Help a Noob troubleshoot?

[Flake]

Yeah yeah, holy shit Flake is posting in the PC forum.

So I am trying to play Warhammer 40K Dawn of War on my PC. My PC is definitely kinda old but it has been able to run this game successfully in the past.

Something has changed - now when I play I get just a few minutes into any mission when everything becomes really jerky.

Part of the problem is obvious - time to get a new computer. I'm working on that. Beyond that I'm not sure what the deal is. Can anyone give me some advice on how to troubleshoot this or what I might have changed on my computer to make this game not run like it used to?

[BoringSupreez]

I have that game, and had some trouble with it myself. Can you elaborate on what you mean by "really jerky"? Are you talking about screen tearing, or framerate, or what? Also, it would help if I knew what your operating system is, and if you downloaded any patches for the game.

[Flake]

Operating system is Vista (I'm groaning with you) and the problem is the frame rate, I believe. The sound is fine, as are the voice clips. But the characters are definitely dropping a LOT of their animations.

I downloaded the game from Steam - I'm not entirely sure if that means it is auto patched or if I need to do something myself.

[BoringSupreez]

Operating system is Vista (I'm groaning with you) and the problem is the frame rate, I believe. The sound is fine, as are the voice clips. But the characters are definitely dropping a LOT of their animations.

I downloaded the game from Steam - I'm not entirely sure if that means it is auto patched or if I need to do something myself.

My main gaming machine is a Vista, actually, so there's no groaning from me. Anyway, I'd assume it's auto-patched, but you should check anyway. The latest version is 1.41. I'd try patching your video card as well (if there's a newer patch available), also, try pressing control-shift-escape to open Task Manager, go to the procesess tab, and close everything not being run by SYSTEM except the things you'll need to run the game, like Steam. That should improve performance.

If your videocard is an ATI Radeon, you should try the stuff mentioned in this thread: http://forums.relicnews.com/showthread. ... deon-cards

[Flake]

Yeah, everything appears up to date and all processes that have nothing to do with the game have been halted.

Maybe it really is just time to get a new compy.

[BoringSupreez]

Yeah, everything appears up to date and all processes that have nothing to do with the game have been halted.

Maybe it really is just time to get a new compy.

Did you try the Radeon troubleshooting?

If you're going to get a new copy, I've seen the non-Steam gold edition that comes with the first expansion pack for $10 at places like Staples, I'd get that.

[DinnerX]

Here are the usual questions I ask myself for this sort of thing:

Just one game with a problem?
Video drivers up to date?
Windows updates installed?
Harddrive defragmented?
Startup programs under control?
Window's registry clean?
Viruses taken care of?

Sadly some issues are nearly impossible to fix short of reinstalling windows or risking messing up a windows installation.

[pakopako]

Just one game with a problem?
Video drivers up to date?
Windows updates installed?
Harddrive defragmented?
Startup programs under control?
Window's registry clean?
Viruses taken care of?

Sadly some issues are nearly impossible to fix short of reinstalling windows or risking messing up a windows installation.

Or it could be hardware; sometimes dust on the cards (desktop) or clogged up vents (laptop) can cause heat issues faster than expected. (And then there's the fact that this is a STEAM download.)

[CRTGAMER]

Viruses taken care of?

This, run a Spyware scan.

[YoshiEgg25]

If you haven't already, restart your computer. You have no idea how many things a simple restart can do.