Games crashing, memory problem???

valve90210

valve90210

valve90210

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Hi all, Not sure if this is the right section or not.

I'm currently experiencing a problem with my computer which is causing games to hang then crash.

Initially I noticed it when trying to play HL2 Episode 1. I figured after much reading that it was most likely the very common source sound looping crash bug. and have been trying to remedy that, however thinking back I have a feeling it might be something else.

My system spec,
P4 2.8Ghz
1GB RAM (2 512 Sticks, unmatched)
Geforce 7800GS OC (AGP)

I had forgotten that when trying to run Far Cry I had troubles. When I first installed it, I only had 512MB RAM, and the game would lag pretty badly. SO I purchased another stick of 512 (I think it Was Crucial). After this, I still had problems and, it kept crashing, so I gave up with it in the end.

I had also forgotten that fairly recently, I had purchased Max Payne cheap, and played through that. I also experienced similar problems with it locking up and the sound looping.

Yesterday, while trying to get Episode 1 working, I finally managed to get to an error dialogue that popped up saying: hl2.exe the instruction at 0x241f94f7 referenced memory oxoe51f41c the memory could not be read.

Would this indicated a memory related problem, such as one of my sticks not working, or the unmatche sticks not liking each other or something similar??? If so, what steps can I take to diagnose what the problem is?

Any help would be very much appreciated!!! As if this is a problem with my comp rather than with the games as I initially thought, I'd love to be able to get it sorted as I have loads of games I could then play through.



Valve
 
This message is normally software related.. Make sure you have all the latest drivers, pacthes and updates.

Make sure too you have adequate Virtual memory set-up..

Might also be worth running memtest86+ just to be sure that it's not the physical RAM.
 
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simple things to try include remove a stick of memory see if you still have issues, download memtest and run that see if it spots anything.

check you're memory timings, make sure they are ok for the sticks, as they may differ slightly.
 
I updated my graphics card drivers a couple of days ago with the recommended ones from the Nvidia site. so they should be the most up to date.

I did try the Steam system checker thingy and it said that my graphics card drivers were out of date (this was after I had updated them), and that the recommended ones were dated september 2006... which seemed odd to me_.

I shall give the memtest a try, on each of the sticks and see what happens, though having used it twice before on a different computer, I'm not convinced it'll help me pin point anything. As on the comp I was testing, first time it threw up 16,000 errors in 40mins, then the next day with no changes having been made, it didn't throw up a single error in 4 hours.....

You lost me on the memory timings bit I'm afraid. I've seen the types of numbers people talk about but it means nothing to me.

I can't remember off the top of my head exactly what the two sticks of RAM are but I'm fairly certain they are different speed ones, I think one is PC2700 and the other PC2300 or something like that, would that cause problems??? I believe I asked before buying more and was told that the faster would just run at the lower speed so all should be fine.

Valve
 
Just remembered where I got the second stick of RAM from and have just looked up the spec.

Crucial 512MB 194pin DIMM PC2700 DDR RAM Non-Parity CL2.5

Access Time - 6 ns
CAS Latency - CL2.5
Data Integrity Check - Non-ECC
Features - Unbuffered
Form Factor - DIMM 184-PIN
Memory Specification Compliance - PC2700
Memory Speed - 333 MHz
Module Configuration - 64 x 64
Registered or Buffered - Unbuffered
Storage Capacity - 512 MB
Supply Voltage - 2.5 V
Technology DDR - SDRAM

Don't remember what the specs of my first stick of ram are.

You mention if it's set right... All I did was whack it the second stick in and off I went.



Valve
 
just click on the link huddy put in and follow the guide he has put together to check how you're system is doing, also included details of what/how to change settings.
 
Have checked all the page files stuff and that all seems fine, think I had set it up from a similar site at some point in the past.

I have also just run Memtest for an hour and no errors were reported. Going to run it over night too just to see if it holds up to long testing.

If this passes with no errors would it indicate that my RAM sticks are ok???

What else might be causing these crashes?

I did notice that the Steam system checker wwas reporting the wrong video drivers as being installed. I installed the lastest ones a couple of days ago and they seemed to install ok. Would it be worth uninstalling them and installing again??? If so, how can I make sure they are completely gone before I reinstall just incase there are any rogue files hanging about???

All help much appreciated.

Valve
 
even if memtest doesnt churn out the errors i would try just 1 stick of memory and see if you still have issues, then swap to the other stick.

to remove the drivers, run add/remove programs but DO NOT reboot when it says, then run drive cleaner pro (its free google for it), then reboot.
 
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