Official thread for TF2 technical support/issues

[Chucky]

Well the Steam thread that fLaMePrO linked is already at 11 pages (in just on 24 hours) so with that amount of feedback I am guessing Valve will be working tirelessly to fix the issues.

For reference sake people are getting mixed errors from the one Sleek mentioned to crashing to desktop in Vista on a regular basis.

/me hopes Valve have it fixed by tonight

Om Nom Nom

[Bicketybam]

I am getting that error as well. I read in one of the threads someone mention a workaround of deleting/removing the tf2_playerstats.dmx from the tf directory. I tried it, worked for awhile but then the error happened again. It may work for others, if so good luck, if not then as Chucky has said I just say we wait for the 3 step company of Valve to fix it...

Considering that no-one has had that error before the patch I love all the fanboi's coming out and suggesting it is something else other then the patch that is causing it...

[discobrad]

yeah - i had that too. only with arena mode tho
s'all good, restarted tf2 and played other maps. they will patch it sooner or later

[SuBw00FeR]

I'm getting a memory error when trying to load into a server, it goes to the last two bars after i think Retrieving server information or whatever, and hangs and gives me a memory error.

[mkeating]

Y'all updated? The 2nd last update was supposed to fix that

[sifter132]

I've been having a problem with the TF2 stat records. Stats are magically disappearing

It usually happens after a night session on the Internode servers, I'll get a record kill count/point score etc, the game informs me I've broken the record and when I visit the stats page afterwards the new records show up there as well. Yet the next day when I log back in, the some of the records are gone.

It doesn't forget all my progress or in any obvious pattern - just seemingly random stats here and there.

Any ideas?

[Paaaat]

I didn't get it at all, but I am getting is where the minigun won't stop spinning, when that happens, I can't even change weapons...

Do you have any scripts that would include the terms "+attack", meaning that you will constantly attack until the term "-attack" is entered into console. Sometimes it can get stuck and won't stop attacking, therefore you'll need to type -attack into console to fix it.

[Pigfat]

I didn't get it at all, but I am getting is where the minigun won't stop spinning, when that happens, I can't even change weapons...

Do you have any scripts that would include the terms "+attack", meaning that you will constantly attack until the term "-attack" is entered into console. Sometimes it can get stuck and won't stop attacking, therefore you'll need to type -attack into console to fix it.

Might have to check.

[Vangalorr]

Earlier this evening I got kicked off with an error message that my map version differed from the server, even though I had played that map the preceding evening. After the error it now won't let me back into TF2, I keep getting an error saying:

"The game is unavailable.
Please try again at another time"

Anybody else experienced this?

I still get the error after restarting steam several times, verifying the game cache and several reboots. Deleting clientregistry.blob did nothing.

Interestingly, I also can't load HL2 as it opens a window as if it's checking the integrity of game files which then closes almost immediately. I can however load both Ep1 & Ep2.

I'm running:
Vista Home Premium 64
Q6600
4Gb ram
HD4850

[Pigfat]

Earlier this evening I got kicked off with an error message that my map version differed from the server, even though I had played that map the preceding evening. After the error it now won't let me back into TF2, I keep getting an error saying:

"The game is unavailable.
Please try again at another time"

Anybody else experienced this?

I still get the error after restarting steam several times, verifying the game cache and several reboots. Deleting clientregistry.blob did nothing.

Interestingly, I also can't load HL2 as it opens a window as if it's checking the integrity of game files which then closes almost immediately. I can however load both Ep1 & Ep2.

I'm running:
Vista Home Premium 64
Q6600
4Gb ram
HD4850

1. Exit and restart Steam
2. If the issue persists, exit Steam and rename the ClientRegistry.blob and restart Steam
3. If renaming the clientregistry.blob file does not resolve the issue, please exit Steam and delete everything under the Steam installation directory except Steam.exe, the ClientRegistryOld.blob, and the /SteamApps folder - this will force Steam to update when you log in
4. If the issue persists, please see the Verifying GCF Cache Files article for instructions to repair your game cache files.
5. If this issue is only happening on a third party non-Valve game, please try launching the game's .exe directly from its installation folder: C:\Program Files\Steam\SteamApps\Common\<Game Title>. You may also try other .exe's such as Launcher.exe in the game folder to see if a different error message is found.
6. This error could also be caused by having certain Steam files set to Read Only. To resolve this:
* Exit Steam.
* Navigate to the directory where you installed Steam. (Typically C:\Program Files\ or C:\Program Files\Valve\.)
* Right-click on the Steam folder.
* Select Properties.
* Check the Read-Only checkbox and press Apply.
* Uncheck the Read-Only checkbox and press Apply.
7. Disable all background applications, including Anti-Virus software and Firewalls.
8. Double-check your router configuration to make sure that it is properly configured for Steam. If bypassing the router by connecting directly to your Cable/DSL modem allows the game to work correctly, then please consult the Using a Router with Steam topic for more detailed instructions on configuring your router.

[AnouC]

NOD32 antivirus caused the unavailable game message for me, need to add steam to its exceptions.

[Vangalorr]

NOD32 antivirus caused the unavailable game message for me, need to add steam to its exceptions.

I don't have any AV installed on the machine .

I bit the bullet and deleted the local content and re-downloaded. Ill have a chance tonight to see if this worked.

Gotta say I am wholly unimpressed with Vista's performance on my machine. I have had nothing but a series of program crashes and blue screens since I first got it. Now I am trying to work out whether it is a hardware issue (ie faulty ram), software (reinstall Vista) or just abandon Vista (and the cash I spent buying it) and install a copy of XP.

[mkeating]

Hmm, well I've never had any issues with Steam or Valve games on my PC (Vista 64-bit), so I would doubt that its the OS that is causing issues. The fact you're having BSOD's would probably point to a hardware fault of some description (or overheating or under-volting), or possibly a problem with that install. Might also corrupt to the error message ingame, if corrupt data is being sent to the server, it won't like it too much.

[Vangalorr]

1. Exit and restart Steam
2. If the issue persists, exit Steam and rename the ClientRegistry.blob and restart Steam
3. If renaming the clientregistry.blob file does not resolve the issue, please exit Steam and delete everything under the Steam installation directory except Steam.exe, the ClientRegistryOld.blob, and the /SteamApps folder - this will force Steam to update when you log in
4. If the issue persists, please see the Verifying GCF Cache Files article for instructions to repair your game cache files.
5. If this issue is only happening on a third party non-Valve game, please try launching the game's .exe directly from its installation folder: C:\Program Files\Steam\SteamApps\Common\<Game Title>. You may also try other .exe's such as Launcher.exe in the game folder to see if a different error message is found.
6. This error could also be caused by having certain Steam files set to Read Only. To resolve this:
* Exit Steam.
* Navigate to the directory where you installed Steam. (Typically C:\Program Files\ or C:\Program Files\Valve\.)
* Right-click on the Steam folder.
* Select Properties.
* Check the Read-Only checkbox and press Apply.
* Uncheck the Read-Only checkbox and press Apply.
7. Disable all background applications, including Anti-Virus software and Firewalls.
8. Double-check your router configuration to make sure that it is properly configured for Steam. If bypassing the router by connecting directly to your Cable/DSL modem allows the game to work correctly, then please consult the Using a Router with Steam topic for more detailed instructions on configuring your router.

None of these has resolved the issue. Even after this the game still crashes which is only mildly annoying. The worst part is then I cant launch the game again as the validating files window pops up and disappears straight away again and I end up having to restart the PC to get anywhere. It really seems that there is a software issue with steam here as it is the only possible explanation for not even being able to launch the game in the first place.

As an aside I have set both steam and HL2.exe to run as administrator, yet every time I go to launch steam UAC pops up and asks if I want to run steam, is this supposed to happen every single time?

edit - well this is interesting, even though I have told it to "always keep this game up to date" after manually running the verify GC it has randomly found some more stuff to d/l

edit 9/12 - ran memtest the other day and it through up thousand's of errors. Testing one stick at a time turns out one of them is indeed faulty. I tried running the PC with only the good stick and had one hl2.exe crash, but otherwise the game ran fine for a good 2 hours which is unusual for me.

I have ordered a new set of mem and will RMA the current set. Hopefully the new memory will solve all problems!

[Vangalorr]

God when will this frigging end. New ram didn't solve the issue at all. I have had 2 completely different systems now with different operating systems and both have had the same crashing error! Valve's support on this issue is also totally pathetic in regards to troubleshooting vista issues.

I have just submitted the below to their support black hole, if anybody has any ideas please help me!

After having numerous problems with TF2 crashing on my old system I recently purchased an entirely new system and frustratingly am still encountering the same crashes. Currently when I play TF2 I will crash with the looping sound issue.

My current specs are:
CPU: Q6600
Mobo: Asus P5Q
Ram: 4G
Video: ATi 4850HD
O/S: Vista 64 home premium
Sound: onboard realtek

all drivers are up to date and service pack 1 and all subsequent patches are installed. I do not have a firewall or any av software

To try and diagnose the problem I have done the following and achieved nothing:
- run memtest extensively - it reports no issues
- run steam and all hl2.exe's as administrator
- run the game in compatibility mode
- tried -dxlevel81
- reinstalled steam
- deleted clientregistry.blob
- verified gcf
- deleted and reinstalled the game
- re downloaded the game

However, this evening I tried running it with -nosound and it ran fine for a few hours with no crashes. I have tried to follow your instructions on correcting sound conflicts but to no avail. Vista apparently automatically disables sound acceleration so I cant change it via dxdiag and when I go into system properties to check IRQ's I see 2 sound entries:
PCI 17 High Definition Audio Controller (shared with 2 ICH10 Family PCI Express Root Port entries)
PCI 22 High Definition Audio Controller

I am unable to change the IRQ's as the "use automatic settings" checkbox is greyed out

What do I do now? I am absolutely frustrated by this whole thing and your "support" page appears to be woefully out of date regarding vista issues!