All games crashing to desktop Windows 7 Ultimate

[EvilHomer]

I am getting super frustrated. 80% of the games I try to play don't load and It crashes to desktop and a pop up of Program stopped working.

I have Windows 7 Ultimate running. AMD Phenom 555, 4 gb ram, Asus M4a785td MB, AMD Radeon X1900 Video card.

I have tried to update all drivers ..Im at wits end.

here is a list of games that will not work.

Resident Evil 5
Metro 2033
Stalker
Supreme Commander 2
Settlers 7

Games that worked

Mass Effect
Battlefield Bad Company 2
Command and Conquer 4
Bio Shock 2

 

[SlickSnake]

Grats!

Which is why I still run XP PRO on my gaming rig.

Sounds to me like a video driver issue. Try rolling back to an earlier video driver if you are running the newest one. Maybe the card is heating up. Also make sure you load the latest winblows direct X driver package, if WIN 7 don't include it.

Also, try disabling any antivirus, or other security software you might be running on top of WIN 7.

I'm sure others will chime in with other fixes if this don't help, but I'm on heavy medication ATM, and this is the best I can do for you now.

Good luck.

 

[EvilHomer]

Thanks ..I will try that...I doubt the video card is heating up as the games never actually load ..they just crash to desktop...

 

[AlgaeEater]

Since you've probably done the "normal" stuff such as updating drivers, I'll throw out some more obscure things you can try just fot the heck of it - who knows it might even work!

1) Do you have any codec packs installed?

Some games play audio / video animations using whatever codec you have on your system by "default". If you have a 3rd party or funky codec installed that has overtaken your default one (Typically your Windows Default Codec), things can get screwy and crash.

2) SLI / Crossfire Enable?

Try disabling or enabling and see if things are more stable.

3) Antivirus Live Scan

Some AV scan files that are written to your system on the spot. Some games use .cab or archive files that are packed and extracted while you're playing. Can cause problems obviously if the game is trying to reference something and the AV pauses to scan it first.

4) Sticky Keys / Keystrokes / Shortcut activations

Turn these off if you can. You may have activated a shortcut which is equivalent to alt-tabbing - which is then equivalent to crashing for most games.

5) Open your computer case up and put a house fan on it

Some games tax your system more than others. Could just be old fashioned heat related.

6) Nuke

Format and reinstall. Last resort. Install the core drivers only needed to play games and try them out first. If everything eventually turns out ok, you had a few software / driver gremlins that just needed to be flushed out.

Good luck!

 

[Borealis7]

also, try running in compatibility mode as XP, run as Administrator couldn't hurt either.
reinstall DirectX? (need to wipe it first with a 3rd party app)

if all else fails, buy a new VGA card. you're long overdue

 

[Mem]

Grats!

Which is why I still run XP PRO on my gaming rig.

Sounds to me like a video driver issue. Try rolling back to an earlier video driver if you are running the newest one. Maybe the card is heating up. Also make sure you load the latest winblows direct X driver package, if WIN 7 don't include it.

Also, try disabling any antivirus, or other security software you might be running on top of WIN 7.

I'm sure others will chime in with other fixes if this don't help, but I'm on heavy medication ATM, and this is the best I can do for you now.

Good luck.

I find that statement about XP amusing and wrong with regards to 7 ,Win7 will game just as well as XP,infact I have not used XP for over 3 years+ for gaming(I have even removed XP from all my PCs) and yes all my games run great on Vista and Win7 x64,including old 16 bit games via DosBox.

Getting back on topic install latest DX9.0c from here http://www.filehippo.com/download_directx/ ,update your video card drivers too.

You don't say if this is a new build since it could be a hardware issue with a faulty product,make sure nothing is overclocked.

Some games you need to run as admin and XP compatibility mode,easy to google which ones,info here on how to run as admin and xp compatiblity mode etc..http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/windows-vista/using-windows-vista-compatibility-mode/

Don't forget game patches too.

One last thing check your games and if they use TAGES or any other copy protection you may need to download latest version from their website.

Try a different video card if possible after you have done the above to rule out faulty video card.
I had a faulty video card that would play some games(years ago) but not all,simple replacement of card fixed the problem in my case.

Btw its always worth checking/testing your ram ,leave no stone unturned as they say.

It can be a pain game troubleshooting ,believe me I have done my share even in XP,but its worthwhile in the end with the experience and knowledge you gain.

 

[Pepsei]

do you by chance have 2 LCDs? Metro would not load for me unless i disable the second LCD.

after the new metro patch, everything is fine.

 

[jonks]

did this just start happening or it's always been that way? if it's a recent event try to figure out if you changed something, a setting, a driver, an internal component...

 

[crownjules]

do you by chance have 2 LCDs? Metro would not load for me unless i disable the second LCD.

after the new metro patch, everything is fine.

Same thing happened with me and several games when I switched from an Nvidia to ATI 5770. Tropico 3, Ghostbusters, and one or two other games would crash if I had both monitors connected. Although this was on Vista Home Premium 64. Once I got on Win7 Pro 64, the issue cleared up.