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Deus Ex seriesDeus Ex freezes randomly on XP(10 posts)(10 posts)
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Posted January 27, 2012
Deus Ex: GOTY will randomly freeze during gameplay, and will not always let me quit to desktop using ctrl/alt/del or the Windows key. Using a hard shut down is needed but sometimes after a while a Critical Error message appears. When it freezes, the music and sound effects continue. Note that it does this with both the retail and GOG version.

System Specs:

WinXP, 32-bit, SP3
NVIDIA GeForce 6600
DirectX 9.0
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Posted January 27, 2012
you should try using the new renderer(s), if you haven't tried it already: http://www.cwdohnal.com/utglr/
Posted January 27, 2012
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voodoo47: you should try using the new renderer(s), if you haven't tried it already: http://www.cwdohnal.com/utglr/
I'm sorry if I sound ignorant, but what exactly does an OpenGL entail, or a Direct3D9 renderer for that matter? Also, which one is preferable? I'm not the best with computers, though if things are explained simply I can usually put the dots together. Thanks.
Posted January 27, 2012
OpenGL is a third-party API for graphics rendering in Windows; Direct3D is a part of Mircrosoft DirectX. There's a comparison page on WIkipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Direct3D_vs._OpenGL) but a page header says it's out of date.

For what it's worth, I mostly see the OpenGL API recommended over Direct3D 9.
Posted January 27, 2012
basically, it's an upgraded version of the rendering engine (part of the software that displays the game). try the d3d9 renderer: http://www.cwdohnal.com/utglr/dxd3d9r13.zip

unpack the zip to your \deus ex\system folder, and run deus ex safemode,choose to change your 3d device,click show all devices,select the direct3d9 support,and try to run the game.see if things get better,or worse.
Post edited January 27, 2012 by voodoo47
Posted January 27, 2012
Something else I know caused problems with retail GOTY: DeusEx.exe didn't work well with multi-core setups. If you have a multi-core processor (and most people do these days) try using the Windows Task Manager and setting the affinity of DeusEx.exe to only one core. I don't know if this was fixed for the GOG release (don't have it yet) nor do I know if Kentie's replacement Deus Exe has this problem.
Posted January 27, 2012
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boct1584: Something else I know caused problems with retail GOTY: DeusEx.exe didn't work well with multi-core setups. If you have a multi-core processor (and most people do these days) try using the Windows Task Manager and setting the affinity of DeusEx.exe to only one core. I don't know if this was fixed for the GOG release (don't have it yet) nor do I know if Kentie's replacement Deus Exe has this problem.
No, I just have one core. My computer is really old. I've had it for almost 9 years. Only things I upgraded was the graphics card (looong ago), and I increased the RAM.
Posted February 01, 2012
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mchartman: No, I just have one core. My computer is really old. I've had it for almost 9 years. Only things I upgraded was the graphics card (looong ago), and I increased the RAM.
What version of the driver do you have? It seems like a graphic card related trouble - the drivers don't quite agree with the way the old unreal engine handles them. Like some features that may be discarded.

You can try two things. Upgrade your drivers to the latest version. We've tested Deus Ex left and right in our testlab, running multiple machines on many different configurations and it gave us no problems at all. And we were running latest graphic drivers.

The reason for that is that video card manufacturers often change their mind about the support for some of the features used by older games - which often creates much confusion since it's really a hit and run with some of the driver versions.

The second thing is downgrading the drivers to the version that was around the game release plus 6 months. There is a profile for Deus Ex in Nvidia drivers with some flags changed.

Another thing you can try (although it's a longshot) is to change the name of the exe file. Add a "Z" or anything else to the filename (not the extension!) and see if it changes anything. That way you will unload any custom flags nvidia drivers have for this game and run it sort of "vanilla" driver-wise. It may help.

Also, try setting the renderer to DirectX.

Alternatively, if all else fails, set the renderer to software. It will look like crap, but if it freezes up then the issue is most likely something else than the GPU.

Anyway, PM me if you have any more problems. It's a great game that shouldnt give too much trouble since it's based on unreal engine.
Post edited February 01, 2012 by Tolya
Posted February 19, 2012
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mchartman: No, I just have one core. My computer is really old. I've had it for almost 9 years. Only things I upgraded was the graphics card (looong ago), and I increased the RAM.
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Tolya: What version of the driver do you have? It seems like a graphic card related trouble - the drivers don't quite agree with the way the old unreal engine handles them. Like some features that may be discarded.

You can try two things. Upgrade your drivers to the latest version. We've tested Deus Ex left and right in our testlab, running multiple machines on many different configurations and it gave us no problems at all. And we were running latest graphic drivers.

The reason for that is that video card manufacturers often change their mind about the support for some of the features used by older games - which often creates much confusion since it's really a hit and run with some of the driver versions.

The second thing is downgrading the drivers to the version that was around the game release plus 6 months. There is a profile for Deus Ex in Nvidia drivers with some flags changed.

Another thing you can try (although it's a longshot) is to change the name of the exe file. Add a "Z" or anything else to the filename (not the extension!) and see if it changes anything. That way you will unload any custom flags nvidia drivers have for this game and run it sort of "vanilla" driver-wise. It may help.

Also, try setting the renderer to DirectX.

Alternatively, if all else fails, set the renderer to software. It will look like crap, but if it freezes up then the issue is most likely something else than the GPU.

Anyway, PM me if you have any more problems. It's a great game that shouldnt give too much trouble since it's based on unreal engine.
Okay, I updated my drivers...and it still freezes. I've noticed that it happens after about an hour or so of play. I haven't had the time to try your other suggestions yet (I'm not very computer savvy), but if it helps, the only other game I have that freezes on me is The Witcher (both GOG and retail versions), but that may simply be because my computer can barely handle it...

I will try the other methods when I have the time, but thank you for the suggestions anyway. You guys are the best!
Posted February 22, 2012
avatar
Tolya: What version of the driver do you have? It seems like a graphic card related trouble - the drivers don't quite agree with the way the old unreal engine handles them. Like some features that may be discarded.

You can try two things. Upgrade your drivers to the latest version. We've tested Deus Ex left and right in our testlab, running multiple machines on many different configurations and it gave us no problems at all. And we were running latest graphic drivers.

The reason for that is that video card manufacturers often change their mind about the support for some of the features used by older games - which often creates much confusion since it's really a hit and run with some of the driver versions.

The second thing is downgrading the drivers to the version that was around the game release plus 6 months. There is a profile for Deus Ex in Nvidia drivers with some flags changed.

Another thing you can try (although it's a longshot) is to change the name of the exe file. Add a "Z" or anything else to the filename (not the extension!) and see if it changes anything. That way you will unload any custom flags nvidia drivers have for this game and run it sort of "vanilla" driver-wise. It may help.

Also, try setting the renderer to DirectX.

Alternatively, if all else fails, set the renderer to software. It will look like crap, but if it freezes up then the issue is most likely something else than the GPU.

Anyway, PM me if you have any more problems. It's a great game that shouldnt give too much trouble since it's based on unreal engine.
avatar
mchartman: Okay, I updated my drivers...and it still freezes. I've noticed that it happens after about an hour or so of play. I haven't had the time to try your other suggestions yet (I'm not very computer savvy), but if it helps, the only other game I have that freezes on me is The Witcher (both GOG and retail versions), but that may simply be because my computer can barely handle it...

I will try the other methods when I have the time, but thank you for the suggestions anyway. You guys are the best!
With your configuration you should be able to run Deus Ex no problems at all.

Sometimes random freezes like that are attributed to hardware. It may be your RAM chips are faulty (that's one of the most sensitive components), but if that would be the case, then you would be seeing random lock-ups all over.

Try the other stuff I listed. It would also be helpful if you have the specific message error that appears. It would allow me to pinpoint the faulty component.
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Deus Ex seriesDeus Ex freezes randomly on XP(10 posts)(10 posts)
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