Quake 3 locking my computer

hhaamu · Posted: Fri Nov 08, 2002 2:12 pm Post subject: Quake 3 locking my computer

Quake 3 locks my computer every time I try to run it. (it works fine from *cough*redhat*cough*) The menu system comes up fine, but when I start playing, it hardlocks the computer. Ctrl-Alt-Backspace won't help, nor does anything else except pressing the reset button.

Any suggestions?

tolle · Posted: Fri Nov 08, 2002 6:14 pm Post subject:

If you run it in a window, and from a terminal, then you might be able to see whats wrong...

My guesses would be on some conflicts with the opengl support.

hhaamu · Posted: Fri Nov 08, 2002 6:33 pm Post subject:

I think it now works fine. I picked the latest Matrox drivers and changed to the vanilla kernel. I just don't have enought patience to test it, because now I'm getting weird PunkBuster errors/kicks from server.

"Hit bound texture in upload
^5PunkBuster Client: Receiving from PB Server (v0.996 l)"

hhaamu · Posted: Fri Nov 08, 2002 6:36 pm Post subject:

In the meanwhile (before I get another lockup), how can I redirect the output to a text file?

Would this be correct?

hhaamu · Posted: Fri Nov 08, 2002 7:47 pm Post subject:

hhaamu · Posted: Fri Nov 08, 2002 8:30 pm Post subject:

These were the last things that were saved into the log:

tolle · Posted: Fri Nov 08, 2002 9:36 pm Post subject:

Well, Im clueless.

hhaamu · Posted: Fri Nov 22, 2002 4:14 pm Post subject:

Finally, solved!

I copied the redhat XF86Config to replace the XF86Config generated by xf86config tool and me.

Now I have a lot faster X, and the divx's I play don't take 99% of processor power while dropping ½ of the frames (now they take ~60%)

If there just could be a way of making gcc take less processor power, I can't watch anything with a moving picture if I'm emerging something...

HeadHolio · Guru Joined: 10 Aug 2002 Posts: 445

Any chance we can see what the two Xf86Config files are like and how they differ? My brother is having what sounds like the same Quake 3 problem as you but he has a GeForce4 card. (What's even weirder is that Return to Castle Wolfenstein works PERFECTLY)

hhaamu · Posted: Thu Feb 20, 2003 11:24 pm Post subject:

Actually I had the problem afterwards, even after the XF86Config copies. It just seemed enough stable for a while.

The system *didn't* actually hard lock, but the sound card jammed and the screen didn't update. Everything else was running perfectly, including services so I could ssh into the box.

Now I get Quake3 running 99,9% stable (no, it has not crashed yet like this) with a Red Hat kernel and without framebuffer. A RH kernel w/ framebuffer hardlocks on me as often as the vanilla kernel (with or without framebuffer)

You could try with disabling the framebuffer in the kernel (if you have it enabled) and/or compiling another kernel (RH is pretty good, IMO).

HeadHolio · Guru Joined: 10 Aug 2002 Posts: 445

Same for me. I could actually Ctrl+Atl+F2 and close Quake 3 and then get back to my window manager. Weird thing is, Quake 3 will run fine, and even load up the very first level against Crash, but will hang on the loading of any other level. As soon as I see the next level loaded, the screen will freeze and the sound stops. I'll try disabling framebuffer in the kernel over the weekend when I visit him again and see if that helps.

What's weird though (aside from the fact that RTCW works flawlessly) is that I built my system by simply cloning his hard drive and then sticking it in my machine. We both have Athlons, with Geforce 4 ti4200 cards. We just have different motherboards and sound cards. And on my system, I've never had Quake 3 crash.

Soul-Crusher · Posted: Fri Feb 21, 2003 6:41 pm Post subject:

Is it possible that your CPU is overheating? Can you run other 3D games without them locking?

HeadHolio · Guru Joined: 10 Aug 2002 Posts: 445

Nope, like I said...Return to Castle Wolfenstein works great, as does Unreal, UT, UT2K3. It does not crash even after hours of play. CPU temperatures at idle are around 40 degrees Celcius. Under heavy load, the temperatures are around 55 degrees Celcius. AMD durons can work under high temperatures (around 75-80 degrees) without any problems however it will shorten the lifespan of your chip.

As for the other components, I have two exhaust fans on the case, one on the Power supply, and a HS/F on the GeForce 4. Motherboard temperatures remain at around 35 degrees Celcius. I've reinstalled Quake 3 arena numerous times (using the ebuild, using the CD installer, and using the downloadable binaries) all with no luck. Exact same thing happens.

I will try different kernel options, and if that doesn't work, maybe a different kernel. I have a feeling that this is related to the integrated sound on the K7S5A motherboard. The drivers are currently compiled into the Kernel. I'll try compiling them as modules, and if that doesn't work, I'll try inserting my SB Live! just to varify.

HeadHolio · Guru Joined: 10 Aug 2002 Posts: 445

Ok, I disabled framebuffer support, recompiled and rebooted with the new kernel. Quake 3 does the exact same thing, even after a fresh install with fresh .cfg files. However, when I disabled the sound Quake 3 will run fine. It's definately the integrated sound on this mainboard (K7S5A) that is causing the problem. I will now try using alsa instead of having sound support in the kernel. I'll post back with results.

HeadHolio · Guru Joined: 10 Aug 2002 Posts: 445

After setting up alsa, Quake 3 no longer has any issues. In case anyone was wondering, I am using the intel8x0 alsa module now. Thanx.