I've been looking up help for days now and nothing does any good. The game simply will NOT launch - it doesn't even begin to launch before it closes and a window pops up that says "Fallout 4 has stopped working."

Computer specs:

Windows 7 home premium 64bit

Intel 3.5GHz processor

8gb RAM

DirectX 11

NVidia GeForce GTX 260, 4gb memory, fully updated driver (341.92)

They told me (Bethesda) to revert the Graphics card drivers to June 2015, and it friking works!!!!!!!! goto the nvidia website and download the drivers and install manually clicking on the .exe that you download from the website

On the GeForce website there's 341.81 dated August 24th, and the next one is 341.44 dated February 24th. Should I use one of those?

Euh are you shure that GTX has 4gb Vram ? because most models have 896 mo --- That card is outdated for and does not meet the minimum requirements for Fallout 4 and plus it is a DirectX 10 card not an 11 (even thow you have 11 installed) please check your correct system specs with Cpu-id for example. But from what I gather you really need to change that 7 year old graphic card.

It's definitely not a 7-year-old graphics card. It's about 1 year old, and it's good enough to run Black Ops 2 very well.

Besides, wouldn't a graphics card that doesn't meet minimum requirements simply play the game slowly? That's always been my experience.

Here's my card data. I don't know what half of it means. All I know is that my card runs games really well, and should run Fallout 4 even if it's slow.

Card name: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 260
Manufacturer: NVIDIA
Chip type: GeForce GTX 260
DAC type: Integrated RAMDAC
Device Key: Enum\PCI\VEN_10DE&DEV_05E2&SUBSYS_12603842&REV_A1
Display Memory: 4070 MB
Dedicated Memory: 871 MB
Shared Memory: 3199 MB

Hi Greenhorn

Can you please post your dxdiag so we can take a look at your system settings? The 260 generally does have under 1gb of VRam, but we can take a look and help figure it out with you.

According to the GeForce website, these are the specs of my graphics card.

The dxdiag file is very long, but here's a bunch of it that appears to be possibly helpful.

Operating System: Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit (6.1, Build 7601) Service Pack 1 (7601.win7sp1_gdr.151019-1254)
Language: English (Regional Setting: English)
System Manufacturer: Gigabyte Technology Co., Ltd.
System Model: Z97X-SLI
BIOS: BIOS Date: 06/17/14 11:05:11 Ver: 04.06.05
Processor: Intel® Core™ i5-4690K CPU @ 3.50GHz (4 CPUs), ~3.5GHz
Memory: 8192MB RAM
Available OS Memory: 8120MB RAM
Page File: 3381MB used, 12855MB available
Windows Dir: C:\Windows
DirectX Version: DirectX 11
DX Setup Parameters: Not found
User DPI Setting: 96 DPI (100 percent)
System DPI Setting: 96 DPI (100 percent)
DWM DPI Scaling: Disabled
DxDiag Version: 6.01.7601.17514 32bit Unicode

------------
DxDiag Notes
------------
Display Tab 1: No problems found.
Sound Tab 1: No problems found.
Sound Tab 2: No problems found.
Input Tab: No problems found.

--------------------
DirectX Debug Levels
--------------------
Direct3D: 0/4 (retail)
DirectDraw: 0/4 (retail)
DirectInput: 0/5 (retail)
DirectMusic: 0/5 (retail)
DirectPlay: 0/9 (retail)
DirectSound: 0/5 (retail)
DirectShow: 0/6 (retail)

---------------
Display Devices
---------------
Card name: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 260
Manufacturer: NVIDIA
Chip type: GeForce GTX 260
DAC type: Integrated RAMDAC
Device Key: Enum\PCI\VEN_10DE&DEV_05E2&SUBSYS_12603842&REV_A1
Display Memory: 4070 MB
Dedicated Memory: 871 MB
Shared Memory: 3199 MB
Current Mode: 1920 x 1080 (32 bit) (60Hz)
Monitor Name: Generic PnP Monitor
Monitor Model: DELL P2414H
Monitor Id: DELA09B
Native Mode: 1920 x 1080(p) (60.000Hz)
Output Type: DVI
Driver Name: nvd3dumx.dll,nvwgf2umx.dll,nvwgf2umx.dll,nvd3dum,nvwgf2um,nvwgf2um
Driver File Version: 9.18.0013.4144 (English)
Driver Version: 9.18.13.4144
DDI Version: 10
Driver Model: WDDM 1.1
Driver Attributes: Final Retail
Driver Date/Size: 2/3/2015 22:56:28, 17559432 bytes
WHQL Logo'd: n/a
WHQL Date Stamp: n/a
Device Identifier: {D7B71E3E-46A2-11CF-C24B-6D321CC2C435}
Vendor ID: 0x10DE
Device ID: 0x05E2
SubSys ID: 0x12603842
Revision ID: 0x00A1
Driver Strong Name: oem29.inf:NVIDIA_SetA_Devices.NTamd64.6.1:Section002:9.18.13.4144:pci\ven_10de&dev_05e2
Rank Of Driver: 00E02001
Video Accel: ModeMPEG2_A ModeMPEG2_C ModeVC1_C ModeWMV9_C

Thanks for posting the info!

The part I want to direct you to is under the dedicated memory section of your Display Device - Dedicated Memory: 871 MB

Fallout 4 minimum requirements are a GPU that has at least 2gb of VRam, and your GPU is below minimum specs.

I haven't really ever played Black Ops II, but I did a test and my card can run it at the very highest settings quite smoothly.

But would that cause a crash before the game even loaded? It never even had a chance to get to any graphics to process.

Yeah, you have a laptop no ? The Card does have a Vram of under 1 gb but you are sharing memory with your ram. But I am sorry to say it is not 1 year old, the chip was launched around 2008-2009.

Yes it could cause a crash, since I do not thing the card could probably not handle Directx 11 all that well (I might be wrong)

THis isn't a laptop, it's a desktop.

But like I said, it handles Borderlands 2 and Black Ops 2 at the highest settings very smoothly, so why couldn't it handle Fallout 4 at low settings, or at all?

No offense, but CoD:BO2 is 3 years old, so you cannot compare it to a game released a week ago.

VRAM use (1080p) in the start screen is 530MB. Use in the wasteland is at least 1330MB (and I've had it to 2500MB).

OK, but it also handles Borderlands the Pre-sequel very well, and that's only a year old.

Would running out of RAM crash it or just slow it down? When RAM on my computers got short, my computer slowed down, it didn't freeze.

Its running out of VRAM (Video memory), which IIRC correctly uses System memory (RAM) when exhausted. However, I don't know how much can be reallocated to System memory before the graphics driver gives up, especially since the application needs at least 5GB of RAM to run correctly (hence the 8GB requirement).

With every single setting on as low as it can possibly go, 800x645 windowed, etc, it still crashes a second after launch.

But the thing is that it doesn't even have time to load anything into RAM. It crashes within a second of launch.

Even if you get beyond the start screen and into the game its going to be a shuttering nightmare and IT WILL eventually crash anyway when System memory reallocation is exhausted. Do yourself a favor and replace the GPU.

But if it is not my graphics card that is the problem, getting an updated one won't help me at all - I still won't be able to play.

The only thing suspect on the build in the GPU. I am 85% certain that upgrading the GPU to something supported will allow you to run the game. Yes, I am not 100% certain because there are other issues at play that are preventing people from playing with supported hardware.

edit: If you do decide to purchase something, please, let someone know. I want to make sure it is compatible. Not all newer GPUs are compatible.

I know nothing about graphics cards. What's a good one to get in the $100 range, and what specifically should I look for in a card?

Its going to be difficult to find a decent one at the $100 range... A Radeon r7 370 or Geforce 750 Ti (obtainable at around $130-$150). Assuming your power supply supports them. These cards will probably give you >30fps at medium settings.