# Constant crashing in Fallout 3



## superduper34 (Nov 3, 2008)

I am sure at least some of you are aware of Bethesda's more recent game, Fallout 3. It is much like a "system hog" as its older brother, Oblivion. I began playing it yesterday.

Well after getting through the initial part, in the vault area and heading outside, I will get random lockups. Usually the game will play for about 10-15 minutes before locking up. Whats interesting here is that I do not get any CTDs or any of that sort, but I will lose control. Sound will still be playing, video will still be playing, but *all of my keyboard and mouse controls will be disabled.* It will not unlock and I will be forced to ctrl alt delete, end process.

Heres the deal. When I installed Fallout 3, it detected my systems horsepower and set my graphics options as usual in today's games. Surprisingly, it set it on high. Now me being the cautious computer guy as I am, I actually put the settings on medium-low because I am indeed on a laptop and such quality as "high" is non existant in Bethesda's system hog games 

I also have done the necessary memory reduction options such as canceling all programs running in the background. Ive installed newest video drivers. And I'm still getting crashes. Whats funny and depressing is the fact that my roommate which also has Fallout 3 is playing it without any lockups on an OLDER version of Inspiron ( with lesser CPU GPU etc) he bought 2 years ago, I bought mine barely a year ago.

So I beg of you: What the hell is wrong with my computer? I cant believe it, he can run the game for hours without crashing yet my more powerful computer can barely run it for 30 minutes without a lockup. Remember, I dont CTD, but I simply lose all control and I must restart. The only thing I can think of is the system overheating, but I do have a cooling pad.

System Specs:

CPU: 2.2ghz Intel Duo Core
GPU: Nvidia 512mb 8600M GT (Integrated)
RAM: 2GB (1.5 /w vid card)

Can anyone please shed some light on whats going on? Thank you for reading


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## Gulo Luseus (May 12, 2007)

Sounds very strange. I think it could well be a hardware problem- have you tried other ops to see if you get the same effect? If graphics and sound are still running fine, there doesnt seem to be an actual game prob as such. Do you play with good venting for the lappy? This may cause excess heat. HAving said that, it might be worth trying an external kboard/ mouse if you havent already, or try the integral kboard mouse if you run on external, this may be part of the problem.

As an aside, my rig flys Fallout 3 on top whack quite happily. Lappys will not be as good as a desktop, for obvious reasons, but I can say that graphically, it is possibly the best I have seen for a long long time. Also the most compulsive!


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## superduper34 (Nov 3, 2008)

If its an overheating problem wouldnt it crash the entire computer? The game doesnt slow down whenever it locks up....my controls will become disabled and the game will still be running smoothly. Really weird.

However, the Inspiron 1520 series is notoriously known for its poor cooling issues. I do have a cooling pad that helps, but it still heats up.

I dont know how using an external keyboard/mouse will help, but I'll try that...I'm down for anything now, the game barely plays for 15-20 min before doing that weird lock up.


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