Source games freeze framing on capable Windows Laptop

[35553]

Source games (I’ve only checked TF2 and Garry’s Mod for now, but no other non-source game does this) are freezing after a seemingly random amount of time, the game still continues, I can interact with everything, there’s sound and all after a brief distortion when it happens and every system is still working, but the frame just… freezes completely still for some reason.

I’ve done pretty much everything I could find from other older threads on issues even tangentially related as well as obviously referring to the help page, for example verifying my files, checking to see if there are any antivirus on the system that would conflict, making sure literally everything is up to date, and using pretty much every different game setting under the sun to see what happens.

I’m at my wits end with this problem and would greatly appreciate help. I can only hope it’s an easy fix I just overlooked. Thanks in advance.

[Satoru]

Define 'capable' laptop what are your

CPU
GPU
Memory

[35553]

Satoru lähetti viestin:

Define 'capable' laptop what are your

CPU
GPU
Memory

Sorry for the wait, I was unexpectedly busy, I have in the order you gave;


12th Gen Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-1255U
Intel Iris Xe Graphics
16 GB

I don't know if this would be the problem though, as the games I'm playing are decade+ old I thought that it should be a given that modern systems can run them? This doesn't happen for any other games I own that should be more taxing on my laptop, just source ones. I otherwise have zero issues playing other games. I'm completely stumped here.

[35553]

Update:


I've tried a few new things since then, nothings' worked yet. Hope someone sees this thread so I can get a definite answer to my problem. Fingers crossed.

[rawWwRrr]

emircant69 lähetti viestin:

had similar issue with drivers, try running in powershell (windows key + R to open powershell)

[redacted]

hope this works for you too

Do not run any of these commands

[matt]

Your laptop is not meant for gaming. Integrated graphics like Iris Xe can play undemanding games, but you should stick to simple games if possible. Maybe look for system requirements somewhere around the GTX 550, GT 640, or GT 740.

Also, because you have shared video memory, you'll need to close other programs when you run games and try to stick to games that don't require too much RAM.

[35553]

matt lähetti viestin:

Your laptop is not meant for gaming. Integrated graphics like Iris Xe can play undemanding games, but you should stick to simple games if possible. Maybe look for system requirements somewhere around the GTX 550, GT 640, or GT 740.

Also, because you have shared video memory, you'll need to close other programs when you run games and try to stick to games that don't require too much RAM.

Hello! When I meant that the laptop was capable I meant that should be capable to run games like Gmod with minimal addons and unmodded TF2, (TF2 would now be a legal adult in many places for example!) I've been having issues with specifically source games, nothing else, particularly when compared to more demanding experiences.

I don't personally think the performance ability of the laptop is the issue I'm having as the game continues to run after the frame freezes, (the game sounds continue and I can still interact with the game itself, shooting, moving, sounds can be heard, I can use menus etc, it's just frozen on a single frame, and when I check in task manger the game is still using the CPU and memory as if it were active) though I will still look into this to double check just in case, nonetheless thanks for the advice!

[35553]

rawWwRrr lähetti viestin:

emircant69 lähetti viestin:

had similar issue with drivers, try running in powershell (windows key + R to open powershell)

[redacted]

hope this works for you too

Do not run any of these commands

Could you elaborate on this? I'm not sure what happened here?

[matt]

Some of the Realtek chips are trash. If you have USB headphones, you could try seeing what happens when you use them. That would bypass any audio jacks and thus also bypass the Realtek chip. If it's sound that triggers this, maybe that'll help. To see if it's video instead of audio, try running the game at 1280x720 instead of 1920x1080, assuming you're using a 16:9 display.

16GB of RAM should be more than enough, even with shared memory. There just aren't many cases where an old game would fill that up. However, one thing you might consider is running an overlay that will tell you how much RAM you're using up in-game. Horrific stuttering could be memory swapping to a hard disk, which is basically the worst case scenario for any gamer except for their power supply blowing up.

And if we're checking everything, you might as well check your thermals. Laptops can get very hot. That means you get throttled, which means performance suffers greatly until temps get back under control. I assume you're playing games while plugged into an outlet, but if you're not... well, you should. Otherwise, you'll probably get throttled to conserve power.

If you're feeling curious, you can run some benchmarks. Maybe that'll tell you something useful?

[35553]

Update:

Haven't found any fix yet, nothing I've read anywhere has worked so far

[Iceira]

35553 lähetti viestin:

Haven't found any fix yet, nothing I've read anywhere has worked so far

We cant help you then you don't accept that PC can't run all games,
Try "Can i run it " thats a browser srevice for people that dont know what pc requirement is about, and match whatevergame requirement is. its a suggestion and they actual is pretty good with its judgement.

we mean, i and other that bother with a reply here.

And we could all say why do you buy a none game PC then you play games that PC can't handle.

thats is judge by many as a office pc only.

[35553]

Iceira lähetti viestin:

35553 lähetti viestin:

Haven't found any fix yet, nothing I've read anywhere has worked so far

We cant help you then you don't accept that PC can't run all games,
Try "Can i run it " thats a browser srevice for people that dont know what pc requirement is about, and match whatevergame requirement is. its a suggestion and they actual is pretty good with its judgement.

we mean, i and other that bother with a reply here.

And we could all say why do you buy a none game PC then you play games that PC can't handle.

thats is judge by many as a office pc only.

Like I've said, I don't think its a requirements problem, the website you sent said I can run the games I'm having issues with. To reiterate; specifically games that run on source freeze for a few seconds at most but then continue working afterwards with the same frame displayed over it, this seemingly happens at random and I can't find a way to force it to happen.

[Iceira]

Check windows event viewer and see if there is a log why that app crash.

* Starting January 1st, 2024, the Steam Client will only support Windows 10 and later versions.

make sure you are win10+ ( not a windows N version that is diffrent. )
there are so many what if this and that here.

feel free to contact game support and ask own game forum, why it don't work.

[Iceira]

Forgot the old check system, do not hav e other system issue, any here can tell you that.

DISM.exe /Online /Cleanup-Image /Restorehealth
SFC /Scannow
chkdsk c:
chkdsk d:
chkdsk e:

ps.
But in your case you hope it is, and it fix it,, because with no error code and game crash you need a lucky shoot that someone just like your PC Spec has solve it.

other issue do not play games in balance mode, use Full performance ( aka. max power scematic if this matter at all ) U-processor is still be seen as a lesser CPU.

[35553]

Update:

Still having this issue, unfortunately nothing in the thread has helped so far

[35553]

Seems to be happening somewhat more frequently now too