n00b question

Vince32

I'm Trying to play a game (portal 2) on my desktop comp,and the darned thing randomly quits to the desktop during game play.

I was pretty sure my computer could handle the game, but now I'm getting really irritated.

I'm using:

Hp Pavillion
quad core 2.33ghz
Nvidia GTX 550 Ti (1024 mb) (latest driver, checked today)
4 GB ram
win vista home edition

The little I know about the inner workings of a computer says everything should run well on low-med levels.

I've tried googling the problem, and the guide to "FIX the problem" says to go to C:/windows and take ownership of a folder called 'CSC', then change the shortcut properties to run the game as admin, and all should be fine.

Problem is I don't have a CSC folder anywhere on my computer, and right now I'm dialling back my gfx driver to 287.75 just to see if it makes a slightest bit of difference, but I'm almost certain it won't do a thing to help resolve the problem.

If anyone out on the interwebs has a clue what I can do to make this game playable so it won't crash, or some settings I can change without killing my computer I would be grateful, because this is happening to all the GEN 1 games I'm getting, skyrim v elder scrolls, massively addictive game, crashes so regularly I have moved on to something else.

So is it me? my computer? or just shoddy beta testing in the games that's making my gaming life so miserable?

thanks in advance.

Vince

stevek93

Windows vista you've said enough

All jokes aside, did you check the minimum specs for this game that it is compatible with your machine, also try run it as a admin right click "run as a administrator" if all else fails try a reinstall.

deconduo

Hardware wise that's definitely enough to run Portal 2 on medium at 1080p. There's something going wrong somewhere anyway, so I'd do a few things:

-Download HWMonitor and load up a game. If/when it crashes check what the max temps recorded were, it could be that something is overheating.

-Run memtest for a few passes to see if it throws up any errors. I doubt it will, but there's no harm in checking.

-Upgrade to windows 7. (Mostly joking :P)

Vince32

Make sure you meet Portal 2 for PC minimum system requirements:

OS: Windows 7 / Vista / XP / 2000
Processor: 3.0 GHz P4, Dual Core 2.0 (or higher) or AMD64X2 (or higher)
Memory: 1GB XP / 2GB Vista
Hard Disk Space: At least 7.6 GB of Space
Video: Video card must be 128 MB or more and should be a DirectX 9-compatible with support for Pixel Shader 2.0b (ATI Radeon X800 or higher / NVIDIA GeForce 7600 or higher / Intel HD Graphics 2000 or higher).
Audio: DirectX 9.0c compatible

The only thing i'm not 100% on is the processor speed, I'd assume the quad core, would be ok for this, but not certain. I just want the game to stop crashing, will re-install later tonight.

stevek93

Vince32 wrote: »

Make sure you meet Portal 2 for PC minimum system requirements:

OS: Windows 7 / Vista / XP / 2000
Processor: 3.0 GHz P4, Dual Core 2.0 (or higher) or AMD64X2 (or higher)
Memory: 1GB XP / 2GB Vista
Hard Disk Space: At least 7.6 GB of Space
Video: Video card must be 128 MB or more and should be a DirectX 9-compatible with support for Pixel Shader 2.0b (ATI Radeon X800 or higher / NVIDIA GeForce 7600 or higher / Intel HD Graphics 2000 or higher).
Audio: DirectX 9.0c compatible

The only thing i'm not 100% on is the processor speed, I'd assume the quad core, would be ok for this, but not certain. I just want the game to stop crashing, will re-install later tonight.

That CPU is more than enough to run that game, do a reinstall tonight and see what happens.

Vince32

crashed again lol... it's around 68'C when it quits, and I know the GPU can handle 80+ in it's sleep, it's not a heat problem, there is a system glitch somewhere.

MY "PC Doctor" ran a full diagnostic today and everything passing, even video stress tests, inc wireframe.

lost in the science here

stevek93

Just to be clear this is a legit copy yeah?

Procrastastudy

GPU overclocked at all?

dyer

http://kksonakiya.hubpages.com/hub/Nvidia-GTX-550-Ti-Temperature-Problems-and-Solutions

seems like this card is prone to overheating issues, i read some people fixed the problem by increasing the fan speed, adding more case fans, running games in performance mode with vertical sync enabled etc.

Vince32

stevek93 wrote: »

Just to be clear this is a legit copy yeah?

Got me thinking, Some crackers on TPB have sorted this with a few replacement files.... makes you wonder really:rolleyes:

These chaps weather you think them good or bad sorted the issue free of charge, although technically it's still hacking at least the thing has stopped crashing.

what have we learned? lol

thanks for everything

Vince

stevek93

Vince32 wrote: »

Got me thinking, Some crackers on TPB have sorted this with a few replacement files.... makes you wonder really:rolleyes:

These chaps weather you think them good or bad sorted the issue free of charge, although technically it's still hacking at least the thing has stopped crashing.

what have we learned? lol

thanks for everything

Vince

Just for the heads before a mod gets here discussion of piracy isnt allowed on the forums:p

Tea_Bag

CPU isn't overclocked is it?

Vince32

no nothing was overclocked, everything was as it should be on my end, which is what makes it really frustrating to have to turn to 'alternative' sources for the correct files to actually play the game in the first place, after a few copy and pastes the game ran smoother than butter and with no crashes.

Kinda disappointed Steam couldn't provide the game glitch free, this particular glitch had a Steam forum thread 72 pages long, thousands of people will legit copies of the game all begging for a fix..

Anyway once the bugs are out, playing portal2 is a trip, I recommend it to all - forget everything you know about reality, you won't be needing it -

laters

Vince

cyburger

+1 on the frustration of having to resort to other sources of support having bought a game on Steam and it not running - I had the same issue with Silent Hunter 5, ironically, the activision authentication was causing the issue.

Tea_Bag

Vince32 wrote: »

no nothing was overclocked, everything was as it should be on my end, which is what makes it really frustrating to have to turn to 'alternative' sources for the correct files to actually play the game in the first place, after a few copy and pastes the game ran smoother than butter and with no crashes.

Kinda disappointed Steam couldn't provide the game glitch free, this particular glitch had a Steam forum thread 72 pages long, thousands of people will legit copies of the game all begging for a fix..

Anyway once the bugs are out, playing portal2 is a trip, I recommend it to all - forget everything you know about reality, you won't be needing it -

laters

Vince

the cake is a lie.

Procrastastudy

Spaaaaaaaace!!!