My Fallout 3 freezing fix

[86 5.0L]

So I got Fallout 3 last week, eagerly installed it, and right off the bat, freezing, randomly, and no settings would change how and when it happens. I hop online and read about ALOT of people having the random freezing, more inside buildings, well I started noticing a trend, almost EVERYBODY had quad cores, mostly Q6x00, a few others, including my i7 920. I decided to go into my BIOS and disable HT and 2 cores, rebooted, loaded up fallout 3, and now have no freezing issues

 

[knothead34]

i installed the latest patch and still get screen freeze. yeah i have a quad core also.

 

[theNoid]

I have a Q6600, have played about 25 hours and had only 1 freeze.

 

[mr_zen256]

So I got Fallout 3 last week, eagerly installed it, and right off the bat, freezing, randomly, and no settings would change how and when it happens. I hop online and read about ALOT of people having the random freezing, more inside buildings, well I started noticing a trend, almost EVERYBODY had quad cores, mostly Q6x00, a few others, including my i7 920. I decided to go into my BIOS and disable HT and 2 cores, rebooted, loaded up fallout 3, and now have no freezing issues

Interesting. I havent had any freezing issues with Fo3 and the rig in sig. HT and all cores are active. Must be specific to certain CPUs and Mobo combinations.

Actually, come to think of it. The game always freezes when I quit the game (never during gameplay though).

Might try disabling cores and HT when I get home to see if it stops the freeze on exit.

 

[mryerse]

My xbox copy froze on my last night and afforded me a slightly more decent night of sleep.

 

[Mr. Stryker]

Interesting. I havent had any freezing issues with Fo3 and the rig in sig. HT and all cores are active. Must be specific to certain CPUs and Mobo combinations.

Actually, come to think of it. The game always freezes when I quit the game (never during gameplay though).

Might try disabling cores and HT when I get home to see if it stops the freeze on exit.

HT is only on Pentium 4 and i7 processors.

 

[mr_zen256]

HT is only on Pentium 4 and i7 processors.

Really? Interesting. I thought HT was a feature in all Intel CPUs since the P4. Learn something new everyday

 

[Mr. Stryker]

Really? Interesting. I thought HT was a feature in all Intel CPUs since the P4. Learn something new everyday

It was the removal of NetBurst and HT that made Core 2 successful since 2006 until now.

 

[JBark]

I had the same problem with my Q6600, this fixed it right up:

Open the folder My documents / My Games / Fallout3
Edit the file FALLOUT.ini.
Inside FALLOUT.ini look for a group called [general].
Inside the general group, after all the configuration parameters, just copy and paste the following 2 lines:
bUseThreadedAI=1
iNumHWThreads=2

After making that change, never had a single crash/freeze again. Basically does the same thing as disabling the two cores did.

 

[dr.stevil]

I had the same problem with my Q6600, this fixed it right up:


After making that change, never had a single crash/freeze again. Basically does the same thing as disabling the two cores did.

I'll try that later. I've been experiencing some random freezing with the latest patch after an hour of so of gameplay.

didn't want to disable any cores for a fix

 

[Deleted member 201992]

So I got Fallout 3 last week, eagerly installed it, and right off the bat, freezing, randomly, and no settings would change how and when it happens. I hop online and read about ALOT of people having the random freezing, more inside buildings, well I started noticing a trend, almost EVERYBODY had quad cores, mostly Q6x00, a few others, including my i7 920. I decided to go into my BIOS and disable HT and 2 cores, rebooted, loaded up fallout 3, and now have no freezing issues

I have the same problem.

 

[BababooeyHTJ]

Never had a freeze up in FO3 with my Q9650, but I do get the same odd "stutter" if thats what you want to call it that I saw with my e8400.

 

[mr_zen256]

Never had a freeze up in FO3 with my Q9650, but I do get the same odd "stutter" if thats what you want to call it that I saw with my e8400.

There is a fix for the stutter issue. Try the following:

Use FRAPs to determine what your lowest FPS is in game then set "iFPSClamp" to that frame rate. You wont want to go any lower than 30 though.

Edit your FALLOUT.ini (Dont forget to make a backup)
VISTA: "C:\Users\[your username]\Documents\My Games\Fallout3\FALLOUT.ini"
and change iFPSClamp=0 to the framerate determined by FRAPS

XP: "C:\Documents and settings\[your username]\My Documents\My Games\Fallout3\FALLOUT.ini"
and change iFPSClamp=0 to the framerate determined by FRAPS

Now download FPSlimiter.

You need java to run the FPS limiter gui. Browse to "fallout3.exe" and set the FPS limit to the amount specified in "iFPSclamp".

Create a shortcut to the file FPS limiter generates and there you go.

This fix is primarily to resolve the framerate stuttering issue.

NOTE: If you set the FPS higher than the minimum FPS you got from FRAPs the game WILL suffer from slowdowns when the framerate drops below the FPS cap.

Good luck!

 

[BababooeyHTJ]

There is a fix for the stutter issue. Try the following:

Use FRAPs to determine what your lowest FPS is in game then set "iFPSClamp" to that frame rate. You wont want to go any lower than 30 though.

Edit your FALLOUT.ini (Dont forget to make a backup)
VISTA: "C:\Users\[your username]\Documents\My Games\Fallout3\FALLOUT.ini"
and change iFPSClamp=0 to the framerate determined by FRAPS

XP: "C:\Documents and settings\[your username]\My Documents\My Games\Fallout3\FALLOUT.ini"
and change iFPSClamp=0 to the framerate determined by FRAPS

Now download FPSlimiter.

You need java to run the FPS limiter gui. Browse to "fallout3.exe" and set the FPS limit to the amount specified in "iFPSclamp".

Create a shortcut to the file FPS limiter generates and there you go.

This fix is primarily to resolve the framerate stuttering issue.

NOTE: If you set the FPS higher than the minimum FPS you got from FRAPs the game WILL suffer from slowdowns when the framerate drops below the FPS cap.

Good luck!

THANK YOU!!!!!

I literally just tried out the iFPSCLAMP again at 60 and as long as my fps doen't drop below 60, which it does, the game runs like a dream. That fps limiter is going to make all the difference in the world. You are the man thank you.

 

[mr_zen256]

THANK YOU!!!!!

I literally just tried out the iFPSCLAMP again at 60 and as long as my fps doen't drop below 60, which it does, the game runs like a dream. That fps limiter is going to make all the difference in the world. You are the man thank you.

You're most welcome good sir.

 

[BababooeyHTJ]

I just tried it out and it dosen't seem to want to cap my framerate. I can launch the game from the batch file but it dosen't seem to be working for me. Is there something that I'm missing?

 

[Unknown-One]

I had the same problem with my Q6600, this fixed it right up:

Open the folder My documents / My Games / Fallout3
Edit the file FALLOUT.ini.
Inside FALLOUT.ini look for a group called [general].
Inside the general group, after all the configuration parameters, just copy and paste the following 2 lines:
bUseThreadedAI=1
iNumHWThreads=2

After making that change, never had a single crash/freeze again. Basically does the same thing as disabling the two cores did.

Woah, that fixed the freezing I was experiencing in some indoor locations after the latest patch.

Another Quad Core owner here, AMD Phenom II X4.

 

[mr_zen256]

I just tried it out and it dosen't seem to want to cap my framerate. I can launch the game from the batch file but it dosen't seem to be working for me. Is there something that I'm missing?

Try opening the batch file in notepad then copy & paste the info to here.

Its probably something fairly simple.

 

[Deleted member 201992]

I had the same problem with my Q6600, this fixed it right up:


After making that change, never had a single crash/freeze again. Basically does the same thing as disabling the two cores did.

It werks!

 

[dr.stevil]

another "it worked" over here


The game still CTD occasionally when I turn off my 360 controller, but I believe it's a GFW thing, not necessarily a fallout issue.

 

[BababooeyHTJ]

Try opening the batch file in notepad then copy & paste the info to here.

Its probably something fairly simple.

I found a thread about this at XS and someone mentioned that the rar was corrupted and linked to a zip which is working great. Also there is some instructions in the fose readme to get it working with that. The game is running like a dream now. Thanks

 

[mr_zen256]

I found a thread about this at XS and someone mentioned that the rar was corrupted and linked to a zip which is working great. Also there is some instructions in the fose readme to get it working with that. The game is running like a dream now. Thanks

Awesome

Glad to hear it's working! Enjoy

 

[spicey]

There is a fix for the stutter issue. Try the following:

Use FRAPs to determine what your lowest FPS is in game then set "iFPSClamp" to that frame rate. You wont want to go any lower than 30 though.

Edit your FALLOUT.ini (Dont forget to make a backup)
VISTA: "C:\Users\[your username]\Documents\My Games\Fallout3\FALLOUT.ini"
and change iFPSClamp=0 to the framerate determined by FRAPS

XP: "C:\Documents and settings\[your username]\My Documents\My Games\Fallout3\FALLOUT.ini"
and change iFPSClamp=0 to the framerate determined by FRAPS

Now download FPSlimiter.

You need java to run the FPS limiter gui. Browse to "fallout3.exe" and set the FPS limit to the amount specified in "iFPSclamp".

Create a shortcut to the file FPS limiter generates and there you go.

This fix is primarily to resolve the framerate stuttering issue.

NOTE: If you set the FPS higher than the minimum FPS you got from FRAPs the game WILL suffer from slowdowns when the framerate drops below the FPS cap.

Good luck!

Great advice.

I used this when the game came out and it definitely cures the stutter.

FPSLimiter is also useful in other games where you want to keep the framerates consistent and smooth

 

[leSLIe]

indeed using the "bUseThreadedAI=1" and "iNumHWThreads=2" helped with my quad core.

you could also try raising the memory that FO3 uses, if you have more than 2GB or RAM, in the fallout.ini

uInterior Cell Buffer=16
uExterior Cell Buffer=102
iPreloadSizeLimit=262144000

check out Tweakguides for details


BTW, if you use mods and the game crashes when you save, you can fix that by installing the Unofficial Fallout 3 Patch, and running FO3Edit in FO3MasterUpdate mode

 

[stevedave]

Had the same issue but reinstalled seemed to fix it, checking in just encase it didn't.

 

[Acoustique]

iam on a q9400 / gtx275 and yeh it will sometimes play for hours or 5 minutes but it always end with a freeze

ill try that .ini fix tonite

 

[Unknown-One]

I've been doing some testing (with and without the fix) in interior cells I know have the freezing issue. A couple locations that are easy to get to are Jacko's Pop & Gas Shop and inside the Abandoned House on Tranquility Lane.

With "iNumHWThreads" set to 1, 2, and 3, no freezing. As soon as I set it to 4, I froze just a few seconds after entering these locations, every time.

Is it any coincidence that allowing more than 3 threads breaks the game, and the console it was ported from (the XBOX 360) has a tri-core CPU?

 

[Think]

Under Vista and Windows 7 on a Pentium E5200, I was getting freezes every 30 minutes, with or without mods. The game also froze upon exiting every time. A couple of weeks ago I stumbled upon Fallout Mod Manager. By launching the game with that utility, FO3 launches, plays, and exits as it should with no freezing to date.

Even if you're not having issues, if you use mods and/or DLC's, you should get FMM. It's a great tool.

 

[Unknown-One]

By launching the game with that utility, FO3 launches, plays, and exits as it should with no freezing to date.

As the creators of that utility have stated time and time again, launching the game through the mod manager is no different from just double clicking the games executable. It, quite simply, can't be the cause of your reduced freezing.

If you don't believe me, check out their FAQ: http://fomm.wiki.sourceforge.net/FAQ

If I use fomm to manage my load order, do I always need to launch fallout with it?
No. fomm's launch fallout button is provided purely as a convenience, and there is never any circumstance where its use is required.

You probably updated a driver that fixed it.

 

[oldpablo]

I had the same problem with my Q6600, this fixed it right up:


After making that change, never had a single crash/freeze again. Basically does the same thing as disabling the two cores did.

I just saw this thread and I was gonna post this but kept reading and you beat me to it. This fixed it on both my tri-core and my quad-core. I'm kind of surprised this isn't on their support site, I had to do a decent amount of searching before I found this a couple weeks ago.