So I'm having issues with Half Life 2 crashing whenever I start a new game. I've looked all over for others that have the same problem, and only found one case that explained my problem:

http://www.halflife2.net/forums/archive/index.php/t-123628.html

Apparently it's some sort of issue with autosaving and sound. Like the person in the link, adding -nosound to my launch options fixes it, but I don't want to play through Half Life 2 without the sound. Has anyone else here experienced the same problems and have a better solution?

EDIT: Doh, guess I should have just kept looking on my own, I FINALLY found a solution that works. Too bad I have to do trig homework before I can play! Requesting a lock in 3... 2... 1...