Online Games Freeze

[Avengor_Jon]

Whenever I try to play any high-end pc game (specifically
Command and Conquer: Renegade and Command and Conquer:
Generals - Zero Hour) in XP Pro while connected to the internet, the computer locks up
and I have to restart. I thought the problem might have
been my winmodem, but an external modem generates the
same outcome. Even if it was my winmodem causing it, my
games never use over 50% CPU usage on my 2.4 Ghz P4 with
128 MB Radeon 9000. I have updated nearly all the drivers
on my computer, connected through multiple ISPs, completed Windows Update, booted in
diagnostic mode with all startup applications disabled,
and tested in administrator but to no avail. Any and all
help is appreciated.

[Canis Lupus]

May be related to a program(s) in the background while the game is running... have you tried temporarily disabling any antivirus, firewall or IM software you may have running and see if it still locks up your game? If the game runs fine, then at least we have narrowed down the problem somewhat and we can isolate which program may be causing it...

What other programs do you have running during startup? And does this lock-up only happen when you play games? Stick around for more suggestions....

[Ahmed]

Try getting an extra mother board OR a better video card. Both those are cruical when playing an on-line game like command and conquerer

:)- Ahmed

[Canis Lupus]

his system specs are more than what the game requires, though :)

[Avengor_Jon]

I think I'll just buy an external serial modem (I've heard USB modems are similar to winmodems) and take the problem from there. My system specs are plenty higher than what Generals requires (min 800 Mhz, 32 MB AGP, 128 MB RAM, etc.), but maybe my winmodem is taking up more resources than I realize. I disabled all startup applications and services when I first tested it, leaving just about hardware left so I think background applications are out. Anyway, my dial-up proxy will get me by until I get a chance to buy this thing. I've since taken out my winmodem and tried an old serial external modem I had lying around, but it wouldn't dial out because it still has no support for XP, or the NT kernel for that matter. I'll update this thread again when I get my new modem.

[Avengor_Jon]

Originally posted by Ahmed
Try getting an extra mother board OR a better video card. Both those are cruical when playing an on-line game like command and conquerer

:)- Ahmed I guess I should clarify that this only happens when an internet connection from my modem is established, it doesn't happen with my proxy or offline. Also, I don't even have to be using any bandwidth from the game for this to happen. Generals freezes on the main screen. Thanks anyway, though.

[Ocean]

as far as i know, online versions of games usually stress computers and video cards more. but i dont know why. for some games its just more characters and "swarms".

but my guess is that some rogue software will utilize your internet connection and then your game gets stuck and you cant get back to windows to shut the game off.

or a firewall is blocking the game from doing anything and the same thing ensues.

[Ocean]

upon reading your furthor explanations with more attention, i believe it is nothing more than your firewall.

if you can, run the game in windowed mode to pay attention to any popups or manually allow access. (zone alarm)

it is of note though, that more current video cards are able to toggle between windowed and full screen modes faster (almost instantaneously), which may negate the appearence of the game being stuck.

play with the windows key. and wait 5 mins. ?

[Avengor_Jon]

Actually this happens when my proxy - or firewall - is off. It only happens with a direct connection from my modem. If it helps, my proxy software is AnalogX, a simple 200KB program without alot of configuration. I've tried changing to better software in the past in vain. Maybe someday I'll have NT Server 4.0 and Microsoft Proxy Server, but for now I'll have to use what I have. Originally I thought the problem was my hardware monitoring or ISP, but I disabled the software and tested AOL instead of Netzero and the same results happened. I've tried using the Windows key to play around with Generals, but it eventually freezes somewhere in the autoupdate, Renegade never has a chance. Renegade has a windowed option - unfortunately, same problem.

[Avengor_Jon]

Finally got my new SupraMax 56k Serial Modem. Problem solved. Thanks for all of your support.