At my wit's end with Steam.

[KeithTalent]

Thanks all. I said it was Steam because it was the only program I was having any problems with, as I mentioned before. Absolutely everything else I use on the PC has been working perfectly. I love Steam, it's not like I'm a hater or anything (could not be farther from the truth actually), but if I run into a problem with only one program amidst dozens of other programs, well I tend to point the figure at that one program. Call me crazy.

Anyway, I did check my connection speed before and it is set to DSL/Cable >2MB, which I think is appropriate for me.

The only things I leave on in the background are my Antivirus (MSE now), Firewall, and the ATI CCC. I will try turning off the Antivirus and Firewall.

I also did install a bunch of auto-updates for Windows on the 24th, plus one on the 27th. Maybe I should try uninstalling those. :hmm:

Thanks again for all of the help/advice.

KT

 

[Chapbass]

How about trying your comp on a different internet connection? Got a buddy you can bring your rig over to just to try it? Thatll at least make sure its not something ridiculous like your connect having a bad route to the steam servers...

 

[vshah]

what are your results on www.pingtest.net?

also make sure you've got updated nic drivers. what does your path to the internet look like? wireless? gigabit? straight to the router or through some switches? it could even be something as weird as a network cable going bad. i would connect straight to your modem to rule out any network issues.

 

[KeithTalent]

I don't know anyone with a portable rig, but I did try out my 3 laptops (2 on XP and one on Vista) and they all worked fine. I don't really have any games on there, so it's not a hugely accurate test, but everything I did try worked fine (no hiccups).

My building is hard-wired with fibre, so I just plug the cabel from my PC to the wall and that is that. I have been unable to find NIC drivers for my rig after a bunch of searching.

Most other stuff I will have to try tonight when I get home aas I will be at work for the next 9-10 hours or so.

I do appreciate all of the help and suggestions though.

KT

 

[Martimus]

I love all the people saying "It isn't Steam", and then giving no explanation for that oppinion, or any oppinions on what could be the problem. Lots of help.

I actually have a similar problem. When I load a game from Steam (or start Steam for some reason), my computer has been getting slower and unstable and will eventually crash over time. It is annoying, and I have responded by rebooting my computer after I play any steam game. This is a relatively new occurance as well, and has been going on for maybe a month.

 

[tomt4535]

D975XBX or D975XBX2 motherboard? because either of them support win 7..... http://www.intel.com/support/motherboards/desktop/sb/CS-008326.htm

Highly doubt its steam... I would have said update lan drivers but there are none for this board for win 7

If he has the D975XBX2, then this driver should work for the onboard ethernet:

http://downloadcenter.intel.com/Detail_Desc.aspx?agr=Y&DwnldID=18713&lang=eng

Worth a shot to update the nic driver. Also maybe try another nic if you have one lying around.

EDIT: It should work for either board, they both have the same ethernet controller onboard.

 

[KeithTalent]

If he has the D975XBX2, then this driver should work for the onboard ethernet:

http://downloadcenter.intel.com/Detail_Desc.aspx?agr=Y&DwnldID=18713&lang=eng

Worth a shot to update the nic driver. Also maybe try another nic if you have one lying around.

EDIT: It should work for either board, they both have the same ethernet controller onboard.

Cool, I'll give that one a shot when I get home. I could not find anything when I was searching, or the ones I did find had dead links. :\

KT

 

[HardcoreRobot]

Can you play any other CPU/GPU/network/latency intensive games that don't require steam? This sounds like hardware malfunction to me, especially if it is affecting every game.

 

[KeithTalent]

Can you play any other CPU/GPU/network/latency intensive games that don't require steam? This sounds like hardware malfunction to me, especially if it is affecting every game.

Well I tried LOTRO, which, at 1920x1200 and everything maxed out, with a lot of enemies on screen, can be very intensive. It played without issue.

I tried playing Crysis, but could not get into any servers. I could get the server browser and the game seemed to load the server up, but then the game would crash.

That's all I have tried so far (those are also the only non-Steam games I have right now).

KT

 

[sanzen07]

Before you start ripping apart your PC and budgeting for the change let's explore a few more options.

Since your last post we've had a few more suggestions to look into.

The one I can add is: System Restore. If you leave System Restore on like I do when I rebuild a system it should be recording a new System Restore point everytime you install software or make certain changes. Go back through the System Restore catalogue and see what changes have been made since the approximate time your 'PC issues' started. List the issues and see what could have caused your random issue. Perhaps performing a system restore would be useful but more likely a last resort.

Exploring more on this "My motherboard is not supported by Windows 7" issue would be good too. PC people are resourceful and may know of certain workarounds, fixes and other useful tidbits of advice to sort it all out.

I have to say the issues I have had with Steam since I started using it have been minimal and typically restricted to "Server too busy. Try again later" during sales or when big games are released and certain GFWL issues... which is GFWL's problem.

I'm running a D975XBX2 and a Core 2 Duo E6600 with Windows 7 64-bit just like you. I used Intel's 64-bit Vista drivers and have had no issues. Steam also works fine for me and I've had no issues. I don't think this issue is your motherboard.

 

[2dt Drifter]

Try updating audio drivers? On my old rig I've had to reinstall them once or twice because I was getting the same type of symptoms you are getting, only with HL2.

Run realtemp while in game and monitor temps?

 

[zagood]

Just had a problem with steam where it would freeze in CS:S at the "Sending information to server" loading screen. Ended up deleting/reinstalling CS:S and it's fine now. Other than that I haven't had any problems (knock on silicon).

 

[simonizor]

You could try downloading a free online fps like Return to Castle Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory. The graphics are dated, but it's a good free online fps that was intended to be an expansion to RTCW, but they decided to release it for free.

Playing this game could give some insight as to whether it's an issue with steam or your internet connection.

 

[KeithTalent]

what are your results on www.pingtest.net?

also make sure you've got updated nic drivers. what does your path to the internet look like? wireless? gigabit? straight to the router or through some switches? it could even be something as weird as a network cable going bad. i would connect straight to your modem to rule out any network issues.

It gave me a grade of A :hmm:

I used the drivers posted below tomt4535 for my ethernet controller, but I tried TF2 and it was laggy as ever, maybe even worse.

I am going to try Wolfenstein (haven't played that in ages) to see if it is any better.

Oh yeah, I'm supposed to try with no Antivirus or Firewall on. I'll give that a shot in a little bit.

KT

 

[Koudelka]

Definitely try with no Antivirus on, Firewall off (or just skipping the router and going straight to the modem).

Strange though, sounds to be a mix of an issue between windows 7, steam, and your hardware.

You said The Witcher was having issues as well? Well the issues in-game are not even internet related at that point. That would be a problem between windows 7 and your hardware.

The next steps at this point would be to test the antivirus, firewall/router, and then try a few other SP games. And another game or two besides LOTRO that isnt on Steam. See what happens and go from there, try to narrow down the problem.

 

[vshah]

do you have a spare hdd lying around? you could try backing up your steam game files, reinstalling win7 on a spare drive and importing them...see how that goes.

 

[Raduque]

I guess I'm not the only one.

I've definitely ticked at Steam right now.

3 of the THQ complete pack games I've tried don't work (That's on top of not being able to gift the games that were duplicates):

Full Spectrum Warrior is a slide show.

Juiced 2 won't even start; I click on the Icon, get a cursor for a second... and then nothing.

Red Faction freezes almost instantly.

I've googled and looked for fixes - no luck. I've also tried re-downloading and verifiying the files. My older Steam games all work fine.

No more Steam for me for now. I'll go D2D if anything.

You're blaming Steam for THQ's games not working? Logic Fail.

 

[KeithTalent]

Ok, uninstalled all Windows Updates and disabled Windows Firewall and MSE.

TF2 is now pretty much playable, but it's not ideal. It starts out very laggy, but settles down after a little bit, but afterwards it still spikes here and there and my pings are much higher than they normally are. Also, I do not really like the idea of surfing around without a firewall or anti-virus.

Not really sure what to do now. :hmm:

KT

 

[Larries]

Do you notice a lot of harddisk activity when having problems?

 

[KeithTalent]

Do you notice a lot of harddisk activity when having problems?

Nothing out of the ordinary.

It looks like I may have to try a full re-install of Windows when I have some time later this week. Failing that, maybe time to purchase some new hardware, though to be honest I do not really feel like dropping close to $600 just to play a couple of games. :\

KT

 

[vshah]

i would definitely try a reinstall of windows first.

 

[Via]

You're blaming Steam for THQ's games not working? Logic Fail.

If a B&M store sells me a shitty product I'm not going back there.

Why should the internet be different?

 

[Elcs]

If a B&M store sells me a shitty product I'm not going back there.

Why should the internet be different?

The product is not the stores, it is THQ's.

Logic fail once more.

Stop bashing Steam because 'it's cool to do'. It went out of style with Vista bashing in 2007.

Back to OP's issue... As I said when I plugged in my mini-ITX system, had no LAN connection, went downstairs for a moan (technical discussion with my dad), a drink then came back up, plugged it back in only to find it started working for no apparently reason.... IT is bollocks some days. Stuff works or breaks for no real reason.

Hope you get it sorted.

 

[Via]

The product is not the stores, it is THQ's.

Logic fail once more.

Stop bashing Steam because 'it's cool to do'. It went out of style with Vista bashing in 2007.

Back to OP's issue... As I said when I plugged in my mini-ITX system, had no LAN connection, went downstairs for a moan (technical discussion with my dad), a drink then came back up, plugged it back in only to find it started working for no apparently reason.... IT is bollocks some days. Stuff works or breaks for no real reason.

Hope you get it sorted.

Steam = B&M store

THQ = product on shelf of store.

 

[vshah]

Steam = B&M store

THQ = product on shelf of store.

so if you bought some fruit from a grocery store and it turned out to be rotten inside, you'd have to find a new grocery store?