[Elethiomel]

Having recently discovered this project I dug out my old FreeSpace 2 discs and installed it, then followed one of the handy guides on this site to install FSO and mediavps.

I run FSO under Vista.

When I start FSO it seems to run fine for a while, then some time after starting it it spontaneously crashes. This has happened during missions, during debriefing, during briefing, and during cutscenes. Usually I have time to complete one mission before it spontaneously crashes, but this last time I ran it in debug mode (finally) it crashed during the post-mission cutscene.

When it crashes, first the graphics hang, then the sound hangs, then the screen turns entirely white and I get the "please wait" mouse cursor. Clicking the mouse or pushing a button at this time gets me the "the program is not responding" dialog. Attached is my fs2_open.log.

[attachment deleted by MSC

[The E]

Hmm. I can't see anything in your log that screams "fix me", no errors that seem to be causing this.
So, a few questions: Is this Vista x86 or Vista x64?
Any overclocking that might cause system instability?
Any applications that are running in the background that would be likely to cause this (This is a long shot, but wth)?
Are all drivers up-to-date?

[Jeff Vader]

Yep, file integrities check so nothing wrong there. Check the drivers and any potentially hostile background programs. Some security software *cough*windowsdefender*cough* have been known to declare FSO as malware, followed by a removal, so it wouldn't necessarily be impossible for something like that to rape FSO in the middle of a game and make it crash.

Also, some general system specs might be useful, too.

[General Battuta]

I'd second the notion of checking your background security programs. There's nothing in that log that jumps out as a big crash issue...

[Elethiomel]

Hmm. I can't see anything in your log that screams "fix me", no errors that seem to be causing this.
So, a few questions: Is this Vista x86 or Vista x64?

Vista x86 on an Intel Core 2 Duo. Yeah, I know. I should upgrade or change OS.

Any overclocking that might cause system instability?

No, and the only two other games I have had issues with are Sacred 2 (notoriously buggy) and World of Warcraft (with more plugins than you could reasonably shake World Carver at).

Any applications that are running in the background that would be likely to cause this (This is a long shot, but wth)?

All I have running in the background is my logitech mouse software, avast antivirus, an audio manager and AnyDVD.

Are all drivers up-to-date?

Yes.

As for system specs:
Intel Core 2 Duo E6750 2.67GHz, running at that clock speed.
4 GB of RAM (yeah, I know. I can't use all of it with Vista x86. Do any of you have experience running FSO on Win 7 btw?)
And that's about it of relevance. 8 GB free HD space so it can't be a log file jamming up.

For security programs, Avast has nothing in its logs regarding any file in my FreeSpace 2 folder, and neither does Windows Defender (and I haven't run its active scan anyway).

[General Battuta]

Could you try disabling the two security programs (after disconnecting from the Internet, just to be safe) and running the game for a while that way?

That's my best current hunch.

[Jeff Vader]

avast! hasn't caused any problems on my end either, but I remember a case where someone's Windows Defender determined that FSO was malware and then strangled the entire system. Just on the safe side you could try disabling Defender; personally, I've never figured out any reason for its existence.

[The E]

Another thing to try would be to disable Data Execution Protection for FreeSpace.
To do the first, open the System properties dialog. Click on advanced settings, then change to the Advanced tab. There, click on performance options, and then on "Data Execution Prevention", and add FS to the exception list.

Vista x86 on an Intel Core 2 Duo. Yeah, I know. I should upgrade or change OS.

Why? Vista usually is fine. That said, it's Vista SP1 or SP2, right?

Do any of you have experience running FSO on Win 7 btw?

Yes. I and several others have used FSO without problems on the beta versions and the current RC.

[Elethiomel]

Another thing to try would be to disable Data Execution Protection for FreeSpace.

I have disabled it systemwide because it often causes problems with legacy software.

Vista x86 on an Intel Core 2 Duo. Yeah, I know. I should upgrade or change OS.

Why? Vista usually is fine. That said, it's Vista SP1 or SP2, right?

I should change/upgrade because the Intel Core 2 Duo is a 64 bit processor and I have 4 GB RAM; running Vista x86 is a waste of processing power and memory (x86 code can only address 3GB of RAM). And yeah, it is SP1.

Yes. I and several others have used FSO without problems on the beta versions and the current RC.

I do have the RC but haven't installed it yet. This might be the proverbial straw that broke the camel's back though.

I'll also try to disable my security software with the internet disconnected, as others suggested. Thanks for your prompt and helpful responses, everyone.

[Macfie]

What video card do you have?  I had some initial problems with My Nvidia GT-120 but corrected it by upgrading my drivers.  The original 178 version did not work well but 185 and 186 have not caused me any problems.  You could also try backing down a little bit on your video settings.

[Elethiomel]

What video card do you have?  I had some initial problems with My Nvidia GT-120 but corrected it by upgrading my drivers.  The original 178 version did not work well but 185 and 186 have not caused me any problems.  You could also try backing down a little bit on your video settings.

It's an Nvidia 9600 GT. I'm pretty sure I have the latest drivers, but I'll double check.
I don't see how high video settings would make the game crash during cutscenes and briefings/debriefings though? But I'll try that too.

[Macfie]

Mainly the anistropic filter and anti-aliasing.  I had to set my settings down from 16x to 8x.  You might also want to make sure your Nvidia program is set up to use the "let the 3D application decide" setting and not the "Use my preference emphasizing" setting.  This worked for my prior to upgrading drivers.

[Gibbusflame]

This probably won't fix it (but who knows?)
No one's mentioned it, but do you know about the Vista option to run programs in compatability modes for different OS(s)?
Mainly Windows OS, e.g. XP.
I'd assume you've done this already (as I have) but go ahead and check. FS2 kept crashing for me until I changed this feature.
Make sure to check it under 'Properties'

[Jeff Vader]

FSO should run fine under Vista and there shouldn't be any need for compatibility modes. But... you never know. Trying it can't hurt.

[GTSVA]

I run in XP home. RC3 was always working fine. Today when I try to host, it freezes at "Requesting IP Ban List"or something. GAH!