Random crashes and crash TYPES

[wfletchb]

Acknowledge the fact that FO3 and Windows 7 and up (I have 8.1) are a problem, so I don't expect crash free gaming. Have tried all of the fixes available and suggested actions including the cores limitation in the correct INI file. My mods are limited to the unofficial patch, FWE, MMM, EVE, CASM, and Blackened. I use BOSS and have done FO3Edit patches as well. I have the latest version of the game and all DLC's. I've eliminated Windows Live as well and though I don't use it now, have tried one of the memory leak mods, too.

 

What has me stumped is that my crashes are so truly random. Not only does the crash not seem to depend on what I am doing, where I am (inside or outside), how long I've been playing(1 minute or 1 hour), etc. but the manner of crash is random, too. Sometimes the crash is one of those "Fallout 3 has stopped" message windows, sometimes it's an hourglass freeze, and sometimes it's a crash to desktop with two separate "windows" running. In the last case with a "Fallout 3" and "Active Movie" window, about 1/3 of the time I can eventually resume playing (it brings the game menu back up and I can click "Continue"), about 1/3 of the time I can close the windows by right clicking and closing from the task bar, and 1/3 of the time I have to log out of windows to get control of the desktop back as the task manager won't come up to end program.

 

Before the last release of Blackened, crashes were constant. They are better now, but still probably crash 3 or 4 times per hour.

 

Any thoughts or ideas?

 

Thanks,

 

Will

[Foots13]

My crashes or freezes are also random. Yesterday it crashed within 8 minutes. The day before that, I was able to play for 4 1/2 hours without crashing. It is so random that it makes it very frustrating. I can never predict when it will happen. Inside buildings, outside buildings, or out in the wasteland, it does not matter. I have done the ini fix, changed compatibility mode, downloaded the latest Unofficial Fallout 3 Patch but it still crashes randomly.

 

But one thing I notice that the freezing happens very rarely. It is the crashing that happens alot.

[wfletchb]

After 5 crashes last night in a downtown DC building while trying to set up a super mutant for a kill, I got tired of hearing the same song on GNR, so turned the radio off. It didn't crash again after that. Don't know why it made a difference or if it's just a coincidence, but there you are.

 

I played FO3 through on the Xbox in 2008 and as much as the crashes are irritating, it's still such a good game that I will keep at it.

 

Would still like to know if anyone has any thoughts on why my crashes seem to be so unpredictable and whether these crash types are indicative of a particular type of system/software issue.