Fallout 3 on Windows 7.

Some good stuff there. I added two of your suggestions (Anti-Virus and v-card control panel) to my already stickied Tips on Troubleshooting Game Issues post.

Thanks.

If your game itself isn't loading like you CTD then most of the hardware stuff isn't going to be relative... Usually a reinstall of the game or check for some misconfigured software and you'll be fine. Like in my case I DID read all 40 some pages and tried everything (that wasn't hardware related) and what fixed my issue was for some reason my FO3 was creating a faulty .ini and caused a CTD. It did this even after a reinstall. All I had to do was delete the ini itself and start FO3 because most games autocreate a default .ini when it doesnt detect one. And VOILA, it was fixed.

Even though FO3 is an old game that doesn't mean it's stable.. infact its engine is EXTREMELY buggy. It's not uncommon for the game to crash while leaving cities or entering certain dungeons. Usually this is caused by misconfigured mods or a bad installation. If your computer is up to par and you don't have issues with any other games that you play then there is a verrrryyy good chance its an issue with FO3 itself... There are forums about this all over the place. I highly recommend installing the unofficial oblivion patch among a few other hotfixes from tesnexus. There are THOUSANDS of bugs that are ONLY fixed by installing 3rd party patches.

Freezing Issues

I couldnt find any info in this thread about this issue so ill possibly re-ask

First my computer stats: Asus Laptop, Windows 7 x64, ATI Radeon 5470 1GB RAM, 4GB system RAM, plenty of hard drive space etc..
Bought game over Direct2Drive so i install from files on hard drive

The problem: I launch the game (launcher and everything works fine) and i start a new game; ill get about a minute in and the game will freeze with sound still looping. No response from anything so i usually have to ctrl+alt+del to exit the program. I have tried alot of different things - 1.7 patch, updating drivers, running in XP and Vista compatibility (do i need to install service packs?) and even the codec packs (k-lite) and nothing is working..

Need some help here, im hoping i didnt waste 15 bucks buying this game as this is the only computer i have that can run it. Can PM if you have a good fix.

when i right click on fallout 3 run as admin and troubleshoot copatibility dont show up

Hi lord balsac, did you mean compatibility?

If so - See this tutorial on running in Compatibility Mode.

Win 7 on Laptops with Intel Video Card

okay, it's been a couple weeks since my last message. thought i would update the world on my findings.

Intel Video Cards aren't supported by ATI or nVidia therefore, with an Intel Video Card, you can't play Fallout 3 at all. I tried using Win XP, but had the same problem. So, i contacted Acer support and they explained to me that Microsoft doesn't support any Intel Video Cards if they aren't compatible with nVidia. According to Acer, this is a common problem people get when they buy an Acer laptop hoping to play games on them. I knew i shoulda paid the extra 50 bucks for the Acer with the ATI Radeon card >_<.

now, my only real problem is that i can't find out if my video card can be upgraded to an ATI Radeon >_< that's the hard part cause all Acer support says is "we can't answer that as it voids your warranty." and i keep saying "dude, i paid for a 3 year warranty with The Source cause i don't care for your warranty, just tell me if i can upgrade or not." of course, they just beat around the bush.

anyways, i hope this helps some people with Intel Video Cards who have difficulties playing Fallout 3, or any Windows for Live Games video games. None work cause Microsoft doesn't support Intel Video Cards.

kk, i think i'm just repeating myself now. so, i'll shut up and wander off. Good Luck to everyone with getting their copy to work!

Doesn't work.

I installed Fallout 3 on Windows 7, went into the properties and changed compatibility to run on Windows Vista service pack 3. I have all the game requirements except the high end graphics card. I'm running on low for the quality. It keeps crashing after I hit new game, it crashes at the loading screen. Help please?!?!?
I have the same problem as thunderclap.

KnickKnack said:

I installed Fallout 3 on Windows 7, went into the properties and changed compatibility to run on Windows Vista service pack 3. I have all the game requirements except the high end graphics card. I'm running on low for the quality. It keeps crashing after I hit new game, it crashes at the loading screen. Help please?!?!?
I have the same problem as thunderclap.

Click to expand...

that's also the problem i had. Are you running an Acer Laptop with an Intel GMA Video Card? if so, then give up now. the only solution is upgrading the video card to an ATI Radeon or an nVidia compatible one. Acer will refuse to tell you if you can upgrade your video card or not, so i'd suggest going to an actual computer shop like i plan to.

intel GPUs suck hard time.
You cant upgrade a laptops gpu.
Dont buy a laptop with Intel GMA bla bla etc graphics..cause it will suck nomather what "5000 HD" number it has.
Intel scum should not sell those.
End of story.

i think my disk is defective can i download it off the internet if i have my product code

Final freeze/crash update...

Onet way to fix freezing issues is to enable Fallout 3 to use more than 2gig of RAM...
http://www.sevenforums.com/gaming/309-fallout-3-windows-7-a-44.html#post683129

ALSO...

A lots of (MAYBE ALL:shock Fallout 3 crashes are associated with Fallout 3 sound processing. While I was playing, I was annoyed by the constant audio stuttering. Also, Fallout 3 performance was a little off. I can fix the stuttering by enabling Creative Alchemy for Fallout 3, but that caused this ugly freeze where the CPU goes crazy.

I found this little tool on Steam Forums that replaces the Fraunhofer mp3 codec with an upgraded version.

Stuttering Radio Music- Solution. - Steam Users' Forums

It won't mess up your computer. All you have to do is keep the MadFilter in one location. When you register it, it is constantly linked to that file. If you delete the files, windows will automatically revert to default mp3 codec.

What you will notice is that the sound/audio stuttering vanishes completely. I have also noticed great performance improvement while playing Fallout 3, even with the killer NMC's Texture Pack.

What I am saying is that I have fixed all Fallout 3 problems by using only these two methods and nothing else mentioned on this site.

Hopefully this will help many more.

win32 problam

i cant install fallout3 i keep getting (setup.exe is not a valid win32 application) can some one please help. i am going mad

Fallout 3 not working on windows 7

I installed everything just fine, and i can launch it, but when i select new game, and press yes i get the loading screen for a couple seconds and then a window pops up that says Fallout 3 has stopped working. what should i do?

have you somehow change the default setting of fallout 3.like screen resolution etc? if its so..Try reset the setting back to default

nope thats not it, cuz i just to make sure i reset to default and it still had the same problem

Have you downloaded the patch..latest is v1.7...just be sure to check what version of the game you have.
Secondly I found I got the same message would appear at random times during gameplay. Fallout3 is a buggy as all get out so you wont have a smooth run all the time

Might try looking thru the similar threads listed at the bottom of the page, and see if you can find any solutions. They have a lot of postings, with different problem/solutions in them.

well i kinda did look through most if not all of those threads at the bottom. and i tried most, if not all again, of the solutions they had posted. and no i havent downloaded the latest patch, i've got v 1.0.9 coz i bought it yesterday, i'll try getting the newest version, haha i really hope it works, thanks for the helps

Gud luck mate

not a valid win32 application

i cant install fallout3 i keep getting (setup.exe is not a valid win32 application) can some one please help. i am going mad

Click to expand...

From what I've heard, this is could be a scratched, dirty, or otherwise defective disc. Yeah, that's a pretty lame answer. Are you installing it using setup.exe, or using the launcher? The launcher worked for me, but then I'm on Windows 7 Ultimate 32 bit using Bootcamp.

If anyone is getting "Program too big to fit in memory" then you're probably using a pirated copy. Buy the real thing and you don't get that error.

Oh, and for anyone who cares, Fallout 3 runs just fine* on a Macbook pro 13 inch unibody late 2008 running Windows 7 Ult 32 bit with 2GB memory. Note that Bootcamp does not yet support 64 bit Windows 7.

*Still gets crashes on exit just like Oblivion. Maybe there's a solution, but I haven't found it.