Frequent (3-6 mth) CTD on Arma 1.3b2

[pommiebastard]

Technical Problem

I have a technical problem that I need your help with please.

Game Version & Patch (incl. publisher):

HOI2 DD Arma, patch 1.3 Beta 2

OS & build/SP:

WinXP, SP3

Computer, CPU & speed:

Custom-built desktop, AMD Sempron 3000+ 1.80 GHz

RAM:

2.00GB

Free HDD space:

39.7GB

Video (brand, model, driver, memory):

ATI Radeon 9550 / X1050 Series, driver ati2dvag.dll version 6.14.0010.6734 (English), 256MB

Sound (brand, model, driver):

SB Live! Wave Device, driver emu10k1m.sys version 5.12.0001.3300 (English)

DirectX Version:

DirectX 9.0c (4.09.0000.0904)

Other:

I read the stickies but I still have the following problem:

* Despite the fact that the patch I'm using is reported to be the most stable one, I get relatively frequent (every 3-6 mths game time) CTD, usually triggered either from the Production or the Technolog screens.

I am relatively used to working round CTDs on some of my Paradox games, but the frequency on what's apparently the most stable of the various patches for this surprises me. Don't know if I need to update my DirectX or anything? Any suggestions?

 

[Pal]

Well, the 1.3b2 never ever crashes for me, so it looks as if this is an issue with your machine. The ATI graphics cards usually come with the ATI cataclysm center, which is a known source of instability. Try to disable that one. Also, did you already try a reinstall? Sometimes there's just one single bit messed up in the installation, which can cause a lot of mischief...

Sorry for not being too helpful, but others will surely chime in soon.

 

[kezardinjnr]

- do you get the correct checksum (PHVR) when you start the game ?

- do you ALT-TAB in and out of the game ?

- have you installed any hacks or MODs ?

- have you tried the game using counters instead of sprites ?

- before starting the game disconnect from the internet and disable everything you can on the task bar - this includes things like anti virus utilities, malware sniffers, disk utilities, browsers and multimedia programs.

 

[pommiebastard]

@Pal - It's a clean install (I accidentally got rid of the old install, which I'd given up on ages ago for roughly this reason, a few months ago). What on Earth is the ATI "Cataclysm Center" when it's at home? (I don't have any ATI apps that I'm aware of running as standard - there's nothing in Startup, no icons in the system tray, though there are 2 processes in Task Manager - 2 instances of "ati2evxx.exe", each pulling about 4MB of Mem) - If it's something that gets going in the background, how would I go about disabling it?

@kezardinjnr - I do have the correct checksum; I don't Alt-TAB in and out of the game; I have no hacks or mods installed (unless you count Arma as a mod); I haven't tried counters, as I dislike the damned things so much I'd rather play a buggy form with sprites than a clean form with counters; I hadn't tried playing totally offline and with all background processes down, but will give that a go this evening and see how I get on.

Thanks for the suggestions so far...

 

[pommiebastard]

@kezardinjnr - no luck with trying it with the internet connection off and all virus-checkers down. Though it did at least vary the CTD this time by doing it from the strat map. Got an hour and a bit's game-time in, anyway. Think Pal might be onto a more promising line with the suggestion about something on the ATI card.