Hangs a lot

[Cpl Steiner]

Hi,

If the game ever does everything it says on the tin it will be great. Unfortunately it hangs pretty much 100% of the time I play it!

I have played QBs, Battles, and the first mission of the training campaign 6 or 7 times, and get a hang 100% of the time part way through each scenario. Strangely, performance seems fine up until the hang - no slowdowns or anything. One minute I'm enjoying the game, the next its completely frozen. I then use Alt-Ctrl-Del to shut down the game. Sometimes a hard reset has been required. Sometimes I have no mouse pointer and have to use the tab key to shut down the game.

My Specs are as follows:

Game Version: BFC Direct Download 1.01
Windows XP Home Edition Service Pack 2
AMD Athlon 64 Dual Core 3800+ 2.01GHz with 2GB of RAM
Geforce 7600GT PCI-E Graphics Card (not sure of RAM on it, how do I check?)
Latest graphics drivers, downloaded from nVidia and installed yesterday:
Driver Version: 6.14.11.6218
Driver Date: 29/06/2007

[rune]

Steiner,

1. Try the MS hotfix posted all over for multiple cpu problems.

2. If still an issue, have you applied either of these from AMD?

http://www.amd.com/us-en/Processors/TechnicalResources/0,,30_182_871_9706,00.html

http://www.amd.com/us-en/assets/content_type/utilities/amdcpusetup.exe


Rune

[stransky]

I have the same problems as Steiner with almost identical hardware. I have installed the MS Hotfix and that solved the flickering graphics problem but not the hanging issue.

Game Version: BFC Direct Download 1.01
Windows XP Home Edition Service Pack 2
AMD Athlon 64 Dual Core 3800+ 2.01GHz with 2GB of RAM, Driver version 1.3.2.0 and date 2006-05-27
Geforce 7900GT/GTO PCI-E Graphics Card 256 mb
nVidia driver 6.14.10.9424 and date 19/04/2007

[Cpl Steiner]

Hi again,

I have applied the MS hot-fix. I have also applied the AMD CPU setup exe. The AMD Dual Core optimizer is already installed (I did that for problems I had with "Theatre of War" ages ago). I have also tried setting the affinity to only one core. I am still getting a 100% hang within minutes of starting the first Training Campaign scenario (not exactly a graphically taxing one, I might add).

In two recent attempts to run this scenario I experienced the following:

When I targeted a trench with my 40mm grenade launcher using area fire, then right-clicked, it hung immediately afterwards.

On the second attempt, it hung apparently randomly although I may have been moving the mouse to scroll the map at the time. However, on this occasion, every one of my units teleported to the far right corner of the map at the same time that it hung.

Hope this helps.

By the way, I test games for a living and I see hangs all the time even from big names like EA so don't sweat it - just sort it out as soon as you can :D . Cheers.

[Catacol Highlander]

Ho hum... someone else who has teleporting units to the far right corner. That has happened to me too and the frequent hangs have me hacked off.

I am also a dual core AMD user.

Performance up until the hangs is great, but unplayable as it stands.

Cheers
Al

[JaguarUSF]

Which version of the game are you running with the teleporting units?

[Catacol Highlander]

Running version 1.01 as downloaded earlier as a pre-order customer.

Just had another hang - I've not managed more than 3 consecutive turns without a crash, but only seen teleporting units once

Cheers
Al

[D_Squid]

Hangs and freezes here aswell, BF download.
can at times play for up to 20 minutes but then game stops responding

AMD 64 x2 4600
2 gig ram
GeForce 7950 256mb
XP SP 2

AMD dual core optimizer and MS hotfix installed

[Chelco]

Hangs badly in my:

AMD Athlon 64X2 5000+
NVidia 7600GT 256Mb
2 Gigs RAM
Windows XP

Pity, because the gameplay blows away anything that I have played before.

[JaguarUSF]

I was getting teleportation while I did my review, and they did a fix in 1.01 that solved it.

From the looks of it, I think the culprit is the Athlon 64 X2 processor: that is the commonality (I also have an Athlon 64 X2). I haven't played a non-beta version of 1.01 yet so I don't know if I still have the lockups.

[Catacol Highlander]

OK - I have just tried my last game of the evening, and after 2 turns over half my forces teleported to the other side of the map. It happened during the replay of a turn based game, about 10 secs into the replay. No crash however. I just quit in disgust.

I've now seen the teleport thing twice in about 7 or 8 attempted games.

Fortunately ( I suppose) I am off on a rugby tour of South America in a few days time so I will have distractions to keep my mind off this, and I hope this is sorted soon. Cant help feeling that us AMD dual core users have had a raw deal - surely the dual core AMD chips are not so new that this fairly fundamental bug (freezes and teleportations) could have been missed? I am a huge fan of CM and have played it constantly for 7 years, but I have to say that if I went to my local PC games shop and bought a game that did this I would now be planning to take it back first thing tomorrow.

As its BFC I wouldn't dream of doing this, even if I could, but I have to admit to being disappointed.

Cheers
Al

[Cpl Steiner]

Hi again,

Been doing some more tests and thought I had figured the problem when I finally got to complete the first mission of the Training Campaign. When I completed it I had resolution set to "Desktop", the in-game antialiasing option set to "off", syncing set to "on" and I set my video card to have x2 antialiasing and x4 anistropic filtering outside of the game.

This got me thinking that the problem was that I had been using an in-game resolution setting of 1280x960. I do this with most games because my monitor's default resolution, that I use for my desktop, is 1280x1024 and that isn't a correct 4:3 ratio like most games expect. However I've since tried it again with the above settings and it hung with the teleport problem again so it can't just be as simple as that.

I hope someone at BFC or paradox has just run out to borrow a PC of my spec to thrash this out on as I don't see how it can be resolved otherwise.

[Chelco]

Hi,

I disabled the f@#$%ng Norton Internet Security and I played a whole battle to the end without hangs.
Could it be?

P/S: The C2 system of this game (Elite skill) is totally awesome!

[JaguarUSF]

I got the final 1.01 install and I can confirm that I am getting the teleportation bug again. Weird since it was fixed in one of the beta versions of the 1.01 patch.

[Battlefront.com]

The teleportation bug is likely symptomatic of what eventually causes the game to crash.

It looks like the common thread with you guys is:

nVidia card (7xxx or 8xxx)
32 bit Windows OS (XP or Vista)
Multi-processor

This is good info guys! I think we're getting things narrowed down a bit more.

Steve

[Chelco]

I had the following problems:

-Teleportation
-Voices overlapping massively
-Hang up after that

All my problems gone now. I insist on Norton.

[Cpl Steiner]

Originally posted by Cpl Steiner:
performance seems fine up until the hangI think my statement above regarding performance needs correcting. I have now noticed quite a lot of slowdown. The first mission of the main campaign game (night battle with 4 M1s leading the way) was very choppy. Considering my system spec, and reading how it runs smooth as silk on some ancient machines with much lower specs, this is not right. As I said in another thread, my PC handles every other game I throw at it with no visible slowdown - including "Medieval II Total War" which I believe is a graphically demanding game.

[FallenGod]

I'm getting a hang / crash after a random amount of time when clicking a unit or issuing an order. It normally happens very quickly (I don't last through the setup phase of the first tutorial normally, and rarely through the first turn). The game freezes and gives an error message related to my ATI drivers.

Athlon 64 3500+
2GB RAM
Vista 32bit Home Premium
Radeon x1800xl 256mb

This may or may not be related, but clicking on vehicles is very wonky. Selecting a vehicle or placing a movement cursor over a vehicle (say, to load infantry) results in a 5-10 second "hang" for the game before the unit gets selected or infantry gets loaded. Oddly, this delay is minimized by setting the graphics to the minimums, but it still exists and I cannot select vehicles without some level of freeze up.

I'll be getting parts for my Core 2 Duo / Geforce 8800GTS system delivered on Monday, so I'll be able to see if I get this hang / crash on that system as well. But whatever the issue with hanging on unit selection is, it isn't limited to just multicore CPUs and nvidia cards.

[FallenGod]

Ah, I forgot to mention that I tried both the Catalyst 7.6 and 7.7 drivers and got the crash with both. Performance seems to be perfect right up until the crash as well, with the exception of my system choking when selecting vehicles.

[Cpl Steiner]

It is pretty obvious to me from JaguarUSF's remarks that something that was fixed in beta testing has somehow had its workaround left off in the actual release. Version control? I used to work in a software house so I know these things can happen. Maybe BFC should check this out as a priority?

Posted by JaguarUSF 20 July 2007:

The teleportation problem is a confirmed fix for 1.01 (I have personally seen it), which will be the release version available from Battlefront.

Posted by JaguarUSF 27 July 2007:

I got the final 1.01 install and I can confirm that I am getting the teleportation bug again. Weird since it was fixed in one of the beta versions of the 1.01 patch.


P.S. - If it does turn out to be as simple as a fix being missed off the final build then BFC should release a new patch immediately as it has already been tested. I don't see the need for weeks of testing in a case like this.

[ July 28, 2007, 12:00 AM: Message edited by: Cpl Steiner ]

[Task]

I didn't have this problem when I played the demo. After downloading and installing the full game I am experiencing this issue. In the training scenario my units teleported and the game froze. I tried the first mission in the campaign and the game simply freezes whenever it feels like it. Performance up to the point of the game becoming non-responsive is great.

I thought it was a dual core issue, so I tried setting .exe to operate only on one CPU, but the problem persists.

[metalbrew]

I have an AMD X2 and an nVidia 8800 card. I'm seeing the teleportation bug in 50% of my games. It was rude when it first happened, I thought I had missed some vital part of the playback where a unit broke a ran away. Turns out I'm still crazy but this time it wasn't my mistake.

Incidentally, the whole team/squad doesn't necessarily transport. I've had several examples where only 2 of 3 guys in the MG team transported.

[Cpl Steiner]

Hi again,

I downloaded the demo and installed that just to see if it was any better. Performance-wise it seemed a bit faster and I did manage to finish the training mission. However, it hung towards the end of playing the night battle mission (no teleporting this time though).

[Lars107]

I have the same problem as stated by previous posters.

When starting a battle it runs without any performance problems. Then after a random time the game freezes and I have to kill the application. Most of the times (maybe always) the freeze happened when giving some command with the mouse. So far I was never able to finish a battle during my 10 attempts.

AMD 64 x2 3800
2 gig ram
GeForce 7800 GT
XP SP 2

[Nolloff]

Same here as what Lars has reported. No odd graphical glitches, it just freezes on me and I can´t see a pattern or even provoke it.

Edit: Lowered Options for 3D Model Quality and 3D Texture Quality from Better to Improved and had teleporting units during the second turn. On "Better" I haven´t seen this happening before.

It rarely if ever happens in the short Training Campaign games but when I try to play the first scenario of the "real" campaign I´ve not yet been able to complete it without a freeze.

My system:

AMD Athlon 64 Dual Core 4200+
NVidia GeForce 7800 GTX
1 Gig RAM
Windows XP Home

Drivers are up-to-date, applied the AMD Dual Core patch mentioned in the other threads. thread.

[ July 28, 2007, 03:58 AM: Message edited by: Nolloff ]

[sam0t]

Freeze up hell here aswell :(

I have now tried the tutorial mission about 5 times and every time the game freezes and I have to kill the application like Lars above describes. If I remember correctly the freezes happen everytime I issue commands to my units.

My system:

AMD64 X2 4600+ @ 2.8GHz
Asus A8N-E
2G DDR400 RAM
X1900XTX with 7.6 CCC
XP SP2 32-bit with all updates

I have installed the AMD CPU driver, dual core optimizer and M$ dual core hotfix. ps. Must add that my system is 100% stable and all my other games run smooth as butter without any hickups.

[ July 28, 2007, 03:55 AM: Message edited by: sam0t ]

[Alan G.]

Same Problem Here:
-Teleportation
-Voices overlapping massively
-Hang up after that

My Specs:
AMD Athlon 64X2 Dual Core 4600+ 1Gig Ram
Running XP 32bit Up to date Patchwise.
Video:
Nvidia 7600GS 256meg ram
Drivers: 6.14.11.6218

[Battlefront.com]

Hi guys, keep the reports coming. It really does look like the AMD/nVidia is the main suspect. It's got to be a bit more than that since we have testers that have such combos.

Steve

[Cpl Steiner]

Originally posted by Battlefront.com:
Hi guys, keep the reports coming. It really does look like the AMD/nVidia is the main suspect. It's got to be a bit more than that since we have testers that have such combos.

Steve Yes but JaguarUSF was one of those testers and he now reports that what was fixed for him in the Beta has resurfaced in the release version. I really think you need to consider the possibility that the wrong build of the game was somehow released by mistake. It could save you days of investigation.

[D_Squid]

Just noticed something I for some strange reason (Guess my brain is still in V0.1 mode)
Downloaded the demo and it runs without any problems, no freezes or lockups, hope that can be of some assistance.

Cheers
Staffan

PS.
I really really like the game, I hope a fix will be found fairly soon.

[JaguarUSF]

Originally posted by Cpl Steiner:
Yes but JaguarUSF was one of those testers and he now reports that what was fixed for him in the Beta has resurfaced in the release version. I really think you need to consider the possibility that the wrong build of the game was somehow released by mistake. It could save you days of investigation. Actually, it looks like I was having two overlying problems, one that got corrected in 1.01, and another that everyone else is seeing that they are working on now. They think the corrected problem (which had to do with models) was overlapping the second problem that everyone, including myself, is now experiencing. Rest assured that they are working on it, going so far as trying to secure a similar computer configuration to get to the bottom of this nonsense ;)

[Cpl Steiner]

Originally posted by JaguarUSF:
Rest assured that they are working on it, going so far as trying to secure a similar computer configuration to get to the bottom of this nonsense ;) That's good to hear. In the meantime I will play around with the editor, which works fine and looks to be very comprehensive. Hope a solution is found soon.

[markh]

I am also experiencing the hang or lock-up problems. Only solution is to "end task".

I can live with the overall graphics - 3D model quality - and 3D textures set at FAST: I do not experience instability.

However, I have never been able to go for more than 7 minutes before the game hangs (locks-up).

I also have experienced a tank disappear in its dust and literally reappear at the far corner of the map (I presume the so-called teleporting problem).

My specs are:

AMD Athlon 64 x 2 3800+ (2.0 Ghz)
NVidia 6600 256Mb DDR
2.048 Gigs RAM - DDR
Windows XP Home

I have loaded the fixes and patches referred to on this website without any luck so far.

Hope you can help

[BOEEOB]

I am too experiencing hang ups:

1) Battlefront version (1.01)
2) Asus A8N SLI-Premium
3) AMD Athlon 64 X2 duel core 4400+ @ 2.20Ghz
4) 2gig RAM
5) Nvidia 7800GTX 256 MB, Driver Version = 162.22
6) Windows Vista 32-bit Home Premium Edition

I just noticed that it happens mostly when i look from the battlemap into the surrounding texture of the battlemap. If i stay focused on the battlemap, there are no hang ups.

[Sgt Joch]

I had the same problem, but i seem to have found a solution,

my system:

-AMD opteron 170;
-NVIDIA 7900 GTX (latest drivers);
-XP pro SP2;

I first tried the ATGM ambush, it froze after 20 mins.

then applied the reccomended fixes:
-MS hotfix;
-AMD dual core optimizer;
-AMD cpu exe;

the problems got even worse, overlapping voices, teleportation, freezing after less than a minute;

-then on a hunch, I uninstalled the dual core optimizer ( it had given me trouble when I used it in the past) & set CPU affinity to one processor and zipped through the first 3 training missions with no problems whatsoever.

great game, by the way. :D

[bflyblue]

Also hangs for me and requires and "end task".

1) Battlefront version 1.01
2) Athlon 64 X2 5300+
3) 2Gb RAM
4) Nvidia 8800 GT

I've tried both:
- x32 XP SP2 with/without MS hotfix (did improve performance); Forceware 158.22 & 162.18
- x64 Vista; Forceware 158.24 & 162.22

I found turning 'Thread Optimization' to off in the Nvidia settings helped performance.

[Alan G.]

I'm having the same freeze problem as my post above notes.
Well I may have stumbled on to something. In the past I've had problems with texture filtering in some games. So I turned off the Trilinear optimization and SO FAR I can play the game for more than 1-2 minutes (No Crash).

UPDATE: I let the Ambush tutorial play out (I had never made it to the end). Then went and turned the Trilinear Optimizations on again. So far It has not frozen.

Hope this helps

[ July 28, 2007, 07:33 AM: Message edited by: Alan G. ]

[Smaragdadler]

Low FPS. Game runs to slow for really playing (but not all the time, sometimes it goes really smooth for some seconds). mouse moving is a pain. Installed MS fix/ switched off core 1/ set all option to off/low, but no change.

CMSF BF download version 1.1
Windows XP Home Edition 5.1.2600 Sevice Pack 2 Bulid 2600
Intel Pentium(D) 2xCPU 2.8 GHz [x86 Family 15 Model 4 Stepping 4]with 2GB RAM
Sapphire RADEON X800, driver 8.383.0.0 / date 6/13/07

[ July 28, 2007, 07:41 AM: Message edited by: Smaragdadler ]

[BOEEOB]

Ok,as suggested elsewhere, i solved my low performance and crashes issue by turning the game from two cores two CPU Nr. 1 in the task manager. Now the game runs smooth like silk (Battle=Abu Susah, AF=8, AA=4, Vsync=off, textures and models on better) and so far i did not experience another hang up.

[JaguarUSF]

Changing the affinity did not solve my lockups (in fact, it made it worse). Changing the trilinear optimization did not solve my lockups either. Here are my system specs (I don't think I've posted them before):
1. Battlefront 1.01
2. AMD Athlon 64 X2 4200+
3. nVidia GeForce 8800 GTS 320 MB version 162.18
4. 2 GB RAM
5. Windows XP Home Edition SP 2

[fra]

Hi,

My system:CPU: AMD X2 4200+ (dual-core)
GPU: Ati 1950pro
OS : Windows XPHome SP2


The game hangs after few minutes, the shadows are terrible!

Any suggestion to solve the issue?

[JaguarUSF]

I am using all caps because I am shouting:
UNINSTALLING THE DUAL-CORE OPTIMIZER FIXED THE LOCKUPS

[fra]

How can I turn off one of the two Amd cores ?

[stransky]

I seems that BOEEOB´s solution disabling one cpu (by using the taskbar and right-click on the cmsf process) makes everything better and so far no hangs. smile.gif The dual-core-optimizer I have uninstalled cause it never worked anyway (program couldnt start).

[JaguarUSF]

I didn't need to do this once I uninstalled the Dual Core Optimizer, but here is how you do it:
1. Run the game.
2. Press CTRL+ALT+DELETE to bring up Task Manager.
3. Go to the Processes tab.
4. Right click on CM Shock Force.exe
5. Select Set Affinity...
6. Uncheck one of the boxes.

[Scipio]

I can't report teleporting units so far, but my game freezes, too, after some minutes!

Asus A8N Premium
AMD X2 4200+
XP Home SP2
2 GB RAm
NVidia 7900GTO

However, I set CPU affinity to CPU0 only and was able to complete the first training campaign mission without further lock-ups. As far as I know, the CPU optimizer is not installed on my system. So I dare to confirm that No-AMD-Optimzer + setting affinity to a single core is a good workaround.

[JaguarUSF]

Here is my fix configuration I used to get the game to work without lockups and with both CPUs:
The Microsoft hotfix (http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?displaylang=en&FamilyID=C2AB5A48-8240-4934-BBD8-34FB8A0FCE3B) is installed.
The AMD drivers (http://www.amd.com/us-en/Processors/TechnicalResources/0,,30_182_871_13118,00.html) is installed.
The AMD Dual Core Optimizer is NOT installed.

[Cpl Steiner]

JaguarUSF,

Congrats on getting it working if indeed it is now stable for you. I can't try the same on my system right now, maybe later tonight.

By the way, I forced the game "Red Orchestra" to use OpenGL rendering (a change to the .ini file) to see if my system had problems with OpenGL and it ran fine with no slowdowns or hangs. However, an admin screen (used to select team/weapon in-game) had some graphical corruption (but was still useable).

Hope this helps BFC. I will try uninstalling the AMD Dual Core Optimizer later.

[Scipio]

Originally posted by JaguarUSF:
Here is my fix configuration I used to get the game to work without lockups and with both CPUs:
The Microsoft hotfix (http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?displaylang=en&FamilyID=C2AB5A48-8240-4934-BBD8-34FB8A0FCE3B) is installed.
The AMD drivers (http://www.amd.com/us-en/Processors/TechnicalResources/0,,30_182_871_13118,00.html) is installed.
The AMD Dual Core Optimizer is NOT installed. I have tested this on my system and had no further problems so far, too.

Just a side note, the Microsoft Hotfix seems to require the same language as your XP. Just do a search for the Hotfix KB896256 at (as for example) the German Microsoft site.

[Lars107]

I was just able to play my first full CMSF battle :D

The solution as described in the post of JaguarUSF seems to work.

Thanks a lot.

[bflyblue]

I've also removed the AMD Dual Core Optimizer and have played several missions since then without it locking up smile.gif

[yuvuphys]

Had teleportation problem and freeze problems with:

Intel Dual Core T7200 2GHz
NVidia 7600GT 512Mb
1 Gig RAM
Windows XP

Changed the CPU affinity for CMSF to only 1 CPU, and all my problems disapeared.

[Cpl Steiner]

Its bizarre that removing the Dual Core Optimizer might solve the problem as the only reason its on my machine is because BFC told me to put it on to fix bad performance in "Theatre of War" :confused: .

I managed to deinstall it and have so far completed two missions out of 2 so it looks promising. Will post again later with more results.

[JaguarUSF]

Computers are wonderful, aren't they?

[Battlefront.com]

Cpl Steiner,

Its bizarre that removing the Dual Core Optimizer might solve the problem as the only reason its on my machine is because BFC told me to put it on to fix bad performance in "Theatre of War"The problem is that each program does things a little differently. Plus, I can't remember if TOW is OpenGL or DirectX. CM:SF is OpenGL, so if TOW is DirectX there is basically no similarity as to how they are interacting with the video hardware.

We're going to look into making CM behave a little differently so that it won't run into trouble with the optimizer. But that is going to take some time because we don't have an AMD machine and it will require moving the code to a new compiler.

Steve

[Task]

Originally posted by bflyblue:
I've also removed the AMD Dual Core Optimizer and have played several missions since then without it locking up smile.gif Yep. I did this as well. I played a full scenario from start to finish with no lock ups. It seems to have solved the problem.

I also installed the XP dual-core update.

[fra]

THAT' ALL RIGHT !!!

IF YOU SWITCH OFF ONE CORE...(AMD X2 4200+)

Thanks!

[Cpl Steiner]

Update on performance with Dual Core Optimizer removed from system:

I have just had 1 freeze requiring Ctrl-Alt-Del to stop program since removing the Dual Core Optimizer. Been playing for about 1-2 hrs before it locked up. So, it definitely helps but there is still something going on as I locked up again.

Here's another clue. I am fairly sure it locked up when I did shift-left-click to zoom to a point on the map. I'd just watched my Javelin launcher totaling the static tanks in training mission 2, and wanted to get back to the team with the launcher which was miles away. That's when it locked up.

[mogg]

Originally posted by Chelco:
I had the following problems:

-Teleportation
-Voices overlapping massively
-Hang up after that

All my problems gone now. I insist on Norton. +1 exactelly
but i have ATI X1900XT
amd X2 4600+ on xp32 sp2
no norton (never! ;) ) but nod32

[Battlefront.com]

Cpl Steiner,

Thanks for the update and the possible related issue. There is probably something we can do (soon) to address this issue more fundamentally than having people disable software that generally works for other things.

Steve

[Weeksy]

So far having fun with CMSF, but I'm also experiencing the hang that often needs a hard restart. Up until the hang performance is fine and I dont have any problems with teleportation.

I have an AMD system, but it is single core not dual core;

Game Version: BFC Direct Download 1.01
Windows XP Home Edition Service Pack 2
AMD Athlon 64 3400+ 2.4GHz with 1GB of RAM
ATI x800xt OpenGL Driver Version 6.14.10.6590

All the best

Steve

[Sgt Joch]

after removing the dual core optimisation & setting CPU affinity to one CPU, I am able to play most scenarios with no problem, just did two in a row.

I did however get one freeze 20 mins into the 1st campaign mission, so the problem is not completely gone. In that case I had set 3d quality to best rather than balanced.

[JaguarUSF]

Yeah, it looks like the dual core optimization uninstall is a temporary fix that allows you to play longer, but doesn't remove the problem entirely.

[D_Squid]

It also did the trick for me, removed the dual core optimizer, and had to set affinity, now it runs great, I really like the game... Hell even the Stryker is growing on me!'

Cheers
Staffan

[Smoke]

Had the same problem here:
Voices overlapping
Hangs shortly after that.

Removing the AMD optimizer fixed the sound issue and makes the game playable. Still hangs intermittently.

AMD 64 X2 3800+
7600GT
XP Pro SP2

[JaguarUSF]

Others have said that removing the optimizer AND changing the affinity does the complete trick.
Use Task Manager (ctrl+at+delete), go to the processes tab, right click on CM Shock Force.exe, select Set Affinity... and only have one of the two checked. Oh, and you can only change the affinity while the game is running.

[Scipio]

Freezed again, but after some hours of playing. I should mention that I had not changed the affinity this time.

[JaguarUSF]

Yeah, no optimizer = long time before freeze. One CPU = no freezes...so far.

[Cpl Steiner]

Just chiming in here to say that using the affinity thing does seem to help. I've been playing for hours this weekend with no lockups at all. For instance, I must have played the MOUT mission of the training campaign about a dozen times without any problems (and yes, the reason was that my men kept getting slaughtered!).