Just as a quick note my rig is also fully optimised and I am getting CTD's online and off, pre Alpha patch I was only getting them online.

Tree have you tried opening a Steam help request?...have you seen this before or tried any of it:

https://support.steampowered.com/kb_...7169-TIAV-5361

Troubleshooting Game Crashes


I experience frequent crashes and/or lock-ups when running games - what should I do?

1. <LI sizcache="27" sizset="15" nodeIndex="1">Basic Troubleshooting <LI sizcache="27" sizset="16" nodeIndex="2">Install BIOS, Driver, and Windows/DirectX Updates <LI sizcache="27" sizset="17" nodeIndex="3">Set Game Launch Options and Disable Hardware <LI sizcache="27" sizset="18" nodeIndex="4">Test System Memory <LI sizcache="27" sizset="19" nodeIndex="5">Data Execution Prevention <LI sizcache="27" sizset="20" nodeIndex="6">Advanced System Configuration Recommendations
2. Contact Steam Support

Important:

This article includes some instructions which are for advanced users - please consult the documentation for your motherboard before making any changes to your system BIOS settings.
If you are overclocking any components on your computer, please revert the memory timing and voltage to the settings recommended by the hardware manufacturer. Crashes and system instability which result from overclocking will not be supported by Steam Support or your hardware's manufacturer.


Basic Troubleshooting


Please start with these steps when you are ready to troubleshoot the cause of the crashes you are experiencing.

1. <LI sizcache="27" sizset="23" nodeIndex="1">Check the Minimum System Requirements If you have never played the game before on your system, it is crucial to double-check the system requirements to determine if your system can run the game. The minimum system requirements for each game can be found on the game's page in the Steam Storefront.
   Check the DirectX and Pixel Shader Requirements for Games on Steam topic to make sure that your system meets the minimum requirements for the game you are attempting to play. Many newer games such as Team Fortress 2 and Portal require greater system resources than Half-Life 2.
   <LI sizcache="27" sizset="24" nodeIndex="2">Verify Your Game Cache Files Please see the Verifying GCF Cache Files topic for instructions to ensure game cache file corruption is not the source of the crash.
   <LI sizcache="27" sizset="25" nodeIndex="3">Rule out Background Applications and Anti-Virus/Security Software Check the Programs Which Interfere with Steam, and Spyware, Adware, and Viruses Interfering with Steam topics to ensure the crash which you have encountered is not related to malicious software or a specific program which is known to cause issues with Steam.
   Certain Anti-Virus applications such as AVG 7.5, Nod32 and Norton have been confirmed to cause instability with Steam and Source Engine games. This software must be fully uninstalled from your system until the Anti-Virus software developers can resolve these issues. If you are not comfortable with using alternative Anti-Virus protection, then we recommend contacting your Anti-Virus developer for more information.
   <LI sizcache="23" nodeIndex="4">Do Not Use Two Sound Devices Simultaneously If you have installed a PCI or USB sound card on your system (such as a Creative X-fi or Audigy sound card), please ensure that your motherboard's onboard sound card is disabled in the system BIOS. Having both installed may result in system instability - even if the secondary device is disabled in the Windows device manager. Please consult your motherboard's manual for instructions on editing BIOS settings.
   <LI sizcache="27" sizset="27" nodeIndex="5">Routers and Firewalls Can Also Cause Crashes Check the Router and Router Firmware Issues topic to make sure that your router is properly configured and that you are running the best possible firmware version available. If your router is not configured correctly, it can cause crashes both in Steam and in games.
   Firewalls can also lead to crashes depending on the way they are configured. Please follow the Using a Firewall with Steam topic to make sure your Firewall is properly configured.
   
   <LI sizcache="23" nodeIndex="6">Force the Game Settings Back to the "Factory Defaults" Those custom autoexec.cfg files and graphics tweak guides you followed promised all kinds of improvements, but if all you ended up with are crashes then it is time to restore the original game settings for stability. In order to do this, make sure you are not running any custom autoexec.cfg files when the game starts up and use the -autoconfig launch option. To set this option, follow these steps:
   • <LI nodeIndex="1">Right-click on the game you're attempting to play <LI nodeIndex="2">Select "Properties" <LI nodeIndex="3">Click "Set Launch Options", found under the "General" tab <LI sizcache="23" nodeIndex="4">Type in: -autoconfig <LI nodeIndex="5">Click "Ok"
   • Launch the game
2. Mss32.dll (Miles Sound System) Other PC games may install the Mss32.dll file in your C:\Windows\System32 directory. This can lead to the game crashing because the Mss32.dll file in your Windows folder is conflicting with the file located in the game's directory. Please see the The MSS DLL is incorrectly installed in the Windows System directory topic for instructions on how to remove the file from your System32 directory.

Install BIOS, Driver, and Windows/DirectX Updates

After each of the steps below:

Try launching the game to test - if you continue to experience crashes, proceed to the next set of troubleshooting recommendations.

1. <LI sizcache="27" sizset="31" nodeIndex="1">Update Windows Run Windows Update. It is imperative that your system is updated to the latest service pack and has all critical updates installed. It is also highly recommended that you install the latest version of the .NET framework.
   <LI sizcache="27" sizset="32" nodeIndex="2">Update DirectX Download and install the latest version of DirectX from the Microsoft DirectX Download Page. DirectX is updated about once a month by Microsoft and should be checked for new versions (known as "Runtimes") on a regular basis.
   <LI sizcache="27" sizset="33" nodeIndex="3">Update Your Drivers See the Updating Drivers topic for instructions to check your current video and sound card driver versions and visit links to hardware manufacturer sites (on-board sound card drivers will be found at your motherboard manufacturer's site).
   Remember to remove outdated drivers before updating and check for any known software or driver conflicts which may occur with the updated drivers. We do not recommend running beta or custom drivers (such as Omega drivers) unless they solve a very specific issue for a game you are playing.
2. Update Your Motherboard's BIOS and Drivers Check the Motherboard Information and Drivers topic for motherboard manufacturer links so you may download BIOS updates and driver updates for your motherboard. Chipset drivers for your motherboard are also very important to keep up to date.

Set Game Launch Options and Disable Problematic Hardware

1. <LI sizcache="27" sizset="36" nodeIndex="1">Disable Your Sound Device Disable your sound card through the Windows Device Manager and try running the game. Please see the Troubleshooting Device Conflicts with Device Manager Microsoft Knowledge base article if you would like instructions to disable the device.
   If disabling the sound card resolves the issue, please see the How to manage devices in Windows XP Microsoft Knowledge base article to resolve the device conflict.
   <LI sizcache="27" sizset="38" nodeIndex="2">Setting Launch Options Review the Setting Game Launch Options topic for instructions to test the game with these launch options:
   -nosound -window -dxlevel 70 +mat_forcehardwaresync 0
   For The Orange Box games (Episode Two, Team Fortress 2 and Portal), please use the following launch option:
   -nosound -window -dxlevel 81 +mat_forcehardwaresync 0
   If these launch options do not resolve the issue, skip the remaining steps in this section and proceed to the next section.
   <LI sizcache="23" nodeIndex="3">Lowering the DirectX Hardware Sound Acceleration If the game runs without crashing after using the launch options above, remove the -nosound launch option and set the DirectX hardware sound acceleration to "BASIC" by running DXDIAG, selecting the Sound tab, and then moving the Hardware Sound Acceleration Level slider to the second-lowest setting.
   If this setting does not resolve the issue, skip the remaining steps in this section and proceed to the next section.
2. Changing the DirectX Level for the Video Mode If the game continues to run without crashing, you may remove the -window launch option and review the Reset Video Settings and Force a Video Mode topic for instructions to slowly increase the -dxlevel, resolution, and detail levels until you find a working level.

Data Execution Prevention

1. <LI sizcache="23" nodeIndex="1">Go to Start > Control Panel > System > Advanced > Performance > Data Execution Prevention.
   <LI sizcache="23" nodeIndex="2">Select "Turn on DEP for all programs and services except those I select:"
   <LI sizcache="23" nodeIndex="3">Select "Add", navigate to C:\Program Files\Steam (or your default Steam directory), and add Steam.exe to the exception list.
2. Additionally, you will need to add the executable (hl2.exe, for example) for any game you are seeing issues with. These files will either be in Steam\steamapps\common\<Game Title> or in \Steam\steamapps\<Your Steam Account Name>\<Game Title>\

Test System Memory

1. <LI sizcache="27" sizset="42" nodeIndex="1">Run a Memory Test If the issue persists, please download and run the Memtest86 RAM test program and run it to determine whether or not the issue may be caused by a faulty RAM stick.
   RAM sticks which fail this test must be replaced.
2. Check Your RAM Timings Verify that your RAM timing setting in the BIOS is correctly set for your RAM. Please review the Updating a Motherboard's BIOS and Chipset Drivers topic for instrutions if you are not familiar with checking your system BIOS.

Advanced System Configuration Recommendations


Note:These recommendations are for advanced users - please do not make changes to your system BIOS until you are familiar with the documentation provided by your motherboard manufacturer.

1. <LI nodeIndex="1">Disable FastWrites <LI nodeIndex="2">If you are using an AGP 8x motherboard with an AGP 8x Videocard, try setting it at 4x <LI nodeIndex="3">Test the AGP Aperture or Graphics Windows Size at both 128 and 256 <LI nodeIndex="4">Disable "Shadowing" or "Memory Hole" options <LI nodeIndex="5">Disable "Cache Video BIOS" option <LI nodeIndex="6">Set AGP Driving Mode to "Auto"
2. Adjust AGP Voltage to 1.6v

Excuse me Tree_UK, since several months you report your difficulties in running Clod on your machine, may I ask you your machine specs? Many of us (including me) with old rigs enjoy CloD despite the well known issues; you report also single player CDTs so, and I do not doubt about your problems with the game, I'm curious about the performance of your rig compared to similar machines of others among this community.
Cheers

Fair comment mate, these are my system specs, please note all other games run flawless with fully maxed out graphics, I have never had a crash of any sort with any other software or games other than CLOD. Also note before the er Alpha patch I never had a CTD offline, from what I have read here others are now experiecing the same.

i72600k CPU Overclocked to 4.7 GHz
16GB of Corsair Ram DDR3 1800
GTX680 Graphics card
Asus sabertooth Motherboard
27 Inch dell monitor running at 1920x1200
Water Cooled CPU
2 x 1TB Western digital Hard Disks


Games Currently played

Battlefield 3
ROF
World of Tanks
COD World at War
Il2 Sturm Forgotton Battles - Blackdeath track (vsync enabled) Max60fps Avg 60 FPS Min 57FPS

And what setting are you using?

Have you disabled hyper-threading as well?

Yes mate a long time ago.

There is nothing in your system that could cause such a problem, how is your config file setup?

Tree have you tried a different system. Arent you a system builder>? Or at the least rebuilding your system and maybe trying some different hardware to try narrow down the issue.

Ive just realised I had some windows performance counters stop working in my system from one of the many updates that every software vendor wants to throw at your system these days and I cant for the life of me work out how to fix it and Im a pretty advanced system and registry tweaker & troubleshooter.

Ive tried rebuilding the counters, reinstalling all the .net software and something has just simply screwed some of my windows performance counters. (which I use for some monitoring of various things.)

Tree youve been around PCs long enough to know that sometimes problems dont show up until certain conditions occur which can be very hard to pinpoint sometimes! So even though everything else in your system is working fine, it doesnt mean there cant be something broken somewhere! My system runs everything fine without CTDs but yet my performance counters inexplicably stopped working without any other signs of problems.

Well I agree with you, however im not on my own and many are experiencing the same issues.

This is my current conf, please note I have turned everything back up since dumbing things down made little difference.

UseFog=0
UseLandCube=1
UseLandConnectedObject=1
LinearObjectManager=1
Roads=1
Sun=1
Clouds=1
EffFlags.LightSpritesProj=1
ShadowMapSize=5
TexFlags.AsyncLoad=1
TexFlags.ShowTexture=0
SimpleMesh.SWTransform=0
SimpleMesh.QuadTreeClip=1
SimpleMesh.InstancingHW=1
EffFlags.LightContextSprites=1
CloudsFlags.Detailed=1
TexFlags.CreateHDR=1
Decals=2
EffFlags.SWLight=0
TexFlags.CockpitOnePass=0
MegaTexture=0
TexFlags.Reflection=0
RenderTargetQual=3
MSAA=4
MeshStatics=2
MeshStaticsDetail=3
SimpleMesh.QTNoCompose=0
MeshFirstLod=0
MeshShowLod=0
SpawnHumans=0
TexFlags.SSAO=0
TexFlags.VSync=1
TexFlags.FastTransparency=1

[sound]
SoundUse=1
DebugSound=0
SoundEngine=1
Speakers=1
Placement=0
SoundFlags.reversestereo=0
RadioFlags.Enabled=1
RadioEngine=2
MusicVolume=14
ObjectVolume=7
MusState.takeoff=1
MusState.inflight=1
MusState.crash=1
MusFlags.play=1
MasterVolume=14
Attenuation=7
SoundMode=0
SamplingRate=0
NumChannels=2
SoundExt.occlusions=1
SoundFlags.hardware=1
SoundFlags.streams=1
SoundFlags.duplex=1
SoundExt.acoustics=1
SoundExt.volumefx=1
SoundFlags.voicemgr=1
SoundFlags.static=1
VoiceVolume=8
Channels=1
SoundFlags.bugscorrect=0
SoundExt.extrender=0
SoundSetupId=8
ActivationLevel=0.02
Preemphasis=0.8
RadioLatency=0.5
AGC=1
PTTMode=1
RadioFlags.PTTMode=0
RadioFlags.PlayClicks=1
ActLevel=9
MicLevel=10
SoundFlags.UseRadioChatter=0
SoundFlags.AutoActivation=0
SoundFlags.forceEAX1=0
speakers=0
vgMaster=8
vgVoice=0
vgMusic=0

[game]
mapPadX=0.05
mapPadY=0.1

Yes i agree, as for building different systems, this is the third build I have had personally since CLOd came out, also i have built many systems for squad members using various specs from i5's to i7's according to the individuals budgets, the only common denominator between all the systems I have built as been nvidia graphics cards, at the buyers request.



* note, when i swapped the video card from a 3GB GTX580 to a 2GB GTX680 pre patch I could fly for a lot longer online before I got the launcher CTD, since the Alpha my CTD's have gone back to normal*