Hello,
Thank you for contacting Steam Support.
Please complete each of the following steps, making sure to reboot your computer and to try launching the game after each step is complete. These issues have been found to be some of the most likely causes of the error you are receiving.
1. Update all video card and motherboard drivers, including your motherboard's BIOS. *NOTE* Be sure you are using the driver removal tool on your video card manufacturer's website to fully remove the old drivers before installing the new one, this step is necessary!**
If you are not sure how to update your video card or motherboard drivers, please see these knowledge base articles:
Title: Updating Video Drivers
URL:
http://support.steampowered.com/cgi-...hp?p_faqid=422
Title: Motherboard Information and Drivers
URL:
http://support.steampowered.com/cgi-...hp?p_faqid=193
2. Download and install the most up to date version of DirectX. The latest version can be found on Microsoft's DirectX website:
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/directx/default.mspx
3. Download the latest drivers for your sound card. Please visit your soundcard manufacturer's website (ie:
http://www.creative.com) to find driver updates that may fix issues with Valve games. If you are using on-board sound through your motherboard, then drivers will be located on your motherboard manufacturer's website.
4. Run Windows Update, located in your Windows Start Menu under "All Programs". You can also run Windows Update by visiting:
http://update.microsoft.com/windowsu....aspx?ln=en-us
5. If none of the above works, disable the soundcard via device manager and try running the game. Please see this Microsoft Windows article for more information about disabling a device:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/310126/
If you still have the same crash after completing these steps, then please try the following:
6. Right click the game name in the "My Games" menu in Steam, select "properties," then "launch options." Add the following line in the text bar for launch options:
-nosound -window -dxlevel 70 +mat_forcehardwaresync 0
If that launch option works, then remove -nosound and set the DirectX hardware sound acceleration to "BASIC." If you are not sure how to lower the hardware acceleration level, please read this Microsoft article:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/190900/
7. You will also want to run a memory test to be sure your RAM is not faulty. One popular free test application is linked below:
http://www.memtest86.com/
8. In addition to checking your RAM, you will also want to verify your RAM's timing matches what it is set to in the BIOS. You will need to review what latency your RAM stick (be sure they match, for example: If your RAM is set to 3.0 timing in the bios then you should have 3.0 timed RAM in your PC). If you are not comfortable working in your BIOS, we recommend visiting your Motherboard manufacturer's website for manuals and instructions on how to make changes to your BIOS.
After each step, be sure to reboot the machine and try running the game. If none of the above works, please reply to this message and attach the error logs from whichever game you are attempting to play.
9. Please also run the test specified below to help diagnose the issue:
The test may be run by copying the "steam://support/ ..." link into an Internet Explorer window's Address Bar - Steam will run the selected test and return a page of results (please save the results page and attach it with your reply to this message).
steam://support/?Issues=*
10. Additional Troubleshooting:
Please do not attempt these steps unless you are familiar with the system BIOS.
- Disabling Fastwrites may increase system stability. You should find this feature within the system BIOS.
- If you are using an AGP 8x motherboard with an AGP 8x Videocard, try reducing 8x to 4x.
- Try rolling back your drivers to the previous known good version for your video card.
The following settings are for advanced users, do not attempt if you are unfamiliar with these settings.
AGP Aperture or Graphics Windows Size should be set to 128 or 256
Disable any “Shadowing” or “Memory Hole”
Disable "Cache Video BIOS"
AGP Driving mode should be set to “Auto”
Adjust AGP voltage to 1.6v in Bios
If you are overclocking any hardware components on your computer, please revert the memory timing and voltage to standard settings for your hardware.
Finally, be sure to check your videocard manufacturer's site for any software/driver conflicts that may be known issues with your particular card/driver version:
http://www.ati.com
http://www.nvidia.com
http://www.sis.com
If you have any other questions or you the game will not function after you have performed these steps, please let us know.
