Fallout 3 Windows 7 Freezing

[Andrewprynn]

I've looked for hours upon hours and tried multiple things trying to fix this... I changed the one line and added the other to the .ini files, I tried using a codec thinking maybe it was a sound issue, I ran it in compatibility mode for Windows XP and tried Vista as well. I reinstalled the whole thing twice and I tried running it in windowed mode. Also, I tried setting the affinity for it to 1 and 2. Is there anything else I can do? It was downloaded from Steam. I also moved the steam folder to my D drive to get it out of program files (Read somewhere that, that may help, but it didn't do a thing.)

My specs -

Operating System: Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit (6.1, Build 7601) Service Pack 1 (7601.win7sp1_gdr.130104-1431)

Language: English (Regional Setting: English)

System Manufacturer: LENOVO

System Model: 1024AFU

BIOS: Default System BIOS

Processor: Intel® Core i5-2450M CPU @ 2.50GHz (4 CPUs), ~2.5GHz

Memory: 8192MB RAM

Available OS Memory: 8106MB RAM

Page File: 2496MB used, 13714MB available

Windows Dir: C:\windows

DirectX Version: DirectX 11

DX Setup Parameters: Not found

User DPI Setting: Using System DPI

System DPI Setting: 96 DPI (100 percent)

DWM DPI Scaling: Disabled
Graphics Card: Nvidia GeForce GT 540M

Edited March 8, 2013 by Andrewprynn

[Purr4me]

 

I've looked for hours upon hours and tried multiple things trying to fix this... I changed the one line and added the other to the .ini files, I tried using a codec thinking maybe it was a sound issue, I ran it in compatibility mode for Windows XP and tried Vista as well. I reinstalled the whole thing twice and I tried running it in windowed mode. Also, I tried setting the affinity for it to 1 and 2. Is there anything else I can do? It was downloaded from Steam. I also moved the steam folder to my D drive to get it out of program files (Read somewhere that, that may help, but it didn't do a thing.)

 

My specs -

Operating System: Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit (6.1, Build 7601) Service Pack 1 (7601.win7sp1_gdr.130104-1431)

Language: English (Regional Setting: English)

System Manufacturer: LENOVO

System Model: 1024AFU

BIOS: Default System BIOS

Processor: Intel® Core i5-2450M CPU @ 2.50GHz (4 CPUs), ~2.5GHz

Memory: 8192MB RAM

Available OS Memory: 8106MB RAM

Page File: 2496MB used, 13714MB available

Windows Dir: C:\windows

DirectX Version: DirectX 11

DX Setup Parameters: Not found

User DPI Setting: Using System DPI

System DPI Setting: 96 DPI (100 percent)

DWM DPI Scaling: Disabled

Graphics Card: Nvidia GeForce GT 540M

1. your games files were once held or installed into C:\program files and folders on a windows 7 system.
2. all those files are under security protocalls right now, you can not access them if you simply moved them.
3. Permissions to use all of the data contained in the new locations need to be reset so the logged on user has full control.
4. Permissions is whats stopping the game from running. Windows is at fault.
5. Graphics Card: Nvidia GeForce GT 540M }The game launcher will not set graphics on a intell unit for this game, you must do that.
6. UAC is still in control of the files too. no matter where you put them.
7. uninstall the game, reinstall and this time, Chose where to install it so NO permissions will be assigned to the files.
8. that should cover most of it, you made need a Intel chip workaround too, even though the graphics card is other than.

the audio chip is intel.

 

Kitty.

[prensa]

Andrewprynn - Hello!

 

Is the freezing happening during gameplay, or are you not even getting to the main menu?

Freezing in Fallout 3 gameplay is almost always the Fallout multi core bug.

That freezing tends to happen randomly, though confined spaces are particularly susceptible. The game will lock up & usually needs the task manager to end it.

Fallout 3 has trouble with multi core computers, mainly with ones that have more than two cores & use hyperthreading.

"I changed the one line and added the other to the .ini files"

Can I just double check you made the changes to the correct .ini, the one you want to change, for Win7, is:

Documents\My Games\Fallout3

The file you want will be called:

FALLOUT.ini

Open the .ini with Notepad & change this line:

bUseThreadedAI=0

to:

bUseThreadedAI=1

& insert this line under it:

iNumHWThreads=2

Save & close your ini.

If you still get freezing with that, try:

iNumHWThreads=1

Hope this helps!

Prensa

[Andrewprynn]

 

 

I've looked for hours upon hours and tried multiple things trying to fix this... I changed the one line and added the other to the .ini files, I tried using a codec thinking maybe it was a sound issue, I ran it in compatibility mode for Windows XP and tried Vista as well. I reinstalled the whole thing twice and I tried running it in windowed mode. Also, I tried setting the affinity for it to 1 and 2. Is there anything else I can do? It was downloaded from Steam. I also moved the steam folder to my D drive to get it out of program files (Read somewhere that, that may help, but it didn't do a thing.)

 

My specs -

Operating System: Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit (6.1, Build 7601) Service Pack 1 (7601.win7sp1_gdr.130104-1431)

Language: English (Regional Setting: English)

System Manufacturer: LENOVO

System Model: 1024AFU

BIOS: Default System BIOS

Processor: Intel® Core i5-2450M CPU @ 2.50GHz (4 CPUs), ~2.5GHz

Memory: 8192MB RAM

Available OS Memory: 8106MB RAM

Page File: 2496MB used, 13714MB available

Windows Dir: C:\windows

DirectX Version: DirectX 11

DX Setup Parameters: Not found

User DPI Setting: Using System DPI

System DPI Setting: 96 DPI (100 percent)

DWM DPI Scaling: Disabled

Graphics Card: Nvidia GeForce GT 540M

1. your games files were once held or installed into C:\program files and folders on a windows 7 system.
2. all those files are under security protocalls right now, you can not access them if you simply moved them.
3. Permissions to use all of the data contained in the new locations need to be reset so the logged on user has full control.
4. Permissions is whats stopping the game from running. Windows is at fault.
5. Graphics Card: Nvidia GeForce GT 540M }The game launcher will not set graphics on a intell unit for this game, you must do that.
6. UAC is still in control of the files too. no matter where you put them.
7. uninstall the game, reinstall and this time, Chose where to install it so NO permissions will be assigned to the files.
8. that should cover most of it, you made need a Intel chip workaround too, even though the graphics card is other than.

the audio chip is intel.

 

Kitty.

I had moved Steam completely to the D drive, I deleted everything except steam.exe and the steamapps folder. I reinstalled Fallout afterwards so it was sent to the D drive (Not sure if that resets the permissions though, so I may need to reinstall steam all together?). The game does run for about 5 minutes (Sorry, I should have specified that in the original post), but then it freezes up and the sound continues to play.

 

Andrewprynn - Hello!

 

Is the freezing happening during gameplay, or are you not even getting to the main menu?

 

Freezing in Fallout 3 gameplay is almost always the Fallout multi core bug.

 

That freezing tends to happen randomly, though confined spaces are particularly susceptible. The game will lock up & usually needs the task manager to end it.

 

Fallout 3 has trouble with multi core computers, mainly with ones that have more than two cores & use hyperthreading.

 

"I changed the one line and added the other to the .ini files"

 

Can I just double check you made the changes to the correct .ini, the one you want to change, for Win7, is:

 

Documents\My Games\Fallout3

 

The file you want will be called:

 

FALLOUT.ini

 

Open the .ini with Notepad & change this line:

 

bUseThreadedAI=0

 

to:

 

bUseThreadedAI=1

 

& insert this line under it:

 

iNumHWThreads=2

 

Save & close your ini.

 

If you still get freezing with that, try:

 

iNumHWThreads=1

 

Hope this helps!

 

Prensa

The file that I changed was the Fallout_Default.ini file. Although, I do think that's the same thing. bUseThreadedAI=1 | iNumHWthreads=1 is what I have put down under the general section, although that didn't help.

[prensa]

Andrewprynn - Hello!

 

"The file that I changed was the Fallout_Default.ini file. Although, I do think that's the same thing.

 

No, that's the file Fallout 3 stores your default settings for if it has to recreate your .ini.

 

Only the FALLOUT.ini in your Documents folder is actually applied to your game.

 

The one you want to change, for Win7, is:

Documents\My Games\Fallout3

 

The file you want will be called:

 

FALLOUT.ini

Open the .ini with Notepad & change this line:

bUseThreadedAI=0

to:

bUseThreadedAI=1

& insert this line under it:

iNumHWThreads=2

Save & close your ini.

 

Unless you apply the changes to that one, the fix will not work.

 

Hope this helps!

 

Prensa

Edited March 8, 2013 by prensa

[geoflo]

1. Andrewprynn - hi,

I also had the same probs with win7. Corrected by taking the FO3 folder/Dir out of programfiles directory and placed it in the C:/ directory. I first created a folder called games and moved the FO3 folder into there.

Looks like: c:\games\FO3.

Also did the above mention fix for my multicore I5 in the ini file.

Have had good gaming ever since.

cheers.

[jbnerhood]

Hi folks.

 

I'm keenly interested in this topic/thread as I too am having the very same issues with running FO3 on my new system. If anyone is still monitoring this topic - I have several questions regarding FO3 and the i7 multi-core processor:

 

1. Will the alterations to the ini file resolve the multi-core bug?

 

2. Is it absolutely essential to move the FO3 folder out of Program Files and into a Gmaes File?

 

 

On an unrelated note; I installed Interplay's Fallout/Fallout2/Fallout Tactics on my new machine and, hey . . . wonder of wonders - they all run flawlessly. Go figure . . .

 

Anyway . . . . if anyone is still watching this thread I could really use the help.

 

 

Thanks everyone. :biggrin:

[M48A5]

jbnerhood,

 

In answer to your questions: 1. yes

2. no, you can set the game to run as administrator or disable your UAC. However, mods may or may not run properly.