Arma 2 and OA crash my computer unconventionally

[HomerPepsi 10]

Specs:

Arma 2 latest steam version 1.07....

Windows 7 64 bit Professional

Ati HD 4870 catalyst 10.7

8 gb of ram

Amd Quad core

Gigabyt ga 790fxta ud5

I start up arma 2 or OA Demo and about 5 minutes in my monitor goes black (sometimes white) and acts like its getting no signal or the resolution is not supported (which it is, 1680x1050 16:10) and the sound stutters, forcing me to do a hard restart.

Tried running with "-winxp" but to no avail.

Tried running as admin to no avail

Tried running from a short cut on my desktop with run as admin = fail

Tried compatibility options on arma2.exe no avail.

Any help would be apreciated.

Here is a video of my problem (recorded from my iphone)

here is a link to another thread on this issue

http://www.armaholic.com/forums.php?m=posts&q=11284

Thanks

[bhaz 0]

Have you experimented with different versions of video drivers at all?

I assume that's 4 sticks of DDR3 memory? Do you know what speed it's running at?

[EDcase 87]

I've had that happen occasionally where the game will freeze or screen goes black and I must turn off computer. (Using GTX285)

Try different video memory settings in game options: Very High or Default

Also try ATI tray tools. (I got good performance on my laptop playing with settings)

[steelblood 10]

I get a similar problem however i can hear the game running fine in the background but i cannot CHANGE THE RESOLUTION as i can't see anything it's black and it's really starting to annoy me.

[ProfTournesol 956]

I suggest we get rid of the search engine as nobody uses it anymore.

Launch the game in window mode (-window at the end of the shortcut target line) and change the resolution ingame.

[HomerPepsi 10]

Don't hijack thread please.

Still have the problem tried many different things. Any other suggestions?

[bhaz 0]

I assume that's 4 sticks of DDR3 memory? Do you know what speed it's running at?

The only reason I ask this is because Gigabyte boards have known stability issues handling 4 DDR3 DIMMs, which can be set off from very specific tasks. It's also much easier to rule out any hardware issues early on, before spending hours pulling your hair out inside Windows.

When I had this problem, only ArmA2, Dragon Age: Origins and embedded youtube videos would crash my computer, which was instantly solved by removing two sticks of memory. The more permanent solution I used was to underclock the memory, rather than remove it.

---------------------------------------------------

Does your windows event log spit anything out after a crash?

In your start menu, right click Computer and choose Manage.

Under Event Viewer -> Windows Logs -> System

You'll generally be looking for anything categorized as critical. (Red cross)

[HomerPepsi 10]

AMD Phenom II X4 965 @ 3.4 ghz (stock non OC'd)

Gigabyte MA790FXT UD5P Bios F7

8 gb of G.Skill DDR3 Ram (4x 2gb modules)

HD 4870 1gb Catalyst 10.7 (latest driver, issue occurs on previous drivers)

Windows 7 64bit pro (latest updates)

ArmA 2 1.07 and OA Demo

Ive previously beaten the game when it was first released, no issues. Here is 3 more videos, the first 2 pretty much the same as the first video posted:

And this one shows the "Not optimum resolution" monitor message crash (at 4:39) which is the same issue im sure, just different occurrence with the monitor

Also if its worth noting, I can play Arma 1 and queens gambit unhindered by any issues.

Edited August 1, 2010 by HomerPepsi

[bhaz 0]

Ive previously beaten the game when it was first released, no issues.

Anything significant changed since then? Hardware, software (anti-virus, anything system wide), drivers, clock speeds?

Can you make the same thing happen playing in windowed mode, or only full screen?

You could also try running a selective startup:

Start, run, msconfig.

Pick selective startup, then untick both load options underneath.

Go to the services tab, and tick your ATI display driver service, since you'll need that to test ArmA.

A restart is required to apply the changes.

After testing, to reverse these changes, go back in and select "normal startup" again.

[HomerPepsi 10]

No changes have been made to the hardware or OS. I don't have any anti-virus or anti-spy ware (I monitor those myself). I always use the latest version of catalyst.

Tried in windowed mode as you said, but the same crash occurred as in video 4, playing EW mission 1. So this crash is not windowed or full screen specific.

The same crash occurs when playing splinter cell 1, the only other game ive been able to reproduce this crash in!

I did not try the selective start up because there was no option for ATI in services.

In event viewer i can find some critical errors in the application log:

From application log:

Log Name: Application

Source: Application Error

Date: 7/31/2010 9:40:55 PM

Event ID: 1000

Task Category: (100)

Level: Error

Keywords: Classic

User: N/A

Computer: Aaron-PC

Description:

Faulting application name: arma2.exe, version: 1.7.71.750, time stamp: 0x4c237c7d

Faulting module name: arma2.exe, version: 1.7.71.750, time stamp: 0x4c237c7d

Exception code: 0xc0000005

Fault offset: 0x005bf860

Faulting process id: 0x111c

Faulting application start time: 0x01cb312944950e89

Faulting application path: C:\program files (x86)\steam\steamapps\common\arma 2\arma2.exe

Faulting module path: C:\program files (x86)\steam\steamapps\common\arma 2\arma2.exe

Report Id: 96943388-9d1e-11df-a1ae-00241dc54c7c

Event Xml:

<Event xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/win/2004/08/events/event">

<System>

<Provider Name="Application Error" />

<EventID Qualifiers="0">1000</EventID>

<Level>2</Level>

<Task>100</Task>

<Keywords>0x80000000000000</Keywords>

<TimeCreated SystemTime="2010-08-01T03:40:55.000000000Z" />

<EventRecordID>18130</EventRecordID>

<Channel>Application</Channel>

<Computer>Aaron-PC</Computer>

<Security />

</System>

<EventData>

<Data>arma2.exe</Data>

<Data>1.7.71.750</Data>

<Data>4c237c7d</Data>

<Data>arma2.exe</Data>

<Data>1.7.71.750</Data>

<Data>4c237c7d</Data>

<Data>c0000005</Data>

<Data>005bf860</Data>

<Data>111c</Data>

<Data>01cb312944950e89</Data>

<Data>C:\program files (x86)\steam\steamapps\common\arma 2\arma2.exe</Data>

<Data>C:\program files (x86)\steam\steamapps\common\arma 2\arma2.exe</Data>

<Data>96943388-9d1e-11df-a1ae-00241dc54c7c</Data>

</EventData>

</Event>

[Chevey 10]

I am experiencing the same sort of crashes. I bought the Combined Ops package from steam. Operation Arrowhead works brilliantly so far, I've only had it CTD a few times when doing something really intense with the editor.

ARMA 2 (and Combined Ops), however, will freeze in the same way as HomerPepsi's did in an easily reproducible manner. Any time I try to fire a javelin missile, or start up a helicopter for instance. The crash actually very closely mimics what happens to my laptop when it overheats from lack of airflow, and at first I thought that was my problem. The screen goes black and whatever sound was playing last can be heard stuttering in a very short loop. The computer will not respond in any manner until I force it off with the power button.

I've been playing around with drivers and settings but nothing has helped so far. I'm going to try reinstalling shortly.

An entry similar to the one below will be generated in the ARMA2.rpt file whenever I load a game, but no report entries are generated when my computer locks up.

=====================================================================

== c:\program files\steam\steamapps\common\arma 2\arma2.exe

== "c:\program files\steam\steamapps\common\arma 2\arma2.exe"

=====================================================================

Exe timestamp: 2010/07/23 00:39:42

Current time: 2010/08/01 14:46:14

Item str_disp_server_control listed twice

Exe version: 1.07.71750

Warning: looped for animation: ca\wheeled\data\anim\uaz_cargo01_v0.rtm differs (looped now 0)! MoveName: kia_uaz_cargo02

Warning: looped for animation: ca\wheeled\data\anim\uaz_cargo01_v0.rtm differs (looped now 1)! MoveName: uaz_cargo02

Some relevant system info:

Operating System: Windows Vistaâ„¢ Home Premium (6.0, Build 6001) Service Pack 1 (6001.vistasp1_gdr.100218-0019)

Language: English (Regional Setting: English)

System Manufacturer: Gateway

System Model: P-7811FX

BIOS: Ver 1.00PARTTBL

Processor: Intel® Core2 Duo CPU P8400 @ 2.26GHz (2 CPUs), ~2.3GHz

Memory: 3066MB RAM

Page File: 1018MB used, 5322MB available

Windows Dir: C:\Windows

DirectX Version: DirectX 10

DX Setup Parameters: Not found

DxDiag Version: 6.00.6001.18000 32bit Unicode

---------------

Display Devices

---------------

Card name: NVIDIA GeForce 9800M GTS

Manufacturer: NVIDIA

Chip type: GeForce 9800M GTS

DAC type: Integrated RAMDAC

Device Key: Enum\PCI\VEN_10DE&DEV_0628&SUBSYS_0696107B&REV_A1

Display Memory: 1775 MB

Dedicated Memory: 497 MB

Shared Memory: 1277 MB

Current Mode: 1920 x 1200 (32 bit) (60Hz)

Monitor: Generic PnP Monitor

Driver Name: nvd3dum.dll,nvwgf2um.dll,nvwgf2um.dll

Driver Version: 8.17.0012.5896 (English)

DDI Version: 10

Driver Attributes: Final Retail

Driver Date/Size: 7/9/2010 17:37:00, 9818728 bytes

[bhaz 0]

@HomerPepsi:

0xc0000005 is a common memory fault (access violation) - can literally mean anything. The easiest thing to try at this point, would be an old driver version, perhaps one dated back to the time your game worked.

If you feel like satisfying my curiosity, and have a spare half hour - remove the 3rd and 4th sticks of memory (while the power is off and unplugged, of course :eek:), put them somewhere safe / dust free and see how long ArmA2 and Splinter Cell can run without them. I'm not saying they're damaged in any way, but I've had this exact issue with two Gigabyte boards in the past (one being my current), I think I mentioned it in my first post. Really curious to see if it extends to the newer models.

I did not try the selective start up because there was no option for ATI in services.

It may not have one, I'm not an ATI user so I just assumed. It can't cause any harm to try, ArmA won't start without it.

Freezing is very hard to diagnose if you don't know what's causing it - there's literally tons of possible solutions that myself and perhaps other people will post, remember to only try one at a time. :)

Edited August 2, 2010 by bhaz