Battlefield 2 Problems (Vista)

I have trouble running the game under Vista. My brother is running it fine under Vista Home Premium. I have Ultimate and it won't get past the splash screen. I've tried on the game forums but nobody is any help of course:

[From Battlefield 2 forums]

Specs:
7950gtx x2 (SLI)
dual core at 2.33 ghz
Windows Vista Ultimate

I have tried patching and reinstalling many times. I have also tried downloading punkbuster manually. I tried running in xp compatibility mode and running as admin. Also tried turning off SLI. Nothing works. It loads the BF2 splash screen and then dies with an error that the program has stopped responding. Any ideas?

using patch 1.41

 

could it be compatability issue between game being 32 bit and 64 bit OS? just a thought

 

I'm running 32 bit OS.

 

Should work running under 32 bit. Did you try running under administrator?

 

Yep tried that and also running under xp compatibility mode.

 

your video drivers up to date? i know it might not matter. but if you have a diff version of drivers then your bro it could be the problem, check your video driver release notes to see if there are compatablity issues with bf2 or 2142 (uses same graphics engine) another question, how much ram are your running?

 

I'm check into the driver release notes, thanks Bunny. I'm using 2.5 gigs of ram.

 

ok so rams not the problem, only thing i could think of is driver issuses, sorry i dont know vista too well.

 

Where would I check my driver number again? I know I updated it with laptopvideo2go.

<---- Newb

 

is your screen capable of running a refresh rate of 60 hz. Some laptop screens run at 59 hz and all the battlefield games require 60 hz to even start the game and there is no fix.

 

he should be able to run it its an alienware driver number should be under device manager and driver details

 

6.14.11.6909

 

ok now try and find the driver release notes or known compatability issues, i would but i got alot going on right now

 

a screens capable refresh rate has got nothing to do with drivers at all. my dell is only capable of running 59 hz. No driver can fix that.

 

not my point, point is its an alienware which = gaming rig/laptop they all have 60hz

sorry about first one didnt put a period after alienware.

he should be able to run it its an alienware. Driver number should be under device manager and driver details

thats how it should have read

 

http://www.nvidia.com/content/Drive....25_forceware_winvista_32bit_english_whql.exe

try that its newest nvidia drivers

http://www.nvidia.com/object/windows_vista_hotfixes.html

and those (well ones you feel apply to you) they are fixes for vista one fixes crashing in apps but doesnt say what ones

 

Okay, check your screens refresh. It's a well documented problem with BF2 and BF2142 that unless your screen is exactly 60Hz you will not be able to play it. Some dell users (yes Alienware is Dell) have reported getting screens that are 62Hz or 59Hz...check your refresh.

Post back with the result Zeplin and we'll try to help you fix it so you can start sniping away!

 

Have you turned off the UAC (User Account Control)? I think that conflicts with BF2 quite heavily.

 

Any monitor with 16ms response or better should run it fine (1/0.016s = 62.5 Hz)

BTW - Best fix is to use XP.

 

Can you back that up, or is that an assumption you just made?

The thing is, never in my life I have heard that a gaming laptop must have a 60Hz screen.

 

Daniel do a google search on BF2142 and 60Hz...you'll come up with a ton of responses to people asking just that question. For some reason DICE decided when they made the game to only allow it to run on monitors with 60Hz refresh. The games config files are coded for 60Hz...if you have anything BUT that it will just simpily not run.

 

You misread my post.

I already know that BF won't run on anything other than 60Hz.

The guy I quoted is saying that just because the OP's machine is Alienware, it must have a 60Hz screen. I'm asking him if he can back that claim up, but I think he won't be able to, and in fact, I'm almost certain that the OP's screen is the cause of the problem.

 

no i cannot back it up but i havent heard of an alienware that doesnt support 60 hz from what ive looked up though the m9750 does support 60 hz. so thats why im doubting the screen, im not trying to do anything other then help this guy get playing. so ill look more into the refresh rate. but for now im thinking its a driver\software issue. but you should go to display and see if its set at 60 or not. do that by right clicking on desktop/personalize/display settings.

 

Ok, so I changed the refresh rate from 59 hz to 60 hz. Restarted the computer and the game still doesn't run. I looked up the drivers I'm using and can't find anything about issues with battlefield.

Damn you Vista!

 

did you try and download the vista fixes? the one that caught my eye fixed program crashing.

 

Never heard of those, link please?

 

there i posted them before.

 

Try doing what kriglock recemmends in this thread(How to have BF2 work with Locked refresh rate) and see if BF2 starts up.

 

Doh! Thanks Bunny, checking into that right now. (Do I need to download all those hotfixes? )

Kdawgca - Thanks for that, but for some reason I can't open the .con file with notepad or word?

 

Does it give an error message or something? Make sure you open it with notepad(word probably wont read it right). Also make sure BF2 isnt running.

 

download ones that you believe apply to you

 

I open it with notepad and it comes up blank. BF2 isn't running.

 

so hotfixes didnt work?
sorry im taking awhile to respond somethings going wrong with lappy, getting really hot... weird.

 

Hotfixes aren't doing anything. It's alright mate, no rush. What kind of Laptop do you have?

 

Gateway T-1620, its cooling down now, i think the vents got covered when i sat it down.

Does your brother have the same laptop as you or no?

 

Nope he has a Gateway M series running Vista Home Premium.

 

ok check to make sure that windows is positively using 60hz i know you said you switched it but just double check that it stayed, then try going into your nvidia controls for your card (i dunno how they work always worked with ati) and make sure that when plugged in the video card will run at full performence, example is on mine when plugged in i have options of max performence balanced and max battery, just make sure its on max performence (im pretty sure nvidias have that)

 

"I researched the problem online at length on Saturday and I found one article posted in a forum I can't recall the name of saying that the guy had gone into the BF2 folder which is created under My Documents the first time you run BF2 and deleted its contents to fix the crashing. I figured it wouldn't work but since it wasn't functioning anyway I tried it and it actually DID work for me."

saw that on another forum, its worth a try

 

Bunnywinkles, thank you so much!

I have got to tell you, although I am using a PC this fix worked for me. I am running Windows Vista Home Premium with a decent spec PC. Deleted the files contained within the folder and it worked.

I registered especially to let you know how grateful I am.

 

your welcome, add to rep? lol