Getting Fallout 3 to run on Windows 7 - 64 Bit

[KaiN_66]

I have been trying everything and anything to get this game to run properly
for months now. this is the result of many, many tests and installs.
I hope this helps to get people running this OS to finally get this game to stop
crashing and actually run

1, May require the 'Games for windows' software from microsoft to get it to launch.
Download and install if needed from Microsoft.

2, After game can be launched, Click play and wait for the title screen and options to appear.
Press, control, Alt, Delete. This brings up the Task Manager

3, Click on Processes.

4, Right click on Fallout3.exe. Click on Properties. Then Compatibility Tab.

5, Set the game to run in compatibility mode for - Windows XP service pack 3
Exit the properties menu.

6, Right click on the Fallout3.exe on the processes page again.
Select - Set Affinity.

7, Click on 'settings for all users' at the bottom of the page if it gives you an error message.
It will show you how many cores the game is currently trying to use.
Remove all the checkmarks from the boxes except the first CORE box, Usually 'Core 0'.
This will run the game on a single core as the game was designed to.
Exit out of the task manager and now close the fallout 3 game that is running.

8, Restart Fallout 3. On the main title and options screen, click on settings, then gameplay.
Turn ALL auto save funtions OFF. You will need to save manually from now on.

Game should run now with VERY MINIMAL Crashes / memory leaks that cause severe slow downs.If you decide to run CPU intensive mods and need a boost, enable one more core.
Enabling another core WILL cause more frequent crashes and other performance problems.

Leave the default Fallout.ini alone and make the changes in the task manager as outlined.
I have extensively tried the Fallout3.ini tweak to reduce the amount of cores the game
runs on. Still Crashes on my system.

Tested on, Alienware MX17R3, Windows 7 64 bit, Intel I7 CPU, Radeon 6870M, 16 Gigs Ram

My Video / render settings are as follows.

AA Turned OFF (enable later if your game runs crash free)
AF Turned OFF (same as above)
Default Ultra Settings
Vsync enabled (see 30 fps fix below) so I can get fullscreen 1600 x 900 resolution
HDR enabled

The Dreaded Low FPS 'I'm stuck at 30 fps problem'
In Fallout 3 VSync is enabled at all times, even if this box is unchecked on the launcher menu. You can force VSync off by editing the the Fallout.ini, change the following line
iPresentInterval=1 to iPresentInterval=0.
You should also check to make sure your graphics card's control panel doesn't have VSync forced on. For some unknown (to me) reason, The Vsync should allow up 60 FPS, but it locks the game at 30. This is the only change I can recommend to the default Fallout.ini.

Use the mod 'Archive Invalidate Invalidated!'
And not the invalidate toggles on any mod manager you run, if you are planning on modding the game. I Have found that FOMM tends to crash the game I can't say the same for the Steam Workshop Mod Manager. I Install all mods MANUALLY.
Do not alter the Fallout.ini any more than is absolutely necessary. Its far too easy to ruin all
your hard work and time spent just getting this game to run !

I had tried every fix I could find on the internet, all to no avail. This fix is the only one that worked for me.
I had completely restored my machine to factory settings and updated windows to the lastest updates as of 16/04/2013. To make sure no file remnants would interfere with my fresh install of Fallout 3. Also the possibility that other files or changes were responsible for the fix. Steam was re-installed before I installed Fallout 3 and left running in the background. To help ensure it wasn't an incompatibility with Steam.

This was used with a Retail GOTY copy I have on Disc. Hopefully this works with the Steam Version as well.

GOOD LUCK. It's an Awesome game. Too bad Bethesda dooesn't deem it worthy of a slight reprogramming to fix these issues.

I am currently modding the game and running further tests. I will report my findings and which mods I am running and post the load order. My game has been running crash and freeze free for over 9 hours as of this post.

[rrtoledo]

You may also disable (Intel Core only) Hyper Threading in your BIOS. This solves the issue. If you have problems running the game "Prototype" this helps the same way.

[KaiN_66]

This is a List of some of the most popular mods and the
required patches and load order to make it all run.
FOMM now runs well with my Windows 7 fix.
As an earlier download was corrupted. I have noted what
they are and what they do and installation process.

The Mods are as follows and installed in this order.

1, Fallout Wanderers Edition (FWE) - Gameplay Overhaul - Install with FOMM

2, Mart's Mutant Mod - Gameplay Overhaul - Install with FOMM

3, Project Beauty (now called Fallout Redsigned) - NPC Texture Pack - Manual Install

4, Weapon Mod Kits - Adds modable weapons - Install with FOMM

5, Energy Visuals Enhanced (EVE) - gameplay and graphic overhaul - Install with FOMM

6, RH Ironsights - Adds ironsights to most weapons - Install with FOMM

7, Dimonized Type 3 Body Replacer - Female body replacer - Install with FOMM

8, DC Interiors - Adds more searchable buildings in the DC area - Install with FOMM

9, Fallout Street Lights - Adds streetlights to certain areas - Manual Install

10, Project Reality MK1 - Weather overhaul - Install with FOMM

11, Existence 2.0 - Quest - Manual Install

12, A Note Easily Missed - Quest - Manual Install

13, The Cube Experiment - Quest - Comes as an .exe file, place in data folder and execute

14, Alton, IL. - Quest - Install with FOMM

15, eXcalibr - Ammo Mod - Install with FOMM

16, The Finger Of God - .50 Cal Sniper Rifle - Manual Install

17, NMC's High Res Texture Pack (Full) - Graphics Overhaul - Manual Install, Follow
instructions !

18, Fallout Stutter Remover - Makes the game run much smoother.
Open the config file and adjust the MAX FPS to whatever you like. It is set at 30 FPS to
start.

As a side note, MMM has bad textures for the female raiders. The offending files are under
data/textures/MMMF3/characters/raiderfemale. The are named upperbodyfemaleTAT1(2)(3).
Extract the Dimonized Type 3 zip and pick 3 textures you want to use all named upperbodyfemale.dds
around 2700 KB and copy and rename them one at a time to replace the ones in the MMM/raiderfemale
folder. Don't forget to rename them with the TAT1, TAT2, TAT3 on the end of the original files.

AS of today, 12 hours gametime with no freezes or crashes.

[KaiN_66]

Current Stable Load Order

[X] Fallout3.esm
[X] Anchorage.esm
[X] ThePitt.esm
[X] StreetLights.esm
[X] BrokenSteel.esm
[X] PointLookout.esm
[X] Zeta.esm
[X] CRAFT.esm
[X] CALIBR.esm
[X] xCALIBR.esm
[X] Project Beauty.esm
[X] CubeExperimental (EN).esm
[X] Alton, IL.esm
[X] EVE.esm
[X] FO3 Wanderers Edition - Main File.esm
[X] Mart's Mutant Mod.esm
[X] DCInteriors_ComboEdition.esm
[X] RH_IRONSIGHTS.esm
[X] FO3 Wanderers Edition - Alternate Travel.esp
[X] Project Beauty- Broken Steel.esp
[X] Project Beauty- Point Lookout.esp
[X] RH_IronSights_Basic_VanillaPlugin.esp
[X] RH_IronSights_Basic_AnchoragePlugin.esp
[X] RH_IronSights_Basic_PittPlugin.esp
[X] RH_IronSights_Basic_BrokenSteelPlugin.esp
[X] RH_IronSights_Basic_PointLookoutPlugin.esp
[X] RH_IronSights_Basic_ZetaPlugin.esp
[X] RH_IronSights_Pitt_NewRifleSights.esp
[X] RH_IronSights_RemoveReticule.esp
[X] RH_IronSights_PL_NewItems.esp
[X] RH_IronSights_Vanilla_NewWeapons.esp
[X] Existence2.0.esp
[X] NotSoFast.esp
[X] FO3 Wanderers Edition - Main File.esp
[X] FO3 Wanderers Edition - DLC Anchorage.esp
[X] FO3 Wanderers Edition - DLC The Pitt.esp
[X] FO3 Wanderers Edition - DLC Broken Steel.esp
[X] FO3 Wanderers Edition - DLC Point Lookout.esp
[X] FO3 Wanderers Edition - DLC Mothership Zeta.esp
[X] FO3 Wanderers Edition - Optional Restore Tracers.esp
[X] FO3 Wanderers Edition - Optional VATS Halftime.esp
[X] FO3 Wanderers Edition - Optional Restore Tracers (automatics only).esp
[X] RH_FWE_Bridge.esp
[X] WeaponModKits.esp
[X] WeaponModKits - FWE Master Release.esp
[X] WeaponModKits - OperationAnchorage.esp
[X] WeaponModKits - ThePitt.esp
[X] WeaponModKits - BrokenSteel.esp
[X] WeaponModKits - PointLookout.esp
[X] WeaponModKits - Zeta.esp
[X] TheFingerOfGod.esp
[X] WMKAA12Shotgun.esp
[X] RH_WMK_Bridge.esp
[X] DIM TYPE3clothesRETAIL.esp
[X] EVE.esp
[X] EVE Operation Anchorage.esp
[X] EVE - FWE Master Release.esp
[X] EVE - FWE Master Release (Follower Enhanced).esp
[X] EVE Anchorage - FWE DLC Anchorage.esp
[X] EVE - FWE with WeaponModKits.esp
[X] RH_EVE_Bridge.esp
[X] Mart's Mutant Mod.esp
[X] Mart's Mutant Mod - DLC Anchorage.esp
[X] Mart's Mutant Mod - DLC The Pitt.esp
[X] Mart's Mutant Mod - DLC Broken Steel.esp
[X] Mart's Mutant Mod - DLC Point Lookout.esp
[X] Mart's Mutant Mod - DLC Zeta.esp
[X] Mart's Mutant Mod - Zones Respawn.esp
[X] Mart's Mutant Mod - Tougher Traders.esp
[X] Mart's Mutant Mod - Natural Selection.esp
[X] Mart's Mutant Mod - Master Menu Module.esp
[X] Mart's Mutant Mod - Project Beauty.esp
[X] Mart's Mutant Mod - FWE Master Release.esp
[X] Mart's Mutant Mod - FWE Master Release + DLCs.esp
[X] Mart's Mutant Mod - FWE Master Release + Project Beauty.esp
[X] F3ProjectRealityMkI.esp
[X] AltonAddon.esp
[X] xCALIBRammo_FWE.esp
[X] Merged Patch Final.esp

I am runnning a Merged Patch. It is required for certain mods.
I have run this order through FO3Edit many times and it comes back
with ZERO errors. Use FO3Edit to create the merged patch.

[Angry Edemame]

Having a slight problem with this, when I go to click affinity it says access is denied. Any way to fix this?

Beyond that, yeah, its a shame bethesda is making no effort to fix this, and I dont buy the "it wasnt made to run on windows 7" neither was oblivion yet that runs just fine without any major fixes.

[TITOMOSQUITO187]

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥.

I love this game and have it on the PS3 with all the DLC already,b ut wanted to get it on PC until I saw the warnign on the Store page long ago.

Figured mods would fix it, but I didn't realize it was this much work. Definitely don't want to play this again enough to do all that ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥. XD

Guess I'll just play New Vegas if I want Fallout. Still like the setting of FO3 better, but no way am I going to go through that much work to make it run. LOL

[AcidVash]

For a simpler solution, try this archived thread: http://forums.steampowered.com/forums/archive/index.php/t-1328904.html

[DnDDoge]

Too much effort to play a game I already beat on xbox years ago. Glad I read the forums before buying. I'll stick with New Vagas for all my post nuclear war needs.

[Bengoro]

this game earn it

[Bobbers]

I dont get the error message that shows me what cores are currently running.

[Darktamer1089]

When i goto Affinity and set to only one core and restart fallout 3 it immediatly goes back to all 4 cores WTF.

[Nakatomi]

I must be bloody lucky because it plays fine on my system the disc based one I suppose it works because it installs GFWL and I then manually download the latest version and overwrite the disc based install of it. I recently reinstalled it the other day to get one last achievement before they canned GFWL and it works fine, is this the steam version thats not working or something else because this is my rig I played it on.

OS: Windows 7 Ultimate 64bit SP1
Board: Gigabyte Z68AP-D3 Rev.1 F8
CPU: INTEL i7 2600k 3.40ghz (Stock)
RAM: Crucial Ballistix Elite 8GB 1866mhz DDR3 (1600mhz@1.60v)
Storage: Crucial 128GB M4 SSD (FW 040H)
Storage 2: Seagate 500GB 7,200rpm HDD
GPU/Audio: HIS 7850 2GB GDDR5 PCI-E Card (Stock)
PSU: OCZ Fatality 750w Modular PSU
Optical: LG GH24NS90 24x DVD-RW

[DeLonge]

OK, so finally after nearly an entire day gone, I got it to work!

I have Windows 7 64-bit Premium Home Edition, and I followed the steps given above. They might have helped it work, but I can't really be sure since they didn't work beforehand. It just crashed on launh every time. What I finally did to make it work, was to change the resolution in the launcher under options to the same as my computer is set at. And that FINALLY made it work! Praise the lord, 'cause I was just about to give up! I really enjoyed New Vegas, so it would've been a shame not to have ♥♥♥♥♥♥ to play Fallout 3 as well.

I'm really not sure if it has anything to do with the cores, the .dll or even Windows at all. Like I said, I finally changed the resolution to the same as my computer is set at, and that made it work! The other fixes are mainly for crashes with more than 2 cores prosessors and memory leaks, so you should probably do those as well. It doesn't hurt since you're not corrupting any files. Hope this can help someone who has the same trouble as I had!

[Aragon]

Strange, i have it running on win7 pro x64..and no problems at all.
Heavly modded (nexus) with all DLC's and running for more then 2 years on win7 very stable.
I even didnt knew that win7 can be a problem,- OR is it cuz the steam version of FO3 ?
I have the old DVD version running (2 times, separated DVD's and the GOTY version too ...cuz zeta).

[RǗsty crÅWdaD]

İlk olarak (G-S.N) Agent Potatoe tarafından gönderildi:

When i goto Affinity and set to only one core and restart fallout 3 it immediatly goes back to all 4 cores WTF.

I found this little fix, not great but better than Alt-Tabbing around http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/83864-processor-affinity-add-set-affinity-context-menu.html

[R5CYA]

why do people keep digging up B.S. threads, when all the fixes needed are in the "pinned" setup guide at the top of the forum?
the world is doomed. lol.