So everything was great for the first hour or two. Now Im getting random freezes. Started when I got to Dragonsreach. The game will freeze for a solid 10 seconds, audio will continue, the screen will flicker a few times, then it will be fine. This happens once every 2-3 min. Twice it has crashed to desktop when this happened stating that the display driver has failed.
Just trying to figure out if this is happening to anyone else, and if anyone has any ideas for a fix.

i5 750
8gb ram
ATI 6950
Newest drivers
Win 7 64bit


Thanks.

Tried this?

Hey guys, I was having this problem too and just stumbled on a solution that worked for me at least.

My sound device in windows was set to output at 192khz 24bit. When I set this back to 44.1khz 16bit it fixed the problem!

So to check, in win7 go to Control Panel -> Hardware and Sound -> Sound

Pick your sound device that is set as default, click Properties.
Go to the Advanced tab and make sure the 'Default Format' it is set to 44.1khz 16bit.

I actually was able to set mine to 96khz 24bit and it works aswell, just doesn't seem to like 192khz.

Good luck!

Thanks for the quick reply, bud.

I checked it out. I was already on 44.1khz 16bit. I'll try moving it around.

Nope. Still freezing/crashing after I changed it to 48khz 16bit. Gonna play around. Maybe plug in a USB headset and see if those drivers do anything.

I have the same problem, along with a few other foks who have posted -

my rig is -

Intel Core 2 Duo CPU
3 gig of RAM
NVIDIA Geforce 9800 GT

So... The crashes seem to have stopped.

I was using a USB headset. I tried changing the quality around, and was still getting them.

So I tried changing the device entirely. Sound is now pumping out of my monitor's(TV) speakers through HDMI. Are you using a USB headset, tiris?

I've got the same issue. Seems to be worse in outdoor areas. It became more frequent the more I played. I've tried everything, turned off and on every setting, reinstalled the game, applied the patch, unplugged all my devices etc. Even tried changing the audio to 44.1 hz or whatever, still no luck.

So, it was fine for a while. Now im getting the freeze/crashes again. I'll try again in the morning. Getting to frustrated for now.

I have the same issue even posted about it.Someone need to do something cuz i'm sick of ppl who cry how bad is the graphics while some of us can't play at all!

Same problem here, updated NVidia drivers but I still have the problem. No problems whatsoever in interiors, but once I go outside and start moving around I could lag for 3-5 seconds every 30 seconds.
If I stand still there's no issue at all, it seems to be related to loading new areas. My temps are steady at 50 to 55 degrees celsius, so no issue there either.

I'm using windows XP btw, not sure if that's related in any case.

Also getting this, though i'm not finding it game-ending atm

Inside areas fine, outside areas can freeze randomly at any point for about 5-10 seconds then carry on like normal - Also using XP though i doubt that's the problem

3gb DDR2
Nvidia 275GTX (Latest Drivers)
AMD Athlon X2 6000+

Tried unplugging all my USB, tried rotating sound devices and tried to run in windowed mode - none of these 'fixes' are working.

Can't imagine it being your end if you look at everyone's spec who have posted here - can't really find a common piece of hardware

I guess it's a more widespread problem then, regardless I find that Skyrim is running very steady on my system. No crashes or errors whatsoever, didn't really expect this from Bethesda - ignoring the minor stuttering when moving around the game is playing very smoothly. (In comparison to the Oblivion release)

i'm running on a backend duel core CPU and can run it Medium / High with no issues which surprised me quite a bit but this freezing i have no idea how to fix

Yeah, same here. Running on a E8400 - which is pretty outdated, but used to be a very fast Dual core a few years ago. But I'm running everything on medium because my graphics card is kind of bottlenecking Skyrim.

Regarding the freezing, I don't know either - it seems some people have no problems whatsoever, kind of weird that the bugs differ for each person.

An update would be nice though

I have the same problem. The game runs fine (40+ FPS) for me on high settings with 4xAA and 8xAF, but every now and then it freezes for a few seconds randomly. Can't be loading stutter as it also freezes when I don't move at all. Since it only happens every ~5 minutes or so (but randomly, sometimes every minute, sometimes no freeze for 10 minutes) and since the freezing only lasts for 3 seconds the game is playable, but it's still annoying.

I didn't have any crashes yet though.

EDIT: My specs: Core2Duo e8400 / ATI Radeon 4890 1GB / 4GB RAM / Windows XP 32 bit

So what is the situation:
All of us have different systems
-CPU: Intel Dual/Quad,AMD Dual/Quad - reported freeze
-GPU: Nvidia (no matter newer or older drivers) ATI (RADEON) - reported freeze
-OS: I'm on Windows XP have this thing.Some of you have the problem on Win7.
We should look for some common software installations and running processes!
My Skyrim is updated and running through STEAM.I really want to know if this happens with the RETAIL version.
Also the last TES had some common issue with the integrated sound cards.Report what brand,model you are using.
Motherboards should be also reported!
So far zero success in my side.Things i tried
Setting all options to LOW and 800x600
Running in Windows2000 compat.Disabling visual themes and advanced txt services.
Deffragmenting HDD
NOTHING! Bethesda wasup,wasup...wasup?!

There's no real common link between the freezes either, i can play for a long time without one, then get them every 5mins

Also, this only even happens outside - never in dungeons / small places - so could it be a rendering issue

I have the same problem, several seconds long freezes while travelling outside (barely ever inside). The game runs pretty well on high settings so I doubt it is a PC issue.

Specs? This kinda needs addressing by Bethesda

I'm having a similar issue, but only when I go to first person and particularly when I try and cast magic. The video freezes, but audio continues and the screen will go black for several seconds at a time and then come back, sometimes it will completely lock up and i'll have to hard reboot.

i7 / intel mobo
6gigs ram
GTX 295
Win 7 Ult
Latest beta driver (from 11/10/11)

I had a similar problem with Dead Island and disabling SSAO fixed it for Nvidia cards. I can't figure out how in Skyrim though.

Dropped by to make the thread bigger. Same problem here, expect some of the freezes seem... permanent, requiring a hard reboot.

Athlon II x2 250 (3ghz)
Geforce 8800GT 1Gb
2Gb ram

Yes, i DO know my pc is ancient, but i'm not running things on sky-high resolution on a home-cinema either. It runs fine on 1280x800, high text, no AA, FXAA on.

Hope this gets resolved soon!

All pc versions run with steam