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zack13532 · Sep 15, 2009, 03:05 PM

I have a 2008 Unibody MacBook Pro (low end; 2.4Ghz etc), with a Boot Camp partition running Windows 7 x64 RC1 fairly well. I'm also using the 3.0 Boot Camp drivers. When I play games like TES3: Morrowind (old and shouldn't be too intensive), my computer gets hot and the fans spin a lot and so on. This isn't too big of an issue, I just attribute it to working extra hard on the game (i tried to ignore it basically). It did, however, occasionally freeze (usually after about 30 minutes of play when it did happen). I recently installed Team Fortress 2 as well, and that freezes (as in entire computer just stops - screen is stuck on an image and audio loops the last bit of sound - and i have to hold down the power button to restart it) constantly. Usually it will freeze within about 20 minutes, but I feel that my computer shouldn't be having this problem because it runs it well when it isn't frozen (50+ fps on medium-high settings). I also make sure to quit a lot of the nonessential processes before I play. Any way I can prevent all this freezing?

olePigeon · Sep 15, 2009, 08:42 PM

Disable both Bluetooth and Wireless in your device manager.

Cold Warrior · Sep 15, 2009, 09:18 PM

Does your MBP have a GeForce 8600M GT?

MacBook Pro: Distorted video or no video issues

Also this member was having gaming problems too, which turned out to be linked to his 8600M. http://forums.macnn.com/104/alternat...tered-playing/

Big Mac · Sep 16, 2009, 09:15 AM

My brother's MBP (same model) was experiencing the same looping audio stuck video problem in Team Fortress 2 after a recent update, but it also would become unstuck after a few seconds. I'll have to ask him if it's still happening.

olePigeon · Sep 16, 2009, 12:46 PM

All of my freezing stopped when I disabled Bluetooth and Wireless. However, I have an older model MacBook Pro.

zack13532 · Sep 16, 2009, 05:43 PM

Well, I have an 9600M GT (It's a unibody), so I don't think that's the problem... If I were to disable bluetooth, I wouldn't be able to use my bluetooth mouse to play games (the new trackpad has significant issues with windows) and if I were to disable wireless, I wouldn't be able to play (or test) Team Fortress 2. Could I possible get a different driver or rollback my driver?

Big Mac · Sep 20, 2009, 08:41 PM

My brother said his problem with TF2 was fixed with a subsequent update.

TheoCryst · Sep 22, 2009, 04:31 PM

I have that exact problem on an identical machine, and came up with a solution. Simply put: my laptop was overheating. If I play with my laptop lying flat on a surface, it's guaranteed to lock up within a half hour. But if I elevate it an inch or two off the tabletop, I can play for hours without an issue. The 9600M in that laptop runs incredibly hot under load, even hotter than the original MBPs. I can't promise that this is the problem you're having, but it's worth checking out. Does your laptop have good circulation while you're playing? Try keeping it off the desk/table you're playing on, and let us know how it goes.

zack13532 · Oct 4, 2009, 10:09 AM

Well, it does seem to get pretty hot when I play, but I was never sure whether it was significant enough to causes freezes. I might as well try that elevation trick, but I still need to figure what I can use to raise it up... Thanks in the mean time.

olePigeon · Oct 5, 2009, 12:38 PM

I've found that Boot Camp doesn't install the latest drivers for my video card. You could make sure your video card drivers are all the way updated. That might solve some overheating issues.

zack13532 · Oct 5, 2009, 03:25 PM

It doesn't seem to be related to heat. I had it elevated with a fan blowing on it as well (blowing the excess heat away). When it froze, the computer didn't seem all that hot. I think it has something to do with the PCI Latency of the chipset. Does anyone know how I can edit that (to reduce it).

olePigeon · Oct 5, 2009, 03:45 PM

Making sure your drivers are updated may also solve timing issues.

zack13532 · Oct 20, 2009, 03:53 PM

Well, I have determined with near certainty that the problem is caused by my sound card drivers. I was able to play for a long period of time without any freezes (at a pretty high framerate too!) when I launched my game with a -nosound option (disables audio output for valve games...). Only problem is, I, uh, sorta want sound, so how can I get a working version of these drivers? No matter what I try (besides disabling sound altogether), it still eventually freezes.