I’ve been playing Fallout New Vegas on Linux and everything is going well, but occasionally the game causes my system to completely hang. It doesn’t crash to the desktop; instead, I can’t switch TTYs or even SSH into the machine when it happens. Most of the time, the game runs smoothly without issue, but in the 50+ hours I’ve played, I’ve experienced this hard freeze about 4 or 5 times. I’m looking for ways to prevent these system hangs. Even a crash to desktop would be better than having to do a hard reboot each time!
3 Answers
From what you’ve described, the hang could be due to running out of RAM. This can lead to out of memory issues where your disk activity spikes if it starts using swap. Using tools like earlyoom and zram can help manage resources better. Also, ensure you have the latest drivers and consider updating your kernel. Sometimes, these issues can also stem from hardware problems, especially if you’re working with certain CPU models known to be problematic.
Make sure to check what Linux distribution you’re using. That can impact how well Fallout New Vegas runs. Some distros handle resources better than others, so it might be worth considering a switch if these freezes keep happening.
It sounds like your GPU might be hanging, which can cause complete system freezes like this. If you’re using an AMD card, try setting the amdgpu.gpu_recovery kernel parameter to 1. This can help reset your GPU if it hangs. But remember, since you can’t SSH in, we might need to look deeper into your hardware setup. Make sure your RAM is seated properly and check if your power supply is adequate. If you share some details about your system specs, it would be easier to diagnose!
GPU recovery is usually enabled by default, but it might not work reliably on older GPUs. That could be an issue too.