Random crashing and exit to desktop problems - memory issues

PetriRMD · 08-23-2001, 11:30 PM

Guys,

Petteri wrote a lengthy post random crashing as related to memory issues.

Here's the full post:

//=================

Random Crashes and/or Lockups in Max Payne

Installing the Max Payne patch 1.01 solves a lot of these problems. However, if you still experience this problem, then please read on.

MEMORY ISSUES:

Some of the instructions and suggestions below ask you to change your BIOS settings or remove and replace hardware components in your system. Only do so if you’re ABSOLUTELY sure that you know what you’re doing!!! We cannot be held responsible for any damage that may happen to you or your computer.

It has been found out that on some systems – not many, but some – the cause for this type of problems has been bad memory components and/or an over clocked memory bus. So as a first step make sure that you’re not over clocking the memory bus. If you have both 100MHz SDRAM and 133MHz SDRAM DIMMs in your system then please set the memory bus speed to 100MHz in your BIOS settings. You can skip the next paragraph if you’re not interested why the memory may behave like it does.

The thing with memory components is that when they start failing they may do so only when running a particular application. Other applications seem to run just fine. There is a perfectly good explanation for but I won’t go there since it would be a lengthy read. Suffice to say that even if most of your other games work fine, it still doesn’t mean that your memory is 100% reliable. The end result is that some of your programs work fine and dandy and some others fail miserably in a random fashion.

So how to test if memory is bad? Well, there is no definite one way to do so. There are a number of things that you can try out:

Try memory tester software, you can download one from http://www.memtest86.com. Be warned, if you have lots of memory then the test can take several hours or even a day.

Then try lowering your memory bus speed well below the spec of your memory. So for example if your memory is 133MHz SDRAM, then try to set the memory bus speed to 100MHz in the BIOS. If that doesn’t help, then try setting it to 66MHz. If the BIOS in your computer don’t allow you to tweak the memory bus speed itself, then look for other memory timing parameters. Basically any setting - that makes the memory run slower – can be tweaked with to see if it helps. NOTE!! Tweaking the memory timings can make your system very unstable, so do not touch the settings unless you really know what you’re doing.

If you have two or more DIMMs in your computer, then try using just one at a time. This way you could identify if the instabilities only occur with one particular memory stick.

- Petteri Salo, Programmer, Remedy

//=================

Disclaimer: We are aware that some users are having problems running Max. The memory issues have been verified to be the cause in some cases, but we are still trying to identify what other problems there are with the game and how to solve them.

08-23-2001, 11:30 PM	#1
PetriRMD Remedy Staff	Random crashing and exit to desktop problems - memory issues Guys, Petteri wrote a lengthy post random crashing as related to memory issues. Here's the full post: //================= Random Crashes and/or Lockups in Max Payne Installing the Max Payne patch 1.01 solves a lot of these problems. However, if you still experience this problem, then please read on. MEMORY ISSUES: Some of the instructions and suggestions below ask you to change your BIOS settings or remove and replace hardware components in your system. Only do so if you’re ABSOLUTELY sure that you know what you’re doing!!! We cannot be held responsible for any damage that may happen to you or your computer. It has been found out that on some systems – not many, but some – the cause for this type of problems has been bad memory components and/or an over clocked memory bus. So as a first step make sure that you’re not over clocking the memory bus. If you have both 100MHz SDRAM and 133MHz SDRAM DIMMs in your system then please set the memory bus speed to 100MHz in your BIOS settings. You can skip the next paragraph if you’re not interested why the memory may behave like it does. The thing with memory components is that when they start failing they may do so only when running a particular application. Other applications seem to run just fine. There is a perfectly good explanation for but I won’t go there since it would be a lengthy read. Suffice to say that even if most of your other games work fine, it still doesn’t mean that your memory is 100% reliable. The end result is that some of your programs work fine and dandy and some others fail miserably in a random fashion. So how to test if memory is bad? Well, there is no definite one way to do so. There are a number of things that you can try out: Try memory tester software, you can download one from http://www.memtest86.com. Be warned, if you have lots of memory then the test can take several hours or even a day. Then try lowering your memory bus speed well below the spec of your memory. So for example if your memory is 133MHz SDRAM, then try to set the memory bus speed to 100MHz in the BIOS. If that doesn’t help, then try setting it to 66MHz. If the BIOS in your computer don’t allow you to tweak the memory bus speed itself, then look for other memory timing parameters. Basically any setting - that makes the memory run slower – can be tweaked with to see if it helps. NOTE!! Tweaking the memory timings can make your system very unstable, so do not touch the settings unless you really know what you’re doing. If you have two or more DIMMs in your computer, then try using just one at a time. This way you could identify if the instabilities only occur with one particular memory stick. - Petteri Salo, Programmer, Remedy //================= Disclaimer: We are aware that some users are having problems running Max. The memory issues have been verified to be the cause in some cases, but we are still trying to identify what other problems there are with the game and how to solve them.