Game problems with X2 AMD

andy1249

I have a problem with a 3800 X2 AMD PC , I am running with a 7800 GTX graphics card , when running Painkiller , or Unreal the games bomb out with a -Delta fault , and dumps me back to WinXP desktop,

I know its the processor and how windows handles ( or mishandles ) multiple cores , my questions is , does anyone know if a fix has been posted anywhere.

Heres a link to the error

8T8

Do you have AMD's CPU driver installed if not do install it.

Failing that there are a variety of tweaks that may be applied to solve dual core CPU/game problems.

Imagecfg this modifies the header of the target .exe and tells it to use only one CPU in the system be sure to make a backup of the original .exe before applying the tweak as it’s the only way to restore the file to its original form.

The second tweak is to disable the dual core optimizations present in NVIDIA's drivers this is actually a pain in the ass to do but there is a much easier way courtesy of nHancer which is an excellent interface to NV's game profile system and works much better than NV's but the latest version also allows you to disable the dual core optimizations so there is no need to disable it globally.

Download;
Latest NV drivers
Latest beta of nHancer 2.0
.NET 2.0 must be installed for nHancer to work


With that out of the way start nHancer click "Profiles" from the menu and then on "remove all profiles" as there are so many in the default NV driver that you don’t need (you can get them back if you want later) add an entry for game then add the games .exe under executables. Then scroll in the right hand pane to the compatibility tab and you will see at the bottom a CPU Multi-core support preference and I think you get the gist just so you know there is no save button in nHancer all settings take effect immediately.

So just start the game and knock on wood it should be good to go.

WizZard

You're running Windows XP with no service packs. Update to SP1 or SP2 and it will be fixed.

8T8

SP2 might fix the problem in his case but quite a few games even brand new ones still have problems with dual core CPU's but yes do install SP2 if you havent.

I forgot about one more fix which is worth applying as well which fixes another issue with dual core CPU's and XP now it never worked for me (the above combo I posted did) but some claimed that the stuttering in games stopped after using the fix even though it applies to Cool & Quiet and your not making use of that feature try it anyway.

Download this install [after having installed SP2] and make the changes below;

Note This solution favors performance gains over power savings. Although benchmark performance scores may improve, battery life could be negatively affected. Therefore, this kernel policy change must be enabled in the registry to allow for maximum flexibility.
Enable the new performance state policy behavior
After you install the hotfix that is described in this article, follow these steps to enable the new performance state policy behavior:
1. Click Start, click Run, type regedit in the Open box, and then click OK.
2. Right-click HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager, point to New, and then click Key.
3. Type Throttle for the new key name.
4. Right-click Throttle, point to New, and then click DWORD Value.
5. Type PerfEnablePackageIdle for the value name.
6. Right-click PerfEnablePackageIdle, and then click Modify.
7. In the Edit DWORD Value box, type 1. In the Value data box, make sure that Hexadecimal is selected, and then click OK.
8. Quit Registry Editor.
9. Reboot computer

astrofool

If I remember correct, non sp1 XP didn't support even support Hyperthreading correctly, and the AMD x2's have the HT flag set to true (so even if a program isn't dual core optimised, but HT optimised, they'll get a boost).

Airblazer

there is also a "microsoft dual core patch" that is not included in any of the service packs..this gives a performance booster to xp...just do a goole for the phrase in quotes above

Spear

andy1249 wrote:

I have a problem with a 3800 X2 AMD PC , I am running with a 7800 GTX graphics card , when running Painkiller , or Unreal the games bomb out with a -Delta fault , and dumps me back to WinXP desktop,

I know its the processor and how windows handles ( or mishandles ) multiple cores , my questions is , does anyone know if a fix has been posted anywhere.

Heres a link to the error

The Unreal engine has a known problem with SMP systems. Set the affinity of the games process to use just one CPU.

andy1249

Just to answer a few of the above ,
Wizzard , I am running service pack 2 , thats not it ,
You cannot set the affinity , I tried that , for that to work unreal has to be running long enough for you to hit cntrl , alt , del , and it wont run that long , it bombs out almost immediately ,

The patch and the reg tweak above sound interesting , Im going to give that a go in the morning and see if it works ,

Thanks for your help so far guys , I will post tomorrow with the results.

Cheers

Spear

andy1249 wrote:

Just to answer a few of the above ,
Wizzard , I am running service pack 2 , thats not it ,
You cannot set the affinity , I tried that , for that to work unreal has to be running long enough for you to hit cntrl , alt , del , and it wont run that long , it bombs out almost immediately ,

The patch and the reg tweak above sound interesting , Im going to give that a go in the morning and see if it works ,

Thanks for your help so far guys , I will post tomorrow with the results.

Cheers

Look for an app called "Win2000 Launcher" that allows you to create profiles with affinity preset.

8T8

You dont need to use profiles Imagecfg the program I linked to in my post does away with all that it alters the info in the .exe to use only one CPU no need to alt-tab or have any other programs running in case you are wary of such a program Imagecfg is an actual Microsoft tool not some some third party hack its part of the Win2003 server tools kit.

If you really want to go down the profile route that is also possible without having to have any programs running in the background use the method below again this is a MS tool that will make a profile of the app in the system so it will set whatever processor affinity you want.

1) Install this:
Microsoft Application Compatibility Toolkit 4.1
2) Start.. Programs... Microsoft Application Compatibility Toolkit 4.1... Tools... Compatibility Administrator
3) At the bottom of the tree on the left is "custom database". Right click it, Create New... Application Fix.
4) Type in a name (say, the program name) and point it at the .exe of the program in question, and click next.
5) Choose "none" for operating system mode, and click next (you don't want any of the fixes on this page).
6) Choose "SingleProcAffinity" from the list and click next.
7) Click finish.
8) Click save and pick a name and location for the database.
9) Right click the database and pick "install".

Close program and start game.

andy1249

OK lads , I got this and installed it , the patch is listed as some kind of Beta , i.e. microsoft say that if you really need it install it but that its not quite finished or may be improved so if you can do without it dont install it yet ,

Anyway , I installed it and unreal now runs smoothly , at least it Ive had no problems yet anyway.

Here's the link ,
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=896256

8t8 , I have downloaded your program as well and have installed it , thanks for that , One more questions , is the patch from microsoft above turning off a processor or is it just managing them better ? I have the impression from the text that they are being managed better !!

8T8

It's not for for turning off a processor just mangement of one. It allows you to set which CPU will be used for the application in a system that has multiple cores/threads/CPUs as seen buy the OS so in effect the game is only allowed use one CPU with the title which is most cases solves the problem.

Even with the MS fix some old and brand new games still dont work right so you can use those tweaks as a fall back option if you enouncter any more problems.