Troubleshooting FAQ, for technical help

Hi there

I am having the same problem as the above two users.

when I try to play the game I get a message telling me that Fallout 2 needs 20mb disk space to run.

I have read the messages above and I have turned off the error reporting in the the services.msc menu which had not effect.

my fallout.cfg file looks like this:

[system]
cdlock=E:\cdlock.dat
critter_dat=C:\Program Files\BlackIsle\Fallout2\critter.dat
critter_patches=C:\Program Files\BlackIsle\Fallout2\data
master_dat=C:\Program Files\BlackIsle\Fallout2\master.dat
master_patches=C:\Program Files\BlackIsle\Fallout2\data
art_cache_size=524

Can anyone help me?
 
Did you read the first post in the thread which says to set free_space to 0?
 
I can't hear you.

Ok so I think I'm having a unique problem because I can't find a solution anywhere on the net or this site. Most recruit able npcs in fallout 1 will not speak to me at all and even some quest related npcs will not talk to me. An example is crazed raider in the hotel in junktown. I walk in and talk to him and nothing happens, no text, no dialogue, he just stands there. But I can talk to the girl right outside the room or any of the guards that are around Ian, but not Ian himself.
 
I'm getting a bug where the game crashes periodically and gives me error message 0000006d 0047b6ac. Then it started happening all the time. Then it happened right as I hit save and I got an error saving game bs message.
Now I cant load the save.
I go back to an old save and go from there but can no longer save in the 3rd save slot. That's the crash spot now.
Then it spread. Now almost all of the save slots are crash spots where you can't save to them or load them. And I cant travel to the other areas in the sewers in the necropolis because the game crashes.
IDK wtf to do. Somebody help! The game was working perfectly until now.
 
its fallout 1.
the exact error message is

The instruction at 0047b6ac referenced memory at 0000006d
The memory could not be read from
click ok to terminate the application

I'm running vista and my graphics card is a nvidia gforce 8600M GT
pretty sure my card was recalled and doesn't work. But the game was working until now so idk
 
Insufficient Disk Space Error
------------------
When you get that message it's either:
A. You are really running low on diskspace and should free up some, or
B. Your config files misguide you.

The following solution is for the latter and was proven to work for both FO1 and FO2.

In your Fallout directory find the fallout.cfg file and open it with Notepad. Note: Your file may look slightly different from the one listed below.
[system] <-----look under this paragraph
art_cache_size=130
cdlock=C:\Programs\mIRC\download\cdlock.dat
color_cycling=1
critter_dat=C:\Games\BlackIsle\Fallout2eng\critter.dat
critter_patches=C:\Games\BlackIsle\Fallout2eng\data
cycle_speed_factor=1
executable=game
free_space=20480

etc.
Change the last value to 0 (zero) instead of 20480.

Alternative solution: In the Windows start menu, choose "Run". Then enter in "services.msc". Find "Error Reporting Service" in the list and right-click to check the Properties. Change the startup type to Disabled.
Click to expand...

Thanks for this post. I have the GOG version though and there is no fallout.cfg anywhere I can find in the installation directory. I would love to change it to 0 if it was there.

Also I am on vista [which I hate but it came with my laptop so i'm stuck] so i cannot even chose a "run" option because its not available in the start menu...Any tips available?

I also tried a "search" and typed in services.msc and there was a "services" program which I ran and that "find error reporting service" was nowhere to be found in the list maybe its different on vista?

Edit: UPDATE/SOLVED...for now...I ran it from the launcher after installing and it ran...After the 3rd or 4th time of running it did that again...

My solution for now was I ran it under properties in windows 95 compatibility mode and it worked no problem
 
Playing Fallout 2 on Windows 7 Starter

Hey all,

I have just registered to post my solution for getting Fallout 2 to run on Windows 7 Starter, 32-bit.

I was having the following problems before:

- "error initializing video mode 640x480"
- "Fallout 2 appears to be running in compatibility mode"

and have now managed to overcome them. I will try keep this as simple as possible. My solution is from a collection of threads mainly ones on this site, and here (http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/9.121591-Fallout-collection-Windows-7-incompatibility).

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

1. Install Fallout 2 (For me this was GOG.com US Version)

2 Install Unofficial Fallout 2 Patch (http://news.filefront.com/unofficial-fallout-2-patch-final-version)

3. Download sfall (http://sourceforge.net/projects/sfall) and ONLY extract (using 7-zip or Winzip)
ddraw.dll into your Fallout 2 directory (overwrite if necessary). DO NOT EXTRACT ddraw.ini

4. Installed High Res Patch v2.2b(http://falloutmods.wikia.com/wiki/Fallout2_High_Resolution_Patch)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Now alter the following files (found in Fallout 2 Directory). If your OS doesn't let you save after altering the file, then copy/paste the file onto your desktop, alter it there, then copy/paste back into your F2 Directory, thus overwriting it.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

5. In f2_res.ini locate the code below and change the resolution to your desired values. I went for 1024 x 600 as this is my Desktop resolution.

[MAIN]
;##################################################################################################################
;Set the screen resolution here
SCR_WIDTH=1024
SCR_HEIGHT=600
Click to expand...

6. Then change the colour value (also in F2_res.ini) . I went for 32-bit as this is also my default laptop Colour Settings.

;Set the number of colours here
; 8 for 8bit(original)
; 16 for 16bit colour (set only if your not using Sfall with graphics modes 4 or 5)
COLOUR_BITS=32
Click to expand...

7. In ddraw.ini change the mode from =0 to =4.

[Graphics]
;Set to 0 for 8 bit fullscreen
;Set to 4 for dx9 fullscreen
;Set to 5 for dx9 windowed
;A dx9 mode is required for any graphics related script extender functions to work (i.e. fullscreen shaders)
;Modes 1, 2 and 3 are no longer supported
Mode=4
Click to expand...

8. Below (7.) in ddraw.ini, also change resolution to what you did previously:

;If using a dx9 mode, this changes the resolution
;The graphics are simply stretched to fit the new window; this does _not_ let you see more of the map
GraphicsWidth=1024
GraphicsHeight=600
Click to expand...

9. OK. Now go to your Fallout 2 shortcut, right click/properties.

- Go to Compatability tab
- Go to 'Change Settings for all users' button at the bottom.
- Check box to Run in Windows NT 4.0 (Service Pack 5)
- Uncheck ALL OTHER BOXES.
- Apply

10. Launch Fallout 2!

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

I really hope this helps at least one other person on getting Fallout 2 to run on Windows 7 / Starter. It took me a while to sift through various threads, mix and match the solutions, and eventually come through with something that worked.

So happy though, Fallout is an absolute classic and I well truly shed a tear if there comes a day that none of us can launch and appreciate our old faves!

[/quote]Happy Gaming
 
I honestly simply don't have the time to browse all 78 pages, and search didn't really help me with the question: what big patch makes sense install now? I decided to buy GoG version since I lost my old box with F2 and now I'm a bit confused. The Download Section for Fallout 2 offers few patches that seems to be doing the same things, what is the difference? Also, I remember there was some big restoration project that was supposed to compile/unit all the community fixes into one. Blargh. In short - what kind of community path project makes sense to install on GoG version and where can I get it?
 
The modding forum has a sticky on patches and threads on the RP at the top of the first page. They shouldn't have been too hard to find.
 
Oh, thanks Per, for some reason the description of the modding section of a forum gave me the feeling it is about the modding itself, while mods and their issues being discussed here, so I didn't search there.
 
I'm having trouble with Fallout 2, it seems my computer/game freezes when I try to save. Tried installing the Unofficial patch, didn't work. Not sure what else to do now.
 
Game freezes periodically

Using windows 7

While playing Killaps Restoration-Project 2.1.2b the Mouse cursor goes nuts and starts moving the in a certain direction leaving the character unable to move. More or less freezing the game
 
Known Bugs

Where is there an exhaustive list of known bugs? One that we can contribute to, if possible.
 
Which bugs are the most common change over time with new releases and new platforms. The troubleshooting post is a bit more out of date than it could be, but it's not easy to decide exactly what should be in there, as the pace has been comparatively slow on the Fo1-2 tech forum in recent years. For a while people were having lots of Vista problems, now they're all but history.

I don't think anyone has ever thought of making a comprehensive list of reported issues and prospective solutions, as it would be kind of a nebulous project, but if you want to lay the groundwork, you're welcome. It could perhaps be mirrored here and on some appropriate Fallout wiki.
 
I encounter the "unable to load" problem quite a bit. from what I've learned, overwriting saved games a lot and in quick succession seems to cause this problem.

What I mean is, when you keep dying in the same place but keep saving and loading at the same place the save files seems to become corrupt.

I don't encounter this problem when I create separate saves.
 
BIS FO Editor "Couldn't locate/load text fonts" error
------------------
To fix this problem change the mapper2.cfg file's [system] section to the following:[system]
critter_dat=H:\Games\BlackIsle\Fallout2\critter.dat
critter_patches=H:\Games\BlackIsle\Fallout2\data
master_dat=H:\Games\BlackIsle\Fallout2\master.dat
master_patches=H:\Games\BlackIsle\Fallout2\data
Where H:\ is the letter of your HD, and Games\BlackIsle\Fallout2\ is the path to the editor. You should manually locate your executable/data files and change the path accordingly.
Click to expand...

I have tried this solution and it does not work. I have discovered that this error can also occur for other reasons than misplaced paths. It seems that the files critter.dat and master.dat can become corrupted and simply pointing to the corrupted file in fallout2.cfg will not help. The only solution that I have found is to uninstall fallout. It will be obvious that you have a corrupt install when it takes unusually short period to install/uninstall, as if it is not copying or deleting any files. Anyway, the solution I have found is download a program call "Crap Cleaner" and use the drive wiper tool to "wipe" all the free space on the drive you installed Fallout on.

If someone has a more elegant solution please post. Thanks.
 
Guys, is there some mod or way to change ingame text color from green? This color is very tiring for my eyes.
 
FO1 doesn't work.

Well, I have sucessfully installed Fallout 1, but when I tried running the game, it told "failure initializaing video mode 640x480" or something like that. I renamed the ddraw.dll file to f1ddraw.dll as suggested by some guy, and also followed these steps: http://www.wikihow.com/Install-a-High-Resolution-Patch-to-Fallout-1-from-Steam. Now I can run the game, but now I'm getting another problem.

I can't get past the intro. Before launching, the game says I can't run it because I don't have d3dx9_31.dll on my computer, then it runs anyway. Then the intro starts. And when I try to skip the intro, or when it ends, the game just freezes.

Funny thing is, I tried putting the d3dx9_31.dll file in the folder to see if it works and then the "failure initializing video mode 636x454" error appeared. Yeah, I mean 636x454, not 640x480. WTF?

So either way I get an error. If it doesn't fail initializing video mode it freezes after the intro.

I had the exact same problem with Fallout 2 before (the freeze after intro problem, not the video mode problem), but the Restoration Project fixed it and now I can play FO2 with no problems. I tried installing different patches for FO1 and none of them made it work, not even Fixt didn't seem to do anything.

Messing with compatibility on Falloutw.exe also doesn't work.

This game is driving me insane, I really don't know what to do anymore. It ALWAYS freezes after the intro ends.

Also I'm sorry if this problem was addressed before, but I really could'nt find it. If anyone could send me a thread in which this problem was solved I'd appreciate it.

Oh and also, for some weird reason, I don't have the ddraw.ini file in my FO1 folder, so I can't do that change to Mode=0 some people suggest.

btw, this is the GOG.com version (acquired before they removed it) and win7 64bit.
 
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