I rencetly installed fallout 3.

Problem that happen to me is that the game freeze/crash randomly at some points when I'm playing.

Tried remove HDR, vertical sync, nor result.

Tried the multi core-fix, only helped a bit.



I'm on a Q6600
Asus P5E3 Pro
4 Gig Mushkin DDR3 (yes ddr3)
GTX 260 XFX Black Edition 216 cores Last up to date drivers. (tried also previous drivers, didnt change a thing)



What I'm supose to do now ?

60 views and no answers ? ... Do I need to provide more information about my system ? Is there anylog screen I can post ?

Also, the error message is simply '' Fallout 3 has stopped working '' application failure in the log event.


Happen really randomly, sometimes in outside area, but most of the time inside buildings when I turn the mouse it suddenly lock up. Sometimes the sound keep playing a buggy noise even after the game is closed and I have to restart. I also have lastest audio card drivers. (Asus Xonar DS - PCI)

- bump ...

Come on gamesas help us out!!!!!

This can get annoying if no one posts back, sigh...

I have a similar set-up with windows 7 home edition 64bit & zotac GTX260 216 Core & quad core Q9550 cpu & 4GB DDR2 ram. I also have an asus P5Q SE motherboard.

I have had so many crashes & issues with Fallout 3 GOTY on pc & only recently, after going through most of the game, have I found that there is only so much that can help this game.

I found that the tweak mentioned in all the other forums & posts (Insert the line: iNumHWThreads=2 & change: bUseThreadedAI=0 to: bUseThreadedAI=1) didn't work for me as well as all the tweaks mentioned. But for me, this tweak does work, but only if something is done that isn't mentioned in most if not all forums or post where this is said. Simply do not just do this in the FALLOUT.ini but do it in the FalloutPrefs.ini also. This seemed to cure the freezing inside of buildings for me. I also found that this is the only tweak that has helped stability and if you have any other tweaks applied in the INI files it is best to remove them in my experience of playing. The easiest way to do this is to delete both ini files & then start the game & reset all the graphics options.
Also never start the game with the launcher. The amount of freezes and crashes you get is silly, so start the game with a shortcut of the exe from the directory & NOT the launcher. But it is fine to use the launcher to set the graphics setting however. And don't wait for Bethesda to answer, they are now hard at work fixing New Vegas, which seems to be still in a pre-alpha state even though it has been released :brokencomputer:

Hope This Helps

I'm also "TRYING" to play on Win7 64bit

I get the freezing alot which makes me quick save like every 60 seconds of playing. F5 is my favorite key in the game. The freezing does seem to be random, but yes I have more problems while indoors. Once took me six reloads to get down a short tunnel.

One problem that I'm having that is really annoying me is that if I try to patch with 1.5 or 1.7 I get the appcrash problem right at launch. I have to do a complete uninstall and reinstall to get the game back up and running again.

I really like Fallout 3 but the problems are a bit annoying. I had zero crashing problems with Obivilion and I've beat FO Vegas without any problems at all.

Perhaps a little too far about pre-alpha stage lol, I have to confess that I put that as a joke (no [censored]). But kidding aside, the price of games you'd expect that they work enough to not have to worry that if you didn't save regularly, that it would crash or freeze. I have not played New vegas (still in cellophane) I want to complete Fallout 3 first. It is interesting that some people have endless problems and some have none. But I think a lot of it is down to computer maintainence and undownloaded updates. But in the case of Fallout, it is much more than this.

I will for sure try your fix mentionned above, thanks for your reply.

It's bad that most of problems seems unanswered on this forum. Maybe there is not enough people, but I've seen worse in many ''empty'' forum.



I will also try vista sp2 compatiblity mode. when I tried to windows xp sp2 compability mode, I did it using the troubleshoting problem with windows 7, not by selecting it myself, it might had crashed the game anyway...


in couple days I will post an answer, now I just do not have the time to play the game.

thanks again

One of my problem, is also the fact that I'm not going to install Visa, I never did and I will not.

Also, I cannot go back to windows xp once I tasted windows 7 x64,

cause honestly,

Fallout 3 is the only game, software that I cannot use properly on this O/S. And, that, is inacceptable.


I was hoping the creator of future shock pc game could do better. (mid 1990's terminator game,It was one of the first computer games to use full 3D graphics and totally free mouse-look in a FPS game)

You're not alone ManOWar2.

I've been suffering from this issue as soon as I started the expansion packs.

Weirdly you have a very similar setup to myself. I actually have a P5E3 but I've swapped to a Foxconn BlackOps (to the pain of me). I also have a ASUS Xonar DS PCI soundcard. The bastard thing about all of this was down to the fact that the main game worked perfectly, with a modified .ini and HD textures. When things started to go wrong (as previously stated, when I finished the main story and started Brotherhood of Steel) I uninstalled the game, removed all traces of it from Windows and proceeded to reinstall.

Unfortunately I haven't been able to amend the problem. A lot of people report that it's a audio codec issue and I've read on this forum and others, that people with massively different rigs are experiencing the same-thing and the same problem(s) exist in Oblivion.

Bethesda is ignoring this issue as is component manufacturers but as it's so widespread across different platforms I can only blame the crappy Gamebryo engine.

I'm freaking gutted, Fallout 3 is one of the best games I've ever played and I really wanted to complete the expansions before purchasing New Vegas - well NV can kiss my sweaty scrote because I won't be buying it until I can complete all of the expansions.

I'll keep you posted if I get anywhere with improving the stability of my game.

I've had the same issues with the game randomly freezing. The game would stop working, though music would continue to play. If the radio was playing, it would finish the song or DJ report and then fall silent. Like some have reported, the freezing happens mostly indoors. I recently spent almost six hours exploring Vault 108 because it kept freezing, sometimes within minutes of reloading. I became so frustrated that I was determined to find a fix. I was moderately concerned to find that many others have had the same problem, but no one seems to have a solution. I started fiddling with the graphics settings, and after adjusting anti-aliasing and anisotropic filtering, with and without the multi-core fix, I think I've found a solution. I don't know if it will help everyone (or anyone), but since there are precious few solutions, I figured I'd post it just in case it does help. My system specs, which may determine who this helps, are as follows:

AMD Phenom II X3 720 BE at 2.8 GHz
Gigabyte GA-MA790X-UD4P Motherboard
4 GB G.Skill DDR2 1066 RAM
2 Radeon 4850s in Crossfire mode
SoundBlaster X-Fi Titanium soundcard
Windows 7 x64

I found that reducing anisotropic filtering (AF) stopped the random freezing, at least for the fifteen hours I've played the game since I made the change. Without the multi-core fix, I had to reduce AF to 8 samples to eliminate the freezing (I played though Vault 108 without a single freeze), but with the multi-core fix, I was able to raise it to 14 samples. I've been playing the game with that setting over the last few days without a freeze (I explored Vault 106 without a hitch, the Corvega factory, as well as places around Canterbury Commons).

This may be a driver issue for the Radeon series, so this may not work for those with nVidia cards, but it's worth a try, since no other solution apparently exists. I haven't played Fallout: New Vegas yet, though I've heard it has similar issues in Windows 7 x64 (among other issues). Reducing AF may work in that game as well. Who knows?

Anyway, I hope this helps.

To you and previous poster,


did you put the multi core fix in the .ini or the pref.ini files ? Did you used others fix ?

Did you tried to use compatibility mode ? I'm now using compatibility mode for VISTA SP2, (read below for the result)


I found that not using the launcher and using directly a shortcut from the games files render the game with faster loading and less lag in-game. for some reaons.


With theses two little fix,

I played 45 minutes today, without a single freeze, wich is already good, but for now it prove nothing since I played 1 hour streak many times before without freeze and then suddenly for no reason a complete freeze occured...well.

I'll keep you posted.

PS : I use the multi core fix in the normal .ini files.

I put the multicore fix into the fallout.ini and FalloutPrefs.ini files. Aside from the DLC and patches released by Bethesda, I have only applied the multi-core fix.

I do not run in compatibility mode, and I do not run the game from the launcher; although, when I was making changes to anti-aliasing and anisotropic filtering in the Options menu, I ran the game from the launcher and did not see any difference with how the game performed.

I'm up to 20 hours without a freeze, though I still save my game often just in case. You are right, the freezing is truly random and I could not determine any kind of pattern or common scenario that would hint at the problem. If anisotropic filtering is the problem, then the cause may be linked to the textures displayed on the screen, since AF affects textures. Perhaps the freezing occurs when certain textures are displayed, and the reason the game freezes mostly indoors is because the textures that cause freezing are displayed mostly indoors. I don't know; I'm not a computer graphics programmer. In any event, the game is working for me so far. I will enjoy it while I can.

When playing through Fallout 3 I used the multi-core entry in both .ini files and I also included HD texture mods. When I started Brotherhood of Steel and got the issues, I removed the HD textures and the ini entries and the problem still persists.

Since having the issues, I reinstalled the game running in Compatibility mode for XP SP2 and Vista SP2 and neither amend the issue. This is also with the multi-core fix and previous audio amendments recommended in other threads. I've also tried the GFWL disabled malarkey which didn't help either.

One thing I have noticed, is if I connect my Xbox 360 controller the game detects it and I'm sometimes still able to play with the controller but my mouse & keyboard are still completely unresponsive.

I'm starting to get tired of being angry at the fact that I can't play this game. After reading reviews of New Vegas, it looks as if they're plagued by the same or similar issues so there is no way in hell I'll be purchasing it until all versions are resolved. Which isn't going to happen.

What is the HD texture mode ?

What audio amendement are you refering to exactly ?

Thanks again for all support and answers.


I've been playing another 40 minutes today, no bugs, no crash. At some point I felt like the game was about to freeze, but it just kept going on.

I think not using the launcher helped me, along with vista SP2 compatiblity mode.

I currently have the multi core fix only in the .ini files, the normal one.

If it fails again, I will try put it in the prefs.ini file

http://www.pcgameshardware.com/aid,669915/Fallout-3-Hi-res-pictures-of-the-HD-texture-pack/News/ is the one I'm using now, but not the textures I was using before.



Primarily I was talking about this http://blog.ocmodshop.com/2009/02/fix-fallout-3-crash-and-asus-sound-card/ - it's specifically for ASUS Xonar users to anyone else reading.

The good news - I've fixed my game. It took a motherboard change and a reinstall of Windows but I'm now back to playing without any crashes.

:D

I changed my mobo due to the fact that the Foxconn BlackOps is crap without some serious modding to the heatpipe cooler if you're on air, to which I am. Underwater it'd be better no doubt. So, back on to my ASUS P5E3. The only thing I've done definitely is not install the ASUS Xonar software but manually install the drivers. I didn't install my Razer Habu mouse drivers/software either and so far I've had no crashes, lock ups or anything negative! I haven't modified the ini(s) apart from enabling the HD textures and so far so good.

I'll still hold off on purchasing New Vegas until it's cheap and I've finally completed all the DLC.

I hope my experiences and 'solution' helps others. By all mean, if you have any questions or need assistance please contact me here and I'll do my best to help.

\m/

Rock on and happy gaming!

I'm using a Windows 7 laptop and was also having random freezes, but they seem to have just recently started because I was able to play quite a bit before yesterday. I think I alleviated the situation a little by turning off v-sync, adding both of those tweaks mentioned earlier and running it in Vista SP 2 mode. I also disabled HDR - which I think may have been what fixed it. It runs fine on my Win7 desktop, but I guess this laptop isn't up to snuff for it video wise. For those interested, the laptop's not a weak one:

ASUS N71V
Quad Q9000
nVidia Geforce QT 240M/1 gig discrete memory.
4 GB DDR3.

I hope this helps someone else having the same problems.

Unfortunately all isn't great, I'm still getting the odd CTD but I'm happier nonetheless. I played for 4 hours straight this morning, didn't even notice the time go by I was so involved.

I may start manipulating the ini files so see if that aids stability.

I patched my nvidia to 260.99. Still having the same issue...I can play usually 1 hours and then suddenly the game will crash at random point.


The usual message ''Fallout 3 has stopped working'' with the display warnings in the toolbar.

It's obvious that there is something wrong with the graphics part of the game.

Do we have to blame nvidia ?

Try disabling Transparency Multisampling does wonders for some games lol

Ugh, Looks like I'm joining the club. I originally played Fallout 3 on a Core 2 Duo system running Windows XP and didn't really have a lot of problems. Perhaps two or three crashes over 60 hours of play.

I have since upgraded two a new system, and I bought the GOTY version on Steam when it was on sale - I'm only just now getting around to (re)playing it and it's been an annoying experience. First I had the hard-locks/freezing in small interior areas, but doing the iNumHWThreads=2 fix seems to have taken care of that. Now however, I'm also getting random crashing to desktop. It it truly random; I've had it happen 5 minutes after starting the game, and other times after playing 3 hours, but on average I rarely get through an hour of playing without experiencing a crash. It's killing me.

Apart from the multi-core fix, I also cleaned and installed the codec packs recommended elsewhere, but that's all I've tried so far. Can anyone point me to a thread with other fixes to try?

My system:
Core i7 875K @ stock clocks
EVGA P55 LE motherboard
4GB DDR3 1600MHz
GeForce GTX 285 @ stock clocks
X-Fi Titanium
Windows 7 x64
latest drivers for everything installed

I suggest uninstalling your audio drivers and software and then manually installing your sound card drivers without the software. Oh and if you've got a gaming mouse, remove the software for that but not the drivers.

i need password to install fallout 3.

Well after trying some more things reported in various forums, it seems the crashing is fixed for me. Played several long sessions with no crashing.

Here's the full list of things I did, these might not all be necessary, but it's everything I tried in the process of trying to get the game stable.

1. Added iNumHWThreads=2 to Fallout.ini file, this stops the freezing/hard-locks in small rooms. (Note that people often accompany this by saying you should also set bUseThreadedAI=1, but I'm pretty sure that's just a coincidental change made by the original discover of this fix and isn't actually necessary).

2. Uninstalled some individual codec packs I had installed, then installed the K-Lite Codec Pack. I'm not sure if this had any effect on crashing, but it did fix the radio stuttering problem.

3. Disabled vsync from the game's launcher and enabled in my video card profile. This one is probably just coincidental.

4. Made a direct shortcut to Fallout3.exe and started running the game that way instead of using the launcher. I would normally also say this is probably coincidental - but I've actually had the lancher exectuable itself crash on me, and since the lancher still runs in the background while the game is running, I'm not ready to write this one off yet.

5. Set compabitiliy mode on Fallout3.exe to use Vista SP2

6. Set "Disable desktop composition" in compatibility options.