85 réponses à ce sujet

[Anduin335]

Do you have an older save you can try? Maybe the save is corrupt. Does it mess up at the same point every time? Can you start a new game and play for more than 10 minutes?

[Long Claw Tiger]

If both CPU cores are running up to 100%, that is a big problem. What other apps do you have running in the background. Not just active stuff that you manually launch. I mean passive programs like Anti-Virus as well. Also, when you hit those 100% usage levels, what processes in task manager are using the greatest amount of that processor time?

[Cr8zyEddie]

Anduin335 wrote...

Do you have an older save you can try? Maybe the save is corrupt. Does it mess up at the same point every time? Can you start a new game and play for more than 10 minutes?

Yea I have a couple saves I've used in Ostagar - I understand what you're checking here for since other people have had save game issues - so I did check that. I also started a brand new game as a dwarf just to see - it locked up with him as well - although I think it was longer than 10 minutes on him. It doesn't lock up at the same point every time. Like I mentioned before when I was in the mage castle (after the Harrowing) on my beginning mage I played several hours there - it was only before that in the "fade" and in Ostagar where it locks up consistently.

One thing I noticed when monitoring the CPU - it never maxed the cores UNTIL my first dialogue attempt. After that the cpu usage shot through the roof - never went down below 70% on either core - even just standing still - seems at certain areas in Ostagar, like where Duncan is next to the fire the usage was 100% on both cores. But it doesn't always lock up right there. But it seems to happen fairly soon after that. Again the CPU temps and GPU temps remained good even during these lockups so I'm about to rule those out.

Tonight I'm going to completely disable my sound and see how that goes. That and run a memtest plus check what my mobo bios version is at.

Thanks again everyone, it's greatly appreciated.

[Cr8zyEddie]

Long Claw Tiger wrote...

If both CPU cores are running up to 100%, that is a big problem. What other apps do you have running in the background. Not just active stuff that you manually launch. I mean passive programs like Anti-Virus as well. Also, when you hit those 100% usage levels, what processes in task manager are using the greatest amount of that processor time?

I'm running Microsoft Security Essentials currently - I switched to that from AVG just to see if it made a difference. Other than CPU-Z and Coretemp that I was running to monitor for testing, no other apps are running. Since I was running coretemp during my tests and the CPU never hit 100% until doing dialog in DA, I assume is DA doing that but I'll verify it in task manager next time. Going to try and test more tonight.

Thanks

[WaltC]

Cr8zyEddie wrote...

One thing that doesn't make sense to me is why it seems only certain areas have this issue. If I was having video card/heating/driver issues you'd think I wouldn't have been able to play for hours on the one section of the game.

BTW thanks for the helpful tips so far.

Some things occur to me...I'm running the game under Win7 x64, too, with no similar problems.

First, make sure beyond any shadow of a doubt that *nothing* in your system is overclocked. This includes cpu, gpu, PCIe busses, ram, etc., ad infinitum.  If any component in your system is overclocked/overvolted to any degree whatever, you will not be able to adequately troubleshoot your problem until you return your entire system to its stock clocks and voltages. 

I'm not assuming you have overclocked anything...  It's just that years ago I had a frustrating 12-page forum diatribe with someone who kept having problems and who *swore* he was doing lots of things I suggested to solve the problem--but he waited to page 12 to tell me that not only was he overclocking almost everything in his box, he was doing so to a degree that made me marvel that he could even boot up his machine...  He erroneously thought, like so many do, that "overclocking" is guaranteed and a normal part of running your hardware.  This guy went around both elbows to get to his nose and it was the last thing he did--setting his clocks and voltages back to normal--that finally solved his problems.  

Overclocking is not guaranteed by anybody, and it isn't normal.  The hardware we use is validated to run correctly at its stock speeds and voltages and *no other.*  It's amazing how many people don't know this, and consider returning their systems to stock clocks *last* when this should be the very first thing they do when a problem arises.  I'm not saying don't overclock--that's your business and you can if you like. Lots of people do.  I'm simply saying that when you are overclocking don't forget it because when problems arise in an overclocked system the very first thing that should happen is that all system clocks and voltages should be set to their stock settings.

Again--I have no idea whether you are overclocking--just passing on a word to the wise...

Second, as to your question about why you experience failures in certain areas of the game--that's actually a fairly easy question.  Once you eliminate software bugs in the game code, which would mean that almost everybody would be having similar problems in the same areas of the game, it then becomes a matter of hardware and/or hardware driver support.

Several people in this thread mentioned heat and I'd have to agree.  I noticed years ago that the chief impediment to successful overclocking was heat, and that while an overclocked gpu would run some games perfectly while overclocked, others would crash and only run when the gpu was set to its stock clocks. This happens because different games, and even different locales within the same game, stress the various components inside a gpu differently and at different times.  Basically it is a matter of what the gpu is asked to do and when it is asked to do it.  If a certain point in a game stresses or pushes the gpu towards its maximum workload capacities, then a lot more heat is generated by the gpu in those particular areas of the game because in those areas the gpu is doing a lot more work than it does when in other areas of the same game.

From what you've said, if we eliminate any overclocking in the system, and we assume there are no overt game bugs causing your problems, then we are left with looking at your hardware.    First suspect for me would be your gpu cooler--it simply may not be doing the job when your gpu cranks up in workload, and you're getting overheating, which is causing a gpu hardware failure, which causes you to crash.  Second suspect for me would be your power supply--that when your gpu is cranking up and attempting to draw down more power across a particular rail--that it is failing to deliver the power needed when it is needed--and thus you keep crashing at about the same place in the game every time.

Last suspect--it's also possible you are suffering some kind of arcane hardware driver conflict somewhere in your system--such as a conflict between your sound-card driver and your gpu driver, etc.  That's pretty rare these days, though, and so it probably isn't likely.  Crashing at the same place in a particular game every time you run the game really does not sound like a driver conflict to me.  But, you can eliminate that problem by simply opening the device manager and disabling your sound-card driver, turning off sound from within the game and running the game to see if it crashes in roughly the same place even when no sound-card driver is loaded.  Based on what you've said, I don't think it will make a difference, but to be thorough I'd at least try it.

I think though that you will discover the cause and cure for your problem somewhere between your gpu and your psu, and I'm hoping this will be of at least some limited benefit to you...

   

[Yetisan]

in your taskmanager, how many processes are running?

also do you have any problems with other high demanding games? cause there is always the option that your GPU got to hot at 1 point and burned trough. hope it didnt but it happend to me once.

[Tosheroon]

What is the power plan you are running? If you are running on 'Balanced' (as per Win7 default) it can cause strange issues with GPU power states in some rare cases. If this is the case, change the plan to 'High Performance' and test the game then.

[DKill]

Lobsang1979 wrote...

What is the power plan you are running? If you are running on 'Balanced' (as per Win7 default) it can cause strange issues with GPU power states in some rare cases. If this is the case, change the plan to 'High Performance' and test the game then.

 Hummi have not tried this yet will try and report when i get home this could be the problem 

[Cr8zyEddie]

@ WaltC - yea that's fair, but no I don't overclock anything. I've also checked temps on the CPU and GPU so I don't think that's the issue. The PSU is 550w and should be more than enough for my system - I might even have another to swap but I'm not sold on it not being software/driver related yet. So I agree - I suspect a driver or something - and I have read posts from people disabling sound and that solved their crashes so...that'll be next on the list to try.

@ Yestisan - I'm at work so can't verify the number of processes atm. I just put Win7 on a few weeks ago - prior to that I played Crysis, Guild Wars with no issues - although I haven't re-installed those under Win7. Right now I have Torchlight and this game. I know Torchlight isn't as demanding but fwiw it runs maxed out (1920x1200 on a Dell 2407) and doesn't have any issues. Maybe I'll put Crysis back on and see but I really think this isn't a heat issue since I've already provided temps in previous posts.

Thanks

Modifié par Cr8zyEddie, 19 novembre 2009 - 04:15 .

[AtraAngelis]

I just wanted to reply here since im Running DA:O under WIn 7 x64 Ulltimate.



E6600 2.4 ghz

BFG GTX260

Nforce 680i sli MB

4 gigs corsair.

Creative XF-I titanium.

PSU 750w

(no overclocking ever on any component)



I have had no issues since installing the game. Played since week after release.



GPU temps. 55-59c under load.

CPU's 40-80% usage depending on point in game.

CPU temp 40-45c under load



MY freind had the game under a WIn 7 system (home ultimate ) with 8800gtx Overclocked and had crashes every 30 minutes of play or so. Removed OCing and ran stable.

[Cr8zyEddie]

Lobsang1979 wrote...

What is the power plan you are running? If you are running on 'Balanced' (as per Win7 default) it can cause strange issues with GPU power states in some rare cases. If this is the case, change the plan to 'High Performance' and test the game then.

Ok, sounds like something new to try.

Thanks!

[Rynocirator]

I have Windows 7 x64 bit
amd phenom II x4 quad core 3.2 ghz (not clocked...just factory default)
radeon hd 3870 512mb (from diamond multimedia if that makes any difference)
and had a corsair VX 550W PSU

I was having the same problem...until my power supply died. I turned it off and it wouldnt turn back on after freezing in ostagar so I think its a mixture of problems with a 3870 and the power supply seeing as all drivers were up to date. I also experienced it with modern warfare 2 as well which leads me to believe that it is an overheating issue. Only difference between this and modern warfare 2 as far as the black screen and looping sound goes is modern warfare would let me play for anywhere from 40 mins to 2 hours before it would freeze and the second and I mean that very second i try to either enter ostagar or load a game where the character is in ostagar it locks up. I dont know whether I should get a power supply with less wattage or more and until I decide that I cant try any of these methods to attempt to fix it...or use my computer.

[Cr8zyEddie]

Rynocirator wrote...

I have Windows 7 x64 bit
amd phenom II x4 quad core 3.2 ghz (not clocked...just factory default)
radeon hd 3870 512mb (from diamond multimedia if that makes any difference)
and had a corsair VX 550W PSU

I was having the same problem...until my power supply died. I turned it off and it wouldnt turn back on after freezing in ostagar so I think its a mixture of problems with a 3870 and the power supply seeing as all drivers were up to date. I also experienced it with modern warfare 2 as well which leads me to believe that it is an overheating issue. Only difference between this and modern warfare 2 as far as the black screen and looping sound goes is modern warfare would let me play for anywhere from 40 mins to 2 hours before it would freeze and the second and I mean that very second i try to either enter ostagar or load a game where the character is in ostagar it locks up. I dont know whether I should get a power supply with less wattage or more and until I decide that I cant try any of these methods to attempt to fix it...or use my computer.

Well that's good info. After I try disabling sound if it's still happening I'll see if I can find a power supply to swap it with as a test. Don't know if I have one of those in the "gear closet" though.

Thanks

[Rynocirator]

I actually just read up on some problems with the 3870 and many claim that the 3870 overheats without telling you its overheating. I have not tried or even heard of riva tuner until now but it seems it should help tremendously if it is overheating. I have been lead to believe the whole problem is overheating and may not have anything to do with the power supply (it probably died because of powering off without proper procedures being performed) but you could try a new power supply just in case. Since money is tight right now for me I cant really test out riva tuner either.

[Rynocirator]

An added note, I dont see how this would make any difference but I guess the people who have windows 7 also have directx 10.1 and it is only compatible with directx 9.0c. I understand that directx 10.1 and 11 are backwards compatible but it may actually cause some problems so maybe downgrade to directx 9.0c is also an option that could be tested because directx 10.1 is a joke and barely anything uses directx 11 anyway.

[Groumph099]

You could also try running ATITool's stress test and see if you get any issues with the video card.

[WaltC]

Cr8zyEddie wrote...

@ WaltC - yea that's fair, but no I don't overclock anything. I've also checked temps on the CPU and GPU so I don't think that's the issue. The PSU is 550w and should be more than enough for my system - I might even have another to swap but I'm not sold on it not being software/driver related yet. So I agree - I suspect a driver or something - and I have read posts from people disabling sound and that solved their crashes so...that'll be next on the list to try.


Thanks

I really didn't think you did much if any overclocking--but I had to check that out anyway... It really is remarkable  how cavalier some people become about overclocking. 

There was a guy who posted a bit after me here who made an excellent point with respect to that--some 3d cards are shipped overclocked "from the factory" so to speak.  That is, the gpu OEM ships the gpu in an overclocked state so that when you get it and install it you *think* you are running at stock clocks when actually you are "overclocked" right out of the box.   The gpu OEM reselling the 3d card may test the "factory overclocked" cards with a handful of games that are popular at the time he ships the gpu that you happen to buy, but that doesn't mean the "factory overclock" will be stable in all the games you buy for as long as you own the card.  Usually these cards are immediately recognizable because they have the word "Overclock" or the initials "OC" somewhere in the name of the gpu itself...  It's a marketing gimmick used to create an impression about the OEM's product that isn't entirely true--even for the so-called "OC" edition of 3d cards, the manufacturer's *default* clock is still the only MHz speed at which the manufacturer (AMD or nVidia) warranties the gpu will run properly.

I also thought the suggestion made to check your power-management profile was excellent as well.  At any rate, you'll want to set that up for performance versus power-saving anyway, assuming you do a lot of gaming with that particular machine. It shouldn't happen in the middle of playing a game like you're doing, but I suppose it's barely possible that the cpu could be suddenly throttling back, or the gpu could going to sleep--because of an errant power-management setting. 

The main reason I suspect it has something to do with either your gpu or your psu is because it happens with regularity for you when playing the game, and when you are in certain points of the game.  We know that this isn't common for most of the people playing the game under the same OS version you have, so I think it's safe to say that what you're experiencing is probably not a game bug.  It's also possible the culprit could be a buggy gpu driver that's doing something DAO doesn't like.  Anyway, best of luck to you--sounds like you are on the right track...!

Modifié par WaltC, 19 novembre 2009 - 06:27 .

[MarcAntony]

Once again, most all of these problems are stemming from the game going balls to the wall on your CPU. It is pegging people's CPUs to 100% constantly and that is a huge problem. But for some reason, people do not want to believe that "their system can't handle it".



Its nothing to be ashamed of as the fact of the matter is, when an application like this is malfunctioning and raping your CPU like it is, it puts incredible strain on many parts of your system - most notably the CPU itself, and the PSU.



The Intel stock cooler is a piece of junk, so that is why sooooo many people are having this problem is because the stock Intel and AMD coolers aren't quite capable of this kind of load and heat generation. So what happens is that not all CPUs (even ones of the same model) are not created equal. Some can handle it and some can't /shrug. Same with PSUs.



And trust me, at full load like this game is doing, due to a coding/programming problem, your components can go from happy and cool to screaming in hellish pain in a matter of seconds. The problem you are having has a 90% probability of being caused by the "100% full-load problem". It could be either the CPU or PSU that is collapsing under the stress.



If I were you, and anyone else having these issues, I would send tech support an email (or call) and report that the 100% load problem is ruining your ability to play to ensure that the patch is their top priority (as it should be). The load issue is causing most of the problems seen in the forums of crashing, BSODs, freezing, and slowdowns.



But I will tell you one way you can find out if this is the problem - you can download an overclocking stability test called Prime95 and run a 12-15hr Torture test. If your PC passes the test, then you will know that the game's 100% CPU load problem is not causing your headaches. And at this point, narrowing down your problem is precisely what you want to do.



Don't worry, Prime95 does not in any way Overclock your system - it simply tests your system to see if it is stable under load. If it does not pass, please report back how it failed (freeze, BSOD, core1,2,3,4 failure readout from the test, rounding error from the test, etc) and that will help analysis greatly.



GL friend

[MarcAntony]

Oh, and in relation to Prime95.  The torture test will run indefinately.  You do not set an amount of time for it to run - you just stop test when you are satisfied with your stability.  The true test of a system stability is to pass Prime95 for a full 24hours, but since you're not trying to be a power-crazed OC'er   : )  then I recommend 12hours minimum.  Any length beyond that is fine, but not mandatory - any length shorter and you can't be 100% assured of stability. 
You can get the tiny program here  http://mersenneforum...mps/p64v259.zip   <----- 64bit version for Windows

[Cr8zyEddie]

I'm familiar with Prime95 so I'll give it a try. I haven't run any stress tests, well since I first built the system because it's been stable on everything - until now. So what the heck I'll give it a shot too.

I'm not sure how much I can get tested tonight, most likely the quick things like disabling my sound, changing the power profile, etc...quick things. I'll let the stress test run overnight if I have time.

BTW I'm not being ignorant to the fact that I think it's not my system. And I hate saying things like "this is the only game that causes this" but it's true. But when you see people with almost the exact issue on different hardware you have to think that either there is a bug or compatibility problems with drivers or the OS. I really am trying to eliminate my hardware at this point because the symptoms are similar to overheating - just need to find out "what" exactly is causing it.

Also, my system fits into the "reccomended" requirements - better than the minumum - so if the game is causing this much "stress", well that's the games fault, not my system. Or they should post better requirements.

Thanks again everyone

Modifié par Cr8zyEddie, 19 novembre 2009 - 06:51 .

[MarcAntony]

For sure - I'm pretty sure they didn't intend for the game to peg everyones CPUs to 100% like its doing or else they'd proably listed phase-change cooling as a "recommended" requirement



And if you want to just run a super quick stability test, you could opt for IBT. Its not quite as thorough as Prime95, but waaaay quicker. 15 passes recommended. Follow instructions here if you prefer to do that due to time limitations:



http://downloads.gur...nload-2047.html

[Cr8zyEddie]

BTW, if you follow the main problems thread you'll see a LOT of people having my SAME problem with different hardware - that's an AWFUL lot of people with the game crashing within 15 minutes...

social.bioware.com/forum/1/topic/58/index/87251

[Rayne Myria Solo]

I'm..honestly not sure why this big deal about the game "pegging everyone's CPU to 100% load" every game I own pegs my CPU to nearly 100% load (at least 1 or 2 cores). City of Heroes pegs 2 cores to 90% each and the third to about 50, fallen earth pegs all 3 to 95%, dragon age pegs all 3 at 95%. I also routinely do 12-18 hour video encodes, and that definately pegs three cores to 100%. Yeah, your cooling has to be up to snuff, but...that's what prime95 is for. Part of the reason is, DAO is using CPU PhysX (because it honestly doesn't NEED GPU physx, as all it's doing it for are spells, and arrow flightpaths) so that's gonna add a bit extra as well. heck it doesn't support SLI either, and AA by default only goes up to 4x...I've actually been running SLI in 32xQ AA mode, since that way it makes the game look better and actually uses my second card.

[Cr8zyEddie]

Rayne Myria Solo wrote...

I'm..honestly not sure why this big deal about the game "pegging everyone's CPU to 100% load" every game I own pegs my CPU to nearly 100% load (at least 1 or 2 cores). City of Heroes pegs 2 cores to 90% each and the third to about 50, fallen earth pegs all 3 to 95%, dragon age pegs all 3 at 95%. I also routinely do 12-18 hour video encodes, and that definately pegs three cores to 100%. Yeah, your cooling has to be up to snuff, but...that's what prime95 is for. Part of the reason is, DAO is using CPU PhysX (because it honestly doesn't NEED GPU physx, as all it's doing it for are spells, and arrow flightpaths) so that's gonna add a bit extra as well. heck it doesn't support SLI either, and AA by default only goes up to 4x...I've actually been running SLI in 32xQ AA mode, since that way it makes the game look better and actually uses my second card.

I agree - if my temps were soaring that would be one thing. The reason I posted my cores were going to 100% was because it didn't do that until I initiated dialog, and once that happens the computer is soon to lockup. So for this game it seems it is a symptom of something about to go wrong. Plus I'm just trying to supply actual info instead of "my game locks up" posts.

Anyway...headed home so I'll get to test a few things shortly.

[Cr8zyEddie]

Ok, here's is what I tested yesterday. Still running the game in a window at this point. I don't have my logitech usb headphones plugged in.

1) Changed my power plan from Balanced to High Performance. Game still crashed within 15 minutes. I was really hoping this one would work.

2) Disabled my sound in device manager. Reboot just in case - game still crashes.

3) Ran Prime95 all night long starting from 7:00pm to 6:30am this morning (using a torture test setting of In-place large FFT's). Computer was fine this morning - no issues. Again, I was actually hoping to see my computer crashed on this so at least I'd know for sure I have a hardware problem - but it didn't.

So that pretty much eliminates any cpu/ram/mobo stability issues. I suppose there could still be something with the gpu but I've already logged temps during the crash (to a file) and verified they are within reason and other games play fine - see previous posts.

The only thing left to try would be swapping my power supply I guess but I don't have another one laying one with adequate wattage. My current one is 550w and you'd think for my setup that would be plenty - it has been for everything else.

So unless anyone has any other creative ideas I think I'm done doing testing things that should have been done already. Looking at other posts I'm not alone with this and I find it a little hard to believe my computer is at fault. I supplied every test, figure and info we (the community) could come up with and the one remaining factor is the game itself - whether there is a bug or issue with a driver or the OS.

I do really appreciate the really good suggestions people had - it was certainly worth checking things. Thanks again. Hopefully this post will stay alive and this issue will be fixed soon.

Modifié par Cr8zyEddie, 20 novembre 2009 - 01:02 .