Halo 2 on Vista crashes - Help

Glenn · External Since: Jun 09, 2006 Posts: 18

Hi,

I am running Halo 2 on Vista but I get part way through the game (2 - 5
minutes) and it crashes out. I have updated Video drivers, Direct X etc but
still no luck. Has anyone had this problem and is there a fix or work around
that can be suggested. Thank you.

Alfred Kaufmann · External Since: Feb 02, 2007 Posts: 109

On Wed, 27 Jun 2007 20:10:01 -0700, Glenn
<Glenn.TakeThisOut@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote:

>Hi,
>
>I am running Halo 2 on Vista but I get part way through the game (2 - 5
>minutes) and it crashes out. I have updated Video drivers, Direct X etc but
>still no luck. Has anyone had this problem and is there a fix or work around
>that can be suggested. Thank you.
>

I had problem until I installed a beta WHQL video driver - try
searching for "Nvidia 160.04 32bit" or Nvidia 160.04 64bit" whichever
applies to you. I downloaded it from www.guru3d.com. Good luck.

Ak

Paul Smith · External Since: Mar 30, 2006 Posts: 828

"Glenn" <Glenn.TakeThisOut@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:BE411158-5DC2-4AD5-BF50-CF1F3BBFAF84@microsoft.com...

> I am running Halo 2 on Vista but I get part way through the game (2 - 5
> minutes) and it crashes out. I have updated Video drivers, Direct X etc
> but
> still no luck. Has anyone had this problem and is there a fix or work
> around
> that can be suggested. Thank you.

What sort of crash? System falls over with a blue screen, or Halo 2 falls
back to the desktop?

--
Paul Smith,
Yeovil, UK.
Microsoft MVP Windows Shell/User.
http://www.dasmirnov.net/blog/
http://www.windowsresource.net/

*Remove nospam. to reply by e-mail*

kpowell · External Since: Feb 11, 2009 Posts: 1

When I try to load Halo 2 it crashes at the start up screen, after about
20 secs. If I go into a menu or something it keeps going until I return
to the main screen. I tried to start a campaign level and it crashed
again. Is there any way I can lower the graphics more than what Halo 2
allows you to?

--
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Joe · External Since: Jan 21, 2009 Posts: 19

kpowell <kpowell.3nfh7d DeleteThis @DoNotSpam.com> wrote in
news:kpowell.3nfh7d@DoNotSpam.com:

>
> When I try to load Halo 2 it crashes at the start up screen, after about
> 20 secs. If I go into a menu or something it keeps going until I return
> to the main screen. I tried to start a campaign level and it crashed
> again. Is there any way I can lower the graphics more than what Halo 2
> allows you to?

Nope, but if your game is crashing it could be your hardware. What kind of
system do you have? Latest drivers? Latest game patches/live patches?
Latest DirectX installed?

More info...

--
Joe

kpowell · External Since: Feb 15, 2009 Posts: 1

My graphics card is a Mobile Intel(R) 965 Express Chipset Family, 358 MB
of graphics memory. My system has DirectX 10 installed with all the
latest drivers for my video chipset. My processor is only 1.73 Ghz
though, but I thought that it would not make any difference as it is so
close to 2Ghz.

--
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Joe · External Since: Jan 21, 2009 Posts: 19

Subject: Re: Halo 2 on Vista crashes - Help
Newsgroups: Joe Q. Public:microsoft.public.windows.vista.games
To: kpowell <kpowell.3nmnjd.DeleteThis@DoNotSpam.com>

kpowell <kpowell.3nmnjd.DeleteThis@DoNotSpam.com> wrote in
news:kpowell.3nmnjd@DoNotSpam.com:

>
> My graphics card is a Mobile Intel(R) 965 Express Chipset Family, 358
> MB of graphics memory. My system has DirectX 10 installed with all the
> latest drivers for my video chipset. My processor is only 1.73 Ghz
> though, but I thought that it would not make any difference as it is
> so close to 2Ghz.

I went to http://www.microsoft.com/games/pc/halo2.aspx
and got the following:

* Microsoft® Windows® Vista™
* 2 GHz or faster processor
* 1 GB of system RAM
* 7 GB available hard disk space
* NVIDIA 6100, ATI X700, or above

First problem as you already stated is CPU power, now they don't say if
a 2 Ghz or faster processor means a dual core or single core, BUT this
could be because Halo 2 is not multi-treaded (only runs on one core at a
time).

Now at 1.73Ghz, will your game run with Halo 2? Maybe, but if you ask
Microsoft about it they'll say we don't [i]Support[/i] you because
you're not running on what we [i]Recommend[/i]. Does that mean the game
won't run? Not always.

The other problem is the video. The cards listed, while older, are all
dedicated video cards. Your P965 video card is integrated into the
system chipset. I can't really say why this is bad, it's technical, but
lets just say, integrated cards, save for some of the newer cards, are
just nowhere near as good as a dedicated video card.

It does NOT matter how much video ram you throw onto the card. More ram
does not make the card faster, just lets it display more
pixels/colors/textures on the screen at once.

Also, I think the P965, when you say it has 358 MB of ram, that's
actually System Ram that your computer reserves for video. The
integrated setup your using does not have it's own video ram, it has to
share ram from your normal system RAM.

The only thing you can do is to go to Intel.com, find the latest video
driver for your setup. In your BIOS, set your video ram LOWER, like
128MB, you don't need a lot of video ram, you won't be able to run a
game on your system that needs more than 128MB of video ram.

Update all your other drivers like audio, computer chipset, DirectX
(find dxwebsetup.exe at gamesforwindows.com).

If you try to run the game with all updates applied and it still does
not run, I think you are screwed my friend.

Your game experience would be nothing short of miserable, even if it did
run.

My new Toshiba notebook has a nice screen, but it's got an integrated
notebook video card, thus about the only thing I can play on it is
Civilization 4 at lowest settings (turn based games FTW!). If you really
want to game on a notebook, find a notebook with a dedicated graphics
card (ASUS notebooks are great (G50/G70 /drool), so are Macbook Pros),
nVidia 9x00M cards are awesome.

--
Joe

kpowell · External Since: Feb 27, 2009 Posts: 1

Well, I give those things a try and get back to you to tell you if there
is any improvement. Thanks for your help so far.

--
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danielsmth15 · Joined: Jul 02, 2009 Posts: 1

Gameplay: 9.3
Still tight and awesome as ever, you can get your Xbox controller (for PC) and really get into the game; otherwise purists still will enjoy the tight handling of the mouse/keyboard combination.

Graphics: 9.4 bicsi certification
Even brighter and cleaner than before, a complete overhaul was done and it shows. These are some of the finest visuals out there, and explains why you need a very hot PC and graphics card.

Sound: 9.1
Superb voice work, explosions, gunfire, other game companies have taken note of how to do things right. This is the gold standard for audio.

Difficulty: Medium
You can adjust how tough or easy you want to make the game, it still the same in the end though, one-man army (plus a surprise) taking on impossible odds to save the future of mankind. The A.I. in Halo has been widely considered to be amongst the finest example of an opposing force working together to destroy you. Marines run alongside you and wait for your action to fight, enemies try and outflank you and toss grenades from cover - the game is simply incredible.

Concept: 9.0
Every gaming system has its alien invasion game; some do it well some don't. Halo is the top of the heap, and I dare say only a couple of other games belong in it's league (Half-life being one). It is a tried-and-true formula, but wrapped around a really great sci-fi story and so much life and detail is given to it, the whole experience is lifted to another level. Add to this the new and easy to use online gaming forum that works essentially like Xbox live, the lines between console and PC begin to blur. I see what's on the horizon and I couldn't be more excited.

Multiplayer: 9.4
You can play the single-player adventure only so many times; then you can spend another 500 hours playing online against real people. The game is great but the multiplayer is just as good and never the same.

Overall: 9.2
Even two years later the game is easily one of the most exciting experiences in the gaming world. The online play upgrades and new fancy look will please even the staunchiest of PC elite players. They waited to play the game and that wait was worth it.

muffin9129 · Joined: Jul 22, 2009 Posts: 2

Yeah I was experiencing the same issue with Halo, whats the issue here?24-7 Bookie

GerryG · Joined: Nov 13, 2009 Posts: 1

I have the same problem before and found out ti was an overheating issue of my processor. Have you checked the temperature of your Xbox while playing? Make sure it is well ventilated.