Freezing Problem with Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion

I've exhausted every avenue I can think of to try and find a solution to the problem that I've been having with Oblivion with no luck thus far. I was hoping someone here might be able to help me out.

I just bought Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion GOTY edition off of Steam. My computer has all of the necessary specs to run it, and when I start to play it, it will run just fine for about 5 or 10 minutes; no problems at all. Then, for no apparent reason whatsoever, the game will completely lock up and freeze. It does this every single time I try to play it. Would any of you know what might be causing this problem?

Here are some of my specs, in case they're needed for any reason:

Windows 7 Home Premium, 64 bit
4 GB of RAM
AMD Athlon II P340 Dual Core Processor 2.2 GHz
ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4200 Series Graphics Card
Conexant CX20671 SmartAudio HD Sound Card

Thanks!

Make sure the game is upto date. Just because you got it off of steam does not mean it is upto date,

Just checked, it is definitely up to date; still not working.

Oblivion like Fallout 3 is one of those games that tend to stutter a lot under Windows 7, especially in open areas. I have to same Steam version of the game as you and I stutter as well (see system specs), though I will add that I've installed some high res texture packs so I'm sure that adds to the problem as well.

The best I can suggest is to play with the game settings and try and tweak performance and see if that helps. You could give this guide a look over - TweakGuides.com - Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Tweak Guide

And BTW since you have the steam version it's automatically updated to the latest patch when you downloaded it. No need to patch again.

Good luck.

Tried to do that, still encountering the same problems. It runs perfectly smoothly and still locks up out of nowhere. I suppose it's possible that it's a fluke of nature and there's no way to fix it.

Where are you at in the game? There are some issues with the game that the programers were unable to fix. I know every square inch of that game and know most of the map issues.

josiahpitts said:

Tried to do that, still encountering the same problems. It runs perfectly smoothly and still locks up out of nowhere. I suppose it's possible that it's a fluke of nature and there's no way to fix it.

Tried to do what?

Beta said:

Where are you at in the game? There are some issues with the game that the programers were unable to fix. I know every square inch of that game and know most of the map issues.

I'm at the very beginning. It always freezes right around the part where Captain Renault dies, and the farthest I've made it is through the first door that you can unlock with the iron key.

Ok, so now I know that it is not the game. There is no open issue that I am aware of in that area. It sounds to me like somethings overheating on your computer. Try lowering the settings to the lowest you can. Then create a new game and try to get past that part. Post what happens.

I played the game on my laptop which has a ATI 200M GPU which is alot less powerfull then what you are running.

Wishmaster, the System Requirements are as followed. What you posted is not even close.

System Requirements

512MB System RAM
2 Ghz Intel Pentium 4 or equivalent processor
128MB Direct3D compatible video card
and DirectX 9.0 compatible driver;
8x DVD-ROM drive
4.6 GB free hard disk space
DirectX 9.0c (included)
DirectX 8.1 compatible sound card