Getting W2 to run-and hey, Dragon Age runs fine.

[gravelcords]

I’m beginning to think I won’t be able to get W2 to work on my computer, and may have to wait for the Xbox version. I have game launch (mostly, but sometimes only black) , and when I hit the first dialog option in the prologue, I get a crash to black. Everything that can be shut down in Task Manager IS shut down, except the firewall (Zone Alarm Pro), which has full permissions for the game. And yes, I’ve tried shutting down the firewall, and it makes no difference.

 

With the Witcher forums seemingly having vanished (how long have they been down now?) I'm turning to you folks for tech advice (and thanks for all your hard work so far!) . Here are my specs, which I realize are only a little above minimum, but I’ve been playing Dragon Age 2 on medium settings, with no problem on this rig.

 

Dell Dimension e521 XP Pro SP3

DirectX9 (latest version) BIOS 1.1.11 (latest)

Processor: AMD Athlon 64 x2 Dual Core 6000+ 3 GHz AMD Optimizer and latest AMD drivers installed.

RAM: 3GB DDR2 @667MHz .

GPU: ATI (Asus) HD 4850- 512MB Using DVI outputs.

 

The game is patched to 1.2 Latest drivers for the GPU (Catalyst v11.5) are installed (with the correct uninstall first), and I have the Catalyst A.I. disabled, and Anti-Aliasing and Anistropic Filtering are set for Use Application settings (which is where I’ve always had them). Of course, AA is off in the W2 settings, and I’ve tried also turning them off in the Catalyst, but that doesn’t change anything.

 

I have everything on the lowest settings (or off), and a ridiculous 848 x 480 resolution (default for the config. Settings) I’ve tried the 1440 x 900, because my desktop is in the 16:10 aspect ratio, but the game didn’t like that. Normal desktop res is 1680 x 1050. A pic of the current settings is attached: Note that Vsync is on here; I’ve tried it both ways, with no change, but the FAQ troubleshooting seems to favor having it on. Normally, I have it off in games (Dragon Age 2 being the most recent)

 

One area I haven’t been able to get info on is the paging file. Currently, I’ve got it set to Initial size of 3070 MB and max size of 4605MB. This is only because I’ve been trying to get W2 to run. Normally, it seems to work best if it’s left on “System Managed” , but I remember that I did something here when I played The Witcher back in the day, so if anyone has info about that, it would be great.

 

My suspects are the DDR2 RAM and the Dual Core Processor, but this MB is maxed (would take another GB of RAM, but XP wouldn’t utilize it anyway). So am I looking at a wait for the Xbox version and the lousy VGA graphics? Replacing the computer really isn't in the cards at this point.

Edited June 6, 2011 by gravelcords

[tommy5761]

Have you tried in windowed mode ? I`m assuming 32 bit from your comment on the ram issue in which case you might also try the 3GB switch Open Command prompt as administrator and copy this and paste in the dialog box

bcdedit /set IncreaseUserVA 3072 note that after gaming you may need to change it back to 2048

Also is your card overheating ?

Edited June 6, 2011 by tommy5761

[gravelcords]

Have you tried in windowed mode ? I`m assuming 32 bit from your comment on the ram issue in which case you might also try the 3GB switch Open Command prompt as administrator and copy this and paste in the dialog box

bcdedit /set IncreaseUserVA 3072 note that after gaming you may need to change it back to 2048

Also is your card overheating ?

 

I'll try windowed, and you bring up an interesting point on heat. I'm on the stock MB fan with this processor (fastest one this MB supports) and maybe it's time to get an aftermarket fan in there. Colder usually means better, eh? Card temp is normal, according to Catalyst. Thanks Tommy.

 

 

UPDATE 6-8-11. Tried window mode, and I was excited because it was working. For about five more minutes than non-windowed. Different resolutions don't make any difference. I'm looking into fans i can work into this rig. I think the issue is the dual core processor, even though the minimum specs say you can use. I think a quad core is needed. Anyone out there playing successfully on an AMD dual core?

Edited June 8, 2011 by gravelcords

[swordsman5]

I don't know if you've tried it, but get yourself a can of compressed air (most computer stockists or plumbers merchants have them) and blast all of the crud out from around your existing fans (CPU, Powerpack et.al.) I've found it makes a hell of a difference.