My new computer does not like Trainz ?

E

edion2

New member
Ok . . . First, I'm still waiting for my DVD version of 2009 . . . So I'm still on Beta 1.

THE INFO.
New computer: ASUS motherboard - T8500 Core 2 Duo 3.0Ghz processor - Win XP Home - 3GB RAM - Nvidia 9600GT 512MB video card (from old computer) - 320GB SATA HD.

Just finished putting together my new computer (Bare bones + HD + DVD + extra RAM). Monitor - 46" Samsung 7 series.

Loaded 2009 . . . imported 2006 content, tried a run.

Display resolution set to 1360x768 for Trainz. Using Open GL. No shadow casting. draw distance in the middle, 3000m I think. Terrain, Scenery and Train detail set to max. Clear day fog at 1 step above default.

THE PROBLEM :
This is something that the old computer was doing but very seldom and not as bad. It had a split second FREEZE every 20 to 30 minutes.

I am experiencing FREEZES in Surveyor AND Driver mode . . . about every 2 to 10 minutes. The FREEZE duration differs from a split second up to 10 seconds ! Everything just FREEZES then starts up again. the only that keeps going is the sound. I know its NOT the AUTO-SAVE while in Surveyor . . . no hourglass and it happens at a predictable time period.

I tried increasing the "resource cache" but it doesn't seem to make any difference. I'm not sure what the "resource cache" setting does. Can someone explain?

I must have SOMETHING on my computer not set properly . . . but I DON'T HAVE THE FOGGIEST IDEA what that might be . . . or how to go abut changing whatever needs to be changed. Is it something in the Win XP setting?

I looked through the Bios setting but there doesn't seem to be anything that might make a difference . . . so I didn't change anything.

I'm sure its not the TS2009 . . . otherwise many people would have reported something like this.

Anyone else having this problem ? Perhaps a solution?

I'm not a computer tech . . . I can plug in a new HD or a card, but thats about it.

Can someone PLEEEEAAAASE help me?
 
Nvidia has released some new drivers about a month ago. Did you try that?

They've improved my gaming experience about 10 fold, btw.
 
steamdriver,

Well . . . . I'm pretty sure I DO have their latest, cause I could not find the Install CD that came with my 9600GT. So I had to download the drivers for my 9600 yesterday.

I think its something else. But thanks.
 
Antivirus software will do that sometimes. I finally resorted to buying a new heavy-duty computer and keeping it internet free (i.e., it's not hooked up to the internet) with absolutely NO OTHER PROGRAMS running. My frame rates are wonderful with no stuttering, freezes, lag, etc. It's great!
 
Davesnow,

An ANTI-VIRUS . . . VIRUS ! :hehe::hehe: My computer can't be internet free.

I have not installed any anti-virus . . . yet. I'm waiting until after I install the 2009 DVD. Hmmmm . . . Does XP come with an anti-virus? I assumed it was just a firewall and we had to install an anti-virus ourself. Maybe I'm wrong.


OZARK !
Excellent suggestion ! My old computer had problems with DirectX . . . so I didn't even bother. I TRIED IT . . . definitely an IMPROVEMENT. The FREEZE is now very short and infrequent! Only about once every half an hour!

Someone might chime in with a total cure . . . I hope.

I can't remember who but someone said to stay away from DirectX.

Thanks Ozark . . . I wish I had thought of that first. :hehe:
 
Anti-Virus...

:cool: Relax there is no virus...you would not be here...& there is no such thing as a "old 9600GT."

I don't know, I never had a virus...

Sounds like your computer is overworked for the task...you can tell by the requirements listed on any game whether your machine can handle it...

If your machine is more than two years old, I know what you need for Christmas!

Chances are, anything new...even cheap(under $700) will handle Trainz.
 
Hi,
I use ATI Radeon, and there are options between 'High Performance' and 'High Quality'. Is there anything like that on nVidia?
Gerry.
 
Theres always the small chance, that as it was also happening on your old machine, and the only remaining component is the graphics card - that the card itself may be faulty.

Do you have issues on any other games? If you run Event Viewer, and look at the System log - do you have any messages from source nv?

Does your new motherboard have onboard video? If so, test it with this - performance will be crap, but if you stop getting the pauses you can be sure its video card related.
 
RATS !!! @#$%^$%^&*(

I thought switching to Direct X solved my problem . . . NOPE :'(

It ran fine for one Driver session . . . but the problem is BACK. This time I'm running with Direct X. :(

-----------

lewisner,

"PAGE FILE SIZE" ?? What is that?? Is it Windows or Trainz setting ??

Where do I set / adjust this?

-----------

Gerry,

Yes. Nvidia has the same thing. Mine is set to "balance". The in between setting between performance and quality . . . figured it would be the safe place to start.

-------------

TheStoon,

"Event Viewer" ?? Must be a Windows thing. How do I run this?

I sure hope my 9600GT isn't bad. I still think it might be a Windows setting somewhere. If all else fails . . . I'll try the on-board video. Maybe next time when I have time to pull out my Nvidia card.

----------

Depending on my day job work load . . . Santa might bring me the new Nvidia 280 GT with 1GB of DDR3 video RAM ! But the newer 295 with 1.8GB of video RAM is due for release in January 2009 . . . maybe Xmas in January.
 
Ok . . . I think I've tried everything . . . so far ! :'(

I increased my page size. It started at 4000 MB. I now have it set at 16000 and 32000 max. That's 16Gb, 5% of my total HD cpacity! That has got to be enough.

Using Direct-X helped a bit . . . but every 20 to 30 minutes I still get FREEZES of about a second to 8 seconds.

I have Fraps running, so if its "redraw-related" slow down, I can see the FPS drop to below 5. This happens in a drastic change in "camera view", specially using "tracking view" cameras. The problematic FREEZES even happens when Fraps is showing 30+ FPS. Interestingly enough . . . the Fraps digits showing on the screen ALSO FREEZES.

Around next week, I'll be installing a new video card. I'm hoping that IF my 9600GT is bad, the truth will show itself then. If the Freezes continue with New card . . . :confused: I'm at least gonna go kick my dog !!!

Well . . . I'll worry about it when the new card is installed.
 
edion2 said:
Ok . . . I think I've tried everything . . . so far ! :'(

I increased my page size. It started at 4000 MB. I now have it set at 16000 and 32000 max. That's 16Gb, 5% of my total HD cpacity! That has got to be enough.

Using Direct-X helped a bit . . . but every 20 to 30 minutes I still get FREEZES of about a second to 8 seconds.

I have Fraps running, so if its "redraw-related" slow down, I can see the FPS drop to below 5. This happens in a drastic change in "camera view", specially using "tracking view" cameras. The problematic FREEZES even happens when Fraps is showing 30+ FPS. Interestingly enough . . . the Fraps digits showing on the screen ALSO FREEZES.

Around next week, I'll be installing a new video card. I'm hoping that IF my 9600GT is bad, the truth will show itself then. If the Freezes continue with New card . . . :confused: I'm at least gonna go kick my dog !!!

Well . . . I'll worry about it when the new card is installed.
Click to expand...

It may be worth you setting the minimum and maximum values of your page file to the same values, otherwise windows will faff about changing the size of the page file every few minutes.
 
A Good Suggestion:

1) Check Your Version of the Nvidia Graphics Driver. I found sometimes the newest drivers with older version cards actually causes problems than helping the video card perform to the max. You may want to try an older version of the graphics driver.

2) You do not state the exact motherboard. I will warn you that E8400 and E8500 processors do not like the P35 Chipsets. Sometimes the P35 Chipsets work, sometimes they do not. Kind of hit or miss.

3) Way to much PageFile........................Back it down to 2.5GB Min to 5GB Maximum.
See This post for more info: http://forums.auran.com/trainz/showpost.php?p=373566&postcount=6

4) Check your chipset drivers. Another suggestion is to reinstall your chipset drivers. This will be a 50/50 chance of resolution, but worth a shot. Will possibly resolve a SATA Controller issue or PCI-E Controller issue if they exist.

5) Reinstall Directx.

6) Edit TrainzOptions and enter as follows: -ResourceMemory=1536 and -showcachebar (each maroon item in seperate lines). The cachbar will show you if it is cacheing to often and the cacheing may be a possible freezepoint.

7) Defrag your system with a third party defragmentation software. This will not resolve much, but may assist. I'd then recommend running a Windows Check Disk to verify your indexes for faster seek times.

These are only suggestions and not sure they will assist, but worth a shot.

Opinion: Windows XP Home - Crap / Windows XP Professional: Best OS Ever.
 
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Captain Collins,

I set the Page Memory size the same . . . 24000 / 24000. Although, according to mcguirel it is oversized. BUT. . . the good news is . . . I just ran a 2 hours 45 minute scenario and NO FREEZES !!:D Thanks. My dog thanks you . . . I won't be kicking him for a wile. :hehe::hehe:

This is going to be a long solution search for a permanent cure. Baby steps are sooooo patience testing.

----------

mcguirel,

Thanks for such in-depth suggestions.

1. Hmmm . . . latest driver might not be the best . . . interesting. I was unable to use the original driver because soon after installing the card, my dog chewed on the CD . . . big gouges. So I downloaded a driver for the 9600GT. That could be the performance problem. My new card is due to be delivered next week so if THIS is the problem . . . it should disappear with the installation of the new card.

2. I looked up the chipset on my (ASUS P5N73-AM) motherboard. The specification reads as - NVIDIA GeForce 7050 / nForce 610i (MCP73V). So I guess I don't have the P35 . . . thank god.

3. I read your thread. I guess I should back down on my size. I have 4GB memory so it shoud be at 6GB (6000) with 12GB max. (12000). If the Freezes returns, I'll try setting both the same.

4. Chpset reinstall . . . now thats coming into the scary territory for me. I'm not very "computer tech" minded. But . . . I recently found out that my motherboard DOES NOT support PCI-E 2.0. My oversight when ordering my computer. So . . . probably after X-mas I'll be upgrading the motherboard to a PCI-E 2.0 version. I was thinking about EVGA 750i with the Nvidia chipset?

5. Direct-X. Sould I be using Direct-x 10? Lots of talk about it in "shootem-up" gaming community, but I'm not sure if its an advantage for Trainz. I guess Microsoft site should have the downloads for Direct-X re-install? Which version is recommended for Trainz?

6. TrainzOption. This is a text file under the root folder of TS2009, right? The "-ResourceMemory=1536" line . . . what does it do? I'm assuming its not lowering the memory useage from 2GB down to 1.5GB? I guess the addition of "-showcashebar" line is going to generate a text file that wil document casheing events. As far as "chacheing" . . . what am I looking for that would indicate "casheing too often"?

7. I do de-frag once a week. I never thought of a third party software to do this. I fidured the utility that came with O/S was god enough . . . maybe not. Any good de-fragger recomendations? I didn't know that running "Check Disk" improved performace. I thought it was just a "bad sector finder" . . . Learned something new.

Looks like more computer "fixing" time.

I'll keep you posted. Thanks :)
 
Directx Question - WindowsXP does not support Directx10, only Vista. Install Dirextx 9.0c.

Trainz Option Question: forces the game to take away what is designated from RAM and Pagefile. The more it has, the less caching as the route will load more of the scenery or have the space to retain it.

Chipset Driver Question: Drivers found on Nvidia.Com Site as you have the Nforce NorthBridge and Southbridge Chipset.
 
edion2 said:
Captain Collins,

I set the Page Memory size the same . . . 24000 / 24000. Although, according to mcguirel it is oversized. BUT. . . the good news is . . . I just ran a 2 hours 45 minute scenario and NO FREEZES !!:D Thanks. My dog thanks you . . . I won't be kicking him for a wile. :hehe::hehe:

This is going to be a long solution search for a permanent cure. Baby steps are sooooo patience testing.

...cut...

3. I read your thread. I guess I should back down on my size. I have 4GB memory so it shoud be at 6GB (6000) with 12GB max. (12000). If the Freezes returns, I'll try setting both the same.

...cut...

6. TrainzOption. This is a text file under the root folder of TS2009, right? The "-ResourceMemory=1536" line . . . what does it do? I'm assuming its not lowering the memory useage from 2GB down to 1.5GB? I guess the addition of "-showcashebar" line is going to generate a text file that wil document casheing events. As far as "chacheing" . . . what am I looking for that would indicate "casheing too often"?

7. I do de-frag once a week. I never thought of a third party software to do this. I fidured the utility that came with O/S was god enough . . . maybe not. Any good de-fragger recomendations? I didn't know that running "Check Disk" improved performace. I thought it was just a "bad sector finder" . . . Learned something new.

Looks like more computer "fixing" time.

I'll keep you posted. Thanks :)
Click to expand...

Hi again, :wave:

Don't mention it, anything to save an animal!:hehe:

3. When you reset the page file, there should have been a "recommended" value at the bottom of the window. Set your page file size to about 50MB over this size.

6. trainzoptions.txt is a file within the TS2009 folder, as you have said. The -Resourcememory = 1536 line tells trainz to "take over" 1.5GB of memory when it start up. It can then use up to this amount of memory, but becasue it has "claimed" it before starting, windows cannot force it to use less. The -Showcachebar option will display a small red progress bar in the bottom-right corner of the screen every time the computer has to cache an ares of your route. Caching to often could be once every four seconds when moving at 50MPH through the map.

7. I would recommend IOBit SmartDefrag. This is a "start and forget" program that will constantly defrag your hard drive whilst the computer is idle or using less than a set resource value. hat way, your hard drives are kept completely defragmented all the time. It can also "Defrag & Optimise" your drive (manual scan only), so that it can move the data about on the physical hard drive to make it quicker to access.

Hope this helps,
 
Captain Collins,

I'll check the recommended amount in Windows.

I updated the Direct-x. BUT, not knowing that Direct-x 10 was vista only . . . I just downloaded and installed one that said "DirectX 10 for XP". It seems to work fine.

I'm very scared of messing with "software files" . . . But I'll do the line addition in "trainzoptions". Hmmm . . . but, I thought the memory limit was 2GB for Trainz? If the line said 2048 instead of 1536 . . . what would that do? I have a total of 4GB of Ram, even though XP can access only 3.2 GB of RAM. Casheing wise . . . now I know what to look for.

I'll look for "IOBit" on the C-Net site.

Thanks.
 
edion2 said:
Captain Collins,

I'll check the recommended amount in Windows.

I updated the Direct-x. BUT, not knowing that Direct-x 10 was vista only . . . I just downloaded and installed one that said "DirectX 10 for XP". It seems to work fine.

I'm very scared of messing with "software files" . . . But I'll do the line addition in "trainzoptions". Hmmm . . . but, I thought the memory limit was 2GB for Trainz? If the line said 2048 instead of 1536 . . . what would that do? I have a total of 4GB of Ram, even though XP can access only 3.2 GB of RAM. Casheing wise . . . now I know what to look for.

I'll look for "IOBit" on the C-Net site.

Thanks.
Click to expand...

The DirectX for XP is a hacked version of DirectX and some people have reported problems with it. The memory limit for trainz is 2GB, sho you could change the trainzoptions.txt line to 2048, and this is also accessible through the options button on the trainz menu screen, on the "advanced" tab, under "Resource Cache Memory".

IOBit SmartDefrag, as far as I know, has only been released on http://www.majorgeeks.com

Link to the download: http://www.majorgeeks.com/IObit_Smart_Defrag_d5318.html
 
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