Games run too fast

[kermit454]

This has only occurred over the past few days, but when I play some games (GTA-SA, GTAIV, HitMan series, Renegade, Oblivion) just to name a few.  The main character walks at a high rate of speed causing the little guy to run into walls and things.   As you can see it is not a particular game maker such as RockStar, UBISoft,  so it must be a setting of some kind.  I use windows XP servpk 3 build.  ASUS 2.4GB dual processor, 4GB ram, GForce 9500 graphics card, Realtec sound.  My games are on a 500GB hard drive and use a combined total of 149GB.  And up untill recently they worked just fine.   So I would appreciate any clues that anybody might have,  I really would like to get back to my game.   They are all un-playable   PLEASE HELP ME!   
 

[macdad-]

This is an interesting predicament.
 
Before I start, how responsive were/are the controls in these games before and after this speed-up?

Have you overclocked your processor recently?

[kermit454]

To MacDad,  They all worked fine before, and I am sorry but I do not know this term Overclocked,  Maybe?

[Azzaboi]

A number of things could cause it...

Your dual cores might be having a sync issue. To check, go to task manager when playing the game (for example: control / alt / delete, processes, gta4.exe) , right click the game EXE file and set affinity to cpu 1 (uncheck cpu 0). It will now run for that time on just one of the processors. If it runs normally, then update your BIOS or find a hot fix for your duel processor.

If not working:

Turn on vertical sync in the Nvidia display or games settings panel to see if that fixes your problem.

or Set the frame limiter or enable sync audio.

or if your computer is like mine, auto-overclocking motherboard might be the cause, set this to manual overclocking only. Same deal with the graphics card overclocker.

[macdad-]

To MacDad,  They all worked fine before, and I am sorry but I do not know this term Overclocked,  Maybe?

Just as a reference to Azzaboi's instructions, Overclocking something(Processor, Graphics Processor, etc) is to increase the speed above its factory settings.

[the_mad_joker]

Using Any Software Like Speeder XP 


Or Running Game Accelerator !

[kermit454]

OK on the NVIDIA control panel I reset to default for all games.   I do not have a clue where to find  a setting for the overclocking to manual.  I have seen something that set some accelerator to allow; I think it might have been on the internet settings.  I use Mozilla Firefox.   I did a test after resetting the NVIDIA to default, the games that worked before still do and the ones that were going to fast still are.  I did not restart the computer as it did not prompt me to do so. that's all I can think of, let me read some more answers and I will be back.

[kermit454]

To: Mad Joker....I do not run any speeder programs or game accelerators that I know of,  Maybe something is built in to one of the games that I don't know about.

[macdad-]

..I do not have a clue where to find  a setting for the overclocking to manual...

Do not attempt to Overclock If you don't know what your doing, and It's very likely that your processor is not the issue(It hasn't been overclocked).

But go ahead and attempt to set the frame limiter as Azzaboi said.

[kermit454]

I looked at everything that I know how to look at,  I DID NOT find anything that vaguely resembled a frame limiter.  I did however find a setting on my NVIDIA  control panel for a game accelerator and it was enabled, I turned it off, and also on the sync thing the choices were (use 3D settings, force on, and force off) default is use 3D so I left it alone.  But alas it was to no avail the dang little guys are still moving way too fast.  Also on SIMS2 the clock that normally does an hour for the little people in about four minutes is clicking off an hour in about 48 seconds now.  It's very hard to play this way.  My little HitMen are walking around in a blur of action, and on Silent Assassins My little guy ran around a corner so fast he got ran over by the car he was supposed to kill a guy in,  Mission Failed!!!    It's a mess, I have to figure this out.

[mroilfield]

What changes were made to your system between the time the games worked correctly and the time they started messing up?

When a game runs fast is it the entire game that is  faster or just parts of it?

When was the last time you did any spyware/malware  or virus scans?

[kermit454]

1.  I was having some trouble with Sims2 and the EA tech suggested download the latest drivers for my system, and gave me a link to a place that scans your system and updates it.  I got 4 drivers including the new NVIDIA update.  The Sims2 worked perfect just after the download, then two days later I was playing Unreal Tournament and I got the old message that UT was having difficulty and needs to shut down...... That was the onset of the problem I don't know what settings were affected but something went horribly wrong.

2.  The problem seems only to affect the main character.  and not all games are having a problem. Just most of them.

3.  I have ran PC-Tools Virus, CCleaner, SpyBot-Search and Destroy, AD-Aware. and PC-Registry Cleaner all within the last 4 days.  I thought it may be a bug but all of these tools are up to date and say my system is clean.

Turning into a real mystery.  We need the big guns on this one.

[macdad-]

Your dual cores might be having a sync issue. To check, go to task manager when playing the game (for example: control / alt / delete, processes, gta4.exe) , right click the game EXE file and set affinity to cpu 1 (uncheck cpu 0). It will now run for that time on just one of the processors. If it runs normally, then update your BIOS or find a hot fix for your duel processor.

Have you tried this?

And lookup Patches for Unreal Tourn., SIMS 2, and your other games.

[kermit454]

OK. I completed the CPU test I tried with only CPU 0, and then with only CPU 1.  No change in the performance.  The little guy still runs way too fast.  Also I checked my games and I have the most current Patches on all of them.  and My driver are all current, my firewall and virus protection are up to date and working properly.  and now Unreal Tournament is running too fast as well. On a Positive note:  Rainbow 6- Lockdown is working great, as well as Hitman Blood-Money.  So why don't the other Hitman games work?  Very strange goings on herebout.

[Azzaboi]

Nvidia drivers have game profiles and can change settings per application or game in order to improve performance. It shouldn't make the game run faster than normal, like in your case, but it's something to check.

Ensure you have the latest drivers from nVidia.com and they are 100% compatible with your graphics card and OS (32 or 64 bit). This update will also give you the latest games list.

Go to your Start > Control Panel > NVIDIA Control Panel

On the tabs...

Adjust image settings with preview > check Let the application decide. Click Apply.

Manage 3D Settings > Check your Global and Program Settings. Under Program Settings you have the list of games. Check if there is any pattern between the working normally and too fast games settings.

Set Physx configuration > Turn on, unless issues.

Change Resolution > Set refresh rate to 60 or 75Hz normally depending on monitor.

Set up stereoscopic 3D > Ensure this is disable unless you use this technology.