Skyrim complete PC crashes

[Themastaofmastaz]

arrrrg, its so painful to abstain XD

[DanRocco]

I don't get black screen crash, mine just crashes to desktop. I'm doing everything suggested online but it's still crashing. I've changed my sound and codex settings but it's become unplayable and not fun at all. Every minute it seems to be crashing. Really frustrating. :(

It is frustrating but the problem we are experiencing is _hardware failure_ caused by this particular game. It's a lot more serious !!

More importantly, it's different. This isn't a "Skyrim is buggy" thread; it's a "Black Screen Crash" thread. By all means, go report your particular issue, and I hope it gets fixed in the next update, just let's keep all of the bug reports separate so there won't be any confusion on Bethesda's part.

[Themastaofmastaz]

Wait has a ticket or something been opened at Bethesda's forums or what ever? Do they check these threads somehow?

[DanRocco]

Short answer: Yes.

 

Bethesda requested that anyone with issues post their dxdiag info, but that thread is locked. Someone opened a new thread just for that purpose (the one that I and others have linked to).

[ratMortar]

Just want to report, I tried downclocking my pc as someone suggested and managed to play the entire day today without a single crash.

 

While this may not work for everyone, it's worth a try.

 

Thank you to whoever suggested it.

[Themastaofmastaz]

I know about the previous warnings against tampering with hardware when it is the games fault, but I've been curious for a while, how do you underclock it?

[ratMortar]

I know about the previous warnings against tampering with hardware when it is the games fault, but I've been curious for a while, how do you underclock it?

 

It's very easy with AMD, you just access the Catalyst Control Center where you can reduce the GPU mhz and power control. There's no real risk to the system but obviously your card won't perform as well as it normally should. I would think that it's harder with an Nvidia card.

[Themastaofmastaz]

Damn i have an Nvidia card XD

[Thor.]

I solved my CTD to desktop problem and i played for a good 4hours in dual screen. Playen it on my HDtv and no crashes of as yet.

 

 

 

check my raptr profile for proof. YAY.

Edited November 15, 2011 by Thor.

[abrau1700]

I've been monitoring this topic for the last day or so and I've had the same issues with Skyrim crashing after about 15 minutes to the no signal screen on the monitor leading to a hard reboot every time. I've been playing on and off for the last 6 or 7 hours, but I've kept the game running to see how long it would take to crash again... and it hasn't yet. You've probably read other posts outlining basically the procedures, but I figured I'd post a step by step guide to what I did in hopes that it will help someone else. I'll update if I have any problems from here on out, but regardless, I'm ready for a patch.

 

My specs:

Windows 7 64-Bit

i7 @ 2.80GHz

8GB RAM

NVIDIA GeForce GTS 240 (4GB memory, 1GB dedicated graphics)

 

1) updated drivers for graphics and audio (Realtek for me) NVIDIA driver downloads Realtek HD audio driver downloads

2) ran windows updater to check for any OS updates (somehow I missed Service Pack 1... downloaded that lol)

3) set advanced speakers properties to 24 bit, 44100 Hz (Studio Quality)

4) opened NVIDIA control panel and under "manage 3d settings" tab, I selected program settings, opened Skyrim's executable file, and adjusted the following settings:

- Antialiasing - Mode --> Override any application setting

- Antialiasing - Setting --> 2x

- Texture filtering - Anisotropic sample optimization --> Off

- Vertical Sync --> Use the 3D application settings (selecting off here didn't work for me, so I turned it off via the Skyrimprefs.ini file)

5) Opened the Skyrimprefs.ini file and set iPresentInterval=0 to turn off Vsync

6) Opened Skyrim Launcher and under options adjusted the settings:

- Selected default detail first and let Skyrim determine my quality (setting the detail to low kept crashing for some reason, but at my default high detail it plays without crash)

- Antialiasing --> Off (best performance)

- Checked FXAA under advanced options

- Left Anisotropic Filtering at default "8 samples" because I turned it off from NVIDIA Control Panel (No idea if this matters or not)

7) Launched the game. Hours later, still haven't crashed and it's been running nonstop!

 

If you have any technical questions as to why these settings seem to work for me, I honestly haven't the slightest idea lol. I just saved screenshots of my default settings so I can quickly revert it all back to how it was before and then started tinkering with them based off what other people have said. If you need more help, this website seemed to help a lot as well: http://crashfixes.com/fixing-skyrim-crashes-freezes-errors-steam-crash-no-sound-lags-choppy-framerates/

 

Hope this helps! I'll post updates if it starts crashing again, but as of now, I'm solid :)

 

EDIT: Also worth mentioning, I have all auto-save features turned off in-game. Not sure if that has anything to do with it, but I read somewhere the saving on travel causes issues so I just turned it all off and press F5 every time I do something I don't want to have to repeat lol

Edited November 15, 2011 by abrau1700