Fallout 3 on Windows 7.

brandon1216 · Dec 28, 2009

i just got fallout 3 for my laptop and i have windows 7. when i start the game a black screen appears and says fallout 3 has stopped working. does anybody know ho to fix this

shadowsbane · Dec 28, 2009

Problem solved! For me anyway. Seems the game has an issue with the way it handles processors with more than two cores.

Fallout 3: Video/Display Freezes, sound keeps going

Warluck · Dec 28, 2009

shadowsbane said:
Problem solved! For me anyway. Seems the game has an issue with the way it handles processors with more than two cores.

Fallout 3: Video/Display Freezes, sound keeps going

Glad for you!

I did try this solution even though I have a dual core but so far no luck. I fixed it to only one thread but I still get the BSoD!!! :cry:

shadowsbane · Dec 29, 2009

Well yours is a BSOD problem. Mine was just freezing in the middle of the game. I could still Ctrl+Alt+Del out.

Warluck · Dec 29, 2009

Bon, voilà, here some followup on my case.

Fist thing, I disabled the sound card, some reported problem with 3D sound, to no avail!

Second, I installed latest intel chipset drivers from intel, guess what, BSoD again!

Last I decided to reinstall the whole system (on an other drive...!). Once the system has been up and running I installed two things, first, Virtual Clone Drive to mount the GOTY ISO and then installed the game. No video drivers, no sound drivers nothing at all. I starded the game and observed the freeze/bs a almost at the beginning of the intro even before I have to select the sex of the character.

Last thing I've done is to uninstall Virtual Clone Drive and got the same problem.

Now, the question is, am I missing something or is it really Virtual Clone Drive that even uninstalled is causing trouble..... to be purist I should reinstall and find something else to mount the ISO but .... I really doubt it is the problem....!

sygnus21 · Dec 29, 2009

chev65 said:
According to everything I read about this problem online, if you arrive at the Jefferson Memorial without having it on your quests list, the game will crash on and off for no reason at all unless you either delate the game files or just reinstall the game and start over again.

From what I read, Installing the 1.7 patch after the fact will not fix the problem. Hey don't blame me I'm just repeating what I read. It's a well known bug if you google around a bit.

You still need the patch 1.7 either way but it works much better if you delate the old game save files and reinstall the game then install the patch. It's a known bug with the game and there is apparently no way around it.

To me this is still one of the buggiest games ever but it's not too bad now with the patch on a fresh install. I have been through it start to finish a few times and I took the long way.

I actually played the GOTY edition after the original game. i.e all I did was install 2 disc of the GOTY edition which has the DLC content, made sure the game was patched to 1.7 and the game, and my save files, still worked. Windows 7. so...

As for the buggiest game... that accolade goes to... S.T.A.L.K.E.R :thumbsup:

Warluck · Dec 29, 2009

I wonder if it could be a bad version of the game I am trying to install....!?

BonezOz · Dec 29, 2009

Warluck said:
I wonder if it could be a bad version of the game I am trying to install....!?

Probably not.

I have freezing issues that really annoy me, but they are not as often as they were.

Number one thing was to change it to compatibility mode, I found that Windows XP SP2 or 3 worked well, limited the freezing, which more often than not occurred even before the game loaded.

Next I'm going to try the tricks on: Fallout 3: Video/Display Freezes, sound keeps going

And see if that resolves other issues.

One thing I've noticed playing is that the freezing occurs when either changing from outdoors to indoors, or from one room to another room where it autosaves as you enter.

Just an FYI FO3 is fully patched to 1.7 and all the DLC quests are installed. Made no diff.

Warluck · Dec 30, 2009

Yesterday I installed a version I knew was working on Windows 7 RC 1. On my actual build RTM 6.1.7600 I got the exact same problem than with the GOTY edition.

I will try just one thing before going to PlanB.

I will extract the DVD content into a directory, reinstall the whole system as I did yesterday and will install solely Fallout 3 GOTY and see how it react but my guess is that I will still experience de BSoD...!

PlanB - Install Windows XP SP3 and Hard Dual Boot it when I want to play *sniff* (you can see here how desperate I am to play this darn game...!) Wayyyyy to complicated to install Windows XP with no IDE CD-ROM....

I'm at a halt .... if anyone finds a way to make this game play correctly in windows 7 I'll be glad, until then this game is out on the shelves....

shadowsbane · Dec 31, 2009

I you have a quad-core processor try the solution i posted a page or two ago.

Warluck · Dec 31, 2009

Nope, it is a dual core but I tried it anyway. I installed Vista and I still have the same darn problem... there is something really weird with this and I can't find the correct solution..... I have absolutely no problem with any other softwares or games I use except this game. I thought it could be a hardware issue but since 100% of what I run runs smoothly it is hardly the case. BUG!

smarteyeball · Dec 31, 2009

I have practically no issues with this game aside from it not alt-tabbing properly. It works fine with a quad core :huh:

The dfference to all you guys is that I originally installed it under 7100 and have just copied save games/configs into each build right up to RTM and it's just kept working.

I don't have the GOTY edition, but it is patched to 1.7 and I use Fallout Mod manager for all the DLC.

I'm almost tempted to try a fresh install to see if I can help you guys out....

Warluck · Dec 31, 2009

Yesssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss!

I think I have found my problem since I've been able to play more than 5 minutes, kill one Yog-something, one giant scorpion and 2 deathclaw (one with a shot gun !!!!).

Something in the back of my head told me to have a peek to the event viewer just in case something related to the display would show off. I've found the following : "Le pilote d’affichage nvlddmkm ne répondait plus." Liberal tradiction "Display driver nvlddmkm cease to respond.".

I googled the message and find something about rivatuner and underclocking video cards. I learned that some manufacturers were overclocking there product. I had a look to my video card box and it was stated that the device was actually overclocked....! WOW!

I installed rivatuner and underclock the video card to "normal" setting. Reinstalled everything since I've messed quite a bit with the game, reinstalled DLCs and put back my saved games. Work like a charm, so far thuss.

We'll see what the future bring but I looks like my Freeze/BSoD are things from the past (until the next one!).

I really hope this would help for anyone experiencing this issue.

Haxsys · Dec 31, 2009

From what I can figure, thus far, the majority of the issues that people are having are driver related, or indirectly hardware related.

As Warluck stated, some video card manufacturers will overclock, OR Underclock their cards, and depending on the driver / software being used with that card it could have an unpleasant effect on some games.
FallOut 3 is one of those games. It isn't touchy about CPU speeds, but I've found (through extensive testing) that it does NOT like things like RivaTuner, for example, and other related softwares that "automatically" adjust the speed / frequency of your GPU.

Anyone having BSOD, BlackScreen, or related graphical issues with FO3 (any version) should start by checking your GPU clock speeds, and how they react to being idle, underload, etc. If you find that your GPU is being auto-throttled based on activity, find the software responsible and disable this feature.

I'll keep messing with variables and see if anything else pops up.

~~Haxsys

djcommy · Dec 31, 2009

thanks for the great answer, i am going to look if it's really that what i causing my sexy black screen

Warluck · Jan 2, 2010

*sniff*

I have definetely no luck with this F****** game, now I can play for no more than two or three minutes, each time whether it is a new game or not, I get a major crash and I have to reboot.... Tried it with a fresh install of windows 7 x64 with the lastest or the not so latest video drivers. I keep underclocking my video card but using NVIDIA process instead of third pary software.

Anyone have a solution for early game crash with Fallout 3 on Windows 7 X64 ???

Baggers · Jan 4, 2010

Hi guys, new to the forums here.

After trying for hours with my newly purchased FO3: GOTYE from Steam (Windows 7 Pro x64) I finally figured out something to stop me crashing.

Run the falloutlauncher in Windows XP (Service Pack 3) Compatibility mode, Disable Desktop Composition (also under compatibilty tab in the file properties, this basically disables the aero desktop) and run as admin. These 3 settings seem to have worked fine for me as I was crashing like nobodies business.

I've not needed to change any graphics card settings or anything else. Bethesda say they are no longer supporting it so it's unlikely we'll ever see a patch to rectify the Win 7 x64 issue.

Warluck · Jan 4, 2010

Well, concerning MY problem which it seems unsolvable I think I've found out something verry interesting. It seems I am not the only one complaining about major crash with GeForece 9600. You can have a look on this thread : Problems with my GeForce 9600 GT OC - NVIDIA Forums.

I started a domino game, decided to go back to ATI with the 5750 but guess what, no new video cards offers component tv-out so I had to replace my cable to dvi or hdmi and then my Trinitron 27inch is not hdmi nor dvi compliant so I have to replace my tv for a brand new samsung one.... Did you ever think Fallout cost soooooo much ?????

BonezOz · Jan 5, 2010

Baggers said:
Run the falloutlauncher in Windows XP (Service Pack 3) Compatibility mode, Disable Desktop Composition (also under compatibilty tab in the file properties, this basically disables the aero desktop) and run as admin. These 3 settings seem to have worked fine for me as I was crashing like nobodies business.

But why admin mode if your user account is already admin and you have UAC turned off?

Baggers · Jan 5, 2010

BonezOz said:
Baggers said:

Run the falloutlauncher in Windows XP (Service Pack 3) Compatibility mode, Disable Desktop Composition (also under compatibilty tab in the file properties, this basically disables the aero desktop) and run as admin. These 3 settings seem to have worked fine for me as I was crashing like nobodies business.

Click to expand...

But why admin mode if your user account is already admin and you have UAC turned off?

No idea, but it worked when I tried it and still is.

Fallout 3 on Windows 7.

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