HL2 FAQ

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rdytorave

Limp Gawd
Joined
Nov 4, 2002
Messages
188
Ok since we've been getting lots of threads complaining about performance problems in HL2 I thought we could post solutions here.

VU Half-Life 2 Knowledgebase

Half-Life 2 System Requirements

Half-Life 2 Unsupported Video Cards (DirectX 7.0)

CD Installation Errors when Counter-Strike: Source is not selected

Issues with SecuROM copy protection and related disk read errors

Invalid CD key error with Steam authentication process

HL2 Help Index

Steam Support Index



If you are having performance problems in HL2

Read this Guide to Tweaking Half-Life 2

For those too lazy or in a hurry, here's the basics (though you really are missing a lot of info by not reading the guide):

1. Run Steam in Online mode and make sure your game is up-to-date and can run without downloading any new updates.
2. After you are sure Steam is up-to-date Defrag your hard-drive. Steam tosses a lot of files around everytime it updates.
3. Set your Heapsize to a higher value. Open Steam, Play Games, and right-click Half-Life. Choose Properties, Launch Options, and type "-heapsize (1/2 or 1/4 of your RAM size). Do NOT set your heapsize larger than 256mb. So for example my setting is "-heapsize 256000". I've found that this reduces loading times a bit. It also works on other Steam based games. Default value is 64mb or 64000.
4. ATI and Nvidia have both released drivers optimized for the Source Engine. Download them here:

ATI 4.12 Official Release Video Drivers

Nvidia 71.20 Win2000/XP Beta Drivers

4. Other Drivers

Nvidia NForce 5.10 Motherboard Unified Drivers for Windows XP

Specific Issues


1-After installing a new piece of hardware Steam does not run smoothly or does not update recommended game settings.

1. Make sure Steam is not running
2. Go to your main Steam folder (usually c:/Programs/Valve/Steam) and look for ClientRegistry.blob
3. Delete ClientRegistry.blob and restart Steam


2-Game Audio Stutters and game takes long (2-5min) loading times.

1. If you've cranked up your graphics or audio settings, crank them back down to the recommended game settings. This will often fix the long load times and stuttering associated with texture loading problems.

2. This fix is a long shot, but it has been reported to work for some users.

All,

We've discovered that updating to the latest version of the Miles Sound System software appears to solve the problem for some of the people that are getting the "Memory can't be read" errors as well as the audio stuttering problems. We will be releasing a game update soon but wanted to make the manual install known as quickly as possible.

Additionally, if you were successful in correcting the memory could not be read error by adding "-nosound" to the launch options for Half-Life 2, upgrading to the latest version of the Miles Sound System should allow you to play with sound and remove the error.

You can download the latest version of the miles sound system here:

http://www.radgametools.com/down/Mi...Sys/MSSDemo.exe

Once the download has completed and you have run the installer, copy the files from the "C:\MilesDem\redist" directory to the Half-Life 2 directory "C:\Program Files\Valve\Steam\SteamApps\accountname\half-life 2".

If you are encountering the memory could not be read error with the other Source games you can also copy the Miles Sound System files to the following directories as well:

half-life 2 deathmatch
counter-strike source
half-life source

After these files have been copied, if you added the "- nosound" make sure you remove it from your launch options for Half-Life 2, then start the game.

Thanks,

Doug"
Click to expand...

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If you have a tip for tweaking or fixing specific problems please post them.

rdy
 
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