Hardware Issues: Tips/Tricks/Solutions

[LegSpinner 0]

I think I may have a hardware problem.

Basically, the game won't run, the problem was obvious, I was using a DVD-RW (But not so obvious), so I installed a normal DVD drive, it worked, after a week, it stopped working , and that is where i'm stuck.

I don't believe any system info is really needed, I just need to know if anyone else has heared of the problem, but if further information is required to fix it, i'll be more than happy to reply.

It may well be a software issue, but I can't find any traces of the problem anywhere else, and it's a new PC, so I assume it's hardware related.

Any idea's?

[ArMoGaDoN 0]

Does sound like hardware - check yer my computer properties / hardware manager tab - see if all looks okay in there.

Can you play normal CDs and DVDs in that new drive you installed?

Have you installed any game(s) that use starforce protection (heard some horror stories about the lifespan of some drives when combined with that protection software)?

[LegSpinner 0]

Every game runs on that drive, and on my DVD RW drive, apart from Armed Assault and Silent Hunter 4, which is interesting, as I have read that they both use the same anti copying system, which i'm sure is linked to the issue.

My computer says that both my drives are working properly.

I haven't seen Starforce protection, I haven't installed many games (New PC) so I can list them.

Silent Hunter 4

Swat 4

Battlefield 2

ICC 3

World in Conflict

Conflict Denied ops (Don't ask)

and Operation Flashpoint+Resistance

And ArmA obviously, anyone else had any issues.

I'll search for traces of Starforce but if anyone know's if any of the above games have Starforce on them, let me know.

But I still need help.:)

It may well be something else, any idea's on what I can do?

[Sennacherib 0]

i have almost the same problem. i can read the other games, but not arma-arma queen's gambit.

i use a dvd drive (1 1/2 years old). that could be the problem. I mean the dvd drive can be older ?

my copy is Arma gold edition.

[ArMoGaDoN 0]

Dunno which games sorry.

But, if you use the 1.09b patch, or later version when it arrives, for ArmA then you don't need the disk in the drive any more. So you could still be playing...

[MehMan 0]

Does anybody know if ArmA runs any differently on Nvidia 174.53 drivers?

[Chaos 0]

I have a big problem. At first my hardware:

- CPU Intel E2160

- 4GB DDR2 RAM PC-6400

- XFX GeForce 8600 GT @512MB RAM

- latest detonator drivers from NVIDIA

- ArmA Version 1.11

My problem is: when i start arma normal in fullscreen mode, its crashes to desktop after 10-20 minutes (1.11) So i need to start it in window. In window the game is running without crashes or bigger problems, but i have very embarrassing issue with night. I can´t see anything in the night when the moon is not up. I tested all daytimes and moon positions and found out, that ArmA is 60-80% darker than in fullscreen mode. I adjusted "brightness" and "gamma" for maximum in the options, but this had not solved the problem.

So i can´t play night missions !

[paragraphic l 2]

You should check if you've adjusted your desktop brightness and gamma somewhere, as ingame gamma isn't working in window mode. I got a brighter game in window mode.

[Chaos 0]

Yes, changing brithness of the desktop can fix the problem but so i become new problem - when i editing a night mission and switching between the game and editor, all objects in editor are too bright and i can´t see something. And its not really usefull when i will switch between game and game-editor 100 times on hour.

[paragraphic l 2]

I meant to check if it wasn't allready adjusted, if normal desktop gamma and brightness still give you too dark game then there probably is some other problem

[Chaos 0]

No, the desktop settings are default. I think this is another bug in ArmA.

[HGuderian 0]

Hi.

Does anyone knows how to move the MFT files in the inner HD's space with Ultimate Defrag?

I've installed a 2th HD to store only Arma and I've defragged it with high performance system but MFT stay anyway in the outer.

Thanks

[oChaos.DNJ 0]

I dont think you can move or defrag the MTF.

[HGuderian 0]

I don't know, but in the other HD (C:) at first defrag MFT has gone in inner traces.

[FritzDaKat 0]

Pre-SP1 example Scenario.

Playing Quarantine v2.2 with RH_Pistols, Yomies, MAP_Misc and GDTModGrass,

Display Settings: 800*600*32, All quality settings at lowest or disabled, view distance under 700.

While in any area of Corazol my fps never peaked over 18fps, and would tank out at about 4 if I tried anything as foolish as looking over my shoulder. Driving thru was virtually impossible without multiple crashes.

Post SP1

I can now play with the same fps results mentioned above, but thats with all display options maxed and a view distance of 2500m @ 1024*768*32   AND another odd thing is even thou the fps has remained the same, I get much less studder as a result of driving or changing my view direction, drops now seem to last miliseconds as opposed to seconds, world of difference.

Starting to run like a well oiled machine again, not like a third-hand power tool that you bought when you went to visit your Old Unkle Ned' in Nebraska and he took you to that Flea Market.  

P.S. PC Wizard is a great tool for digging up all your system specs, also has alot of handy hardware benchmarking and performance tests.  

Running Vanilla and playing Seek & Destroy is amazing, still maxed I'll get 20's to 30's running full steam and checking my flanks thru large patches of trees and dense forests, driving thru cities is no longer a slide show for me and low altitude chopper flight (15-31m) is now,managable. On the OS side, even my mouse is responding more fluidly than before.

Like a big, heavy weight has been taken off.

***EDIT***

Ok, so SP1 offers a vast improvment in performance, however I now find myself with a new-yet-much-less-annoying issue.

After about 45 minutes or so of play, framerates are showing to be lower on average, yet there is no visible impact on game performance (Pre-SP1,  drops of this magnatude were quite noticable, now it seems as if they're being "smoothed over" or buffered better than before) and mabey once in a 5 minute period I get a "long" pause (5-10 seconds) followed by the black loading / "receiving" screen, then the game returns to normal.  Guess it's time to try updating the DX9 component.

Still, a vast improvment over where I was prior to SP1

Update / Afterthought

Ok, at this point I've updated DX, updated and rolled back Video and sound drivers 8 way's till Sunday and done everything but Sacrifice a Virgin to the Powers that be, but I keep getting these Display driver stopped responding issues, or the screen whites out, or blacks out, or the system reboots itself (Happened once), or creatures from another dimension invade my ArmA and "mess with the space-time field" etc.. I've got 1 last driver to check in the 162.22 thru 174.85 series (WHQL & betas alike...) at which point I was originally planning on removing SP1 untill a hotfix comes along and just hoping things would return to normal.

But then I realized, " Not once have I seen anyone suggest an update to the Motherboards chipset or .inf files!" And being as this is the very dancefloor where hardware and CPU come together to do their thing, it controlls how the CPU adresses USB, AGP and PCI slots etc. just mabey an update here could help iron out alot of the issues with drivers hanging and I/O not running as smoothly as it should.

 If anyone else wants to try it, remember that these updates are intended to be installed prior to instalation of other drivers and best bet would be to uninstall current sound & video drivers prior to insalling the updates. Also if afterward you have issues with USB or whatnot, reinstall those as well (Be sure to have latest drivers on hand before attempting this...) I noticed the last update for my chipset was released shortly after I bought my system, so hopefully it will provide better handling of my PCI-e slot **Crosses fingers**

***Update***

Noted some minor improvments in overall system performance after updating the chipset inf files, but not as much as I had hoped for, still, beats running out and paying for a dual core processor.  

Using the TDR delay "tweak" in my registry, I was able to greatly reduce the occourence of the "nvlddmkm.sys has stopped responding" error (Usualy only happens once an hour or less now.)

Quote[/b] ] FOR VISTA ONLY

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\GraphicsDrivers]

"UseXPModel"=dword:00000000

"DxgKrnlVersion"=dword:00001053

"TdrDdiDelay"=dword:00000012

"TdrDelay"=dword:00000012

italicized = original, bold text = added.

The 169.44 drivers are currently the most stable for me i.e. No gamma screw-ups (no blackouts / whiteouts)

Added  the -zprime command line switch after the -nosplash switch, the result on performance being the 169.44 drivers perform with nearly the same fluidity as that of the 174.74 & 174.85 drivers with no notable loss of visual quality (At least in my eye's.) Sorry for no FPS stats, but I've got fraps off for now, Perceived fps is more important than literal as I'm strictly an SP player (Dial up)

Time ta' blow up some Yomies

[LtUlrich 0]

Hey all; I admit I haven't read this entire thread but I want to get this out there.

ArmA International Sprocket 1.12b

AMD X2 5200+ @2.6Ghz

1GB RAM

ATI x1650 Pro w/512 8XAGP

WinXP/DX9

Catalyst 8.4 with CCC

No O/C

Okay so I'm using dual lcds and their native res is 1280x1024.  This means that my in-game res is 2560x1024.  Lots of pixels to render.

I was pleased to see the patch work that was being done on ArmA so I reinstalled it after a somewhat fresh XP install.

At first I was having strange graphics anomolies so I read this thread.  I set my AGP Aperture from 128 to 256 and I was able to select a higher texture setting and my framerates improved, though I was still getting anomolies.

I did some research on Vsync and was extremely displeased to find that ATI has disabled Vsync control in order to cater to Vista users.  I downloaded ATITrayTools and was able to disable it.  No more anomolies and no negative side effects, plus an increase in framerate.

I want to thank Maruk for showing us Contig.exe.  For ease I copied it into the ArmA folder and made a shortcut that goes like this:

"C:\Program Files\Bohemia Interactive\ArmA\Contig.exe" -s *.* -v

I will probably add this to a batch file so it runs before ArmA every time.

Now here is my issue.  I was relatively satisfied with my framerate/settings so I joined an empty server with a low ping for the first time.  I had all kinds of audio issues, which I'll hash out on my own, but more importantly, ever since, loading menus and the map take forever, in editor mode and sp.  I haven't begun trying to solve this problem yet, and I know the first step is to clear my MP Cache, but I was hoping for an explanation as to why this occurs.

As an ATI AGP user I have to point out that my rates are always better with NO AA and NO AF.  Also changing my texture settings has little effect, and I believe this is because I have 512MB vram.  Also Catalyst A.I. DISABLED improves my framerate.

When buying a medium-grade card to go into my aging AGP system, I'm really glad I got a card with 512MB vram.

Anyway I want to pat BI on the back for the work they have been doing; I'm seeing MASSIVE improvements in the areas of performance and AI since v1.05.  Thank you for fixing the throttle in the A10.  Now we can taxi!

A couple things that are bugging me (pardon the pun) include the LOD dropdown, the sound, and again the issue with loading menu and map.  Sorry I don't have more specific complaints but I'll take any advice you have.

The LOD problem - to me - means that a building 15m away is extremely blurry until I stare at it for a couple seconds, then it magically clears up.  Meantime, buildings that are 50m away are sharp and pretty.  I would prefer to be able to disable all performance dropdowns so I can identify bottlenecks.

Do we still have a -nomap switch?  What's -maxmem?

I'm seeing lots of interesting settings for LOD in ATITrayTools, but I'm kind of clueless in this area so if someone knowledgeable could talk about that I'd appreciate it.  I understand there are ArmA application settings for this but I don't know where they are.

Anyway I could go on and on but I'll keep reading in the hopes that I can learn more about onboard sound issues and LOD but thanks for reading and thanks in advance for your valuable advice.

[motorcop_dude 0]

Hi,

I have the following specs and I want to upgrade the video card and would like suggestions on that and what else I should add, ram, etc, to make arma run on high with nive view distance. Thanks in advance...

Current System

HP PAvilion

AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual

Core Processor 3800+ 994 MHz

2.00 GB Ram

ATI Radeon X1600

Windows XP SP2

Plenty of HD space

I want something to work specifically with Arma and I would like everything pretty much on full, and at least 4000 plus view distance or more. I would like to know also what it should be so there is no lag in wooded / forest / urban areas, I mean if you have lag it is not playable period.

Thanks

[Lepardi 0]

Hi,

I have the following specs and I want to upgrade the video card and would like suggestions on that and what else I should add, ram, etc,  to make arma run on high with nive view distance. Thanks in advance...

Current System

HP PAvilion

AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual

Core Processor 3800+ 994 MHz

2.00 GB Ram

ATI Radeon X1600

Windows XP SP2

Plenty of HD space

I want something to work specifically with Arma and I would like everything pretty much on full, and at least 4000 plus view distance or more. I would like to know also what it should be so there is no lag in wooded / forest / urban areas, I mean if you have lag it is not playable period.

Thanks

You would need a whole new PC for that.

[HGuderian 0]

Hi to all! I'm asking for a solution to this problem:

without any warning my pc screen suddenly shows horizontals short lines ordered by columns; the resolution can't go over of 640x480 at 4mb (instead of the previous 1280x1024 at 32 bit).

I've tried to reinstall the graphics drivers and the videocard but nothin solve this problem.

My specs:

MB M2N sli Asus

CPU Athlon fx 64 dual core 6400 (not overclocked)

RAM 4Gb Corsair

Vc Nvidia Geforce 8800GTX 768Mb (not overclocked)

I fear that the Vcard is gone...but if it 's another prob and someone and knows the origin and solution)...plz help.

Excuse me the incorrect english.

Best regards

[Shashman 0]

Sounds similar to what happened to my 8800GTS 320mb. Basically, I experienced visual artefacts on my screen. Vertical lines, red lines, red dots, to the point where even the POST screen is affected by artefacting. I've bought a new graphics card and I hope it's my graphics card that was the problem, and not a RAM or motherboard issue, which will be much more expensive to repair.

Do you experience these artefacts in other applications, or is it just ArmA? Mine happened everywhere.

[HGuderian 0]

No, even from the first bios screen.

But I've "solved": it's gone the videocard, so I'm going to change it (already guaranteed).

However thanks for the reply

Regards

[gsleighter 0]

Just wanted to post that new beta drivers have been released for Nvidia cards on 9-25. I'm using a BFGtech 8800GTX 768mb, and I'm getting a substantial fps boost with the new drivers. Just wondering if anybody else has tried them yet?

[kuIoodporny 45]

I'm preparing to buy an GeForce 9800 GFX card. This topic doesn't seem to contain any information about this GPU. Are there any lucky (?) owners of these cards that can post his/her experiences with ArmA running on it?

edit: looks like I missed the correct thread again.

[Nightjay0044 1]

Hi all, I really have poor performance on my pc specs. I don't really have the money yet to buy all new processor and graphics card and upgrade memory let alone a new whole computer.

My ArmA game wont even run. I insert it into the DVD-CD Rom deal and the screen changes displays and makes everything bigger while it tries to load and then it says it wont work because of time delay or time elapsed or something, is it because of my DVD-ROM drive to, which I do have?

It just stinks my pc can't really support ArmA. So any solutions, suggestions on this issue?

Thanks all before answering...

[flashbang151 0]

Hi,

i have the same problem.

I always thought that Arma can't run faster with my specs but i started the armamark test today: 1895.37 points.

My specs:

AMD X2 4200

2 GB RAM

ATI 4850

WD AAKS 500GB >90MB/s