About Halo 2 system requirements

[InvincibleKirov]

I got Halo Reach, 1, 3, ODST running on my computer. I tried to run Halo 4, but didn't work (I still have the game files, though). I'd like to run Halo 2. I don't need the anniversary graphics. Classic graphics will do for now, although the anniversary version does look good. I have enough space and RAM. The only problem is the processor; I have an i3. Halo 4 didn't work (the first cinematic with Halsey plays, but I get a black screen on the other levels; audio plays as if the game is okay). Will I have the experience I had with Halo 4? I'm not into multiplayer too much (I'm happy with Reach's multiplayer for now). The store page says I can run it on a i3, but... will it run? Given the low specs, I just want it to be 'playable'.
Oh, and if you have any suggestions to get H4 running, please drop it in the replies.

[liquidken420]

Honestly a black screen in that situation is less likely to be due to an underpowered PC and more likely due to a driver or software issue of some sort. Outdated driver, corrupted data, that sort of thing. I assure you it's not your CPU. My CPU is an AMD FX-8350 which is damn near TEN YEARS OLD and plays the entire MCC just fine. I'm sure your i3 is equally fine in that regard, if not better. (The FX series is fine and it's longevity is quite nice, but they were not AMD's finest hour to be sure.)

I'll assume you've updated your drivers (graphics in particular especially if your video card is used for HDMI audio passthrough) and done all the Steam stuff where you verify integrity and whatnot. Uninstall and reinstall the game possibly, but if verifiying cache doesn't work then a reinstall might not work either.

Google Fu shows a possible fix is to simply Alt-Tab out of Halo then Alt-Tab back into Halo. That has worked for me a few games over the years, most recently, one of the Middle Earth games did it to me, as did one of the Arkham games. Back in the Windows ME/XP/Vista era, this happened a LOT more often with various games, especially older ones, and Alt-Tab workedquite often worked for all those old games as well. I feel like I remember having to do with with Icewind Dale II a lot back in the day. (It also works if you are streaming video and get something like this, where the audio and video are missing or out of sync or w/e.) I was reminded of it as I was doing some Google Fu re. this issue and found in discussions surrounding Halo Reach.

Another thing to check: Apparently H2A multiplayer could cause Reach to act like this, so if you have that multiplayer installed, maybe disable it and try H4 again.

Yet another thing I found, specific to H2A again but again same symptions so definitely still worth a try: If you have multiple sound output options: for example, my PC has Realtek HD Audio onboard--both 3.5mm jack and SPDIF jacks, NVidia HDMI audio passthrough, and USB output with the headset--Try disabling all but one of the audio outputs as wonky audio driver conflicts can cause oddball issues like this (OG Bioshock on Windows Vista did this to me, the fix back then was to install a NO-CD CRACK to get it working (YUP!) (Again I'm assuming all drivers are updated here!)

A lot of this Google Fu knowledge comes in relation to Reach and H2A which both came out a few months before H4 did, so take it all with a grain of salt. But apparently Reach and H2A had similar issues that you're experiencing right now, so give these fixes a try. It's not like bugs haven't ever cropped up again after 343i patched something.... Looking at you, Infinite Big Team Battle "Fix..."

TBQH the Alt-Tab nonsense is the most likley solution.

[Define Brackish Water]

On the subject of Alt+Tab if the game disappears but the audio keeps playing here's the fix.
https://steamcommunity.com/app/976730/discussions/0/3194742149937082798/
It's some sort of Windows 10 bug.

[InvincibleKirov]

Originally posted by liquidken420:

Honestly a black screen in that situation is less likely to be due to an underpowered PC and more likely due to a driver or software issue of some sort. Outdated driver, corrupted data, that sort of thing. I assure you it's not your CPU. My CPU is an AMD FX-8350 which is damn near TEN YEARS OLD and plays the entire MCC just fine. I'm sure your i3 is equally fine in that regard, if not better. (The FX series is fine and it's longevity is quite nice, but they were not AMD's finest hour to be sure.)

I'll assume you've updated your drivers (graphics in particular especially if your video card is used for HDMI audio passthrough) and done all the Steam stuff where you verify integrity and whatnot. Uninstall and reinstall the game possibly, but if verifiying cache doesn't work then a reinstall might not work either.

Google Fu shows a possible fix is to simply Alt-Tab out of Halo then Alt-Tab back into Halo. That has worked for me a few games over the years, most recently, one of the Middle Earth games did it to me, as did one of the Arkham games. Back in the Windows ME/XP/Vista era, this happened a LOT more often with various games, especially older ones, and Alt-Tab workedquite often worked for all those old games as well. I feel like I remember having to do with with Icewind Dale II a lot back in the day. (It also works if you are streaming video and get something like this, where the audio and video are missing or out of sync or w/e.) I was reminded of it as I was doing some Google Fu re. this issue and found in discussions surrounding Halo Reach.

Another thing to check: Apparently H2A multiplayer could cause Reach to act like this, so if you have that multiplayer installed, maybe disable it and try H4 again.

Yet another thing I found, specific to H2A again but again same symptions so definitely still worth a try: If you have multiple sound output options: for example, my PC has Realtek HD Audio onboard--both 3.5mm jack and SPDIF jacks, NVidia HDMI audio passthrough, and USB output with the headset--Try disabling all but one of the audio outputs as wonky audio driver conflicts can cause oddball issues like this (OG Bioshock on Windows Vista did this to me, the fix back then was to install a NO-CD CRACK to get it working (YUP!) (Again I'm assuming all drivers are updated here!)

A lot of this Google Fu knowledge comes in relation to Reach and H2A which both came out a few months before H4 did, so take it all with a grain of salt. But apparently Reach and H2A had similar issues that you're experiencing right now, so give these fixes a try. It's not like bugs haven't ever cropped up again after 343i patched something.... Looking at you, Infinite Big Team Battle "Fix..."

TBQH the Alt-Tab nonsense is the most likley solution.

Hold on a second! You made a good point! Corrupted data. While downloading H4, I had to Alt Tab out and well.... turn WiFi off. I needed better Internet fir some other matters. I turned it back on and left the computer alone for a while, only to see that the download had stopped. I did use the 'verify file integrity option', but it probably never fixed the issue. And oh, I'm using a processor that came out in something like 2016. It's new and powerful, for an i3. The drivers are up-to date, I think. I have Direct-X 12 and all those. I had to fix them for other games too.
Will deleting the H4 DLC and re-downloading it work? What do you think?
Oh, I don't use H CE multiplayer or H3 multiplayer. I'm more into the campaign. I probably won't download the multiplayer anytime soon.
I did start downloading the H2 campaign by the way. I hope it won't be a flop.

[liquidken420]

Originally posted by Define Brackish Water:

On the subject of Alt+Tab if the game disappears but the audio keeps playing here's the fix.
https://steamcommunity.com/app/976730/discussions/0/3194742149937082798/
It's some sort of Windows 10 bug.

TG, I would try this first as it'll be faster, then if it fails try uninstall / reinstall. Hope it works, Halo 4 has a pretty great campaign.

[Fastspectre]

Originally posted by TG:

I got Halo Reach, 1, 3, ODST running on my computer. I tried to run Halo 4, but didn't work (I still have the game files, though). I'd like to run Halo 2. I don't need the anniversary graphics. Classic graphics will do for now, although the anniversary version does look good. I have enough space and RAM. The only problem is the processor; I have an i3. Halo 4 didn't work (the first cinematic with Halsey plays, but I get a black screen on the other levels; audio plays as if the game is okay). Will I have the experience I had with Halo 4? I'm not into multiplayer too much (I'm happy with Reach's multiplayer for now). The store page says I can run it on a i3, but... will it run? Given the low specs, I just want it to be 'playable'.
Oh, and if you have any suggestions to get H4 running, please drop it in the replies.

2 should run but it's the least optimised (for me it runs worse then 4) and as far as i know it's still not fixed and you can still get random game stutters and frame drops (with both grafics), also it kinda runs twice same as 1 because of the anniversary grafics and the ability to switch between them by hitting tab on the fly

[InvincibleKirov]

Originally posted by liquidken420:

Originally posted by Define Brackish Water:

On the subject of Alt+Tab if the game disappears but the audio keeps playing here's the fix.
https://steamcommunity.com/app/976730/discussions/0/3194742149937082798/
It's some sort of Windows 10 bug.

TG, I would try this first as it'll be faster, then if it fails try uninstall / reinstall. Hope it works, Halo 4 has a pretty great campaign.

I got Halo 2 running.
I changed the starting graphics from remastered to classic. Frame-rate is decent. The frame-rate after switching to anniversary is... okay, I guess. It's playable... sort of.
I'll check that out. I've not deleted H4 yet.

[InvincibleKirov]

Originally posted by F4stw1nd:

Originally posted by TG:

I got Halo Reach, 1, 3, ODST running on my computer. I tried to run Halo 4, but didn't work (I still have the game files, though). I'd like to run Halo 2. I don't need the anniversary graphics. Classic graphics will do for now, although the anniversary version does look good. I have enough space and RAM. The only problem is the processor; I have an i3. Halo 4 didn't work (the first cinematic with Halsey plays, but I get a black screen on the other levels; audio plays as if the game is okay). Will I have the experience I had with Halo 4? I'm not into multiplayer too much (I'm happy with Reach's multiplayer for now). The store page says I can run it on a i3, but... will it run? Given the low specs, I just want it to be 'playable'.
Oh, and if you have any suggestions to get H4 running, please drop it in the replies.

2 should run but it's the least optimised (for me it runs worse then 4) and as far as i know it's still not fixed and you can still get random game stutters and frame drops (with both grafics), also it kinda runs twice same as 1 because of the anniversary grafics and the ability to switch between them by hitting tab on the fly

You're right. The classic seems kinda okay to me. I'm worried about the vehicle sections.

[InvincibleKirov]

Originally posted by F4stw1nd:

Originally posted by TG:

I got Halo Reach, 1, 3, ODST running on my computer. I tried to run Halo 4, but didn't work (I still have the game files, though). I'd like to run Halo 2. I don't need the anniversary graphics. Classic graphics will do for now, although the anniversary version does look good. I have enough space and RAM. The only problem is the processor; I have an i3. Halo 4 didn't work (the first cinematic with Halsey plays, but I get a black screen on the other levels; audio plays as if the game is okay). Will I have the experience I had with Halo 4? I'm not into multiplayer too much (I'm happy with Reach's multiplayer for now). The store page says I can run it on a i3, but... will it run? Given the low specs, I just want it to be 'playable'.
Oh, and if you have any suggestions to get H4 running, please drop it in the replies.

2 should run but it's the least optimised (for me it runs worse then 4) and as far as i know it's still not fixed and you can still get random game stutters and frame drops (with both grafics), also it kinda runs twice same as 1 because of the anniversary grafics and the ability to switch between them by hitting tab on the fly

Sadly, it didn't work. I tried the borderless mode and those other settings too. Any other suggestions? Like I said, the audio plays impeccably, just with a black screen.

[Fastspectre]

Originally posted by TG:

Originally posted by F4stw1nd:

2 should run but it's the least optimised (for me it runs worse then 4) and as far as i know it's still not fixed and you can still get random game stutters and frame drops (with both grafics), also it kinda runs twice same as 1 because of the anniversary grafics and the ability to switch between them by hitting tab on the fly

Sadly, it didn't work. I tried the borderless mode and those other settings too. Any other suggestions? Like I said, the audio plays impeccably, just with a black screen.

i don't know, 4 is the newest of the games and it might just demand to much from your system to run
Here are the Halo 4 System Requirements (Minimum)

CPU: Intel Core i7-975 | AMD A12-9800 APU.
RAM: 2 GB.
OS: Windows 7.
VIDEO CARD: GeForce GTS 450 | Radeon R7 Graphics.
PIXEL SHADER: 5.0.
VERTEX SHADER: 5.0.
FREE DISK SPACE: 55 GB.
DEDICATED VIDEO RAM: 512 MB.
it says i 7's but it runs on i5's and i think you said you have an i3 that might be the main problem but i'm no expert

[liquidken420]

The CPU requirements you listed are all sorts of weird and semi-nonsensical, though I do know they're actually legit and official. MCC overall wants an AMD Phenom II X4 960T or an Intel Core i3-550. Now I can't quite speak to the Intel vs Intel comparison but I can say first-hand that a Phenom X4 will outperform that A12 APU when it comes to gaming. The remaining requirements (video card and all that) are the same.

TL;DR: I'm not convinced his i3 isn't good enough, especially if his i3 holds up against that i7-975 as well as a Phenom II X4 holds up to an A12.