become a Luddite.

Less searchable M0rd4nt

19:11 / 30.01.04

Well, we've cracked it. Lurid remembered that we had our old wood-burning graphics card knocking around, so we plugged that in. Everything is just about working with that card, which can only mean one thing: the newer, spiffier graphics card must be fucked. And the old card doesn't work on the high-end games, so we're gonna have to fork out for a new one. Which, well, bleugh.

Thanks for the tips, everyone.

07:29 / 31.01.04

I've been having trouble with KOTOR as well, with crashes seemingly split half and half between sound and graphics issues. The first game patch seems to have reduced their regularity, and the last Nvidia drivers also made them less frequent, but they're still a pain in the arse.

I'm going to put my sith kicking on hold until nvidia bring out new drivers. I've bought myself nice new 5.1 sound card, so hopefully when they fix the glide troubles with the geforce cards, I can play the game without it going belly-up every time I get ten minutes into it

STOATIE LIEKS CHOCOLATE MILK

07:39 / 31.01.04

without it going belly-up every time I get ten minutes into it

That's what I've noticed- it plays beautifully for a (short) while, then just becomes incredibly fucked instantly.

Cloned Christ on a HoverDonkey

17:34 / 31.01.04

KOTOR - very cool game, though my character is tending towards the light side due to my inherent reluctance to be a nasty bastard in everything except real life.

Maybe your problems are down to poorly aligned 'force'. Call a CORGI registered Jedi to recalibrate your light sabre.