Getting Gears PC to work...

**LAiN** · 02-17-2008, 10:47 PM

You should add any switches that may disable incompatible things so that Gears will bypass/disable them and thus run.

For me, that switch was -nosound in Vista. Likewise, some people might need to use the -novideo switch (if it exists) or another switch to make it run properly.

Also, thx for posting a link to the VC++ 2008 Redist. Didn't even know it was published. I haven't tested Gears since I just installed it, but *maybe* it fixed my sound... highly doubt it but you never know.

EDIT:
Nope, of course not. Didn't fix nuthin'. Got a fix for me to have sound?

**paulpsomiadis** · 03-19-2008, 12:39 AM

If you let me know the problem you're having with sound, then I'll scour the board and see if there's a solution I missed...

I haven't checked recently...

**paulpsomiadis** · 03-22-2008, 01:05 AM

Guide updated with various stuff...too much to list!

**Ashrak** · 03-22-2008, 11:14 AM

I doubt your TextureLODSettings fix will work since you have spaces in weird spots like 10 24 and S ize. The game will probably just default to whatever your default is. Futhermore I don't think there's any difference in those settings and just setting the textures to medium in game.

**paulpsomiadis** · 03-23-2008, 10:38 PM

Its a forum formatting issue...

Stuck it in "code" and now people CAN copy and paste it.

Also, these aren't my fixes - I'm just collating them here!

**LAiN** · 03-31-2008, 02:05 AM

this thread should really be stickied and renamed "n00bs with broken game click here"

ROFL. Nice work paul (if thats your real name). Too bad none of this fixed my damn sound problem, but oh well. When I upgrade soundcard in a few months it won't matter

I=teh love pointing n00bs here.

**paulpsomiadis** · 04-01-2008, 08:46 PM

I've been TRYING to get the admins to sticky this d@mn thread for AGES!

Noone will listen though!

**paulpsomiadis** · 04-01-2008, 09:00 PM

Adding a little to the guide via way of an extra post...

Menu settings NOT saved
===================

Be sure you have a Windows LIVE profile and are signed-in, or settings will not change and you'll get "stuck" in the settings menus.

STARTUP.EXE hangs...
=================

For anyone who is having trouble with the game stopping at clicking startup.exe, here is the solution.

Some of you have a temp file in your task manager (doesn't always occur)...

Click on Applications tab in windows task manager and you will see startup.exe. looks like nothings happening.

Well its actually a hidden message waiting for your action.

Right click on startup.exe and left click on MAXIMISE.

A message box is there telling you why it wont start.

In my case it wanted updated VIDEO drivers. (Yes it will tell you EXACTLY what you need to do.)

[thanks @phenix21au]

Get past crash by going SLOW
=======================

If you find that the game is crashing at the same point EVERY time - just slow down instead of running until ALL of the "frame skipping" slowdown stops.

Take your time and you should be able to get past the crash (no garuntees though...)

"boomer cutscene crash" - chapter "Tick, Tick, BOOM!"
=========================================

To get past this crash do the following...

1) Be sure you are using a wired XBOX 360 pad (seems to increse game stability)
2) At the LEFT/RIGHT choice - choose the LEFT path.
3) When the boomer cutscene starts, hit the fire [RT] on the pad to skip the cutscene.

Crash during PC exclusive content
=========================

No known solution yet...

Game ALWAYS installs to "Program Files"
==============================

If this happens try unchecking "Install Editor". Then the game should be able to install. I later created an Icon for the editor manually. There seems to be a bug in the installer with reguards to alternate install directories.

Alternatively, copy the whole DVD to your Harddrive. Remove the disc from the DVD-Drive and install it that way. Now the game should install everything in the directory you want it to.

(Props to @Ashrak & @Jesterdance)

ASUS Mainboard - BIOS Updater
========================

The ASUS BIOS update GUI conflicts with GEARSTU update. Read THIS thread:

http://gearsforums.epicgames.com/sho...d.php?t=588880

VISTA - StackHash_fd00 in log file
==========================

Check out this thread (about disabling DEP):

http://forums.epicgames.com/showthread.php?t=614642

ERROR 1305 and JOYSTICK/PAD issues - this post:
======================================
http://forums.epicgames.com/showthre...1#post25337981

Error: -1610 Configuration data is corrupt
===============================

Check HERE: -

http://discussions.virtualdr.com/sho...d.php?t=195447

Error: -1603 Fatal error during installation
===============================

This is probably a permissions error...

See HERE:

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/834484

C++ Runtime error unknown software exception 0x40000015 at location 0x781346b4
================================================== ============

Probably a folder permissions error.

Check HERE to enable the Security tab in WinXP:

http://www.uwec.edu/HELP/WinXP/perm-estab.htm

Then right click the "Gears of War" game folder and select "properties", then the "security" tab then click the "full access" box and OK.

ERROR 1305 (borrowed / edited from a random blog)
=========

I was trying to install GEARS and I kept getting Error 1305: Error Reading from File: <filename.MSI>. I searched for the error message and most entries pointed to CD problems or MDAC corruption. I was installing a downloaded file, so the CD access problems did not apply. I applied the latest MDAC upgrades (in this case 2.81), but that did not help either. I even used the CSREPAIR tool which cleans up MDAC and JET problems, but that did not help, nor did the Windows Installer Cleanup tool.

It turned out to be a permissions problem. I had created a shared folder with access only by users. I probably explicitly removed all other admin/system accounts, and therein lied the problem. By removing SYSTEM, when the installer tried to run from account which did have access to the file and started to run it, it turned the file over to a system account "Windows Installer" which did not.

To solve the problem, I gave the root folder SYSTEM read access, and then the install was able to complete successfully. The subfolders inherited the needed permission.

ERROR 1309 - error reading from file [props to @joca]
===========================

Right click on the setup aplication inside of your GEARS DVD.
Go to properties and check the box where says "run in windons XP SP2 compatibility mode".
Click apply and run the aplication...

Faultrep.dll missing
==============

Download faultrep.dll from the internet.

http://www.dlldump.com/download-dll-.../download.html

Copy into your windows/system32 folder and NOT in the Gears folder.

(props to @Shiznitobam)

"please download launch.cab" error
=========================
Edit the "%appdata%\Microsoft Games\Gears of War\Startup.xml" to

Code:

<Startup DontShow="true" DontShowUntilNew="false" ContentVersion=""/>

(thanks @BoiledMonkey)

Cannot uninstall Gears Of War :No match found / nothing found
===============================================
(thanks @wardprod)

1. Get a registry editor tool e.g.: Registry Crawler and search for "gears of war" then delete carefully everything according to it. After it's done search for "games for windows" too, and check all entries that link to gow --> delete them too.

2. Go to: \WINDOWS\Installer\ and delete all files in it, BUT leave the folders as they are! After that search for "gears of war" in this directory too, and delete all data according to it.

3. Go to: \Program Files\InstallShield Installation Information\ and delete everything in it.

4. Restart PC, and run setup exe

Remaining bugs
===========

There are still streaming issues when loading new content within a level.

This means the framarate will slow RIGHT down - but it only lasts for 1-5 sec.

Also, some of the character audio sometimes disappears...

And UP/DOWN are inverted on the left analog stick... (ISSUE RESOLVED - see part 2)

but these are easy to fix with another patch (OI! EPIC, get yer' A**E in gear!)

Savegames
========

For those of you who just lost all your savegames (yet again?) you can download a full save file with all chapters unlocked from HERE:

http://www.cheathappens.com/show_download.asp?ID=23548

Surround Sound issues
=================

For those with surround sound problems, go HERE:

http://forums.epicgames.com/showthread.php?t=611935

Window Vista Hotfixes
=================

To run Gears of War for Windows with certain hardware setups, updates to Windows Vista are required. If you do not install these updates in this case, at some point the game will stop and your progress will be lost. For the updates to be applied effectively, you must install them in the order indicated.

1. One update resolves potential problems with graphics virtual addresses. To install this update, go to:

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/d...DisplayLang=en (32-bit)
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/d...displaylang=en (64-bit)
2. One update helps resolve a secondary graphics card operability issue when running DirectX® 10 applications on multiple graphics cards. To install this update, go to:

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/d...DisplayLang=en (32-bit)
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/d...displaylang=en (64-bit)

After installation, you must restart your computer to run the game with full functionality. Please wait to restart until all updates are installed.

(borrowed from the official GEARS PC site)

Finding the "Product ID"
==================

If the stupid M$ tech support asks for a Product ID...

The product ID is stored in the string called PID in (on x64):

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\ Microsoft Games\Gears of War

On x86, my guess would be that it's in:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Microsoft Games\Gears of War

(thanks go to @toiletduk)

Guide part 2 - controllers
===================

For those of you that DON'T want to use an X360 controller, check out THIS thread:

http://gearsforums.epicgames.com/sho...d.php?t=580813

Pad axes inversion trick
=================
To reinvert the movement do the following:
- go to the control panel>Game Controllers>Properties>Settings>check the box "swap joystics"
- launch the game. Go to the control settings>controller and enable "left-handed sticks".
- enable "invert y axis" too.
Now your left and right sticks work properly. (Dont forget to disable swap mode if you want to play another game =))
To fix the other buttons' mappings you must edit the WarInput.ini in the My Documents\My Games\Gears of War for Windows\WarGame\Config

(thanks to @Tpyn)

INI edit
=====

You can also try this - open your "WarInput.ini"

Search for the line:

Bindings=(Name="XboxTypeS_LeftY",Command="Axis aBaseY Speed=1.0 DeadZone=0.3")

and change it to:

Bindings=(Name="XboxTypeS_LeftY",Command="Axis aBaseY Speed=1.0 DeadZone=0.3 Invert=-1")

There should be FOUR instances you NEED to change (there will be more that a search function will find, but only 4 of them are important)

Be sure to make the .ini file READ ONLY after you edit it.

[note: this solution only works if you have LIVE disabled - I'm working on a solution that let's you sign-in AND have correct controls]

Okay, so to resolve the UP/DOWN inversion issue you'll need an XBOX 360 WIRED USB controller.

It doesn't have to be a Microsoft one either (I'm using a Joytech X360 wired controller)

1) Plug it into a USB port
2) When it asks for a driver say YES for connecting to Windows Update
(be sure you have an online connection)
3) It will now install the default MS driver.

No more joypad issues for you then!

NOTE - THIS NEXT PART IS OPTIONAL AS THE DEFAULT MICROSOFT DRIVERS ARE MORE COMPATIBLE!!!

Optional alternate drivers...

Go HERE for the drivers:

http://redcl0ud.1.forumer.com/index.php?showtopic=1173

...and extract them to a temporary folder (e.g. C:\1)

Go HERE for the Utilities:

http://xbcd360guide.50webs.com/

Install the utilities first, then follow THIS guide for the driver:

http://www.llamma.com/xbox/Archive/xbcd.htm

MISC info
=======

If you wish to warp to a chapter, simply use the console key (an @ with a ' underneath on a U.K. keyboard)

Then type: open {mapname}

Where {mapname} can be any of the following:

sp_prison_p
sp_embry_p
sp_hos_p
sp_tomb_p
sp_ephyrastreets_p
sp_oldephyra_p
sp_viaducts_p
sp_factory_p
sp_factoryinterior_p
sp_caves_p
sp_eba_p
SP_EBA_RiverWalk_P
sp_adams_p
sp_timgad_p
sp_station_p
sp_tyro_p

so what's the disadvantage of using the level warp - EXTREME DIFFICULTY mode only!

The "timgad" chapter is the extra PC content (nearly an hour of gameplay extra!!!)

Framerate Unlock
=============

Open the console in game and type this:

SET Engine.GameEngine MaxSmoothedFrameRate 100

or create a .cfg file and use exec command.

This works - 100 fps on CRT with 100hz...very nice.

(works in SP only or cracked w/o live MP)

**LAiN** · 04-01-2008, 09:54 PM

Although that is a valid problem and fix for it, the amount of Windows XP+Vista home users that have this problem would be so small it would be limited to like... 10 people on this entire board tops. You do have to EXPLICITLY delete the SYSTEM from the permissions to a given folder to cause something like that (as stated) and *at least* 75% of all Windows Users don't even know what that means. Of the 25% that might, about 25% of those users will know how to change it.

Nice warps

Still voting for sticky, there's more info here than in the stickied threads on how to fix this game, and its a damn shame the USERS are 1000 times more helpful than the DEBUGGERS. (I'll prolly get a "General Poor Behavior" point for this LOL)

**GanjaStar** · 04-03-2008, 02:59 AM

Just wanted to thank you for this guide.

seems this was the only fix needed for my g4wlive.exe runtime error

Microsoft Visual C++ 2008 Redistributable Package (x86)
http://www.microsoft.com/Downloads/d...displaylang=en

Your the man, i can finally play this game and im so pissed i read this guide only now

**paulpsomiadis** · 04-04-2008, 04:04 PM

Thanks @GanjaStar & @LAiN - you're some of the VERY few people who actually said thanks...

(yeah, there are a few others...you know who you are...even if I forgot!)

LOL!

**kramarz89** · 04-05-2008, 12:57 PM

Greetings everyone.

I have a problem. I've followed this guide STEP BY STEP, since Point 1. And still my GoW doesnt RUN, yes it doesnt run, i can't even see the menu.

After clicking the startup.exe, the splash screen apears and after wards i have a black screen with windows cursor in the middle, and after few secs, the game catapults to windows (means that i dont even get to the menu!) without any notification, error etc. None of this. And i have no idea whats wrong.

My comp. setup:

Intel(R) Celeron(R) CPU 3.20GHz
2.0 GB Ram
Microsoft Windows XP Professional (Service Pack 2)
NVIDIA GeForce 7600 GT with latest drivers.

Kind regards
kramarz

**paulpsomiadis** · 04-10-2008, 10:36 PM

Hmm...not sure I can help.

Pretty much everything known to date (issues / bugs) is in my guide - so if you've been through that and it STILL won't work...

The only thing I can think it might be an issue with reading the DVD disc.

If you have a mate with a PC that is also capable of running the game, try it at his house.

If it works, then at least you can rule out the game DVD.

...problem is then, that the issue will be with your PC - and I can't help directly with that!

**paulpsomiadis** · 04-23-2008, 09:52 AM

both guide sections updated with random stuff...

**LAiN** · 04-25-2008, 12:07 AM

I would like to say something if I may.

Today, I built a system for a friend. It was a cheap system, nice case with budget parts inside. Here are the details:

ASUS A8V-VM SE motherboard (or something like that)
Socket 939 AMD Athlon64 X2 3800+
1GB Crucial Ballistix DDR-500 RAM (the motherboard only lets it get to DDR-400 tho)
ATI Radeon X1950 Pro 256MB
Sunbeam Transformer case
Enough air cooling to keep the system at 38C under full load with the GPU only hitting 53C MAX in a room that is kept at 76F for an iguana (6 fans if you count the videocard one)
Logisys 575W Power Supply
LG DVD Burner
320GB Western Digital EIDE HDD

By following the basics of this guide, I had 0 (yes, zero) issues installing Gears of War and another 0 (yes, again zero) issues running Gears of War. The game performs decently with this uber budget hardware (not being overclocked either) and has not crashed.

Just ANOTHER testament to how much help this guide can be

**banish** · 04-25-2008, 01:47 AM

i don't know about you guys but i played gears of war on my pc and i didn't have one problem the guys from epic made a great job with the PC version and i am waiting for gears of war2 pc version

**banish** · 04-25-2008, 01:49 AM

Originally Posted by kramarz89

Greetings everyone.

I have a problem. I've followed this guide STEP BY STEP, since Point 1. And still my GoW doesnt RUN, yes it doesnt run, i can't even see the menu.

After clicking the startup.exe, the splash screen apears and after wards i have a black screen with windows cursor in the middle, and after few secs, the game catapults to windows (means that i dont even get to the menu!) without any notification, error etc. None of this. And i have no idea whats wrong.

My comp. setup:

Intel(R) Celeron(R) CPU 3.20GHz
2.0 GB Ram
Microsoft Windows XP Professional (Service Pack 2)
NVIDIA GeForce 7600 GT with latest drivers.

Kind regards
kramarz

if you don't get CRC error or anything like that it is from windows reinstal it...

or try another wersion of windows in any case thys error is certainly from your windows

**LAiN** · 04-25-2008, 02:17 AM

Originally Posted by banish

if you don't get CRC error or anything like that it is from windows reinstal it...

or try another wersion of windows in any case thys error is certainly from your windows

Not necessarily... in fact, that's USUALLY NOT the case... This is coming from somebody certified for WinXP and Server 2003, plus A+ and a Microsoft Licensed System Builder... (OEM FTW)

Installing a lot of the little things most people don't think of or know about is often the fix for this game, its pretty much a proven fact. it is also proven that there is no need to use a different version of Windows or reinstall it for that matter... if the game doesnt work, its because the OS is missing something it needs to properly execute game files or functions in about... 85% of all cases... Another 5% of all cases is a hardware incompatibility (like my soundcard).

**jupcon1977** · 04-25-2008, 11:27 AM

UPDATE:

Run this fix for find and restore original gear of war enviroment.

7/10 players who have errors C++ runtime error and quit game after few seconds/minutes playing will get it worked FINE!

files can be downloaded here:

http://www.mediafire.com/?medalmet2xz

if you have rapidshare please upload it and share link too.

thx

**LAiN** · 04-25-2008, 02:59 PM

Originally Posted by jupcon1977

UPDATE:

Run this fix for find and restore original gear of war enviroment.

7/10 players who have errors C++ runtime error and quit game after few seconds/minutes playing will get it worked FINE!

files can be downloaded here:

http://www.mediafire.com/?medalmet2xz

if you have rapidshare please upload it and share link too.

thx

This is a questionable fix, although some have claimed it to work some others have not. Paul no doubt knows of its existence but prolly opted not to include it in his guide because, well, its totally illegitimate. It is a hack by all definitions, so whether it works or not Epic would not like it. There is another hack that seems to work for more people than this, a no-dvd/no-cd crack. While mentioned, any link for this was omitted, and prolly for the same reason.

**Maukkatuinen** · 04-27-2008, 02:23 AM

Hiya, i have been working with my problems on this game for about an week now

Today i got the game runing and got to see the actual gameplay a bit, i did the prison break.

One more problem remains, if i try to run it with sounds on, it doesnt even start. MY sound card is Sound Blaster X-FI xtremegamer. This must be software related, so finding alternative drivers to the Creative ones would be good, you had a link to certain drivers for Audigy cards but those are not for X-fi iam afraid, so if anyone knows what driver version would work or where to get alternative drivers to try out, i would appreciate it.

Its too bad i have broken my integrated soundcard, so ill just have to get this one to work or go to my parents and steal my little brothers soundcard

Last i would like to thank paulpsomiadis for making this thread and keeping it up to date, and Lain and Hrgeist for helping me out.

**LAiN** · 04-27-2008, 11:29 AM

np! I have the same issue, I have to play with the -nosound argument or the game crashes immediately. It's defintely an issue with THIS GAME as sound works in full 5.1 with other games using my Auzentech X-Mystique Gold. My fix is simply to fire up iTunes and find some killin' music

**Maukkatuinen** · 04-27-2008, 12:58 PM

Mine was to get my old soundcard and play with it

works like a charm, no stuttering with the texture fixes. runing at 1680x1050 with 8xAA and 16xAF. Game itself didint disappoint me, just what i expected. i love the chainsaw, i just findmyself having a big fat smile when hear the chainsaw ripping enemys into pieces

**LAiN** · 04-27-2008, 10:06 PM

yeah, I need to downgrade my soundcard apparently... my friend has that cheap Chaintech soundcard from newegg (like $30) and it works fine, but mine (my X-Mystique ran me $55 and has an amazing feature set compared to that chaintech one) will not play GoW with sound. Definitely a hardware incompatibility.

**Mac User #001** · 04-28-2008, 12:10 AM

Thank youuu paulpsomiadis!

I read your guide on getting GoW to work, and found where the directory I was looking for is for Vista users! And I was able to be sure I got the latest 1.2 update thanks to your link! Very handy man! Your thread should be a sticky!

**LAiN** · 04-28-2008, 04:26 PM

We've been trying to get it stickied but the mods won't because they don't want to admit that the users are 100 times better at fixing the game than the lazy asses at Epic.

**Mac User #001** · 04-28-2008, 09:08 PM

I heard in another thread that the newest update doesn't fix the loss of saved game files? I hope thats not true, because its happened about 3 times now and I don't know how many more times I'll be able to play the missions over...

**Who** · 04-28-2008, 10:17 PM

Ue3 uses open al,the extreme gamer doesnt have open al,turn audio effects off.

**LAiN** · 04-29-2008, 01:52 AM

Originally Posted by Who

Ue3 uses open al,the extreme gamer doesnt have open al,turn audio effects off.

If you're posting that in reference to a couple users (me included) not having sound and indeed crashing if not disabling sound...

Doesn't work for me. Tried. In fact, this is how big of a fan of the search function I am. I spent 4 hours sorting through every thread that mentioned sound in Gears of War trying to find a solution. NOTHING. And really, after exhausting all possible solutions on this board, I tried my hand at figuring it out myself (which was in fact much more comprehensive than anything the baord has to offer). I have concluded that i was simply meant to create my own soundtrack for this game.

I will, however, fully document everything a user can do to fix this game on their system if Epic agrees to the following: they must pay me for the documentation, pay the authors of anything I reference from this board, and make the documentation freely available in an easy to find location for all users experiencing difficulties with this game. The reason? Documenting everything that could possibly fix a user's issue with this game would require of me *at least* 80 hours, or two full weeks of work. That is with full access to a variety of hardware (I have access to roughly 15 dif. computer configs) and operating systems (Win XP, Vista, and WINE on Linux).

I await their answer, however its been a month since I sent them an email so I doubt they care about the massive issues with this game.

**F.Slovo** · 04-29-2008, 03:04 AM

Hi

Regarding Getting Gears PC to work.

I don't know how complex Gears of War crashing issue really is. I have the same game and Windows XP Pro installed on different hard drives in the same computer. One is a hundred gb Maxtor IDE and the other is a 200 gb Maxtor SATA ll/300. I have a AMD64X2 Dual-Core Processor, 2 gb memory on a ASRock mainboard and a BFG 7950 GTOC 512mb Video card. The installation on the 100gb Maxtor crashes every 15 to 20 minutes. The installation on the 200gb SATA ll has never crashed and I have played for hours at a time. I have gone to the AMD website and downloaded Dual core processor drivers, I have installed the latest directX and Nvidia drivers. I have the latest BIOS, JAVA and updates from MS on both hard drives. I have lot more programs and other games on the 100gb drive and only about 20gb of freespace. I don't have Virus protection installed on the SATA ll drive and have over 150gb of freespace. Up until I installed the game on the 100gb drive I never knew there was a crashing problem. So I'd be guessing but I'd try uninstalling my Virus protection and rebooting and see if that makes any difference. When I play a game I always turn virus and internet security off so again I can't say that is the problem. I like to play games to unwind and it kind of takes the fun out of playing when crap like this happens. Its Microsoft's operating system and a Microsoft games for Windows game so how come we don't hear nothing from them about the solving the problem?

Frank

**LAiN** · 04-29-2008, 04:07 AM

they don't crawl these forums, but you can give them a call and get free tech support from them for the game if you wish. I have, and I can say that they are basically reading this thread when walking you through how to fix it lol

unfortunately, there are issues that we still don't know how to fix, but M$ and Epic($) are the worst at giving good support for games so we gotta figure it all out on our own.

**cantplaygearsofwar** · 04-29-2008, 04:14 AM

Vsync makes it worse...

**GREU50ME** · 04-29-2008, 01:44 PM

Thanks, original poster, for explaining to us in detail how to set up our PC's as developer PC's and create patch 1.3 ourselves. I'd heard that there were minor issues with GOW PC. I had no idea it's actually a steaming pile of dogcrap. It got good reviews too, though I have no idea how. Any game where you have to create the patch for yourself is crap.

**paulpsomiadis** · 05-04-2008, 10:17 PM

To those reading this thread...

!!!DO NOT DOWNLOAD THE FILE POSTED BY "@jupcon1977"!!!

It is a Trojan and will infect your PC!

You have been warned!

(Oh and @jupcon1977 - don't post infected files in a help thread or you are a MORON!)

steaming pile of dogcrap

@GREU50ME - you said it buddy, this game is a pile of S#!T with a game hiding under it.

Why for the love of sanity they didn't do the extra mission as DLC for the X360 I will NEVER know?

GUIDE UPDATED - Many minor fixes, and the joypad inversion issue from another "angle" (pun not intended)

**dreadlord369** · 05-11-2008, 01:36 PM

Thanks bro!

**LAiN** · 05-12-2008, 03:47 PM

paul, maybe you should add something about mobile solutions. The more I dig, the more I find there's no conclusive information about mobile-only differences.

Its pretty common knowledge to geeks but not for noobs that it is rare for anybody but the manufacturer to provide mobile GPU drivers. Since laptops are less powerful than desktops in pretty much every area, it would be beneficial to add some info on overclocking mobile GPUs.

For pretty much all Nvidia mobile GPUs, it is impossible to find updated drivers since manufacturers don't update them, and many of them lock their GPU's core/mem settings. LaptopVideo2Go is a great site to find modified drivers that will work on any laptop with the specified GPU so users can have the most updated driver files AND in most cases have them unlocked to overclock with. When you're talking a 400 point difference in 3DMark06 on a laptop based on these two areas of improvement, its a HUGE difference.

For mobile ATI drivers, it is often much easier, since ATI does better support their mobile GPUs, and AMD offers a utility to overclock them

Also, maybe you should add a list of shortcomings to playing Gears on a laptop, maybe it'll deter people from doing it (except me lol)

**Mac User #001** · 05-12-2008, 11:11 PM

Well... I guess the latest patch does NOT fix the loss of save game files. This is the only thing keeping me from playing this game. There is another crash, but its sytem wide, happening on any games. Its that infamous "NVDDKLM driver has stopped responding and has recovered fully" one. I don't mind that though; it happens rarely. I brought it up though because I was wondering if maybe its causing (or helping) the loss of save files. Guess I'll be downloading that level unlocker because I'm NOT playing through again. Any possible solutions are more than welcome. This is by far the most work I've had to do to enjoy a game but I won't give up! I will beat this game!

**Mac User #001** · 05-12-2008, 11:16 PM

Ugh... double post, sorry...

**LAiN** · 05-13-2008, 04:29 AM

lol

Nvidia driver issues are RAMPANT in this game! I just had Gears crash on my laptop randomly after almost an hour of play at 26FPS with medium low settings... my laptop has an 8400m in it and I'm using hacked drivers. The original drivers for the bugger gave me a whole 12FPS and crashes every half an hour or so, so I have made progress lol