Battlefield 3 freezing

NomNom

NomNom

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So this Pc I built for a friend is having a problem where it would randomly freeze while playing Battlefield 3.

Just the game freezes not the operating system. So the game can be closed.

How would you go about finding the cause?

I'm thinking a memtest, driver update/reinstall. And check game files for problems. Also a SMART test on the hard drive.

A benchmark on the GPU also, can anyone recommend a free program to do so?

Anything else?
 
Inn3rs3lf said:
Try reinstalling BF3 first before going to those lengths. Most of the time, even a simple repair install through Origin fixes the problem.
Click to expand...

Thanks I've tried tis, no problems found, I've also completely uninstalled the graphics driver and installed the latest one.
 
When the game freezes, does the sound loop infinitely? My wife had problems with freezing and it turned out that with some combinations of hardware coupled with a realtek audio chipset the game would freeze. We got her a pci soundcard with c-media chipset and no more freezing at all. We searched everywhere until I ended up on some obscure forum where someone figured it out.
 
I also had that sound looping problem on the rooftop with your crew when you have to RPG the sniper on the opposite building. I had already decided that I wanted to play the game through, so I went and bought a legal copy. :erm: Worked fine ever since.
 
I had a similar issue with CoD4 where the game crashed immediately on startup, because I didn't have a default audio input (microphone) device.

I would find it very odd that BF3 won't work with Realtek audio chipsets, because that is t he majority of the PCs out there!
Just make sure that you have the latest drivers. It could be that the motherboard manufacturer doesn't supply you with the latest drivers.

If you haven't installed the game after you got the new PC, then I'd highly recommend that you do that first!

Lastly, if you have an illegal copy and you're having trouble, then the first thing that you should do is to obtain a legal copy!
 
The problem is you've not given us the specifications of the machine in question.

I used to have a problem with BF3 and 4GB of RAM. Simply put, it wasn't enough.

What would happen, is during play (multi-player) the whole game would freeze, the sound would loop and my hard drive would start to work like crazy. This is because BF3 is paging between HDD, RAM and VRAM.

I could ALT+CTRL+DEL out of it and kill the game, so my computer was running fine.

If this sounds similar to your setup, try lowering the graphics settings and/or adding more RAM.

Good luck.
 
biometrics said:
Re-seat RAM and graphics card.
Click to expand...

Reseated the graphics card, didn't get a chance to do that for the RAM though.

SerenePhoenix said:
When the game freezes, does the sound loop infinitely?
Click to expand...

No, no sound at all.

Pada said:
If you haven't installed the game after you got the new PC, then I'd highly recommend that you do that first!

Lastly, if you have an illegal copy and you're having trouble, then the first thing that you should do is to obtain a legal copy!
Click to expand...

It was installed on the PC after it was built. It's a legal copy.

Polygon said:
The problem is you've not given us the specifications of the machine in question.

If this sounds similar to your setup, try lowering the graphics settings and/or adding more RAM.
Click to expand...

CPU: Intel i5 3450
RAM: Corsair Value RAM 4GB 1333 MHz (1x4GB)
GPU: Gigabyte AMD HD 7770 1GB

Graphics settings are on their lowest for everything, resolution is at 1280x720.
 
How often does it freeze?

I would start with a memory test before I start reinstalling things.

Try http://www.memtest.org/. You boot of the disk, so it cuts out drivers and os.

Also, BF3 with all its extras is over 30GB, so maybe get a copy from another players pc. (all legal as you use your orgin id)

D
 
I doubt reloading the game will do anything.

You need to run a memory test, gpu test and then test the card on another pc that has bf 3. Make sure you try the amd beta and new official drivers.

My first instinct when it comes to this is reloading windows fresh, i know it is a mission but it removes so many possibilities upfront. You start off with a freshly loaded system then you download the lates drivers for the card, you reload bf 3 but obviously you back up the bf 3 folder prior to the format. In general a windows drive should only have apps and games. So i would assume he has very little to reload unless he has a 1tb hdd with a ton of games hahaha.

Then if it persists you know you have a hardware issue and not a driver or windows issue, that is when i would test the memory, gpu etc but that is just how i would do it, by no means is it the best way. I also get that freeze but maybe once in 30 games.

http://www.futuremark.com/ they have3dmark and a pcmark for testing, that is what rectron and co use to check for issues. If the pc passes both then you in for a long what could it be :(.
 
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This is the error the Pc gives after the game freezes:

DirectX function "GetDeviceRemovedReason" failed with DXGL_ERROR_DEVICE_HUNG: Device hung due to badly formed commands. GPU: "AMD Radeon HD 7700 Series", Driver: 13.4 (12.104-130328a-157485C-ATI)

The net is full of people complaining about it but I am yet to find a fix for it.
 
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Perhaps downclock the graphics card or increase the voltage and see if that changes anything.

Also, does that issue occur in any other newish games or benchmarks?
 
Pada said:
Perhaps downclock the graphics card or increase the voltage and see if that changes anything.

Also, does that issue occur in any other newish games or benchmarks?
Click to expand...

Will give that a try, not that I know of I've only been on the Pc for a short time and didn't get a chance to do a full inspection.

I'm also just thinking of formatting the Pc and reloading everything just to rule out software as the cause.
 
One thought:

Does it freeze in the same or similar places or around similar scenery? Maybe it is a rendering problem or loop created by a bug in the drivers? If this is the case, might there be a command line entry you could use to disable that effect just to bypass the problem area?
 
I've quickly went thought a couple of posts relating to that kind of error and the solutions I got was:
1) underclock / overvoltage - like I suggested
2) disable BF3's AO (ambient occlusion)
3) install other drivers
4) disable X-fire (not AMD's CrossFire) * I don't think many people in SA use this. (Tools > Options > Games tab > select Battlefield 3 > Disable X-fire In-Game > Apply > OK)
5) get another graphics card or just don't play BF3
 
bromster said:
One thought:

Does it freeze in the same or similar places or around similar scenery? Maybe it is a rendering problem or loop created by a bug in the drivers? If this is the case, might there be a command line entry you could use to disable that effect just to bypass the problem area?
Click to expand...

At different times, sometimes it wouldn't happen at all.

The problem has been around since 13.1 and it now persists on 13.4

Pada said:
I've quickly went thought a couple of posts relating to that kind of error and the solutions I got was:
1) underclock / overvoltage - like I suggested
2) disable BF3's AO (ambient occlusion)
3) install other drivers
4) disable X-fire (not AMD's CrossFire) : Tools > Options > Games tab > select Battlefield 3 > Disable X-fire In-Game > Apply > OK
5) get another graphics card or just don't play BF3
Click to expand...

Lol thanks, if only doing step 5 was that easy :)

I do think it might be the 1st option because it's an overclocked edition of the HD7770: this is the graphics card: http://www.rebeltech.co.za/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=20&products_id=5395

I will downclock it to 1000/4500Mhz (seems to be the default stock speeds for a HD7770)

Strange thing is that my one friend has the exact same graphics card and also plays battlefield 3 and has never had the freezing problem.
 
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NomNom said:
Will give that a try, not that I know of I've only been on the Pc for a short time and didn't get a chance to do a full inspection.

I'm also just thinking of formatting the Pc and reloading everything just to rule out software as the cause.
Click to expand...

Test the card in your system nom, rule out the card being faulty upfront. Then clean the drivers and load the beta or official drivers. beta drivers work just fine i am using a beta driver and bf 3 runs sweet. From there format, load drivers and bf 3. Hope it's software or else you are looking at mobo, ram, psu. Nightmare. Even hdd could be an issue.
 
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