- last post: 01.01.0001 12:00 AM PDT
Most times, restarts are a result of program incompatibility. In Halo, the primary culprit is your video card. If your card--or more specifically, the software that interfaces with the rest of your PC--is in some way not compatable with the game, it will lock up, shut down, and restrat the system. Try updating your drivers (sense of deja vu) or, if the problem persists, consider buying a newer, more compatable card for your PC. Just make sure you can get the card IN your PC. a lot of computer manufacturers no longer put AGP slots on their boards, and PCI standard, not PCIe, is not going to give you gaming level performance for a video card.
Another posibility is OS. Running halo in an older OS like Win 98 or ME is not really recommended. the game is just too robust for the system to handle. It can be done, but learn to expect crashes.
if it always restarts within a specified time limit, the culprit may be heat. Specifically (you guessed it) your video card again. Disable overclocking (if its enabled) and use ff or use11 to lower video quality for the game. This will help it run smoother longer, and keep your parts from overheating as much.
to to do this, right click the shortcut on your desktop for halo PC and CE, depending on the one you want to modify. then left click the choice at the bottom of your screen called properties. you will have three tabs to choose from. If not automatically selected, choose "shortcut." the third line down on this window should read "Target" and have a small text window containing
"C:\Program Files\Microsoft Games\Halo\halo.exe"
or something simular if you didn't put it into your C drive. This is what you want to modify. its very simple. just type a space and then -useff or -use11 onto the back. It should look like this when you're done:
"C:\Program Files\Microsoft Games\Halo\halo.exe" -use11
"C:\Program Files\Microsoft Games\Halo\halo.exe" -useff
-use ff will look really bad, but run REALLY well on weaker systems. -use11 won't look as bad, but if your system is close to minimum spec for running the game, you may still get the occasional crash.
And remember; you'll have to do it for both shortcuts for this to effect both programs. halo PC and halo CE are different programs, written differently. Also, play from the shortcut. Not sure on this, but if you pop in the disc and play from the load screen that comes up, I doubt the changes will have any effect. If someone knows for certain, please respond.
I know you've been having problems for a while now Elricsw. Final suggestion: consider investing in a new computer. Hope this helps.
"-" Minus Sign
[Edited on 10/25/2005]