Max Payne Freezing? Try these Fixes.

[mike breck]

OK, I've done a bit of research and lots of people are experiencing problems with different Windows versions and different hardware. The general view is the game is quite buggy. No public Beta testing to iron out the wrinkles.

However, people with W2K and/or Soundblaster cards seem to be getting more than their fair share of problems. Make of that what you will.

There is a game patch but it only seems to address "Crash to Desktop" and "CD-Rom SafeDisk" problems.

However, if you are using W2K, then there is a Microsoft HotFix mentioned in the Max Payne Readme which may stop Freezes.


However, I've combed the net and here are some potential fixes for FREEZES. Some are general and some for specific hardware. Some are simple and some are radical. Try the simple ones first.

Set your Desktop resolution and colour depth to the same as you use in the game.

Don't use Quick save or Quick Load. Save manually.

For really bad freezing, try manually saving your game after you enter each new level. Exit the game. Go into the Max Payne Save file and remove the automatic save (move it to a new folder anywhere) and just leave your manual save. Restart the games and load your last manual save. Keep on doing this everytime you enter a new level.

Disable AGP texturing in Program Files\DX\Setup\Diag

Reduce or disable Sound Acceleration Program Files\DX\Setup\Diag\Sound tab


With Soundblaster Cards turn Soundcard Acceleration down to BASIC or EMULATION in SB control.

In Control Panel\MultiMedia\Audio\Advanced reduce or disable Hardware Acceleration.

With Via chipsets reinstall 4in1 drivers and this time install the AGP driver in STANDARD instead of TURBO.

Revert to DX 7 or 8. This means using DirectX Buster or doing a new install of Windows.

Change your Soundblaster to a Turtle Beach Santa Cruz. In fact, anything but Creative.

Geoforce Cards

Set Anti-Aliasing to 4X in Display Properties\Advanced\Geoforce. Or play around with the settings.

With Windows 95/98/ME use NVidia W9X-1440zip drivers (Betas - be careful).

With Windows 2000 use NVidia W2K-1440zip drivers. (Betas - be careful)

Try NVidia WHQL 14.10 Drivers (Safe and certified)

These fixes have worked for some and not for others. The problems will only be finally resolved when the developers release more patches. So don't shell out for more software and hardware if Max won't work. Put it on the back burner and play something else until the developers get their finger out.