Stalker: Clear Sky + BSOD = ARGH!!!

[Crittias]

So, I've been enjoying Clear Sky...when I've actually been able to play it.

The game crashed my machine on a regular basis. Sometimes I can play for an hour or two without any issues, but tonight I can't get it to even load a savegame without a blue screen of death.

I mean, wow. I thought BSOD was a thing of the past. I haven't seen one in...a very long time.

I'm running a relatively standard machine, too:
Vista 64
4 GB RAM
8800 GTS 512
C2D 8400
on-board audio

All my drivers are up-to-date. I'm not the only one having similar issues, but its kinda infuriating.

Anyone else having issues? I'm starting to think I'm the victim of a Dispel Magic spell...

[KingGorilla]

What are you running in the background?

Also, do you have a 32 bit version of Vista?

[Mastergeo7]

Well STALAKER is pretty buggy, Can you start a new game? Also check temperatures and Antivirus Software.

[Crittias]

What are you running in the background?

Also, do you have a 32 bit version of Vista?Very little. I've shut down almost every process I can. I don't have 32-bit Vista, but I wouldn't switch my OS for a single game, anyway.

Temperatures on my vidcard are fine. The system runs other modern games (The Witcher & Crysis:Warhead, for example) with absolutely zero issues, so the crashes are Clear Sky specific. Disappointing, because the game is fun when it works.

[KingGorilla]

Check your drivers. A few weeks ago I saw that windows installed Ati drivers over my Omega drivers, hilarity ensued.

I ask about the 32 bit option because there is not much designed for that archetecture. And the way the kernal is designed for V64 has led to innumerable issues.

[Wackman3000]

You get the game via steam? Is it updated all the way to 1.05.5?

[Crittias]

You get the game via steam? Is it updated all the way to 1.05.5?Yes and yes.

[Crittias]

Check your drivers. A few weeks ago I saw that windows installed Ati drivers over my Omega drivers, hilarity ensued.

I ask about the 32 bit option because there is not much designed for that archetecture. And the way the kernal is designed for V64 has led to innumerable issues.Drivers are up-to-date. You're right that x64 can cause some compatibility issues, but this is by far the worst I've encountered.

I ran memtest all day today. No faults. Argh.

[KingGorilla]

When you Blue Screen do you have time to write down the specific error code and message? Cause I am somewhat stumped at this point.

[Schnoogs]

When you Blue Screen do you have time to write down the specific error code and message? Cause I am somewhat stumped at this point.

Are you fluent in hexadecimal? :p

[crazyD]

While this is unlikely, I figure I'll throw it out there. Are you updated to Vista SP1? I was getting constant crashes until I upgraded.

[KingGorilla]

Are you fluent in hexadecimal? :p

Generally it will have a code on top as the name, and then a series of characters on the bottom as the code. I am not fluent, but MS keeps a database of these errors...DICK!

[Crittias]

When you Blue Screen do you have time to write down the specific error code and message? Cause I am somewhat stumped at this point.Next time I get a crash I'll write down the error message. I appreciate the help!

[Atepsflame]

I was having issues with Clear Sky crashing until I patched it yesterday. Haven't had any problems since I patched it though. It's a real shame that such an excellent game has to be so goddamn unstable. Maybe you ought to uninstall and reinstall and see if the problem persists?

[KingGorilla]

Just to hammer it home, try to avoid Vista 64 for the time being folks. There is not much woth having that is made for it, and a lot of shit that you might want that will get fucked up by it.

Crittias, I feel your pain. I do know that there have been a lot of complaints about the stability of v64 Forceware drivers. I would suggest trying the latest Omega Drivers http://www.omegadrivers.net/nvidia_vista64.php
Be sure you completely uninstal the old drivers, reboot, and install these.

[Crittias]

When you Blue Screen do you have time to write down the specific error code and message?
BSOD:
Problem signature:
Problem Event Name: BlueScreen
OS Version: 6.0.6001.2.1.0.768.3
Locale ID: 1033

Additional information about the problem:
BCCode: 124
BCP1: 0000000000000000
BCP2: FFFFFA8006829030
BCP3: 00000000B2000040
BCP4: 0000000000000800
OS Version: 6_0_6001
Service Pack: 1_0
Product: 768_1From WinDbg:
WHEA_UNCORRECTABLE_ERROR (124)
A fatal hardware error has occurred. Parameter 1 identifies the type of error
source that reported the error. Parameter 2 holds the address of the
WHEA_ERROR_RECORD structure that describes the error conditon.
Arguments:
Arg1: 0000000000000000, MCA_ASSERT
Arg2: fffffa8006829030, Address of WHEA_ERROR_RECORD structure
Arg3: 00000000b2000040, High 32 bits of MCi_STATUS MSR for the MCA bank that had
the error
Arg4: 0000000000000800, Low 32 bits of MCi_STATUS MSR for the MCA bank that had
the error

Debugging Details:
------------------


WHEA_ERROR_RECORD: !errrec fffffa8006829030

BUGCHECK_STR: 0x124_GenuineIntel

CUSTOMER_CRASH_COUNT: 1

DEFAULT_BUCKET_ID: VISTA_DRIVER_FAULT

PROCESS_NAME: System

CURRENT_IRQL: f

STACK_TEXT:
fffffa60`005f3958 fffff800`01e1d72a : 00000000`00000124 00000000`00000000 fffffa80`06829030 00000000`b2000040 : nt!KeBugCheckEx
fffffa60`005f3960 fffff800`01f7f3b3 : 00000000`00000001 00000000`00000001 00000000`00000000 00000000`00000001 : hal!HalBugCheckSystem+0x12e
fffffa60`005f39d0 fffff800`01e1d097 : fffffa60`00000c3e fffffa60`005f3bb0 fffffa60`005f3c30 00000000`00000000 : nt!WheaReportHwError+0x243
fffffa60`005f3a30 fffff800`01eb05f1 : 00000000`00000000 fffffa60`005f3c30 fffffa60`005efa00 00000000`00000000 : hal!HalpMcaExceptionHandler+0xf3
fffffa60`005f3a70 fffff800`01eb0435 : 00000000`00000000 00000000`00000000 00000000`00000000 00000000`00000000 : nt!KxMcheckAbort+0x71
fffffa60`005f3bb0 fffffa60`00b977a2 : 00000000`00000000 00000000`00000000 00000000`00000000 00000000`00000000 : nt!KiMcheckAbort+0xf5
fffffa60`0171bce8 00000000`00000000 : 00000000`00000000 00000000`00000000 00000000`00000000 00000000`00000000 : intelppm!C1Halt+0x2


STACK_COMMAND: kb

FOLLOWUP_NAME: MachineOwner

MODULE_NAME: hardware

IMAGE_NAME: hardware

DEBUG_FLR_IMAGE_TIMESTAMP: 0

FAILURE_BUCKET_ID: X64_0x124_GenuineIntel

BUCKET_ID: X64_0x124_GenuineIntel

Followup: MachineOwnerWebpage that Vista points me toward to fix the situation:
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=329284

[Crittias]

I guess my error message didn't shed light on things for anyone. Damn.

[KingGorilla]

I was hoping you would come back, praising the Omega drivers as the next lord of men.

[Crittias]

I was hoping you would come back, praising the Omega drivers as the next lord of men.Well, I'll confess that I've not tried the Omega drivers, primarily because the error message I'm getting seems to point to a CPU/memory error, rather than a vidcard driver issue.

But, I guess it wouldn't hurt to try the Omegas and see what happens, eh?

[KingGorilla]

Because of all the things in the equation that I think you can safely fix, it is the video drivers. Also, most problems end at the processor. It is the work force in there, memory and video problems can often be masked as processor problems. I have seen it myself.

[Crittias]

Because of all the things in the equation that I think you can safely fix, it is the video drivers. Also, most problems end at the processor. It is the work force in there, memory and video problems can often be masked as processor problems. I have seen it myself.Well, I planned on installing the Omega drivers this evening, but Vista won't completely uninstall the GeForce drivers. When I uninstall the newest drivers (178.13) and reboot, Vista auto-installs 175.19 drivers. I have no idea where it's getting these drivers. It's not C:\NVidia, that directory is gone. The only place I can find them is FileRepository, and everything I read online says that deleting files from there is a bad idea.

So, I'm not supposed to install the Omega drivers until the old drivers are uninstalled...which I can't seem to manage. Ideas?

[KingGorilla]

Do you have completely automatic updates enabled? If so, Microsoft will install the first party drivers without telling you. You need to turn auto install off.

[Norse]

There's BSODs in Vista? I thought they removed this way of displaying errors. I've yet not seen one in Vista.

[Crittias]

There's BSODs in Vista? I thought they removed this way of displaying errors. I've yet not seen one in Vista.I can promise you, there are BSODs in Vista. They're rare (Stalker is the ONLY time I've ever seen one) but they're not yet extinct.

[Telefrog]

I can promise you, there are BSODs in Vista. They're rare (Stalker is the ONLY time I've ever seen one) but they're not yet extinct.

Coincidentally, the only BSOD I've ever seen with Vista was when I played the original STALKER on it. Yay for STALKER's shitty instability! It's good to see that it's just as buggy in the prequel.

[Crittias]

Do you have completely automatic updates enabled? If so, Microsoft will install the first party drivers without telling you. You need to turn auto install off.KingGorilla, you are a very smart man. Turning off Auto-updates did the trick. Omega's are installed, and I will test them with Clear Sky later today. Thanks!

[MrSpike]

So I was surfing around and noticed this thread and registered just to post here. I have had the EXACT same problem with my pc and Clear Sky. My current specs are:

E8400 @ 3.7
8GB DDR2-800
HD4870
Vista 64

Before Clear Sky I had two BSOD's with Vista, both where caused by ntune back when I had an 8800GTS 512. After that not a single one until the 20+ I have experiences with Clear sky. I have tried several things from dropping my CPU OC to 0, hiking up the cooling fan on my 4870, reinstalling the game and so far I still get the issue. I can sometimes play for 5+ hours without a problem and then the next day I'll get a BSOD every 20 min.

Anyway, if anyone here knows any secrets to fixing this please let me know. I plan to do an overnight memtest to see how the ram is fairing and maybe even a few more runs through prime95, atitool or other benchmarks to test.

Thanks!

[KingGorilla]

KingGorilla, you are a very smart man. Turning off Auto-updates did the trick. Omega's are installed, and I will test them with Clear Sky later today. Thanks!

If they work, I believe you owe me anal.

[Crittias]

If they work, I believe you owe me a nail.Well, I've had three hour-long play sessions without a single crash. Omega drivers seem to have fixed the issue! I just wish I was aware of the pricetag beforehand, but...well...here you go (bear with me, I'm a little rusty at this):


29(jeez, this is a horrible joke. I apologize profusely)

[KingGorilla]

Woohoo broken hotlinked image buttsex.

[Crittias]

Woohoo broken hotlinked image buttsex.Fixed (all for a terrible pun)

[Crittias]

I spoke too soon. BSOD this morning. Same error.

Oh, well. Maybe I'll table Clear Sky until another patch comes out. Dead Space pickup today.

[MrSpike]

I think I figured out my problem or at least a possibility. Memtest reported errors on two of my sticks so I'm doing more testing on the other two to make sure they are ok. Hopefully it's just bad ram thats causing the errors and I can finally get some good playtime in.

[Slack3r78]

Having issues with my new build. Didn't have time to troubleshoot it, but I'm suspecting it's related to the Tages DRM built into the game since it crashes right as that's trying to run.

Just to hammer it home, try to avoid Vista 64 for the time being folks. There is not much woth having that is made for it, and a lot of shit that you might want that will get fucked up by it.
Unless you intend to run with more than 3GB of RAM that is.

That said, FWIW, I ran S:CS perfectly on Vista x64 before my rebuild.

[Crittias]

I basically gave up. Dead Space and FarCry2 have now taken over as my major time sinks. At least until NaNoWriMo (http://www.nanowrimo.org).

[muddi900]

Off-topic: I just realised I haven't had a BSOD in 4 years. Not even when my mobo was dying a slow horrible death.

[KingGorilla]

Which version of STALKER Clear Skies do you have? It seems I forgot to ask this.

[Crittias]

Which version of STALKER Clear Skies do you have? It seems I forgot to ask this.Whatever version Steam is providing.

[KingGorilla]

Whatever version Steam is providing.

Well there is the problem right here. Sadly, the Steam versions of numerous third party titles are very problematic. There is not much you can do as a remedy to this. The only solution is developers designing more titles with Steam in mind.