HOW TO FIX FALLOUT 3 GOTY ON NEW GAME CRASH/START BUTTON CRASH :: Fallout 3 - Game of the Year Edition General Discussions

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TheGhostofFutureDisappointments has Fallout 3 - Game of the Year Edition

Aug 7, 2013 @ 3:50pm

HOW TO FIX FALLOUT 3 GOTY ON NEW GAME CRASH/START BUTTON CRASH

Originally posted by BenWah:
Fallout 3 runs GREAT with these easy steps!

NOTE: An easier to follow version of this guide,
with more pics & vids and more updated is clickable below:
http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=149946772

Please don't be intimdated by this list!
Most people get it working with step 4 alone, which is just adding two lines to an INI file.
Windows 8 users also need to run an update shown in step 1.

1) Install Fallout 3.

Windows 8 users must update Games for Windows Live (click me),[www.xbox.com] even if they will disable it. No need to click "Launch".
Helps anyone who crashes when clicking "Play".

Start Fallout, click Play, push the escape key and Quit.
It will detect your graphics card and save some settings.

2) "Games for Windows Live" often causes problems.
Let's disable it with a program specially for Fallout 3.
Manually download this.[fallout3.nexusmods.com]
Extract (unzip) the download.
Start the G4WL disabler anywhere by double clicking it
Click enable and exit.
(FOSE also disables it)

3) Skip[/b] this step if using steam version.
Update to 1.7 with this official patch.[download.zenimax.com]
The CD version of fallout comes with a bad version of .NET, you should update it[www.microsoft.com].

4) This step solves most crashes!
Especially crashes soon after clicking "New Game", when hearing the baby cry.
NEW: if you do step 5 you can skip this, since the new version of the unofficial patch now does this automatically for you!
Edit with notepad:
My Documents\my games\Fallout3\FALLOUT.INI
find (control F) bUseThreadedAI=0
CHANGE to bUseThreadedAI=1
Immediately after this line, ADD this new line:
iNumHWThreads=2
Click here to see example.

5) Updated Unofficial Fallout 3 Patch
Optional but Recommended. Tons of bug fixes.
Download this[fallout3.nexusmods.com] and run it.

6) Autosaves & save overwrites eventually ruin game with crashes & corruption.
While playing press escape, settings, gameplay, disable all 3 autosave options.
Always save to a "New Save". Really! (CASM mod does this for you automatically)

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

7) ONLY IF you still have "New Game" crashes after trying the above:
(especially for Integrated Intel graphics, but helps others too)
Click here[fallout3.nexusmods.com] and "download manually" (Pick a download server when asked)
Right click the download to extract it
Drag only the d3d9x.dll file to your Fallout folder, probably at:
C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Fallout 3 goty\
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lYjblafxHYI

8) ONLY IF you're still stuck:
You can try these on Windows 7 or Vista, but not Windows 8:
go to your fallout3.exe at
C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Fallout 3 goty\Fallout3.exe
Right click it and select properties.
click compatibility tab up top
disable desktop composition
also set your theme to "windows basic"

9) ONLY IF your game still locks immediately after clicking "new game" (intro movie fail), try klite.[codecguide.com]

Try each of these steps. If none of them work, then your computer is either too old or there is something seriously wrong with your comp.

Also, a note: YOU CAN *NOT* GET A REFUND FOR A STEAM GAME. IT IS IN THE USER'S TERMS OF SERVICE WHICH YOU AGREED TO WHEN YOU SIGNED UP FOR STEAM. GET OVER IT.

The author of this topic has marked a post as the answer to their question.
Click here to jump to that post.

Originally posted by Gravitymike:

if later bethesda games don't have issues on you're system, it could be,

force your system to recognize your video card by following the instructions below:
NVIDIA Graphics Cards
Right-click on your desktop and select NVIDIA Control Panel.
In the Control Panel, select Manage 3D settings (SELECT HIGH PERFORMANCE NVIDIA PROCESSOR), then click on the Program Settings tab.
Next to the "Select a program to customize" option, click the Add button.
From the pop-up window, navigate to the folder where Fallout GOTY is installed. This will most likely be C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Fallout
Select the executable file for the game (Fallout.exe).
In the "Select the preferred graphics processor for this program" option, open the drop-down menu and select High-performance NVIDIA processor and confirm.
To improve performance, to the "Specify the settings for this program:" section, click Power management mode, and select Prefer maximum performance and confirm.
To further improve performance, you can also change the settings below:
Vertical sync to off
Threaded optimization to off
Triple buffering to off

NOW FOR ME Right-click on your desktop and select NVIDIA Control Panel.
In the Control Panel, select Manage 3D settings (SELECT HIGH PERFORMANCE NVIDIA PROCESSOR) Was all i needed to do, as later games just recognized my chip where as flallout GOTY did not.

a simple email or 2 to bethesda helped me solve this problem

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Showing 1-15 of 18 comments

Zodasaur

Aug 7, 2013 @ 3:56pm

Originally posted by k1kz3r:
Originally posted by BenWah:

Also, a note: YOU CAN *NOT* GET A REFUND FOR A STEAM GAME. IT IS IN THE USER'S TERMS OF SERVICE WHICH YOU AGREED TO WHEN YOU SIGNED UP FOR STEAM. GET OVER IT.

No I refuse to get over it and you can't make me. DEAL WITH IT.