First of all, if anyone helps me, thank you in advance. I am desperate.
I usually don't hang out or go on forums. I just don't have the time and honestly don't enjoy them much at all, but again, I am desperate.
I have been playing STO since February I believe and have never had any issues at all. Install was smooth and game play has been great, no issues, ever. Then a little over a week ago, at any random point, anywhere in the game, STO crashes my entire computer. Hard crash, no 'BSOD', 'noise' out of the speakers, screen goes black and powers down and I have to hold the power button to shut it off and restart.
Nothing has changed on my computer since day one. It's not even seven months old! I updated my NVIDA GeForse GTS 240 drivers, my DxDiag states:
Display Tab 1: No problems found.
Sound Tab 1: No problems found.
Sound Tab 2: No problems found.
Input Tab: No problems found.
No other program has any problems, I've had no other issues, only with STO. Here's what I'm running:
Operating System: Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit (6.1, Build 7600) (7600.win7_gdr.100226-1909)
System Manufacturer: Dell Inc.
System Model: Studio 540
BIOS: BIOS Date: 08/25/09 12:43:46 Ver: 0.0.1
Processor: Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Quad CPU Q9650 @ 3.00GHz (4 CPUs), ~3.0GHz
Memory: 8192MB RAM
Available OS Memory: 8192MB RAM
Page File: 1686MB used, 14693MB available
Windows Dir: C:\Windows
DirectX Version: DirectX 11
DX Setup Parameters: Not found
User DPI Setting: Using System DPI
System DPI Setting: 96 DPI (100 percent)
DWM DPI Scaling: Disabled
DxDiag Version: 6.01.7600.16385 32bit Unicode
I'm no computer expert. I already looked through the "Crashing with no Cryptic error LOOK HERE" thread and I'm not finding it helpful at all. The DxDiag and GamePrefs.pref were no problem, but the whole memory dump thing is a complete cluster-f to me. The "How to Get Help w/ Technical Issues" helps a bit, but not enough for someone that isn't a computer whiz.
"12. Entire PC crashes and requires a hard reset or power cycle. This is most likely due to defective hardware. If you lose the video signal to your monitor (black screen, may be monitor power light flashes or changes color), and if you still have sound playing or stuttering, your video card is the most likely culprit."
I don't believe this is the case. As I said, video card drivers have been updated and no problems with anything other than STO.
So, I am desperate. If I can't get assistance - IN LAYMAN'S TERMS - from someone soon, all my game play to get to Admiral was a waste of time. I will simply cancel my subscription, uninstall the game and make this the last online game I buy. If that's the case, WOW, what a colossal waste of my money. Where is the customer service, where is the real tech support? I can't be the only one that runs into problems like this and you can't tell me everyone but me is a computer genius ...
You didn't include the parts of the dxdiag report that are relevant to your GPU or drivers, but if you suspect that the upgrade might have been a problem (and not causing problems in other games is not a reason to rule it out) I would try reinstalling an older version and see if the problem goes away.
This problem started before and after updating my NVIDEA GeForce GTS 240 ...
Either way, I'm confused. Nothing changed and then out of no where, problems? Why did they just magically appear out of nowhere when everything was completely fine for months?
Maybe I'm thinking too much in a straight line, but how many things could possibly cause this problem? Shouldn't this be easier to figure out?
I just want to offer you some encouragement. Sometimes these things can be easy to fix and sometimes they can be like looking for a needle in a haystack.
In nightmare cases like yours it's best to use a process of elimination to figure out what's wrong:
After that, reinstall the graphics drivers. At this point you should be pretty confident that your drivers are ok. See how the game plays.
If you think there's a problem with STO, try launching the game in Safe Mode. You'll find this under "Options" on the Game Launcher. Just check the box. This will force STO to play with baseline graphics settings only.
Using a process of elimination, turn your graphics preferences back on (I'd start with the screen resolution) and see how the game plays. If STO crashes after you turn something back on that is the information you need to provide tech support or your forum thread.
Lastly, if STO crashes when you play it in Safe Mode you more than likely have a hardware problem. Ive had problems similar to yours right before my graphics card died. I hope that's not the case but its a possibility.
I uninstalled the drivers (the ones I thought were the latest) and installed the latest ones this time. So far, so good. I've been on for a while and no crashing ... I still have some of the game settings turned down a tad, I want to take small steps.
Thank you everyone - especially Mirror-Master and PegasusMD. I now know that maybe forums are useful
Your patience with someone who obviously isn't anywhere near your level of expertise was greatly appreciated.
Well, it crashed again ... but this time after I cranked all the video settings back - back to default or something.
I turned down the video settings and finished my mission without crashing. I think I'll leave the settings well under the best for a while and see what happens ....
By the way, how can you tell if your video card is pooched? Is there a diagnostic tool or something besides doing the dxdiag?
Well, it crashed again ... but this time after I cranked all the video settings back - back to default or something.
I turned down the video settings and finished my mission without crashing. I think I'll leave the settings well under the best for a while and see what happens ....
By the way, how can you tell if your video card is pooched? Is there a diagnostic tool or something besides doing the dxdiag?
I don't know of anything other than dxdiag, but then again I never went looking for such a utility.
Your problem very well could be with the STO mission itself if you kept crashing during the same mission. The P'Jem mission crashed plenty of people during closed beta - took them a while to fix it.
There's also a mission inside a wormhole (forget name) that caused my FPS to tank until I turned "Visual FX Quality" to "Low". And recently "City on the Edge of Never" gave me FPS & crash problems - didn't quite figure out what setting it was but something near the guardian was TRIBBLE me over.
These type problems can be annoying because the devs have a hard time tracking them down and support often won't have a solution other than running the game in safe mode (which is gawd awful).
In any case, if you have another game that has similar demands on your graphics card I'd play that for a while and see if it crashes as well. If not, then I think it might be something screwy with STO's settings or the episode you were trying.
You might want to check your CPU and GPU temperatures while playing, this could be an overheating issue. If you find out they are too high I'd start by cleaning your CPU and case fans, or installing case fans if you don't have any. STO also has an option in the Video->Troubleshooting part of the Options to Reduce CPU/GPU usage, which helps to keep the temperatures down.
Well, it crashed again ... but this time after I cranked all the video settings back - back to default or something.
I turned down the video settings and finished my mission without crashing. I think I'll leave the settings well under the best for a while and see what happens ....
By the way, how can you tell if your video card is pooched? Is there a diagnostic tool or something besides doing the dxdiag?
Another thing to think about is that while the 240 is a decent card it's realistically mid tier. So keeping the settings a little lower may help. We have seen in the past an issue where the detail settings have been cranked over 100% and causing issues with cards that might not be able to handle this load. Keeping these at 75% or less should keep things stable. Now if you are still having issues there might be a hardware fault, and for that testing is needed.
GPU-Z can monitor your card's temps if it has a sensor (it should). And 3DMark Vantage is a good benchmarking program that will push your card to its limit. If Vantage crashes your PC then you know there is something funky going on.
Comments
This problem started before and after updating my NVIDEA GeForce GTS 240 ...
Either way, I'm confused. Nothing changed and then out of no where, problems? Why did they just magically appear out of nowhere when everything was completely fine for months?
Is this the other info you are talking about?
Card name: NVIDIA GeForce GTS 240
Manufacturer: NVIDIA
Chip type: GeForce GTS 240
DAC type: Integrated RAMDAC
Device Key: Enum\PCI\VEN_10DE&DEV_0607&SUBSYS_073610DE&REV_A2
Display Memory: 4077 MB
Dedicated Memory: 1005 MB
Shared Memory: 3071 MB
Current Mode: 1920 x 1080 (32 bit) (60Hz)
Monitor Name: Dell ST2410(Analog)
Monitor Model: DELL ST2410
Monitor Id: DELA05B
Native Mode: 1920 x 1080(p) (60.000Hz)
Output Type: HD15
Driver Name: nvd3dumx.dll,nvwgf2umx.dll,nvwgf2umx.dll,nvd3dum,nvwgf2um,nvwgf2um
Driver File Version: 8.17.0011.9621 (English)
Driver Version: 8.17.11.9621
DDI Version: 10
Driver Model: WDDM 1.1
Driver Attributes: Final Retail
Driver Date/Size: 1/11/2010 22:03:33, 11862120 bytes
WHQL Logo'd: n/a
WHQL Date Stamp: n/a
Device Identifier: {D7B71E3E-4547-11CF-FB56-3D271CC2C535}
Vendor ID: 0x10DE
Device ID: 0x0607
SubSys ID: 0x073610DE
Revision ID: 0x00A2
Driver Strong Name: oem31.inf:NVIDIA_SetA_Devices.NTamd64.6.1:Section003:8.17.11.9621:pci\ven_10de&dev_0607
Rank Of Driver: 00E62001
Video Accel: ModeMPEG2_A ModeMPEG2_C ModeVC1_C ModeWMV9_C
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D3D9 Overlay: Supported
DXVA-HD: Supported
DDraw Status: Enabled
D3D Status: Enabled
AGP Status: Enabled
Maybe I'm thinking too much in a straight line, but how many things could possibly cause this problem? Shouldn't this be easier to figure out?
I just want to offer you some encouragement. Sometimes these things can be easy to fix and sometimes they can be like looking for a needle in a haystack.
In nightmare cases like yours it's best to use a process of elimination to figure out what's wrong:
Good Luck!
Thank you everyone - especially Mirror-Master and PegasusMD. I now know that maybe forums are useful
Your patience with someone who obviously isn't anywhere near your level of expertise was greatly appreciated.
Again, thank you.
I turned down the video settings and finished my mission without crashing. I think I'll leave the settings well under the best for a while and see what happens ....
By the way, how can you tell if your video card is pooched? Is there a diagnostic tool or something besides doing the dxdiag?
I don't know of anything other than dxdiag, but then again I never went looking for such a utility.
Your problem very well could be with the STO mission itself if you kept crashing during the same mission. The P'Jem mission crashed plenty of people during closed beta - took them a while to fix it.
There's also a mission inside a wormhole (forget name) that caused my FPS to tank until I turned "Visual FX Quality" to "Low". And recently "City on the Edge of Never" gave me FPS & crash problems - didn't quite figure out what setting it was but something near the guardian was TRIBBLE me over.
These type problems can be annoying because the devs have a hard time tracking them down and support often won't have a solution other than running the game in safe mode (which is gawd awful).
In any case, if you have another game that has similar demands on your graphics card I'd play that for a while and see if it crashes as well. If not, then I think it might be something screwy with STO's settings or the episode you were trying.
Another thing to think about is that while the 240 is a decent card it's realistically mid tier. So keeping the settings a little lower may help. We have seen in the past an issue where the detail settings have been cranked over 100% and causing issues with cards that might not be able to handle this load. Keeping these at 75% or less should keep things stable. Now if you are still having issues there might be a hardware fault, and for that testing is needed.