Windows 7 issues on Quake III

[EmeraldTiger]

I recently got a new PC with Windows 7, an Intel Core i5-2500K CPU @3.30 GHz 3.60 GHz processor, with 4 GB Ram and an AMD Radeon HD 6670 graphics card, with a default resolution of 1920 x 1080. When I open up Quake III, the screen is black, which probably has to do with my res, so I just made it go to window mode / reduced resolution and things seem fine. It works great for a little while when running around a map, but about one minute or so in it freezes. And I'm not talking about a small, typical freeze - this is a hardcore, restart-your-computer freeze. I try the usual CTRL+ALT+DELETE and go to task manager but can't use it because my cursor is stuck inside the game window, so I'm forced to restart manually.

Most likely this has to do with Windows 7. I have also bought a solid-state drive to go with the MyBook drive Quake III is already on, but it's highly unlikely to think installing a drive would have an effect on another. I looked online for solutions but to no success. Like I said I can open the game and run it, it just crashes later on. Perhaps it could also be due to the high resolution?

Thanks for any help in advance.

[themuffinman]

Try using ioquake3.

[Eraser]

Not sure what's causing the freeze, but the black screen at startup is indeed caused by the resolution you're running in. More accurately: if you're not running in a 4:3 aspect ratio, Quake 3's ROQ videos (such as the logo and the intro video) will only display a black screen. The audio will play.

Just hit a key to skip the intro logo and you're in the main menu.

[obsidian]

Edit your shortcut to Q3 to include +nosplash to skip the black intro movies.

Does this problem happen with any other games?
Did you update hardware drivers (particularly video card)?
Does Q3 log any errors just before the freeze?

It almost certainly isn't Windows 7, many of us run Windows 7 and Q3 without issue.

When you say solid state drive, did you install this inside your new computer? There may be a few BIOS settings you need to change to take advantage of an SSD, I think changing SATA controllers to AHCI mode. Did you reinstall the OS onto the SSD? Is Quake 3 running off the external? Have you tried installing on your system, either on the SSD or an internal HDD?

Also, since it's a new computer, check the video card for overheating. Not typically likely for Q3 to significantly heat up a GPU unless something is wrong.

[Eraser]

Edit your shortcut to Q3 to include +nosplash to skip the black intro movies.

The nosplash myth is actually semi-false. It has the desired result, but it isn't something that was intentionally coded into the game. It craps out of the intro videos because you're supplying a non-existent command to the console. If you open the console after starting Q3 that way, you'll notice it outputs an error that nosplash is an incorrect command. Starting quake3.exe with something like +obsidian_is_a_pansy will have the same effect.

I'm being a little pedantic here, I know.

[EmeraldTiger]

Edit your shortcut to Q3 to include +nosplash to skip the black intro movies.

Does this problem happen with any other games?
Did you update hardware drivers (particularly video card)?
Does Q3 log any errors just before the freeze?

It almost certainly isn't Windows 7, many of us run Windows 7 and Q3 without issue.

When you say solid state drive, did you install this inside your new computer? There may be a few BIOS settings you need to change to take advantage of an SSD, I think changing SATA controllers to AHCI mode. Did you reinstall the OS onto the SSD? Is Quake 3 running off the external? Have you tried installing on your system, either on the SSD or an internal HDD?

Also, since it's a new computer, check the video card for overheating. Not typically likely for Q3 to significantly heat up a GPU unless something is wrong.

The problem only seems to occur with Quake III. Quake 4 and Quake 2 run fine, and so does my recent copy of Unreal Tournament III.

I updated from an old Ge-Force card (can't remember the exact edition) to a new AMD Radeon HD 6670. I haven't been able to check for any errors when it freezes, since I can't do anything like opening the console, etc.

Quake III runs on the external drive (which, btw, is 930 GB), but Windows 7 is running off the solid state drive. However, the case was the same before I upgraded and it ran just fine - I used to run Quake III on the same external drive (which is a WD MyBook) with Windows XP on the main drive. The SSD is inside the PC, yes.

As for overheating, I use a ThermalTake liquid cooler to regulate temperatures.

Could it be because I'm running in window mode? Has there been any reports of crashes happening due to running the game in window mode?

[obsidian]

No, I run in window mode sometimes, typically to check stuff when editing levels, etc. Works fine.

When you installed your new GPU, did you uninstall the old drivers? Or was it a clean install along with the SSD?

You can log Q3's console errors to a text file.

Failing all that, maybe you have to reinstall the game.

[dghost77]

Like Obsidian says, make sure to flush your previous video card drivers and reinstall the latest version of your new video card.

I would also make sure that you have the latest drivers for your motherboard's chipset. I had a lot of problems with that in the past with Quake 3 itself.

[EmeraldTiger]

I installed a new copy on my SSD with ioquake3 and it seems to work fine now. Thanks for your help everyone.

[trodas]

Interesting. ioquake did not work at all for me. And the normal Quake, v1.32c, does work, however it freeze each time on exit

Also display the 1280x1024 resolution weird: to the right side, there is missing some part of the image, lol.



PS. managed it to work, now it working quite fine for me (v1.32c on i5 / Win7), except the resolution trouble... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7p-RKhfJAgs