Why does the new "Wolfenstein" make my uMBP crash?

[Winstonp]

I just purchased the new "Wolfenstein" for PC yesterday. The new game is great. I actually play it on max rez w/ high details on my MBP; who would have thought?

Anyways, the problem: Occasionally, after 15-30 minutes of gameplay, the screen turns completely black, then 10 seconds into the blank screen, the sound freezes on whatever tone it was playing, endlessly playing that tone. I then hard reset the computer :(

I have a strong feeling the reason I am experiencing these symptoms is due to overheating. Perhaps I'm wrong, though.

My configuration:
1. MacBook Pro listed below
2. Latest 9600m drivers from the NVIDIA site (<--- Bad idea?)
3. XP pro, bootcamp
4. I am using a Speck hard shell case ( <--- Also not a good idea?)
5. Wolfenstein is updated to 1.1, the latest edition.

Any ideas? Tips?

[dKran]

Hey.

Good to know you can play it on max resolution and stuff, that's really cool actually.

I agree with you that it sounds as if it's overheating. I've read around that you don't get the best fan control running in Windows, so that could be the culprit.

I don't think the drivers would be the problem, as you would also have other issues if that was the case.

I would remove the hard shell case, as that may be causing some cooling problems.

If you can, i would install a program to keep track of the temperatures, so you can make sure that that is the actual problem, or even drop Wolfenstein to a low res, low setting mode and see if the same thing happens then.

[hvfsl]

Seeing as you are using VMware fusion, it sounds like the same issue I have where Windows will freeze when not using the Apple supplied video drivers.

Removing VMware utilities in Windows when in bootcamp or using the Apple supplied driver solved it for me (although I wish there was a better way to do it).

[Hansr]

I just purchased the new "Wolfenstein" for PC yesterday. The new game is great. I actually play it on max rez w/ high details on my MBP; who would have thought?

Anyways, the problem: Occasionally, after 15-30 minutes of gameplay, the screen turns completely black, then 10 seconds into the blank screen, the sound freezes on whatever tone it was playing, endlessly playing that tone. I then hard reset the computer :(

I have a strong feeling the reason I am experiencing these symptoms is due to overheating. Perhaps I'm wrong, though.

My configuration:
1. MacBook Pro listed below
2. Latest 9600m drivers from the NVIDIA site (<--- Bad idea?)
3. XP pro, bootcamp
4. I am using a Speck hard shell case ( <--- Also not a good idea?)
5. Wolfenstein is updated to 1.1, the latest edition.

Any ideas? Tips?

Try getting rid of the hard shell, might restrict airflow under the machine and cause inaccurate heat readings.

Then install the latest drivers from here instead of NVIDIA:
http://forums.laptopvideo2go.com/forum/159-19x-series-geforce-driver-releases/

[Winstonp]

Seeing as you are using VMware fusion, it sounds like the same issue I have where Windows will freeze when not using the Apple supplied video drivers.

Removing VMware utilities in Windows when in bootcamp or using the Apple supplied driver solved it for me (although I wish there was a better way to do it).

I really hope you are wrong :/ I will say no other game froze windows.

Hey.


I would remove the hard shell case, as that may be causing some cooling problems.

If you can, i would install a program to keep track of the temperatures, so you can make sure that that is the actual problem, or even drop Wolfenstein to a low res, low setting mode and see if the same thing happens then.

Any suggestions for such a program? Also-what's a "bad" temperature?

Try getting rid of the hard shell, might restrict airflow under the machine and cause inaccurate heat readings.

Then install the latest drivers from here instead of NVIDIA:
http://forums.laptopvideo2go.com/forum/159-19x-series-geforce-driver-releases/

Are you using the latest driver yourself? Work well?

Thanks, guys

[Infrared]

I don't think the drivers would be the problem, as you would also have other issues if that was the case.


I'm not so sure. Sometimes driver bugs only reveal themselves
when playing a certain game.

[Winstonp]

Try getting rid of the hard shell, might restrict airflow under the machine and cause inaccurate heat readings.

Then install the latest drivers from here instead of NVIDIA:
http://forums.laptopvideo2go.com/forum/159-19x-series-geforce-driver-releases/

For some odd reason, none of these will install on my system; at least not the most recent four versions.

As of yesterday, the game freezes within 1 minute of gameplay. Half the time the game doesn't even launch.

This is certainly a driver issue, I'm convinced. It sounds like I need to settle for the lame, underclocked, apple driver. Anyone have ANY other suggestions?

[Winstonp]

okay, use of the Apple driver fixes the issue.

EDIT: Actually I'm wrong. Using the supplied Apple driver, the game still does freeze. Any other ideas?