I just encountered an issue where Steam would not launch. It simply displayed this error:
“The registry is in use by another process, timeout expired”
For anyone else who has this problem, it’s due to background processes interfering with Steam.
There are a fair few pointless processes running when you boot into Windows 7. To fix this (and hopefully resolve the Steam issue), click run msconfig and select the services tab. Check the “Hide all Microsoft Services” button, then hit “Disable All”. This should stop any non-essential services running on startup, and should enable you to run Steam.
For more info, visit the Steam support page!
I’ve just been trying to play Bioshock for the first time on my recently bought Windows 7 machine, and have been having issues with the audio. All the startup sounds and cutscene movies work perfectly, however there was no sound in game or when clicking menu buttons.
After lots of searching in forums and trying numerous suggested solutions (running the .exe in Vista/XP compatibility modes etc), I’ve found the solution that works on my PC. The issue appears to be that Stereo Mixing was disabled by default.
Here’s a link to a support page with instructions on how to fix this:
http://support.take2games.com/help/take2/take2_games/q632
Hope that is of some help to someone!
*Mumbles something about why I switched to console gaming for many years*
[Edit: I had massive issues with audio in GTA IV a while back too. Incredibly stuttery/crackly sound in game, making it completely unplayable. This fix appears to have resolved that issue too.]