Please note that these forums are not used for official technical support. Rather, we plan to use it to provide updated information and allow dialog between gamers to solve common problems, such as the most common problem of video or sound card drivers (or a lack of updated ones).

For technical and customer support, please call 410-568-3685, 9:00 am to 5:00 pm EST Monday through Friday, excluding holidays, visit http://support.gamesas.com, or email support@gamesas.com.

This section is for posts and topics related to issues running the game.

Posts about general hardware or how to build/configure a PC are not allowed in this in section. Those threads will be moved to the Community Discussion section.

FAQ's and the like will be added to this thread as they come available.

If you're experiencing issues with SecuRom while playing Fallout 3, refer to their https://support.securom.com/fallout3/.

More information re: SecuRom.

For Fallout 3's copy protection on PC, we use the same security model as we did for Oblivion - a simple disc check. We only use SecuRom's disc check functionality for copy protection. We do NOT limit the number of installs. We do NOT use online authentication or any other SecuROM functionality except for a disc check when you install the game and when you launch the game. We do not install any other programs and we don't have anything that runs in the background while you're playing the game.

If you experience issues installing the game, try running setup.exe directly off the disc. That will resolve most compatibility issues.

If there are disk reading issues, it may be a PIO/UDMA issue. Both methods will usually let a disk be read, but if there is a mismatch, it can slow things down enough to cause timeouts

See this for a possible fix

http://www.securom.com/message.asp?m=copy

"FF" icons in the system tray
Some users have reported having numerous "FF" icons in their taskbar during or after playing Fallout 3. These icons are from a seperate video/audio decoder you may have installed in the past called "FFDShow." This program is processing the sound files for Fallout 3, which some users have reported slows down the game, and can leave the icons in their system tray. Simply moving the mouse over those icons will get rid of them after you stop playing Fallout 3. Uninstalling FFDShow can fix this, but it is NOT necessary. You can follow the steps below to tell FFDShow not to handle sound for Fallout 3.

Instructions for disabling the FFDShow for Fallout 3 without fully removing it:

1. Click Start
2. Click "All Programs" (or just Programs, depending on the version of Windows, whether they're using "classic," etc.)
3. Go to the ffdshow folder.
4. Click "Audio decoder configuration."
5. In the left hand pane, click "Info & debug." This is the second entry in the list.
6. In the right hand pane, near the bottom, find a check box labelled "Don't use ffdshow in:"
7. Check that box, and in the text box underneath (it lights up when you check the check box), add "fallout3.exe" (don't include the quotes). If there is already something in that box, put a semi-colon ( ; ) after what's already there, and oblivion.exe after that. Do NOT use spaces, since ffdshow will think that's part of the filename. A valid entry would be "explorer.exe;oblivion.exe" (without quotes).
8. Finally, click "Ok" and start Fallout 3.

If you have ASUS GamerOSD installed
Try completely uninstalling GamerOSD to see if that resolves a problem with Fallout 3 loading.

I am getting an appcrash in Fallout 3 in faulting module Cinemasteraudio.dll.
To correct this issue, uninstall your Roxio software, uninstall the game, then reinstall the game.

Please note that these forums are not used for official technical support. Rather, we plan to use it to provide updated information and allow dialog between gamers to solve common problems, such as the most common problem of video or sound card drivers (or a lack of updated ones).

For technical and customer support, please call 410-568-3685, 9:00 am to 5:00 pm EST Monday through Friday, excluding holidays, visit http://support.gamesas.com/, or email support@gamesas.com.

This section is for posts and topics related to issues running the game.

Posts about general hardware or how to build/configure a PC are not allowed in this in section. Those threads will be moved to the Community Discussion section.

FAQ's and the like will be added to this thread as they come available.

Please be aware of the minimum requirements; exceeding the minimum is strongly recommended.

Before posting, please attempt the following one at a time in order to eliminate as many potential variables as possible:

• Restore any hardware acceleration or software-managed settings for audio/video cards to default settings.
• Revert any overclocked or otherwise modified hardware or software to the default factory settings. This includes hardware such as overclocked CPU, GPU or RAM and modified software components such as the fallout.exe or fallout.ini files.
• Be sure all drivers up to date, particularly video drivers, sound drivers and any windows updates, including Windows service packs. Keep in mind that in some cases the latest driver may not be the best driver for your audio/video card and that trying several drivers may be necessary for optimal performance.
• Remove and/or reinstall any codecs you may have installed and restore default file associations for Windows Media Player.

Finally, remember that a complete reformat followed by a fresh Windows installation will frequently solve most commonly encountered compatibility errors with Fallout 3. We recognize that this is a lot of work just to play a game, but it should be considered if all else fails. Be sure you have backed up any and all important files or documents you wish to retain prior to reformatting your system.

Note, below are Community Discovered Fixes, which are unofficial and unsupported by Bethesda Softworks. Some or all of them maybe needed to solve your issues. However, in most cases, one or two of these is all that is needed to get this game running smoothly. Not all of these will prove successful, if so, please post a thread with your DXDIAG results.

See this for a comprehensive list of fixes

http://www.gamesas.com/bgsforums/index.php?showtopic=973552

With Vista Flickering/image on right side of screen

Vista Sidebar issue Disable Sidebar

Winamp issues related to ogg files

Associate ogg files to Windows Media Player
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/307859

Radio Stutter Fix
http://www.fallout3nexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=7876

Codec Issues

Crashing during game, opening scenes, cut scenes. The issues may be related to Codecs. Usually AC3 and rogue Codecs are the issue. K-Lite Basic is a stable codec pack for those who need non stock codecs to play other media files. In particular:

Adding Fallout 3 to both the Audio and Video exceptions in FFDShow

Turning OFF GX in the Xonar control panel for people with a Xonar sound card

See this thread for more information

http://www.gamesas.com/bgsforums/index.php?showtopic=897990

Misc Fixes that have worked

Only use SecuROM patch after the official patch or it'll give old file error or freeze.

CRC errors are usually from faulty steam/D2D/disc versions.

Tilde key issue does not work for everyone on the PC, we will have to wait for a mod to fix that.

Completely uninstalling DisplayLink Drivers. Not sure all the products that use these, but I know my EVGA UV+ does

Forcing VSYNC on in the NVIDIA control panel stops crashes in small indoor areas

If people are messing around with their archiveinvalidation.txt, they need to have forward slashes in the file paths, not back slashes. For example, it should look exactly like this:

textures/characters/female/headhuman.dds

Switching from '/' to '\' will either not work or even crash the game.

Thanks to Wolfpup, Natalia, Dalania and HaakonXCI for help in gathering these together

Here is the Tweak Town Guide, it has some comprehensive tips for setting your rig up and what the various ingame settings are.

Note, the INI settings may or may not give any benifit. As always, if you want to try them or any changes to the INI, make a back up copy. Also, never mess with the Default INI only the one in My/Documents/My Games/Fallout 3. I am not going to even tell you where the default one is.

http://www.tweakguides.com/Fallout3_1.html

Nvidia Drivers

Some versions of Nvidia drivers can cause issues with the game. For best results, the following guidelines can help. As always, set a Restore point first so you can easilly undue changes if they are unsuccessful.

Also, downlaod the driver package before proceeding. Make sure you uninstall the current drivers in Add/Remvoe Programs first, reboot the machine, cancel out of the Hardware Wizard and then run the new Driver Install Package.

XP

For the 8xxx series of cards and earlier, try the 175.19 drivers

http://www.nvidia.com/object/winxp_175.19_whql.html

For the newer 9xxx series of cards, try the 175.19's or the following

http://www.nvidia.com/object/winxp64_178.24_whql.html

Vista

With most cards the 180.48's are the way to go, this addresses some earlier issues Vista had with Nvidia Drivers

http://www.nvidia.com/object/winvista_x86_180.48_whql.html

http://www.nvidia.com/object/winvista_x64_180.48_whql.html

Newer Drivers may come out that do not have issues, but for now, the ones listed above have the best reported results.


EDIT

The 181.22 drivers are out, they are supposed to fix the instability issues. They are stable for me.

http://www.gamesas.com/bgsforums/index.php?showtopic=942723

Additionally, there's a http://www.nvidia.com/object/winxp_182.06_whql.html that notes performance improvement with Fallout 3.

IMPORTANT! READ THIS BEFORE ASKING FOR HELP

When posting information concerning issues you confront while playing Fallout, it's helpful to follow these guidelines.

• Be sure to post in the proper troubleshooting forums (Xbox 360, PC, and PlayStation 3)
• An estimate of how long you had been playing when the issue occurred.
• A general description of what was happening when the issue occurred, for example after fast traveling to/from (a location), while fighting (a creature) or while in dialog with (an NPC). Feel free to include any details you think could have contributed to the issue.

We are actively collecting data from these forums. If/when we have updates for the game, we'll notify you guys. If you're running into issues while playing the game, please be as specific as you can in how the issue came up, how often it happens, and so on. That'll help our team out.

Thanks




The following are tips/workarounds we've found are helpful here at our office:

Minimum System Requirements:

Windows XP/Vista
1GB System RAM (XP)/ 2GB System RAM (Vista)
2.4 Ghz Intel Pentium 4 or equivalent processor
Direct X 9.0c compliant video card with 256MB RAM (NVIDIA 6800 or better/ATI X850 or better)

Recommended System Requirements:

Intel Core 2 Duo processor
2 GB System RAM
Direct X 9.0c compliant video card with 512MB RAM (NVIDIA 8800 series, ATI 3800 series)

Supported Video Card Chipsets:

NVIDIA GeForce 200 series
NVIDIA Geforce 9800 series
NVIDIA Geforce 9600 series
NVIDIA Geforce 8800 series
NVIDIA Geforce 8600 series
NVIDIA Geforce 8500 series
NVIDIA Geforce 8400 series
NVIDIA Geforce 7900 series
NVIDIA Geforce 7800 series
NVIDIA Geforce 7600 series
NVIDIA Geforce 7300 series
NVIDIA GeForce 6800 series
ATI HD 4800 series
ATI HD 4600 series
ATI HD 3800 series
ATI HD 3600 series
ATI HD 3400 series
ATI HD 2900 series
ATI HD 2600 series
ATI HD 2400 series
ATI X1900 series
ATI X1800 series
ATI X1600 series
ATI X1300 series
ATI X850 series

Is Fallout 3 a Games for Windows games? Will it require Vista?

It will be a Games for Windows title. Fallout 3 will work on PCs running either Windows XP or Vista.

In addition, some content requires acces to Games for Windows LIVE, including PC Fallout 3 Achievements. More info on Games for Windows LIVE is available online at http://gamesforwindows.com/live

Digital Distribution
For information regarding digitally distributed versions of Fallout 3, please refer to the terms of the site from which you downloaded the game.

You do not need a disc to play Fallout 3 when downloaded off of any digital service.

Digital Distribution Issue with Games for Windows Live
If you have downloaded Fallout 3 from Direct2Drive, Bestbuy.com, or GameStop.com, you should now be able to access the Games for Windows LIVE. If you continue to experience issues, please visit the http://www.gamesforwindows.com/en-US/Support/Pages/webSupport.aspx.

Some things you'll want to know...

• Please be aware of the minimum requirements, exceeding the minimum is strongly recommended.
• Be sure all drivers up to date, particularly video drivers, sound drivers and any windows updates, including Windows service packs.
• If audio is missing be sure that audio formats, and .ogg in particular, are associated with Windows Media Player and not other audio programs like Winamp. Also try closing any music players you may have running in the background.
• Nero and other burning software/hardware sometimes conflicts with SecuRom; remove uneeded software and check the update here: http://www.securom.com/message.asp?m=emu&c=2500
• If Installshield hangs or gives an error during installation try renaming the Installshield folder (C:\Program Files\Common Files\InstallShield) to something like "InstallShield Old" before installing again.
• Clean out all Temp Folders. To do that, reboot the machine to release any temp files, from the Run Menu, type in %temp% and delete whatever comes up.

Games for Windows Live Troubleshooting
If you're having issues logging into GFWL, be sure you've downloaded the http://www.gamesforwindows.com/en-US/support/live/Pages/default.aspx.

Migrating Game Saves to Game for Windows Live
1. Navigate to My Documents/My Games/Fallout3/Saves and locate the saves you wish to migrate.
2. Still in My Documents/My Games/Fallout3/Saves directory, locate the folder named after your Live Profile.
3. Copy your saves from My Documents/My Games/Fallout3/Saves into the named folder from step 2.
4. Load Fallout 3 and log into your Live Profile.
5. You should now be able to load your previous saves while logged into your Live Profile.

Note: Your saves will not transfer with your profile if you decide to play on another computer -- those will need to be transferred manually.

I am not getting Achievements for my Profile in the Windows version of Fallout 3.
If you complete the necessary requirements for an Achievement while using a non-Windows LIVE enabled profile, you will not receive achievements. Either make your profile LIVE enabled and reload a save from before the achievement, or make a new LIVE enabled profile and try again.

I am getting an error about a missing Xlive.dll file when I try to launch Fallout 3.
The file that the error is referring to is located in the Windows \ System 32 folder on your PC. Either the file is missing or possibly corrupt.

Try the following:

1.. Go to your Windows Control Panel ( Start > Control Panel ) and use the Programs and Features ( Windows Vista ) Add or Remove ( Windows XP ) option to uninstall the Microsoft Games For Windows - Live Redistribute software.

2. Browse the Fallout 3 DVD and open the G4WL folder.

3. Doubleclick on the XLiveRedist01.02.0241.00.msi file to start the installation of Live for Windows. Please make sure you are logged in as the Admin user on the computer, and background applications are shut down.

Try loading Fallout 3 again.

Games for Windows Live Troubleshooting
If you're having issues logging into GFWL, be sure you've downloaded the http://www.gamesforwindows.com/en-US/support/live/Pages/default.aspx.

Migrating Game Saves to Game for Windows Live
1. Navigate to My Documents/My Games/Fallout3/Saves and locate the saves you wish to migrate.
2. Still in My Documents/My Games/Fallout3/Saves directory, locate the folder named after your Live Profile.
3. Copy your saves from My Documents/My Games/Fallout3/Saves into the named folder from step 2.
4. Load Fallout 3 and log into your Live Profile.
5. You should now be able to load your previous saves while logged into your Live Profile.

Note: Your saves will not transfer with your profile if you decide to play on another computer -- those will need to be transferred manually.

I am not getting Achievements for my Profile in the Windows version of Fallout 3.
If you complete the necessary requirements for an Achievement while using a non-Windows LIVE enabled profile, you will not receive achievements. Either make your profile LIVE enabled and reload a save from before the achievement, or make a new LIVE enabled profile and try again.

Why does my character stop getting XP upon reaching level 20?
Level 20 is highest level for a character.

Why do I not get to level up my character after getting a level up notice?
You will not have the opportunity to add skills/perks while still in combat.

I am getting a error during installation, "Error Code: -5009 : 0x8002802b".
This usually indicates that you do not have Admin access on the computer you are installing in Windows 2000 or XP. If you have Admin access, please refer to the following article about this Installshield error on the other possible causes and fixes for this issue. Click http://consumerdocs.installshield.com/selfservice/viewContent.do?externalId=Q110616&sliceId=1,

After installing the V 1.10 update, I'm experiencing an issue with mouse acceleration.
Try the following:


Lowering the value will decrease the cursor acceleration in menus.
Raising the value will increase the cursor acceleration in menus.

Additionally community members have found adding these four lines have helped:

After downloading the v 1.10 update, I'm experiencing crashing issues when I load my STEAM purchased version of Fallout 3
If you experience this issue, try updating your Games for Windows LIVE account using the following link:

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=05013300-5d14-4dc9-9145-991ea1b8e4b0&displaylang=en

Here is a Community Derived Fix for the Console and Vista

Thank you Muller

1, Hit Start>Run and type regedit and hit enter

go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\i8042prt\Parameters

on the right side there will be an entry/file named "OverrideKeyboardSubtype" right click on it and select modify. It should currently be set at 2, backspace it and set it to 0 then hit ok.

Now just restart your computer and load the game, it should all work fine.

2, a) If you have a Vista or Media Center, and you have a remote sensor, it should be removed. It has been known to cause problems (and by removing it have solved this problem for many players).

/cool.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='B)' /> If that didn't work, you probably have an infrared one built in. Look in the "Device Manager" in the control panel and try to find it then disable it. This occurs mostly in laptops.

3, With some resolutions, the console does not actually show. It is to the left of the screen, past the edge. To check if this is the case, press ~ The type some letters to see if they will appear on screen. If you see it on the bottom left of the screen, it is your resolution. This can be fixed by ging into the oblivion.ini find "iConsoleTextXPos=xxx" and change it to something around 200-250, experiment with the x-axis value here until you are satisfied with your console position on screen"

4, "To my knowlage there's also another reason as to why this can happen, and that's due t the fact that yu might have several language inputs installed. try switching between them and try open the consle with all your different language input settings. (alt+shift to quick-swap between them).

These [censored]ions have been found by me on different forums, etc. after my girlfriend experienced this problem on her laptop and the first option (regedit) slved it for her, so I can by no means take cred for any solutions, but I thought they might be good to put in here so that people don't have t get the same headache we had with this problem (we wanted to edit her character through the consle).

Possible Solution for Sound Issues and Vista with Creative Sound Cards (may work with onboard also)

Note, this should be tried only if Alchemy does not get the game to work with your Creative Card

Possible Fixes for Micro Stuttering

Thank you FeignFeign for compiling this.

After searching the web for weeks (including this good forum) for a fix for Micro Stutter, I've obtained quite a large amount of info on the subject. After many trials and attempts, i have come up with one conclusion, there is no one solution. It seems depending on what OS/GFX Card/Ram etc the player has, the fix will also be different.

Here is my compilation of the different fixes i have found. Try them all, see what works, experiment. I hope this helps someone out there


1. Turning off V Sync.

For whatever the reason, certain video cards and their programs have V Sync on in their setup permanently on default meaning even if you turn it off on FO3, it will still be on. Go into your default graphics control center (mine is Catalyst since i got ATI, not sure what NVIDIA uses) and find the option to have V Sync always off.




2. Messing with Refresh Rates

Ceano of this forum first directed me to this method, (kudos) originally brought up by Rensek (http://www.gamesas.com/bgsforums/index.php?showtopic=900476).






3. Limiting FPS

From Agent Otaku who got it from a member in Neogaf. (http://www.gamesas.com/bgsforums/index.php?showtopic=902594)





4. IFPSClamp + FPS Limiter

Dymes from Gamespot came up with this one (http://www.gamespot.com/pc/rpg/fallout3/show_msgs.php?topic_id=m-1-46510999&pid=918428)

NOTE: This will NOT mess with the physics/timing of the game! IFPSClamp fix by itself is a flawed "fix" of sorts because of its unnatural effect on the in game physics, BUT, by using the FPS Limiter to stable the FPS into one spot, the adverse effects of the IFPSClamp is canceled out!






5. IFPSclamp + FPS Limiter + VSync removal (The method that worked for me)

Combination of method one and five put together. Read em. After reading all those other methods, i tried just combining the three. I couldn't believe it worked. The moral here is, experiment, experiment, experiment (i wouldn't recommend messing with Overclocking or something like that though unless you know what you are doing)

I'm seeing a "missing content" message in regards to my Fallout 3 DLC downloaded via Games for Windows LIVE.
If you're getting this message, you'll need to reinstall your DLC through the Games for Windows LIVE client (version 3.0). You should receive a prompt to update -- if not, you can download it http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?displaylang=en&FamilyID=69b2c4db-0765-4980-9c1b-8f781ad50bd0.

Disc 2 of GOTY won't install for me

Make sure you have autoplay turned off on your CD drive, and run the update via setup.exe

Receiving a message stating "the ordinal 5360 could not be located in the dynamic link library xlive.dll" Downloading the latest version of Games for Windows LIVE should help. Please visit this http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=128962 to download.