How to Troubleshoot Guitar Hero III for the PC
The PC conversion of "Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock" continues Activision's hugely popular series of rhythm-action rock games. While the games originated on console platforms, the PC version is a faithful translation that offers all the same challenges and action of its PlayStation and Xbox counterparts. If your PC version of "Guitar Hero III" is not running optimally, there are a few troubleshooting steps you can take.
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Instructions
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Make sure your PC meets the minimum system requirements for "Guitar Hero III." The game requires a PC running Windows XP Service Pack 2, Vista or 7. The central processing unit must be an Intel Pentium D (Dual Core) with at least 2.8GHz speed, or an AMD Athlon 64, model number 3500 or above. To run on Windows XP, the game requires 1 gigabyte of RAM; Vista or 7 require 2 GB or more. The machine must have at least 6.1 GB hard drive space, a DirectX 9.0c-compatible sound card, and a video card with at least 128 MB of memory. ATI cards including Radeon X800 and above are supported; Nvidia cards must be GeForce 7600 or better. To check your PC's system configuration, right click the "My Computer" icon on the desktop and select "Properties."
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Make sure you are running the latest version of "Guitar Hero III." The retail version of the game needs to be patched to run correctly and to ensure maximum compatibility with your machine. To install the version 1.3 patch, download from the site in the "Resources" section and double-click to run.
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Adjust the game's settings. If your machine is running "Guitar Hero III" slowly or with a lag between the game's pictures and music, enter the "Options" menu and click "Graphics Settings." Make sure all settings are set to "Medium" and the screen resolution is set to "800x600" or less. If you continue to experience slowdown, change settings to "Low."
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Make sure the game's "X-plorer" guitar controller is connected correctly. After installing the game, plug the guitar's USB plug into a free port on your PC. The controller will work best if connected to a high-speed port on the computer tower itself, rather than passing through a hub or keyboard port.
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Ensure no other programs are running that will slow the game down. "Guitar Hero III" works best if it is the only program running on the machine. Hold the "Alt" key and press "Tab" to cycle between programs running on your machine. Close down all other programs and return to "Guitar Hero III" by clicking its icon in the Windows taskbar at the bottom of the screen.
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References
Resources
- Photo Credit Guitar player #1 image by Warren Millar from Fotolia.com
