small problem with Steam, need help

[robomummy]

so I recently bought Fallout 3 on Steam, when I downloaded it I was able to open the main menu to point where it says if I want to make a new game, downloads, continue, etc. Once I hit the "new" option the game crashes. I havent been getting much help from steam so can anyone tell me what is going on?

[Overread]

This might not be anything Steam can help you with.

First off remember that Steam support is vastly understaffed for the population is has to service and as a result reply times can take up to a week (in some cases) before you'll get feedback.

Secondly try the regular fixes for things:

1) Check that your video drivers are up to date

2) Check that the game content is correctly installed (run the file error check in steam - this should get around having to redownload and reinstall the game).

3) Restart the computer (sounds basic but I know some who never ever restart their computers ever).

4) Check that your firewall and virus scanning software are not blocking the game. Sometimes firewalls will block a game when it runs even if its not requested a web connection/server connection - double check that it allowed

Third since this sounds a little more like a game error than a steam error I would try contacting the games support services direct. Make sure to give them any error messages as well as the Dxdiag for your machine. The more info you can give them the better they can suggest what might be the problem and thus offer a potential solution.

[robomummy]

im not sure how I can find out whether or not my video drivers are up to date, also will try that correctly installed thing, I restarted and it still happened.

[Helonion]

You can just go to the maker of the video card and they will have updates to dl from their websites. Make sure you know what your card is.

[robomummy]

how do you find out what your card is, also Im not sure if that is the problem. I am not very good with this stuff.

[Helonion]

Nov 7, 2012 22:25:20 GMT robomummy said:

how do you find out what your card is, also Im not sure if that is the problem. I am not very good with this stuff.

Simple, go to the start button at the bottom left of the screen, and in the search box "dxdiag" but with out the quotations, then just click over to the display tab and at "Name", it will say what your card is.

[robomummy]

i got to that but where would it say what my video card is?

[Helonion]

Click the diplay tab, when you see "name" whats next to it is the card name.

If that is still confusing. Go to control panel from the start button > device manager > You should then see a list, double click "display adapters" the sub link below is the card name, series and specifically what it is. Like mine is ATI Radeon HD 6900, its a ATI card, series 6, model 900 thus ATI 6900 series.

[robomummy]

Ok mine is Mobile Intel(R) 4 series Express Chipset Family. I looked for updates but got a notification that I was not able to update it.

[Rakuall]

Nov 8, 2012 20:03:08 GMT robomummy said:

Ok mine is Mobile Intel(R) 4 series Express Chipset Family. I looked for updates but got a notification that I was not able to update it.

That's not really a graphcs card. Well it as, as far as that's what arranges your pixles, but an intel chipset can't really do any heavy lifting.
Is this a Laptop or Desktop?
Have you managed to run any other graphically intense programs (3D games, video rendering software)?
What are your other system specs (run DXDiag and click save all information, then share the .txt file)?

[carnogaunt]

Nov 8, 2012 20:03:08 GMT robomummy said:

Ok mine is Mobile Intel(R) 4 series Express Chipset Family. I looked for updates but got a notification that I was not able to update it.

Does it look like this:



Because if so, the problem is fairly evident. Your display adapter does not meet the minimum required RAM to run the game. Does Steam have a refund policy? I find it odd that it will let you download a game which your system can't run.

[Overread]

System specs are not set in stone, there are so many various combinations possible with computers that developers simply cannot test them all. And this is without going into the mobile specific market. Simply put the min, required and recommended specs for games are just that, rough estimations based upon testing data as to what will and won't run a game (plus they make no statment as to the quality of running said game).

Steam itself thus won't "check" your computer to see if you can or can't run something as its up to the player to take that step themselves. Furthermore Steam is building itself well into modern online purchasing models such as having a mobile store and allowing you access on more than one computer. Thus it would likely lose them sales and spread confusion to warn or prevent if the purchasing machine couldn't run the game based upon the min/rec spec.

Games have always been like this.


As for refunds this is a grey area for games. Far as I know Steam can give refunds for undownloaded content and for games where there is clear content problems (ie where the game is basically unplayable or heavily bug ridden). I'm fairly sure the "I can't run it on my computer" argument is covered in their terms of service as an argument you can't use to justify a refund - esp if you've already downloaded the game to your computer. You can certainly try, but I wouldn't get my hopes up. Just keep the title till such a time as you can afford a better machine.

[robomummy]

yeah it looks like that, im not a computer person and dont really know what is or is not able to play on my computer based on being told what the requirements are. I assumed since the game was older than my computer should be able to play it but i guess it doesnt work that way.

[Helonion]

Bright side, you have a perma game on your account to use when your comp is better!

[Rakuall]

For the non-tech-savvy: Can You RUN It?. A simple website that will read your system specs for you, compare it to the minimum of nearly whatever game you're looking for, and tell you if you can or cannot run it.