Brief Freezes

NeXuS

I looked on the forum and couldn't find a related topic, so I'm sorry if this has been brought up. So, I had to do a fresh re-install of windows not too long ago because Windows got corrupted. I installed all the necessary driver and stuff and now NS2 freezes randomly for a split second, usually at inopportune times, and I die because of it. I never had this problem before the re-install. Any ideas what could be causing this?

My specs:
Intel Core i7-2630QM
nVIDIA GTX 570M
12GB RAM

I know the specs meet the minimum requirement so I don't think that's the problem. I usually play 1920x1080 with high textures but usually everything else off. I've since tried dropping the res to native 720p but it still happens. Being that I have a GTX 570M, I run on D3D11, but on D3D9 still has the same issue. I've tried everything I can think of. Any help would be appreciated. Thank you.

GhoulofGSG9

I think that i heard somewhere that the last nvidia driver is causing this issue with ns2.

Lambo

Micro-freezes, forced texture streaming.

NeXuS

Forced texture streaming? Even if I have the option turned off? Would it help if I turned it on so its not forced?

IronHorse

Run DX9 fullscreen.
I know you said it has the same problem, but it shouldn't.. only if its due to external programs in the background like overlays or popups.
(a tray icon balloon did it to me yesterday)

Are you familiar with the profile console command and how to use it? Would be great to get a screenshot of the issue you are experiencing. I am betting its "waitingforbuffered frames"

edit: Also, i see you are running on a laptop. Proprietary GPU drivers?
Your techsupport.exe zip file would be helpful to look at.

NeXuS

Yeah im on a laptop. Ill keep an out in game and wait for it do again and get a screenshot of the console. The nVIDIA driver was at 331.58. Ive since updated to 331.65 but havent tested yet. Where is the techsupport.exe located?

EDIT: I updated the driver but it still has the same problem. I ran techsupport.exe and played a game and the micro freezes happened twice. I also switched DX9 fullscreen. The only open program I run during gameplay is Teamspeak.

IronHorse

Ensure you arent using any overlays with teamspeak.
NS2 does not play well with overlays of any sorts, whether its MSI afterburner, Mumble, TS3, Anti virus etc

Techsupport.exe is located in your NS2 directory. Just run it when NS2 is closed and it will save a zip file that you can then upload here for me to analyze.

If you are able to reproduce this issue consistently.. as in it happens continuously and within 3 minutes of play time.. feel free to follow these instructions:

Type p_logall in the console (the ~ key) when you are playing a game with others. Around 5 minutes later quit the game and navigate to your hidden %appdata%/natural selection 2/ folder and then compress/zip the plog file. (the file type will show as ".plog") Upload that file on the internet somewhere and link it here please

This will give me a frame by frame analysis of every single thing that's going on, and what is causing your freezing.

NedStar

Did you install NS2 back to the same HDD as before? If you have another HDD in your pc give that a go.

NeXuS

IronHorse wrote: »

Ensure you arent using any overlays with teamspeak.
NS2 does not play well with overlays of any sorts, whether its MSI afterburner, Mumble, TS3, Anti virus etc

The only overlay I know of with TS is the OverWolf overlay and I didnt even install it so unless there is one running in the background, I dont know about it. Ill give the p_logall a try when i get back to some pubs later and ill send you the file.

TechSupport.exe file link: http://www.mediafire.com/?gx3pvjg0x35udae

EDIT: Here's the link for the .plog file: http://www.mediafire.com/?17gjllzq1p58575

NedStar wrote: »

Did you install NS2 back to the same HDD as before? If you have another HDD in your pc give that a go.

Actually I did. I installed my steam and origin games on my secondary drive. My second drive is solely dedicated to games. Everything else goes on drive one.

IronHorse

You forgot to compress that plog file >_< hehe
Looking at it now..

edit:

You should really overclock that 2.0ghz cpu if you feel comfortable doing it, as you will see great fps gains from doing so.

IronHorse

Here are your spikes:

Here is what is causing them:

Basically.. its files that are being accessed on your hard drive.
So it could mean a few things..
Could be a bad, dying, or slow hard drive.
Or it could be file corruption..

But we should attempt to find which file(s) they are first.
So this time, run NS2 and when you get into a typical game and have joined a team, type loadtimes true in the console
When you experience the hitch quickly type in game (like you were talking to other players) HITCH
Do this each and every time you get the hitch.. after about 5 or 6 hitches go ahead and exit ns2. (do not run it again or it will erase what you've just done!)
Then navigate to that same appdata folder and this time grab that Log.txt file and attach it /link it here.

Thanks!

NeXuS

IronHorse wrote: »

You forgot to compress that plog file >_< hehe
My bad, man. That was a dum dum moment. :P

You should really overclock that 2.0ghz cpu if you feel comfortable doing it, as you will see great fps gains from doing so.

Well, I can't technically overclock it, but my CPU is compatible with Intel's Turbo Boost utility which will increase it to 2.9 GHz. I forgot to install it when I re-installed,so maybe that will help.

IronHorse wrote: »

But we should attempt to find which file(s) they are first.
So this time, run NS2 and when you get into a typical game and have joined a team, type loadtimes true in the console
When you experience the hitch quickly type in game (like you were talking to other players) HITCH
Do this each and every time you get the hitch.. after about 5 or 6 hitches go ahead and exit ns2. (do not run it again or it will erase what you've just done!)
Then navigate to that same appdata folder and this time grab that Log.txt file and attach it /link it here.
Thanks!

I'll run this next time I get into a game. It hasn't happened at all today, which is strange. I will continue to use the "loadtime true" function should it happen again and send you the info.

RedSword

Don't worry, I had the same problem with temporary freezes, but they do not happen anymore ! The freezes are now permanent ! (!!!)

NeXuS

Well, I got the Intel Turbo Boost util so now my CPU runs at 2.6 GHz. I was playing on a pretty lagging server so I couldn't tell if it freezing or just lag. Ill try more tomorrow.

IronHorse

Can't wait.

NeXuS

Alright. So, even with the turbo boost at 2.6 GHz, I still got them.

Here's the log file: http://www.mediafire.com/?awpa69xxdzxu6da

IronHorse

Wow. Weird.
So its nothing that the game appears to be accessing incorrectly or later than it's supposed to.. no abnormal loading times for the files being accessed.
Which tells me that its got to be something with your computer or hard drive. I mean i've seen fileopen cause a hitch before, but not consistently like you are experiencing, so its worth investigating.

Do you have any programs running in the background at all? Be sure to close all of them.. even anti virus.
Extra credit points for going to Windows button > Run > type msconfig > Go to the "Startup" tab > Disable all but those items that say manufactured by microsoft, intel, or nvidia.
And then try resetting your computer and testing it again.
This should rule out background programs (for the most part*) and point us to OS, Drivers, and Redist items like D3D.. or worse, hardware

If that doesn't work, then feel free to take the next step :
download and run a harddrive health/diagnostics test here, so as to eliminate one more item.

(*To be really really sure would require you to get a bit more advanced if you're ready for it :-P)

DC_Darkling

From the tech support I noticed you have a laptop & a laptop hdd which isnt aimed at performance.
Do not expect miracles on hard disk loading times.


Name: Intel(R) Mobile Express Chipset SATA AHCI Controller

* You may want to check for updates of your ahci controller. (its for the harddisk)
* go to http://www.intel.com
* menu > support > downloads & drivers > automaticly find drivers and software.
* install the java/activex apps it requests to install, they are used to check your system for needed driver updates.
* download and install if a newer driver is available

Ghosthree3

I have this issue, it's infuriating.

GTX770 latest drivers.

DC_Darkling

@ghosthree3 ?

Iron checked the OPs logs and his problem was accesstimes, but I havent seen you post in this topic yet.
You're confusing me

Ghosthree3

Just saying that I have tons of micro stutters. If I knew why I'd have fixed it by now.

ns2isgood

I'm almost positive this is related to the server performance. When it happens to me, I notice the tickrate of the server is all over the place and dropping really low.

Ghosthree3

Na, pretty sure it's client side, or at least my issue is.

NeXuS

Ghost, just a quick question....do you have dual 770s?

Ghosthree3

Just one.

NeXuS

OK. I know nVIDIA cards in SLi have had a huge problem as of late with micro stutters. Just making sure.

DC_Darkling

make a plog and bug ironhorse to check it?

I should really install it some day.

IronHorse

ns2isgood wrote: »

I'm almost positive this is related to the server performance. When it happens to me, I notice the tickrate of the server is all over the place and dropping really low.

Well thats incredibly easy to rule out by running a local server and seeing if you can reproduce that fileopen stutter consistently again.

@OP: Any luck with the instructions i provided last? You should also do what DC_darkling is suggesting too

NeXuS

Here are the two images of CrystalDiskInfo of both my hard drives. C: drive is good. drive is "caution." is currently where the games are installed.

http://i.imgur.com/R3ent2x.png

http://i.imgur.com/eR1u6Nn.png

EDIT: I also checked S.M.A.R.T. through the cmd prompt. Everything there came up OK.

IronHorse

I'd further investigate that "caution" before anything else then

NeXuS

Well, I'm not entirely sure what can be done about the "caution." So, just as a test, I'm re-installing NS2 back to my C: drive. Before the windows got corrupted, I had NS2 on the C: drive. I switched all my games to the drive post re-install of windows so it may just be a faulty or dying secondary drive. Will post an update soon.