Games locking up in Windows 7 x64

[EXCellR8]

I've been using Windows 7 (64-bit) regularly for some time now and I've installed several newer games to play on the OS. The problem is that I am having hard lockups when running games in DirectX 10 and I can't figure out why. I have two 4870s in CFX which are running the latest drivers (catalyst 10.1) and I just installed the latest version of CCC today.

At first I thought that it was just CrossFireX causing the hard lockups (even though Mass Effect 2 ran close to perfect) so I disabled it but the problem persists. Every time a game freezes up, like BioShock 2 or Call of Pripyat, I need to manually restart my computer because it becomes unresponsive! The trend seems to be random but I haven't been able to collect ANY data on this because the games do not just crash. It's one thing if they crash to desktop but I hate having to restart my computer when it's locked up.

Any suggestions on what to try or am I just gonna have to wait for some patches? Thanks in advance for any info...

 

[Ritwik7]

Hi ExcellR8. Are you having these hard lockups after installing Catalyst 10.1 or has this been a persistent issue?

Any chance that it could be your PSU?

 

[EXCellR8]

Nah I was having these lock-ups before 10.1, and my power supply is plenty capable of powering both of my cards. The problem seems to be related to MSVCR80.dll but I haven't been able to install the Visual C++ 2005 Redistributable SP1 packages on my computer for some reason. I tried both x86 and x64 applications but they don't work, stops at Gathering required information and then quits apparently.

The only progress I've made is that BioShock 2 doesn't lock the computer up... just stops responding and I gotta terminate the process. Much better than improperly restarting but it's still broken. I'm just waiting on game fixes at the moment since there aren't any hotfixes or patches related to my specific problem.

I also swapped the order of my cards, since I thought it may have been a heat issue (older 4870 runs slightly warmer) but same result. Same events logged in the Event Viewer pointing to that DLL but I can't reinstall the packages so I'm stuck.

 

[Ritwik7]

You could try reinstalling the OS and see whether the issues still persist. I've been using Windows 7 Ultimate 64Bit for over a month and I haven't had any issues like this. Only with S.T.A.L.K.E.R. - Clear Sky I had a few lock ups and crashes.

 

[EXCellR8]

It's not really worth reinstalling the entire OS over... worst case I just have to reinstall the games on XP since I dual booted 7. I really wanted to see the games in DX10 but oh well. I did manage to get the 2008 redistributable packages to install, but it didn't really help. I guess I'm out of luck... possibly until some patches are released for each game. I was able to play through Mass Effect 2 without it locking up, but it did crash every now and then. So my guess is that reinstalling the OS will yield the same results.

 

[SilverCider]

I have very little experience with multi-GPU setups, but have you tried running your system with only one card installed to see if you get the same lock-ups. Also if it persists with the card you leave in try swapping it with the other to see if there are any issues with one the cards.

 

[EXCellR8]

The lockups persist even with just one card, but it seems to be related to DX10 since DX9 works fine for the most part.

I also swapped the order of my cards, since I thought it may have been a heat issue (older 4870 runs slightly warmer) but same result. Same events logged in the Event Viewer pointing to that DLL but I can't reinstall the packages so I'm stuck.

pretty much the same thing as swapping cards and/or leaving one out, I even took the CF bridges off when it was disabled just in case. I'm convinced it's just a problem with the games/OS and that my hardware is fine.

 

[EXCellR8]

Might as well post the conclusion to this problem...

I'm 99% sure that having crossfire/cat ai enabled with my current drivers is what was causing the games to lock up. I have since been able to run all games using a single card; without any serious problems. I tried updating to 10.2 drivers recently but I got BSOD and then Windows 7 reverted back to 10.1 (driver 8.690.00) automatically. Not sure what that was all about but I'm just gonna wait for 10.3 and give CF another go. At least DX10 works with one card...

Thanks for the input.

 

[Ritwik7]

Just wondering ExcellR8, it seems that ATI will now mainly concentrate on improving performances of the 5000 series card, including the CF support for them. Since we're using the 4000 series can we expect any benefits with new driver releases?

 

[EXCellR8]

Not sure how to answer that, but the main reason I update my display drivers is for compatibility reasons. Like when a new game is released and I'm having problems I will typically update, otherwise I leave them alone. Keep in mind not every single Catalyst release features a new display driver. Sure, the version number may change but it's usually added support for new games/features and most of it is recycled. Performance benefits rely heavily on your OS and other hardware as well...

It's always good to update your drivers though, but it's not all that necessary unless you are having problems or you find and compatibility issue. Sometimes new drivers will even prompt less performance so it can be a little tedious finding the right one. I wouldn't make such a big deal over a few lost frames or something but like I said I mainly update for compatibility purposes only.