Game locks up when I hit tilde (~) to go to console

BigDBigD [OldF] Join Date: 2002-10-25 Member: 1596Members
in Tech Support
<div class="IPBDescription">Can't even ctrl-alt-del my way out of it!</div>It's a random occurence. Some days, won't happen at all. Some days, the first time I hit it, BAM freeze-ville. Then I have to reboot the machine because alt-tab, etc, no worky.

That's okay though, it's when I'm in the middle of a good game when it happens that it is annoying. (Like kick the side of the computer annoying.)

Unfortunately, since I admin on a server, being able to run console commands is fairly important. (In the meantime, I need to bind some of the amx commands/menus to some keys...) But I'd still prefer to be able to use the console without this happening.

Ever heard of it? Any ideas? <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/confused-fix.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid="???" border="0" alt="confused-fix.gif" />
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Comments

  • JazzXJazzX cl_labelmaps ∞ Join Date: 2002-11-19 Member: 9285Members, Retired Developer, NS1 Playtester
    When this happens do you get looping sound effects? If so then its happening to me as well.

    I had this issue for almost a year when it suddenly disappeared. And then it just started happening to me again roughly 1 month ago. However I had assumed the problem was on my end, as I just did a series of Hardware upgrades and re-installed my OS.
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  • SloppyKissesSloppyKisses omgawd a furreh&#33; Virginia Join Date: 2003-07-05 Member: 17942Members, Constellation
    it happens to me, but restarting hl.exe/ns game completely and restarting it clears it up for me
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  • BigDBigD [OldF] Join Date: 2002-10-25 Member: 1596Members
    I'll have to confirm the next time it happens, but if I recall correctly, the sound doesn't really loop... it just keeps playing whatever sound it was making continuously (making it like a screeching, long beep, or something.) Might loop somewhat though, I'll pay closer attention to that. (Lately I've just flung my headphones off because the sound is hard on my poor ears.)

    I've done no major hardware/OS upgrades, though I'll try pulling out the ram I added last month. Seems to me, it was doing it before I added the ram though. I'll yoink it and see what happens over the course of the weekend.

    And steam updates are the only other thing that I can narrow it down too. I just can't see why <i>only</i> bringing up the console would cause this.
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  • SloppyKissesSloppyKisses omgawd a furreh&#33; Virginia Join Date: 2003-07-05 Member: 17942Members, Constellation
    it happens to me when i alt-tab while connecting to a server
    and i have to restart ns to fix it.
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  • JazzXJazzX cl_labelmaps ∞ Join Date: 2002-11-19 Member: 9285Members, Retired Developer, NS1 Playtester
    Yeah I'm 100% sure that what you and I are seeing is the same thing BigD. I had assumed my problem was hardware related because it had been gone for so long, and then came back when I did my upgrade. Though I was MIA for almost a month because my PC went down, so it very well could have been a Steam Update and my hardware upgrade was just a coincidence.

    Phur_Instinct:

    I think you are seeing something different; since what is happening to me (and it sounds like to BigD too) is a completely lockup of the PC. I can't alt-tab, I can't start or stop processes. Nothing. The PC is completely frozen up and doesn't not respond to any command at all. Not even the "User" key on my keyboard, which always brings me to the WinXP login screen (even when Ctrl-Alt-Del is ineffective when a program locks up) has no effect whatsoever.
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  • AhnteisAhnteis teh Bob Join Date: 2002-10-02 Member: 1405Members, NS1 Playtester, Constellation
    Sounds like a sound or video driver issue.
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  • BigDBigD [OldF] Join Date: 2002-10-25 Member: 1596Members
    Okay, I've eliminated the RAM. That's the only hardware change I've made in the time since this started happening. (Lock up occurred both without the new ram and without the old ram chips.)

    A bit more detail, since I've spent about an hour testing it and can guarantee its appearance. (Though I've yet to find any pattern as to when it appears.)

    The game freezes, and it looks like it <i>tries</i> to go back to the desktop because the windows pointer is stuck in the middle of the screen (where the cross hair points.) The sound doesn't always loop, or even repeat at all. It'll make the BZZZZ sound I described previously, then nothing. Not sure if this is due to my testing in a relatively "quiet" bot environment (ulysses and daimos) but it doesn't make any noise anyway.

    I'm going to test if binding the console to another key changes anything. My theory is it won't, but I'm going to test it anyway.

    Then I'm going to hunt around for drivers and such.
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  • SloppyKissesSloppyKisses omgawd a furreh&#33; Virginia Join Date: 2003-07-05 Member: 17942Members, Constellation
    <!--quoteo(post=1578172:date=Nov 17 2006, 01:31 AM:name=BigD)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(BigD @ Nov 17 2006, 01:31 AM) [snapback]1578172[/snapback]</div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->


    The game freezes, and it looks like it <i>tries</i> to go back to the desktop because the windows pointer is stuck in the middle of the screen (where the cross hair points.) The sound doesn't always loop, or even repeat at all. It'll make the BZZZZ sound I described previously, then nothing. Not sure if this is due to my testing in a relatively "quiet" bot environment (ulysses and daimos) but it doesn't make any noise anyway.

    <!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->


    from that right there it deff sounds like a videocard crashing.

    My game would lock up, pointer would appear at the top left corner of my monitor and i couldnt move it or do anything. Then it would finally reboot itself a few minutes later unless i restared the comp first. It def sounds like a videocard overheating/ just dying away.
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  • BigDBigD [OldF] Join Date: 2002-10-25 Member: 1596Members
    edited November 2006
    I know my radeon 9600xt would do that when I used the drivers overclock thingamajigger for halflife 2. I can't see NS overworking it by any means though. I was running without the side panel so airflow I don't think is a problem. Plus, it would figure it out on its own when it overheated then too, (hence rebooting itself), and as it is, right now it doesn't. (A couple times I've sat there staring at it thinking "oh my -expletive-expletive-monkey-expletive-sweet son of a -expletive-expletive" or gone off to steal candy from a baby and come back with my lollipop to find it still froze.) I have to manually hold the power button for the 5 seconds or hit the switch on the power bar. Plus overheating at a random time when I specifically hit a key? While it isn't terribly off from that overheating crash, I'm quite sure it can't be.
    I won't yet rule out a driver error though. Haven't gotten around to making sure those are right-up-to-date yet, but they aren't old by any means either, unless the driver I have introduced a glitch which isn't altogether unheard of, but rare for an established game like Halflife. And off the top of my head, I don't think the console changes the sound so audio drivers crashing? (It's on-board sound and not a card.)

    Oh, and binding it to another key didn't help at all.
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  • BigDBigD [OldF] Join Date: 2002-10-25 Member: 1596Members
    Bumperoo.

    The problem still happens, though not as regularly as before. I can go a week without seeing it happen, but of course, when it happens, it's at a very inconvenient moment. <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/sad-fix.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":(" border="0" alt="sad-fix.gif" />

    I never did ask JazzX if his vid card was also a radeon 9xxx. Another fella just pm'd me to say he had the same problem, though he has a radeon 9550.

    Anyone else?
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  • AnAkInAnAkIn Join Date: 2006-09-18 Member: 58020Members
    That's not really when you hit the console button, but when you are holding any key on your keyboard and then push the ESC or console button (seem to be a problem when you come back to menu holding an other key at the same time)...I have it, it only happens in NS, and i tried severals drivers, didn't work, now I set AGP Speed from 8x to 4x, i'll see if it works.
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  • FaskaliaFaskalia Wechsellichtzeichenanlage Join Date: 2004-09-12 Member: 31651Members, Constellation
    Woops, bigbump <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/tounge.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":p" border="0" alt="tounge.gif" />

    Random guess:
    An external program uses your console key as a hotkey.
    Your keyboard drivers are borked.

    Measures to take:
    Reassign your console key.
    Update keyboard drivers/reinstall basic keyboard drivers
    Dont press tilde and simply add -dev -console as parameter to NS. This will automatically bring the console down, when you enter the game menu through the use of ESC.
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  • BigDBigD [OldF] Join Date: 2002-10-25 Member: 1596Members
    <!--quoteo(post=1634639:date=Jun 19 2007, 02:06 PM:name=Faskalia)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Faskalia @ Jun 19 2007, 02:06 PM) [snapback]1634639[/snapback]</div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->
    Woops, bigbump <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/tounge.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":p" border="0" alt="tounge.gif" />

    Random guess:
    An external program uses your console key as a hotkey.
    Your keyboard drivers are borked.

    Measures to take:
    Reassign your console key.
    Update keyboard drivers/reinstall basic keyboard drivers
    Dont press tilde and simply add -dev -console as parameter to NS. This will automatically bring the console down, when you enter the game menu through the use of ESC.
    <!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->

    Ahh, but I have tried rebinding the console key. (As noted somewhere above) I'm fairly certain it has something to do with rendering the console itself, not the key. It's in all likeliness steam related, but NS is the only game I play through steam (at the moment).

    I'm not terribly worried anymore. I'll be playing through a whole'nuther computer in a week or two. I only bumped because AnAkIn pm'd me about it.
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  • AnAkInAnAkIn Join Date: 2006-09-18 Member: 58020Members
    Well i think it's more when you come back to the menu, than just the console...because for me it happen with ESC.
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  • AnAkInAnAkIn Join Date: 2006-09-18 Member: 58020Members
    Change AGP Speed to 4x. Fixed it for me, never had a crash after...And yeah that's a problem with ATI Cards, but it's strange it only happens in NS...
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