Topic: Generals Serious error message - Post it here !

[GhostTX]

Here's my specs:
Asus A7N8X Dlx rev1.04 - 1001.G BIOS
Athlon XP 2400
512MB Corsair pc3200c2
Asus GF4 Ti4200 8X
Maxtor 60GB ATA133 7.2K
Lite-On DVD 16x40 & CDRW 40x12x48
Win98SE

Virtual memory is set at 512MB.

I could accept this as limitation on my computer if it happened on EVERY MAP...but I CAN run Smooth Water Borders on EVERY map BUT Tournament Island. To me, something just ain't right.

If you look, Dark Mountain, Flash Effect, and Tournament Continent all have large bodies of water around them...and the game loads with Smooth Water Borders. So if its a graphics chugging issues...why don't I crash on those?

And at the moment, I'm too cheap to pay $200 for XP.

[Atomic Mitten]

When you start ZH try lowering some of the graphics options before you start playing, see if that helps ? (I mean in the ingame graphics options).

[number6]

Here's my specs:
Asus A7N8X Dlx rev1.04 - 1001.G BIOS
Athlon XP 2400
512MB Corsair pc3200c2
Asus GF4 Ti4200 8X
Maxtor 60GB ATA133 7.2K
Lite-On DVD 16x40 & CDRW 40x12x48
Win98SE

Virtual memory is set at 512MB.

I could accept this as limitation on my computer if it happened on EVERY MAP...but I CAN run Smooth Water Borders on EVERY map BUT Tournament Island. To me, something just ain't right.

If you look, Dark Mountain, Flash Effect, and Tournament Continent all have large bodies of water around them...and the game loads with Smooth Water Borders. So if its a graphics chugging issues...why don't I crash on those?

And at the moment, I'm too cheap to pay $200 for XP.

I felt the same way you do a couple of months ago, but when I had issues with Tron 2.0 I determined that it was time to upgrade to XP. I bought a full OEM version of Home Edition for $90. That's not a bad price for a hell of a performance kick.  I don't know why you have this problem with that one map, but the point is the problem is there and your installed OS is behind the times.  I guess it comes down to how badly you want this map to work. Personally I would have given up on that map until I could afford to upgrade to Windows XP.  There may be a solution for Windows 98, but it may take a lot of specific tweaking to get it to work for this one map. If you are going to do all that tweaking you may want to consider a fresh reinstall of Windows 98 and drivers.

[GhostTX]

I'm working now on trying to get a copy of XP Pro for less than retail (legitmately).

In the meantime, I just have Smooth Water Borders off when I play.  A fix, not the one I want, but a fix.

Thanks for all of your help.

[Atomic Mitten]

Well glad we could help you out !

[ccptwo]

Hey Guys,

I have recently started getting this Serious error (Technical Difficulties) when playing Generals and Generals Zero Hour.  I was able to isolate my problem and that would be memory.   I had two Kingston Hyperx DDR 333 PC2700 512MB with the same build number.  Generals and Zero Hour worked great with no problems at all.  I then purchased another Kingston Hyperx DDR 333 PC2700 512MB with a different build number than the other two.  When I installed this third memory dimm I started to receive the Serious Error in Generals and ZH.

I then switched the dimms around to see if that would fix the problem but, the error still appeared.  I then took out the original two dimms that had the same build number leaving the third dimm by itself and what do you know it worked fine no serious error.

I called Kingston about this and they believe that the third dimm is having trouble communicating with the other original two dimms.  Kingston is now sending me out another Kingston Hyperx DDR 333 PC2700 512MB with the same build number so hopefully this will work.

I must state also that before you make the assumption that your memory is the problem please consult your motherboard user guide and make sure your bios settings and jumper settings are correct for memory / CPU / GPU etc.

System specs:
Antec 480W PSU
Athlon XP 2800+ Barton
Gigabyte 7VAXP Ultra
PNY Geforce FX 5900 Ultra
Sound Baster Audigy Gamer Sound Card
Logitech Z680 Speaker System
Sony GDM-F520
Cooler Master Case
1.5GB Kingston Hyperx DDR 333 PC2700 512MB
2 Maxtor 7200RPM 80 GB Hard Drives Raided
Windows XP Professional

I hope this helps.

ccptwo

[number6]

Excellent advice and thanks for the information ccptwo.  

[ccptwo]

Hi Guys,

Just an update on my situation.  Kingston sent me out another Hyperx DDR333 PC2700 512MB Memory Dimm with the same build number as the other two in my computer and GREAT NEWS !!! I have put this memory through the test with solo play and multiplayer with options set to high and I have not received any serious errors (Technical Difficulties).

So this fixed my problem and hopefully it will fix yours.

Thanks again for having a great forum.

ccptwo

[Doc Nyar]

Thanks for the feedback ccptwo

[Doc Nyar]

Crazykirk posted this on the EA forums, it might aid those having  the same issue:

Maybe this will help, maybe not...


Zero Hour had been working fine w/o any errors online and on my lan. Yesterday, whenever I would start a multiplayer game, it would abort with the infamous serious error message. I finally traced this to a bad entry in the Network.ini file. I was unable to play online or lan. I moved the file out of the directory and it worked ok. Since it was isolated to multiplayer games, this seemed like the thing to do. The error did come back after I played a network game using several computers on the lan. The entry in the Network.ini file describes the game creator and seems to interfer with online play.

Here is the contents of the Network.ini file that caused the error:


Color = 0
Map = maps_5Ctournament_20island_5Ctournament_20isl and_2Emap
PlayerTemplate = 10
RemoteIP0 = 192.168.0.102:7_00u_00p_00y_00o_00u_00r_00s_0 0
StartingCash = 10000
SuperweaponRestrict = No
UseSystemMapDir = yes
UserName = C_00r_00a_00y_00z_00K_00i_00r_00k_00


The "RemoteIP0" entry appears to be causing the problem and yes, I use a router and had never seen this before the 1.02 mod came out.

Good Luck!

Kirk

P.S. The game recreated the Network.ini file so you can simply delete the entire file or remove the entry that causes the error.

[davemission]

ive read most of these but i think my problem is bad memory..could be overheating but i dont think so..

i used to have the AC97 onboard but i disabled it and now im using sound blaster..i posted a long time about my comp shutting down when im playing or the critical error msg.  i gave up but now i bought xpac tryin to fix it again.

ive got 512 ram not sure where to see which kind it is
2.4 ghz p4
geforce fx 5200

i was gettin serious error when the game was launching but i reinstalled it on my new hd and its fine..but i tryed a campaign and it shut down a couple mins in.  ive been playing diablo 2 and i would get an error half the time i played, but recently i tried closing all the useless apps running and i havent been having errors but i havent playd it much.  even with all the apps closed in generals still havin the prob.  occasionly in diablo it will make a noise and shutdown like somthin is messed up inside i dont know.  im thinking memory problems.. the temp gauge for the case says 90-95 F, it used to get up to 100-105 F, during the game.

thanks for any help

[Doc Nyar]

Dave, is the 512 just one memory module, or two ? If it's 2 modules, then try taking one out and then try to play. If the problem still happens, try swapping the modules around and see if that helps. If it doesn't, it most likely may not be a memory problem.

Another thing you could try, is taking the computer case off to let some extra cool ait inside the pc. Try playing with the computer case off and if possible, have an external fan blow cool air inside. That should take care of any heat issues you might have.

[ccptwo]

Well Gentlemen & Ladies,

I'm back unfortunately.  The serious error came back into my life just in time for me to lose an intense battle that I was winning.  This error is slowly but, surely killing me and others day by day.  I have been in contact with EA Support for over a week now going over my system setup, specs, bios entries, etc. nothing has come to fruition.  Carlos (EA Support) has stated that General's has been having problems with VIA chipsets, in which I have.  I say, fine. So I purchased a new Gigabyte motherboard nforce2, Athlon XP 3200+ 400FSB, Maxtor Serial ATA 160GB Hard Drive, 1GB Kingston Hyperx PC3200, and Audigy Z Gamer to go with my Geforce FX 5900 Ultra Graphics Card.

I'll get back to you when I have it setup and we'll see if it's the VIA Chipset.

Anyways, I personally believe it's memory leaks.  If memory serves me correct when I had 1GB(2x512MB) in my board I never had this problem.  When I purchased another 512MB things started to happen.  I will promise you this I will not stop until I find the problem.

I attached my system info and error report.

ccptwo

[attachment deleted by admin]

[Atomic Mitten]

I think your right about the memory leaks,I read somewhere that Kingston memory has a problem that Kingston know about,it has to be the exact same batch number,when using multiple sticks,I take it that it's Kingston Hyperex?

[davemission]

yea its just one stick of 512

ill try the fan thing if i can find one

[Doc Nyar]

yea its just one stick of 512

ill try the fan thing if i can find one

Feel free to post back if it doesn't work.

[davemission]

im gettin the error a few seconds after i open c&c. like the guy on page 2 i think...pretty much elimates overheating i think.

[davemission]

gona try to move the ram to a different slot see if that works.

[davemission]

dam..made my other hd as boot drive and reinstalled c & c played for about 20 mins and boom error..

[ccptwo]

davemission,

Do you have your dxdiag.txt file for your system ? I was wondering if we can take a look at it ?  E-mail it to me if possible.  Last Night I played online General's for over 3 Hours (8 player map 4 player and 4 AI) without the Serious Error (Technical Difficulties).  It can be one of two things that I did to my computer.  I will wait until tonight to post them to determine which one may have fixed this error.

ccptwo

[Doc Nyar]

Dave, if you want you can attach your dxdiag to your reply here

[davemission]

oh i didnt notice name was taken. here
thanks

[attachment deleted by admin]

[Atomic Mitten]

Hi Dave,update your VIA chipset drivers here:
http://www.viaarena.com/?PageID=300

[ccptwo]

davemission,

When you get some time try this:

1.  Atomic Mitten is right make sure your via drivers are up to date.

2.  Since you have 512MB of memory try changing your virtual memory to Initial Size (MB) = 1/2 x Total Memory = 256MB then change Maximum Size (MB) = 3 x Total Memory =1536MB.  You might have to restart your system.

3.  Are you able to tell me what brand and type of memory (512MB) you have and what your memory is clocked at ?

4.  Are you able to tell me what the front side bus is of your Pentium 4 CPU 2.40GHZ ?

5.  Are you able to tell me the manufacturer and model of your motherboard ?

The reason I'm asking you some questions is that some individuals have put DDR400 memory in there system with a 333MHZ FSB CPU now some motherboards can handle this but, others can't.  I have seen some people changing the memory clock cycles to match the CPU.

Once again, I am only trying to gather information and put an end to this problem.

ccptwo

[davemission]

well i updated the via and it started up fine so im gonna test it out if not i will get those answers..but i can feel it i think its workin..thanks

[davemission]

i really thought it was working but an hour in i get the error. i changed the memory thing they were at 766 both..but im not sure how to get the other info

[Doc Nyar]

i really thought it was working but an hour in i get the error. i changed the memory thing they were at 766 both..but im not sure how to get the other info

Dave, change the things one at the time and then try the game in between. Only that way are we able to tell what caused it.

As for the brand of your memory, there should be a sticker on the memory modue, stating what kind of module it is, together with the brand name (usually). The manufacturer of your pc should be stated on the motherboards manual.

@ ccptwo, I think FSB is 400Mhz. Thanks for your thourogh investigations

[ccptwo]

Alright,

I play generals and zero hour with a saitek gm2 action pad and mouse.  Originally I thought that this could be the problem (driver issue).  I played online last night and I received the error.  I unplugged the saitek controller and played with the mouse only.  I received the error again during online play.  New system is arriving today and will setup over the weekend to see if it really is the VIA chipset that is causing problems.  I also want to check into network.ini file that a previous individual posted.

I'll keep you guys updated.  Say Doc Nyar I'm having trouble attaching my dxdiag.txt file to my post are there any instructions on how to do this ?

ccptwo

[Doc Nyar]

Say Doc Nyar I'm having trouble attaching my dxdiag.txt file to my post are there any instructions on how to do this ?

ccptwo

That may be due to the fact that the name of the file already exists. You need to provide a unique name. Let me know if that was the issue.

[ccptwo]

I gave it a unique name and it still did not attach to my post.  Interesting ?  Doc Nyar never mind I renamed the file on my pc and then attached it instead of renaming in the message.

ccptwo