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TF2 Freezes & Sound Loop
Created 26th February 2009 @ 17:09
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I’ve had this problem for quite some time (months), so I thought I might as well see if anyone knows a solution for it.
When I play TF2 I experience a freeze (with sound loop) about 3 times in an hour. It’s very irregular, meaning that sometimes I play 2 hours and there’s no freezes, and sometimes I play 2 hours and there’s 10 freezes. Also, the freezes can last from 1 seconds to 15 seconds. But it never makes TF2 crash.
When the freeze occurs I can’t hear anything from Mumble/Ventrilo… when the freeze stops, I hear what they were saying during the freeze (it’s like it was all recorded during the freeze, and then it’s played back to me when the freeze ends).
Usually when I start TF2 I close most open programs, like folder windows, browser windows, steam friends chats, etc. Of course Mumble/Ventrilo is still open.
As I said, I have had this problem for quite some time now… I had it in Windows XP (32-bit), but I also have it using Windows 7 (64-bit).
I had it with the all settings set to High, and I still have it using an fps config + directx 8.1.
I also have it in Quake Live… Here it’s actually much more frequent. I tried playing for 2 minutes – I got 3 freezes (each lasted ~15 seconds) and it eventually crashed. See a vid of it here [11 MB].
There’s no freezes when I’m just using my computer to surf the interwebz etc., and I’m also not experiencing freezes in Mirror’s Edge.
So… What is causing these freezes? And how do I fix it (what software do I install/uninstall, which hardware parts do I upgrade)?
I really hope someone can help me as this is getting to a point where it’s not fun playing anymore.
My hardware
CPU: AMD Athlon 64 3700+ (single core)
Ram: DDR1, 2GB
GFX: XFX nVidia 9600 GT
Disk space: 334 GB free out of 1100 GB (150 GB free on the TF2 partition)
Power supply: NQ-4001AT http://www.northq.com/products/powersupply/nq4001at.html
It’s a NorthQ 4001AT: http://www.northq.com/products/powersupply/nq4001at.html
As the most of my computer (cpu, mainboard, hard drives, ram), it’s almost 3 years old.
As a side note: Within the last few months I have run memory tests for my main memory and my gfx memory, without finding any errors.
I’d upgrade it, i got some seriously messed up stuff like my CPU over heating etc when i had my old psu.
Try downloading SpeedFan http://www.almico.com/sfdownload.php
And try watching that while playing a game, maybe your CPU is to slow? Or maybe its just not getting enough power because your PSU is dieing :?
Just my 2 cents from a non-techy ^^
— EDIT
If you do use that SpeedFan use the Exotics page and organize it :> saves effort ^^
Neither was I :s
The occassional blue screen etc though but if your whole computer is freezing up then it must be your CPU :S But then i would expect TF2 to be alot worse than Quake Live…
Old and knackered PSUs can quite often cause this kind of problem.
Is there any audible clicking sound when the machine freezes?
Also:
The minimum power supply requirement for that card is: 400W Minimum recommended power supply with a total +12 Volt current rating of 26 Amp Amps.
Your psu only supplies 18.8 combined amps, a little too low.
Also SpeedFan shows how much V/W your PSU is giving out :>
I just tried playing Quake Live in window-mode, and when the freeze occurred I could easily alt-tab to another application and it worked fine. When I alt-tabbed back to the Quake Live window the sound loop continues.
So that suggests it isn’t the CPU freezing.
So your convinced its not the psu then?
Also has the 9600GT got any dirt buildup or dust clogged in the cooling fan? This will put additional strain on the psu as the fan needs more power to do the same job.
i don’t know how to fix it but i have the same issue.. just not as often as you do i think. Difference is when it happens to me i can still speak and hear things from mumble/vent.
Basically I would start by:
1) Reseating the cpu cooler. Remove the cpu cooler and then remove any gunk between the cooler and the chip itself, using an alcohol based cleaning solution. Then put the cooler back using a third party heat transfer agent such as arctic silver.
2) Clean all fans/heatsinks. Remove all dust and spurious items from the heatsinks and fan blades. Also clean any fan filters inside the case you may have.
3) Reseat all PCI/PCI-E cards. Make sure nothing has popped out or moved.
4) Try the system. If the freezing persists its probably time to look elsewhere, i.e. psu.
guess it’s your HDD or even mainboard. Had similar problems with old hard disk, after disk change it was better for a few weeks, then it was there again and I replaced mainboard and the loops didn’t occure anymore.
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