kingtitan Posted August 4, 2011 Share Posted August 4, 2011 Just like the title says, I basically can't play fallout on my computer. I bought the game yesterday (GOTY version) and installed it in C:/Games/Bethesda Softworks/Fallout 3 (I learned my lesson from oblivion not to install in program files). The DLC's are on my comp, but not with the default game. I am going to install them later, but for now I just would like for the main game to work. So I tried booting it up and got to the main menu. I hit new, and the game went to the load screen, partially loaded, and then crashed. So, I looked all over the internet to find a remedy to the problem. One of the first things I found was the "d3d9.dll" fix. This only worked partially for me, as the game loaded to the opening "cutscene." However, when I hit esc or finished the cutscene, the game would freeze back up and not actually load to the game. I guess I should mention that I am running Windows 7, and I am (was, I uninstalled it again) running both falloutlauncher.exe and fallout3.exe in Windows vista (Service pack two) and as admin. I am at my wits end to figure out a successful answer to this issue, mostly because I know it can be done! I went ahead and uninstalled it so that I could start again. One thing i read said to run the setup.exe from the disc in compatibility mode but I have no idea if i should do this. If anyone can help me i would greatly GREATLY appreciate it! I can provide more details if needed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prensa Posted August 5, 2011 Share Posted August 5, 2011 kingtitan - Hello! "One thing i read said to run the setup.exe from the disc in compatibility mode but I have no idea if i should do this. " I never did that & I installed the GOTY version from disc onto a Win7 64 bit machine. I also installed it into the Default Program files & haven't had any trouble, though FOMM is good for working around pesky UAC trouble. A few of the common things to check: (1) - Do you have ffdShow installed? It's used by many video & audio programs. If you do, go to your Start menu & find the ffdShow folder. Within that open the Audio decoder configuration, in that select the DirectShow Control. On the right you'll see "Don't use ffdShow", tick the box next to it. Now click on the Edit button beside it, another window will open. In the new window, if Fallout3.exe is not listed, click on add & navigate to where you've got Fallout installed & select the Fallout3.exe. Close all ffdShow by clicking on the OK. Do the same for Video decoder configuration in the ffdShow folder. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ (2) - Have you got AC3Filter installed? A lot of video, audio, burners, etc. use it. It can cause radio stutter but has also been blamed for CTDs. If you have got AC3Filter, go to your Start Menu - All Programs & find it's folder. Run AC3Filter Config in the Config window that comes up got to System. In System look for "Default Audio renderer". That has two settings, Use "Direct Sound by default" & "Use Wave Out by default". With my Creative card & Alchemy I have to use Direct Sound by default or else I get radio stutter. If I don't use Alchemy I have to use "Use Wave Out by default". Basically whichever one you see in use when you check it, change to the other setting & see if it fixes your problem. In the same System window is a "Filter Merit" heading with two settings, "Prefer AC3Filter" &Prefer other decoder". Again, changing this can help. Note, to change that particular setting on Win7 you have to first right click on AC3Filter Config & "Run as administrator" to call it up or else it won't allow it to be changed. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ (3) - If you have a multi core computer & Fallout 3 is freezing, It could be the Fallout 3 multi core bug. Fallout 3 has trouble with multi core computers, mainly with ones that have more than two cores & use hyperthreading. You need to edit your .ini, the one you want to change is: For Win7: Documents\My Games\Fallout3 & change this line: bUseThreadedAI=0 to: bUseThreadedAI=1 & insert this line under it: iNumHWThreads=2 Save & close your ini. Hope this helps! Prensa Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kingtitan Posted August 5, 2011 Author Share Posted August 5, 2011 (edited) Well first off, thank you prensa for replying. Kudos. I don't believe I have either one of those programs installed, however, I do have an Intel i3 processor which could be what is causing all these problems. I am re-installing it to the default location as we speak. However, when I had it installed before, all I could find was fallout_default.ini. If i change the respective variables in it would that be the same as changing it in the fallout.ini? I say that only because I could not find a fallout.ini, only the fallout_default.ini file. I'll at least go ahead and try it out though, and post my findings here. EDIT: Ok, so I went ahead and edited the fallout_default.ini file with said variables. I also turned of the autosaving just for safe measure. Launched the game, crashed on partial loading. But, I did not give up hope, and I re installed the d3d9.dll file just to see if it would make it work. Amazingly enough the game ran and I actually got through the cutscene. It appears to be working as it should now, however, what are some things I can do to at least help prevent crashing in the future? Edited August 5, 2011 by kingtitan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prensa Posted August 6, 2011 Share Posted August 6, 2011 kingtitan - Hello! "Launched the game, crashed on partial loading. But, I did not give up hope" Never give up hope! Running Fallout 3 & mods is not for quiters! ;) "It appears to be working as it should now" Great! :) "I don't believe I have either one of those programs installed" You'd be surprised! Though you may not have installed AC3Filter & ffdShow directly, they come with & are needed by many audio, video, DVD authoring/editing etc. programs. Since you've got Win7 you can search for them at the bottom of your Start menu. Even if they don't cause CTD's they often cause radio stutter on songs. Still, if you don't get CTD's or radio stuttering, don't worry about changing their settings. "Ok, so I went ahead and edited the fallout_default.ini file with said variable" No, the Default .ini is just the backup copy of the vanilla .ini file & would only be used if you deleted the old one. Since you have Win7, your .ini should be in: C:\Users\ YOUR NAME \Documents\My Games\Fallout3 Or go to Libraries - Documents - Fallout 3 Documents It will be called FALLOUT.ini, that's the one you need to put the multi core fix in. "what are some things I can do to at least help prevent crashing in the future?" If you plan on using mods grab Fallout mod manager (FOMM): http://fallout3nexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=640 Just get "Old FOMM" if you don't have New Vegas. FOMM will make your life using mods with Fallout 3 a lot easier. Hope this helps! Prensa Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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