HELP BF2 Blue Screen Crash

[Sully_Deltaniner]

BSOD "Stop! 0x0000008e"

I've also been getting BSOD "Stop! 0x0000008e..." errors. The sound stutters before it crashes.

Take a look at this rig:

Intel P4 2.6Mhz
Abit IS7 with Award BIOS updated
BFG nVidia 6800gt oc w/nVidia v77.77 drivers)
3 x Kingston 512MB Valueram Memory DDR400 PC3200 CL 3
Soundblaster Live! Value
Onboard AC97 audio disabled in BIOS
Page file set at 3200 min 4000 max
Allied 450w PSU

I've searched and googled threads all over with this error code and they all seem to point to memory problems. I ran memory tests (memtest (http://hcidesign.com/memtest/) and Microsoft Windows Memory Diagnostic) and found no errors on the three sticks of Kingston Valueram pc3200 512mb. CPU and system temp levels seem to be ok at around 48-53 degrees C. From a cold startup, I can play ONE round with low settings at 1024x768 resolution and audio set at hardware rendering EAX off VOIP off but sound is really choppy. Sound was fine when I was using software audio rendering. I was able to play this one round before map change. This leads me to think it's a memory heating problem...or just a heating in general...

Would bumping up the DRAM voltage in BIOS help this? Award BIOS default is 2.6 and it's currently at 2.7.

Is there a way to tune down the oc on the BFG since it claims to be OC'd right out of the box?

I had upgraded to the 6800gt from an ATI Radeon x800 pro hoping that this would resolve the memory errors but clearly it hasn't. And before that I had a PNY nVidia 6600 that was giving me problems too. $600 dollars in upgrades later, here I am.

I work at a help desk but I'm all out of answers here. Thoughts? Anyone? I'm at my wit's end here.

Sully

[Kelloggs]

Same problems as you fellas, cant identify exactly what is casuing the issue and getting the same stop errors suggesting memory, any help would be greatly appreciated fellas, or should i just wait for patch 1.03

[Chunter]

i was having the same blue screens yesterday,but only playing as commander.
the only thing i've have done is in the last week i added 512 more ram.
to fix it all i had to do was change my page file size as i'de forgotton to do it when i put the new stick in.

to change do as follows

Right click on My computer choose properties

choose advanced from all of the tabs you are presented with

choose performance\settings

choose advanced then at the bottom you'll see virtual memory

click change then you're presented with the options for your page file whatever you wanna call it

click custom size and set your initial and maximum size the same.
you want to try and have it either two times or one and a half times the amount of ram you have installed ( whichever expert you read it from on the net says different )
I have 1.5 gigs of ram installed and have my page file set at 2500 after trying to find the smallest setting i could have without the game crashing.

remember i was only having bsod's whilst playing as commander so it means it may not help everyone.

plz don't flame me quoting expert blah blah says this..i'm just trying to help someone out

hope it works for someone somewhere

Chunter

[tellysurv]

I'm having the same exact problem: BSOD with the Stop error that points to RAM. I have 4 sticks of 512mb from Crucial to equal 2 gigs. All of the ram is the exact same. Two of the sticks were originally put in the PC when I built it. After buying BF2, I ordered 2 more sticks and put them in. After that, I started having problems. I never even thought about the page file settings. I've never messed with RAM voltage in my BIOS and I'm not sure what to do there. If none of that stuff works, then I'll start taking RAM out and testing. The only other thing to do would be ordering RAM coolers and installing them on my ram.
It's strange that something like RAM would cause only the MP part of BF2 to crash...

Here's my specs:

Intel P4 3.0 Ghz
Intel D875PBZ Mobo (with all latest drivers from Intel website)
OCZ 520W PSU
eVga GeForce FX 5950 Ultra 256mb VGA w/Zalman Cooler (77.77 Drivers)
2gb Crucial RAM
Turtle Beach Catalina 7.1 Sound
2 x 160gb HDD
Asus CD-ROM
Iomega SuperDVD- DVD/CD RW

[tellysurv]

I have an Intel mobo (model D875PBZ), therefore I couldnt even use these nForce drivers, correct?
Thanks for the help.
Chris

If the following works plz get back to me

Use the http://drivercleaner.net and remove traces of nforce drivers (If you wish)

Solution:
Simply download the new NVIDIA nForce4 drivers for you motherboard chipset! For the AMD its driver version 6.53 (not the beta version). Surprisingly no freezes!
Just follow this link to get the drivers:
http://www.nvidia.com/content/drivers/drivers.asp

Thread mentions 6.53, but they aren't the latest drivers anymore 6.66 was released on July 15.

Quote ...Nvidias did the trick. I played all night with everything cranked to the max. If you are having stuttering/rubberbanding issues just turn off your dynamic lighting and shadows, but if you are getting the hard locks where you have to hit the reset button do yourself a big favor and update your chipset drivers from Nvidia's site and not your boards website. Thanks for the tip EuqirneSelbor!! Works great!!

Thanks to .. EuqirneSelbor, TRS*MajorPaynE, Gunny Highway.
Source http://forums.totalbf2.com/showthread.php?t=9418&page=1&pp=20&highlight=Athlo n+freeze

Failing that PM nicely, to Gunny Highway and ask him to look into this post he has way more knowledge than me.

[DakotaDoc64]

Re: HELP BF2 Blue Screen Crash

I have had crashes like you. I found that I didn't have the crashes on non PB servers. That pointed me to a Punkbuster conflict with a hardware driver. Ended up being my RAID controller built into the MoBo.

Try a non PB server. If it goes away then look for any drivers that are not WHQL certified.

Make sure all you drivers are the latest. All drivers, including your MoBO chipset.

[J()sh]

Re: HELP BF2 Blue Screen Crash

What are non whql certified drivers?

[DakotaDoc64]

Re: HELP BF2 Blue Screen Crash

What are non whql certified drivers?

WHQL Drivers are tested by Microsoft, certified to work properly with MS Windows and known hardware. Non WHQL obviously are not tested to work properly by MS. This does not mean they will not work with Windows. Infact one time I had more problems with a newer WHQL drivers over the driver that was not. But overall I have had better luck with certified drivers.

From MS website

(Windows Hardware Quality Labs (WHQL) is providing WHQL System Policies, which consolidates system policies into a single location for ease of use.

WHQL System Policies is for testers and account administrators who run Hardware Compatibility Tests (HCTs) and submit packages to Microsoft for the "Designed for Windows" logo program for Microsoft® Windows® XP and Windows Server™ 2003 operating systems.)

[Sully_Deltaniner]

Re: BSOD "Stop! 0x0000008e"

I've also been getting BSOD "Stop! 0x0000008e..." errors. The sound stutters before it crashes.

So here's an update. I read the BF2 tweak guide found here
http://www.tweakguides.com/BF2_2.html and I turned down my aperature from 256mb to 128mb. I pulled out one stick and tried every combination of 2 sticks installed from the three that I have and still get that error 0x0000008e. I seem to run fine in singleplayer. But once I try to play a round of mulitplayer I get a BSoD. The only piece of legacy hardware I have is a soundblaster live value. I have eax off and software rendering on. No dice. I'm beginning to think it's punkbuster related... anyone else having problems running bf2 with nvidia 77.77 drivers?

[SerbSniper1]

Re: HELP BF2 Blue Screen Crash

Something new to try, received an email from PUNKBUSTER TECH. They wanted to know If I had any ZIP drives, or Multiple CARD/Floppy readers. Read the below post from another site.

http://www.bf2.com/showthread.php?t=824

[tellysurv]

Re: HELP BF2 Blue Screen Crash

Very interesting. I have an old external zip100 drive and an Iomega SuperDVD drive on my setup now. I see theres a fix on that site so I'll give it a go....

[imported_bosx2]

Re: HELP BF2 Blue Screen Crash

and I thought I´m the only one who have these freezes (sound loops when crashed or I get a blue screen)

They happen very randomly, sometimes it takes 3/4 hours until I get a freeze, sometimes I dont get a freeze and sometimes it happens after a few minutes

I checked everything, my ram/heat/voltage, I also added a second power supply to be sure its not an weak power supply (having 2 power supply in one pc is funny somehow)

Its defnittly not a hardware fault, I play much more hardware intense games like Doom3 in coop for 12+ hours and it did not freeze a single time!!!!

I only played on PB Servers so maybe its a PB issue, I will idle on a non pb server tonight, to see if I get a freeze there too..

[SerbSniper1]

Re: HELP BF2 Blue Screen Crash

If you have any IOMEGA products, ZIP drive, DVD or the floppy card readers concentrate on the. So far I'm fixed. It was the zip drive.

[imported_bosx2]

Re: HELP BF2 Blue Screen Crash

you know what, it IS PB! I idled the whole night on a non-pb server and I woke up and hooha.. I was still on the server

for IOMEGA, I dont have any products from that firm

[Sully_Deltaniner]

Re: HELP BF2 Blue Screen Crash

Something new to try, received an email from PUNKBUSTER TECH. They wanted to know If I had any ZIP drives, or Multiple CARD/Floppy readers. Read the below post from another site.

http://www.bf2.com/showthread.php?t=824

Yes, it was the internal zip drive, punkbuster related. I unplugged it and I was able to play several rounds on 'low' video for hours and hours...until there was a map change - but at least it's somewhat playable now!

Sully