Howdy all , I was inspired to write this thread due to all the game users starting threads about this exact issue.
Here in the technical threads we hope people do end up with a solution to their problem.
But problems Launching and Freezeing always come up, and I'd like to address the most common problems when dealing with FO3
These fixes are considering you have windows 7 and a Multi core ... Im pretty sure 64 bit doesnt matter its the same when dealing with this game.
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The very first thing you should do is uninstall and then Install (using custom option) To a location outside the program files (and yes outside of (X86) program files) C:\Games\Bethesda softworks\Fallout 3 ... Example

Unless you have a Steam install then moving your Steam app directions can be found here >>> https://support.steampowered.com/kb_article.php?ref=7418-YUBN-8129

The next common fix is to limit your CPU to (1-4) cores. You can try this first , but a stable install outside of the UAC is always the best place to start (think building houses and foundation)

To limit the CPU , you need to edit the ini.file found with your saves.
Here is the common location of the ini file found with your saves.
This is the location>>> Mydocuments\Mygames\Fallout 3\FALLOUT.INI

Open up the fallout.ini and find the line that says "bUseThreadedAI=0" and change it to "bUseThreadedAI=1"

Hit enter, and under it add this line "iNumHWThreads=2" Close and Save the document. (you can select 1-4 ,,, 2 is just the most common)

Hopefully this will solve your problems , as it does a great many ... but alas , not every body's comp is the same.

So if you get no love from those 2 fixes , come on back with a dxdiag wich is a detailed list of your equipment.

You do this by bringing up your command prompt ... Start/All programs/Assecories/command prompt .... works

Then type "dxdiag" wait a sec ... then youll see a window with button that says "Save all Information" click that and select the destination to save (Desk top is easy) Open that file up and copy paste in these forums.

After or before system information ... Plz supply what the game is doing , a history of fixes youve tried , your history with steam if any or history with Microsoft Games for Windows Live. Or any information you deem pertinent to the situation. Will always yeild better results towards fixing your Gameplay experience.



Edit to add ... If you do fix your problem , Plz plz post the specifics of what you did to fix it.

Thats the whole reason for these forums , Join the band wagon. besides think karma

I have found this a very valuable tweek for my game. It includes many positive changes to the .ini. Works great for me.

Fallout INI Extended

http://fallout3.nexusmods.com/downloads/file.php?id=15962

[someone said I should post my issue here, however, I believe its a modding issue not a qc issue, but alas.]

I recently installed Fallout 3, patches it, installed all of the DLC, then installed FWE and DarnUI.

Fallout3.esm
Anchorage.esm
ThePitt.esm
BrokenSteel.esm
PointLookout.esm
Zeta.esm
CRAFT.esm
CALIBR.esm
FO3 Wanderers Edition - Main File.esm
FO3 Wanderers Edition - Alternate Travel.esp
DarNifiedUIF3.esp
FO3 Wanderers Edition - Main File.esp
FO3 Wanderers Edition - DLC Anchorage.esp
FO3 Wanderers Edition - DLC The Pitt.esp
FO3 Wanderers Edition - DLC Broken Steel.esp
FO3 Wanderers Edition - DLC Point Lookout.esp
FO3 Wanderers Edition - DLC Mothership Zeta.esp
FO3 Wanderers Edition - Followers Enhanced (BrokenSteel).esp
FO3 Wanderers Edition - Optional VATS Halftime.esp
FO3 Wanderers Edition - Optional Restore Tracers.esp
main merged patch.esp

Total active plugins: 21
Total plugins: 23

I also changed the ini as such:

bUseThreadedAI=1
iNumHWThreads=4

I tried 1-4 threads. Aswell as Fallout.ini Extended.

I have an i7 3.20ghz 64, with windows 7 64bit, 6gb of ram. Asus Sonar DG Audio and an AMD Radeon HD 6700 Seires GPU. [has about 1+ gb vram]

I am in the super duper mart doing the first quest for moira. When ever I get into a fight, after a few seconds the game crashes to desktop, repeating a sound annoyingly and I have to reboot, happens every single time without fail when I fight. I have tried adding/removing some mods to no avail. Any ideas?

It seems that when I fight the raiders, they will fire their first few shots, then pause for a second, then right as soon as they start their second volly of shots, it crashes immetiatly, it happens at this point about 95% of the time, with any raider I fight inside the store.

Well as far as your Mod load order. If this is how it appears in your mod manager. The one im familiar with (FOMM) Loads first from the bottom. And "files.esm" should load before "files.esp" in essence you have everything backwards. But if this is not the case then just ignore.

Do you use BOSS to help set your load order? If not get it here: http://fallout3.nexusmods.com/downloads/file.php?id=10193. All of my .esm files are at the top of my load order and I use BOSS and FOMM to help set them so that should not be the problem. I notice you have the VATS Halftime in the load order. Are you trying to go into vats when the crashes happen or could it have something to do with the tracer plugin since the Raider guns would have tracers? I don't have FWE installed so I am just guessing.

I am also assuming that you have Fallout 3 not installed in the (x86) program files.

I performed the custom install outside of program files but still no joy.
I'll try the ini file edit.

I'm running:
Intel I5
6GB ram
AMD Radeon 6470M GPU w/ 1GB dedicated

I did not install it outside of x86. I did remove the tracer and vats plugins and it still crashed. So far, without any mods, Ive played for hours without a single crash. So I am really not sure its being in x86 is an issue.

Edit: Well, I am using Fose with DarnUI. Still, no crashes.

The most likely cause for this is that you have set bMultiThreadAudio=1 in fallout.ini, audio section. This never works, must be set to 0.

A stable game play starts with a stable install (the foundation)

Then all fixes can branch from there.

Some fixes will however depend on a previous fix.

For example the INI. edit will determine the cores thinking about the game processes. (it does not like two many brains)

After that It might check how many items you have forced it to save and think about. Making it slow the frame or render rate that the player experiences.

The overwhelming response for this game and current hardware is that Bethesda does not actively support the game to scale with the ever changeing computer technologies.

But!!! The game is so popular , That many fans feel compelled and do end up supporting this game.

Its just not official ... so join the band wagon bi@tches.

Sorry I guess that was a typical Mardi Gras response.

Everybody loves a parade

Does anyone know the cause for the Pink screen of death when you frist start fallout 3 Game of the year edition?

3.30 gigahertz Intel Core i3-2120
64 kilobyte primary memory cache
3072 kilobyte secondary memory cache
64-bit ready
Multi-core (2 total)
Hyper-threaded (4 total)

Gigabyte Technology Co., Ltd. H67M-D2-B3
Bus Clock: 100 megahertz

Radeon HD 6850
PCI-E 2.1
PCI Express 2.0 x16
1024 MB GDDR5
775 MHz
1000 MHz
128.0 GByte/s

And I have 8gbs of corsair ram.

And no I havent tryed the ini fix here. And I have the steam version of this game so everything is in the X86 file. And I m able to play Fallout NV just fine no issues.

The bUseThreadedAI=1 method worked on my first try. I appreciate it!