Okay, as far as I know this is only a solution to the black screen that occurs when trying to load The Strip, so for those who have different problems, I'm sorry. I should also preface this by saying that I didn't come up with it, I'm just trying to spread the word.

Okay, so basically the problem lies with the hat that you took from Macgreggor's (or whatever his name was) body and gave to the sister in the bar for the debt collectors quest. What you have to do is go to the Crimson Caravan place (right next to the New Vegas medical place). Once inside, walk forward a bit and you should see on the right, a couple shelves with supplies on them. Next to the First Aid Boxes are two hats, kneel to see if you're detected or hidden, if you don't want to get caught, and take the "Old Cowboy Hat" and return to Freeside.

This is the most important part: MAKE SURE YOU'RE WEARING THE HAT AS YOU ENTER THE STRIP. Otherwise, it doesn't work. You should now be able to get in, but DON'T THROW AWAY THE HAT.

Hopefully now that we know what the issue is, Bethesda can create a patch so we don't have to wear those hats whenever we want to get into The Strip, but at least you can still progress in your game.

Hope this works for you too!


Edit: OTHER "OLD COWBOY HAT" LOCATIONS:

1. Mick and Ralph's in Freeside has three of them if you talk to Mick.
2. Powder Ganger Camp West inside the camper.

ALSO, make sure you don't leave the hat in The Strip as suggested somewhere in this thread. It works for a while, but then it stops working, and if you don't have another hat, you're pretty much screwed.

I wish I had known this before getting stuck in the casino ):

Thanks for linking me to your topic.

Lol, so stupid we have to find workarounds to bugs. So utterly stupid. I'd quit playing if I were you guys. I know I did. Waiting for Fable 3 for my RPG fix until they get this mess FIXED!!!!!

Thank you, it worked for me, but isn't there a way by taking the monorail in, or does that also cause the freeze to occur?

Thank you dear sir, you have fixed my problem =)

I hope Bethesda gets a new patch up soon that doesn't have gamers relying on this temporary fix though.

I thought this suggested fix was rubbish. And then I tried it and it worked. Hats off to those patient enough to troubleshoot video games through this kind of trickery. It really shouldn't have to be this way. Anyway, many thanks.

Another would be to avoid the Debt Colleector quest entirely like i have!

Found another Old Cowboy Hat! You can get it within 1 hour of starting a new game. Much easier to get to, too.

It's at Powder Ranger Camp West, inside the camper, in the armor case. Powder Ranger Camp West is located right below Joan Sky Diving, and to the right of Goodsprings Source.

Just watch out for the 4-5 mines laying around.

I'm still playing NV, but the fact that it is so buggy is making me more excited for Fable III, because now I won't have to choose between the two until NV gets fixed

I am seriously stressing out over the prospect of having to choose between restarting or just not playing this game anymore.

Really hoping Bethesda pulls through on this glitch, but I find it doubtful - especially since they now know we have a workaround for most people.

Has anyone tried dropping the Old Cowboy Hat on the ground in the Strip, then leaving and going back to see if it freezes?

Some people are stuck in the casinos because of this. It needs to be fixed.

Hey man no argument here, I'm just being realistic. :nope:

should be playing it right now, instead I'm stuck waiting for them to patch a known bug they have chosen to ignore

Oh well, I will just do a Ashley Williams romance PT in the two ME games while I wait for this fix. Still, this crap should not happen.

hi this is my first post, but i wanted to say that i tried what you said, kinda. instead i put the hat in his body (he was still there dead in the street) and it worked like charm for me, now i can wear whatever hat i choose and not worry about it freezing while traveling between freeside and the strip.


hope this works on yours too

Lol, Fable 3. Yeah, that will get your fix, it you're like 12 years old.

Thanks for the help, if I wear the old cowboy hat it doesn't freeze any more.
I have made a compilation of the 2 best answers to solve this problem
http://www.gamesas.com/index.php?/topic/1127100-freeze-when-entering-the-strip

i checked both of those spots and the Old Cowboy Hat isnt there, does anyone know of any other spawnpoints? I really need to get into Vegas lol

I'm assuming this works as others have stated so. Too bad I started getting the stupid black screen 5 hours after I finished that quest. :facepalm: Guess I have to start the game over.

Awesome, worked for me. I can continue playing the game now

Wow, I am speechless. This actually worked. Craziness.

It's so sad when we, the players, have to "beta test" a released game. Anyway, thanks for the solution!

This should be stickied for now, I think.

May I add something for people who are locked in the Strip. I posted it in another thread last night :-

This first is using a Stealth Boy/Sneak attack to kill one of the robots outside the gate then search their "body" for the key. It can't be pickpocketed though, the game treats it just like you're trying to talk to them.

The second solution is to go to Camp McCarren and use the monorail to get to the city. This method is fine, but if the NCR is any less than in love with you you'll be shot at for approaching the door to the monorail station. You can just run past them if you're planning on using that playthrough to help them, once you go through the door they won't follow you and the NCR on the other end won't be hostile for you being in the station. If you're not worried about what they think of you you can just kill them.

I take no credit for this solution, I found it on another of my favourite sites and I'm afraid I can't help any further as I've yet to boot the game up. I just hope this works as a temporary solution for people locked out of the Strip, until we hear about and receive the upcoming patch.

The general store in Freeside has one

Make sure you have a spare hat or just keep the hat.
I left the hat on the body and it doesn't work any more, the game keeps crashing again
I think it has something to do with that patch they released, before the patch it worked fine