game crashes after about 15-20 min of play

[rizbef]

Hi *waves* I'm new here... and not sure if this is the place to post questions/problems, but I didn't see a 'bugs forum' or anything. But if it's in the wrong spot, just let me know.

I finally re-installed UT on my laptop after going without it for a year. Long story short, I had had it on my laptop before (running perfectly), got some nasty virus, and computer had to be reformatted.

The first time, I installed the game with the original UT'99 disc. However, it's been misplaced somewhere and this time, I installed UT using the GOTY edition cd, though my disc pack had no booklet instructions, so I've only used the first disc... not sure what is on the second. The third and fourth looked like unnecessary extras.

My computer is a Dell Laptop, Latitude D420. Windows XP Service Pack 2, Genuine Intel CPU 2400 @ 1.06GHz, 1.5GB ram. I don't know if all that is needed/relevant.

So initially, I installed the game, and it played WAY too fast. I googled and searched a lot of forums, finding a lot of old threads with various answers, most of which did not work. In order to get the correct speed on my game, I have to set it to 'Compatibility Mode - Windows 98/ME'. Even the Windows 2000 option was too fast (though actually I think it just ran the same as running the game without compatibility mode on).

However, after about 15-20 minute of the program running, UT crashes. If I'm playing, the screen will freeze and the audio will glitch-repeat. I have to manually turn off my laptop for it to stop. One time, I had UT minimized and was on my desktop. When I tried to maximize it, I got an error message, seen here http://i46.tinypic.com/iektie.jpg I don't know what the error means, but I'm guessing the game froze while not in play and when I tried to access it, had an error . After I hit OK the program terminated itself.

So I can load the program, play a quick game or two, but then I have to quit and restart or the game will freeze....

Anyone here have any ideas on how to fix this? The other forums I've seen haven't really helped and are a few years old. I'm hoping there's still a few UT'99 fans here.

Another small problem, in practice mode, my CTF custom map list option will not change. I'll move the maps around, close the box, reopen it, and the maps are back at a default setting. LMS map list seems to work fine, but I haven't tested any of the others.

[JackGriffin]

Looks like you might be getting hot. UT forces whatever core it's using to max out so it can stress a system. Have you blown out the case lately? Also go into your power settings and disable cool-n-quiet or any sort of power management. You want your laptop to run at full tilt all the time without throttling itself at all due to being on battery power, etc. If you have this enabled and you have to fix it then you'll need to reinstall UT after it is done. Be sure to do a total reinstall and keep nothing from your current folder. The reason for this is that UT polls the processor when you first install it and the speed it returns cannot be changed by you later on. Only reinstalling and letting it poll the processor again will give you a correct value and end the speedy game issue. That's why you have to disable speed stepping, so that the CPU speed is always constant.

And yeah bro, there are a few die hard UT'ers around here. Welcome home

[rizbef]

What do you mean by blown out the case?

My laptop power settings are set to Always On, so that shouldn't be the problem.... I can live with playing on 98 mode, but the crashing is a pain in the ass.

[Dr.Flay]

Compatibility mode will not help. You are disabling Windows functions that make no difference to UT.

What Jack means by blowing out the case, is have you tried blowing (or vacuum) any dust and fluff from the vents in your laptop?
Never use a Laptop on a carpet or on a bed. ALWAYS use on a hard, flat surface.

The "Always-on" setting of windows is nothing to do with your CPU changing speed. That just stops it going to sleep, not slowing down.

Read the tips and tutorials section here, and you will find answers to what to do, and what the extra CD is for.
Big tip. At the top of the site (on every page) is a link to the thread you want "Tweak Your UT Graphics To The Maximum!"

If you are only using the 1CD, and not updating UT, then you will not be getting the full Unreal effect.
You are probably using Software or the old original D3D7 renderer, and your UT will have lots of things switched off, and run like a bag-of-crap, overusing your CPU and getting hot.

Update, update, update.
Your game is over 10 years old, and things have moved on.
After you have disabled your laptop from switching CPU speeds, and updated the UT graphics and audio renderers, you can diagnose it properly.

Once you have followed the "tweak UT" thread, you will find a "Tweak Windows" thread.
There you will find many tools to help you, no matter what PC you use.
It will be useful if you can tell if your PC is getting hot or not.

[rizbef]

Compatibility mode will not help. You are disabling Windows functions that make no difference to UT.

I am? I thought I was just changing the game's compatibility. Huh, I just know running it normally is too fast and 98 mode works. I'm not the best with computers, I'll admit

What Jack means by blowing out the case, is have you tried blowing (or vacuum) any dust and fluff from the vents in your laptop?
Never use a Laptop on a carpet or on a bed. ALWAYS use on a hard, flat surface.

Ah ok. Yes I have tried that. And I keep my laptop on a fan.

The "Always-on" setting of windows is nothing to do with your CPU changing speed. That just stops it going to sleep, not slowing down.

Read the tips and tutorials section here, and you will find answers to what to do, and what the extra CD is for.
Big tip. At the top of the site (on every page) is a link to the thread you want "Tweak Your UT Graphics To The Maximum!"

If you are only using the 1CD, and not updating UT, then you will not be getting the full Unreal effect.
You are probably using Software or the old original D3D7 renderer, and your UT will have lots of things switched off, and run like a bag-of-crap, overusing your CPU and getting hot.

Update, update, update.
Your game is over 10 years old, and things have moved on.
After you have disabled your laptop from switching CPU speeds, and updated the UT graphics and audio renderers, you can diagnose it properly.

Once you have followed the "tweak UT" thread, you will find a "Tweak Windows" thread.
There you will find many tools to help you, no matter what PC you use.
It will be useful if you can tell if your PC is getting hot or not.

Thanks for the info and help! I'll definitely check the thread.

Also... I just had the game running for about an hour! First time. I think it may be that the maps I'm using are just too big for my computer at the moment. Like you said, the game (and my computer) needs updating. A new laptop is on the to-do list, or a desktop if I can afford it.

Thanks again

[JackGriffin]

If you are a consumer of porn sites then you likely have multiple infections you don't know about (not judging, just sayin). If you don't currently use it you should go to:
http://www.malwarebytes.org/
and take the free download. It will install a scanner (all free) that will root out anything in your system that shouldn't be there. This isn't a replacement for your antivirus, in fact it should run along with your AV to provide better detection.

After you run your first scan PM me the results it gives. From there I can help you cleanse anything that Malwarebytes can't fix (if there is). In reading your problem description it sort of sounds like something else is working the processor hard without your knowing it.

[Feralidragon]

The last time that sort of thing happened to me, it was the graphic card with a burned out memory. First it would just crash (first week), then it would start to show artifacts (for 1 day) then it wouldn't even boot up windows completely (only in secure mode it would), to not mention top to bottom vertical lines even before it booted to windows at all.

So before you crack your head trying to find a software problem, check if other newer and heavier games crash your PC too after a while. If yes, it could be heat (most likely) or faulty hardware (like bad RAM or VRAM, mostly likely the former).
It could be software too though (faulty drivers, misconfigured settings or even malware), so make a malware scan, update your drivers next and use a registry tool to cleanup any messed settings in the end.

[rizbef]

If you are a consumer of porn sites then you likely have multiple infections you don't know about (not judging, just sayin). If you don't currently use it you should go to:
http://www.malwarebytes.org/
and take the free download. It will install a scanner (all free) that will root out anything in your system that shouldn't be there. This isn't a replacement for your antivirus, in fact it should run along with your AV to provide better detection.

After you run your first scan PM me the results it gives. From there I can help you cleanse anything that Malwarebytes can't fix (if there is). In reading your problem description it sort of sounds like something else is working the processor hard without your knowing it.

Haha, no, definitely not a porn problem

I am very familiar with that site heh, back when I was trying to get rid of my evil virus (not from a porn site). Actually, the virus I got from a movie streaming website, trying to watch 'The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford' for a film class. How ridiculous is that, getting a virus for doing homework? Then again, I did wait til the last day to watch it instead of renting it at blockbuster or something. But I have avoided all movie streaming websites like the plague ever since. However, I will run a scan just to be safe.... I do hope it's not something I've worked hard to keep it clean this time.

And the game runs fine now for small-medium sized maps. I've narrowed the problem down to the big maps, such as Faulkenstein and ArcticCastle][ (and some others, I have a LOT of big maps). I played for over an hour today in CTF and DOM. Then after 2 games of LMS, ArcticCastle (90% sure that is the name) cycled through and I thought I would test it. About 5 minutes into playing, it froze up and I had to restart my computer.

It sounds like my hardware just can't handle it. But before my laptop was wiped, it handled the game just fine.... which bugs me grrrr.
This laptop is pretty old though... 5 years.... cracked corner and currently no battery a new one is on the to-buy list.

Thanks for taking the time to reply and help! I'll let you know if I find anything.


edited to reply to this comment:

The last time that sort of thing happened to me, it was the graphic card with a burned out memory. First it would just crash (first week), then it would start to show artifacts (for 1 day) then it wouldn't even boot up windows completely (only in secure mode it would), to not mention top to bottom vertical lines even before it booted to windows at all.

So before you crack your head trying to find a software problem, check if other newer and heavier games crash your PC too after a while. If yes, it could be heat (most likely) or faulty hardware (like bad RAM or VRAM, mostly likely the former).
It could be software too though (faulty drivers, misconfigured settings or even malware), so make a malware scan, update your drivers next and use a registry tool to cleanup any messed settings in the end.

Well, this laptop is 5 years old, so the hardware could be bad (it's also not an ideal system for gaming). However, I don't play any other computer games or even have any others to test I will run some scans and see if that reveals anything, but I'm crossing my fingers that it isn't the problem.

Thanks for replying though! Everyone here is so helpful

[Dr.Flay]

Have you swapped over to one of the new graphics renderers?
As you have a laptop that is not a games machine, I am guessing that it is equipped with an intel GFX chip, so I would recommend using the D3D9 rather than the OpenGL.

Make sure that as you have reinstalled your PC, that you have also installed the chipset driver (this is important for full speed DMA access to most of the hardware).

Make sure that your BIOS on the laptop is also setup sensibly (sometimes important things are switched off).
Check the amount of RAM you are allowing for GFX use. This can either be done in the BIOS or from the GFX card interface for your driver.

AVG I can see on your desktop. This is the biggest slow-down on your PC (I used to use it but had to find something better).
AVG does not let you temporarily switch it off while playing games, so all your disk accesses during play are twice as long, and your CPU isdoing loads of extra work.

Avira is currently (and for a long-time) the best free AV program (it is German engineered and very efficient)
Compare AVG and Avira yourself at the Virus Bulletin site http://www.virusbtn.com/vb100/latest_comparative/index

It allows more flexible to use, and is less demanding on CPU time.
More importantly, you can disable it while you play.

There are some extra layers of defence against bad sites, that you can add to whatever browser you use.
Check my site for some free security programs and plugins (get Web Of Trust first).
http://my.opera.com/dr-flay/blog/online-anti-malware

[rizbef]

Have you swapped over to one of the new graphics renderers?
As you have a laptop that is not a games machine, I am guessing that it is equipped with an intel GFX chip, so I would recommend using the D3D9 rather than the OpenGL.

I do use the D3D9. Here's further details on my system,
BIOS: Phoenix ROM BIOS PLUS version 1.10 A04
Processor: Genuine Intel(R) CPU U2400 @ 1.06GHz (2 CPUs)
Memory: 1526 MB RAM
Used Space: 23.6GB
Free Space: 32.1GB
Chip Type: Intel(R) GMA 950
DAC Type: Internal
Approx Memory: 224MB

AVG I can see on your desktop. This is the biggest slow-down on your PC (I used to use it but had to find something better).
AVG does not let you temporarily switch it off while playing games, so all your disk accesses during play are twice as long, and your CPU isdoing loads of extra work.

Avira is currently (and for a long-time) the best free AV program (it is German engineered and very efficient)
Compare AVG and Avira yourself at the Virus Bulletin site http://www.virusbtn.com/vb100/latest_comparative/index

It allows more flexible to use, and is less demanding on CPU time.
More importantly, you can disable it while you play.

There are some extra layers of defence against bad sites, that you can add to whatever browser you use.
Check my site for some free security programs and plugins (get Web Of Trust first).
http://my.opera.com/dr-flay/blog/online-anti-malware

Yeah, I haven't been very impressed with AVG, but my previous program was Spydoctor; when the virus first got onto my computer, it 'hacked' Spydoctor and basically destroyed it so when I reformatted I went with something different. I've never heard of Avira though, I'll have to check that out. I will also look into the BIOS when I get home. All noob embarrassment aside, most of these terms are new to me. And I'm the tech savy one in my house So I'm sorry if I ask annoying questions, but thanks again for all of the tips and advice!