Known Issues - FAQ

Post here your proposed Q&A, regarding the known problems with MTA:SA and their solutions, especially the problems we are encountering now, that might be also encountered by users in the final release. You're also welcome to edit them grammar/style wise.

Client

General

Does MTASA work with v1.01 or v2.00 of GTA San Andreas?

No. It can be made to work with them however - please see this forum topic for instructions on patching the exe.

The game says it cannot locate the map editor.

Map editor for MTA: Deathmatch is not available for Developer Preview 2. It is available as an optional download for 1.0-based nightly builds however, and will be available by default on MTA:SA 1.0 final build. For instructions on how to get a nightly build, see [1]

See also: Main article about Map Editor

Initial black screen/hanging GTA splash screens

• MTA shows a permanent black screen or hanging GTA splash screens.

It may be necessary that during/after the logo splash screens in Grand Theft Auto you have to give some input in order to skip the videos correctly. Try to click your left-mouse button a few times, or tapping a few keys.

• MTA shows a permanent black screen after the GTA splash screens (possibly with text in the bottom right corner).

This can be related to a lack of support for DirectX or video card features, on your system, which are needed to run the dynamically rendered menu. This dynamic menu is enabled by default. You can disable it by opening your coreconfig.xml configuration file located in the GTA San Andreas\MTA directory, and changing the value of menu_options to 248.

Halt after MTA splash screen

• Nothing happens after the 'Stop playing with yourself' splash screen

If you use nVidia GeForce, try turning off nView Desktop Manager before starting MTA.

Also try deleting GTA San Andreas settings file ("gta_sa.set") in "Documents\GTA San Andreas User Files" folder

Crash after MTA splash screen

• MTA crashes after the 'Stop playing with yourself' logo. Both single player and the MTA: Race ran fine before.

Try downloading the latest DirectX Runtime files from Microsoft. Also check in Task Manager, if gta_sa.exe process isn't already running.

If you run at any substandard resolutions (e.g. 960x720), try to change your resolution to a commonly supported one (e.g. 640×480, 800×600, 1024×768, 1152×864, 1280×1024) by launching Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas in normal mode, setting the new resolution and exiting.

Assertion in CMainMenu.cpp line 106 upon launching MTASA

• I'm getting an assertion in CMainMenu.cpp (line 106) after I have launched MTASA. I'm able to ignore it, but then game crashes after I try to connect to a server.

This is likely caused by GTASA or MTA:SA being installed in a path that contains non-ASCII characters (eg. Cyrillic, Polish, Japanese) in it.

To resolve this, you need to uninstall MTA:SA and GTASA, then install them in such paths that don't contain such characters.

Crash after connecting to any server

• MTASA crashes upon connecting to any server. Single player runs fine (...) My GTASA is modded.

Single player mods can affect the way MTA:SA works, potentially causing crashes - you should always use a clean GTASA install for MTA:SA.

Controls not working

• My controls don't seem to work as they should.

Try using the 'copygtacontrols' command in the console.

Incorrect models

• Woman model's breasts look awkward ingame / I'm seeing odd, spider-like shaped player models.

This is caused by the way GTA handles player stats. To fix this, be sure to set both fat and muscles player stats to 0, when you're changing player skin.

Incorrect drive-by functionality

• Drivebys arent working as they should

Drivebys are handled by script, and will change depending on the loaded gamemode.

Unsaved settings

• My MTA setting(s) didn't get saved (...) I crashed.

First, configure the MTA the way you want to, then exit the game and launch it again. Settings should get saved. Alternatively, try removing the coreconfig.xml file, then configure it and quit the game.

Gamepad support

• MTA doesnt recognise my gamepad

This is a known issue - MTA's keybinds system does not support direct input. As an alternative, XPadder can be used. This emulates joypad buttons as keyboard/mouse so that it can be used in MTA. Please refer to this forum topic for a brief guide on how to use XPadder.

Free mouselook not working properly

• MTA doesnt recognise my mouse

Some people got problems with their mouse in MTA. They can use it in the menu, connect to a server, but they can't use the mouse for free look. This problem can be solved by entering a server, click your Win/Windows key at your keyboard once, and then click your mouse. If that doesn't work try starting GTA in Singleplayer, go to options > controler setup and set "Configuration" to "Mouse + Keys" instead of "Joypad".

Sky flickering

• My screen/sky flickers when weather or sky effects are enabled.

MTA:SA DM uses a new text rendering system from race, which is much more efficient in terms of FPS. However, this can cause conflicts within the game, particularly with ATI based cards. To fix this, bring up the console with F8, and type the command ceguitext 1. This reverts the rendering method to that of Race. All glitches should no longer happen, at the cost of lower FPS.

Server browser not working

• The in-game server browser shows "Loading" but does not come up with any servers

Depending on the type and status of the internet connection you are using, it can take up to a few seconds for the server browser to retrieve all the servers. Please wait a little longer for the results to appear.

Invalid serial number

• I am getting an 'Invalid serial number' error when trying to launch or play the game

You are running an outdated version of Multi Theft Auto. Head over to the download page and download the latest version of Multi Theft Auto.

'Network module could not be located'

• I am getting 'Network module could not be located' error message upon launching MTA:SA DM

Copy the file 'net.dll' from your GTA:SA/mta directory into your GTA:SA directory, overwriting existing files.

'Network module not compatible!' on MTASA launch

• I am getting 'Network module not compatible!' error message upon launching MTA:SA DM

This could mean that your MTASA install is incomplete or broken. Reinstall it.

'No such mod installed (deathmatch)'

• I am getting a 'No such mod installed (deathmatch)' error message when trying to connect to any server

Option 1: Simply re-install MTA.
Option 2: Run both gta_sa.exe and Multi Theft Auto.exe with administrator privileges.

D3dx9_**.dll is not found

• When I start Multi Theft Auto: San Andreas I am getting an error D3dx9_**.dll (** = a number) cannot be found.

This means that DirectX 9 is not installed or not up to date. To install/update DirectX download the DirectX End-User Runtime Web Installer from the Microsoft download site.

Windows Vista®-related

Crash on launch

• I've successfully upgraded from MTA Race to MTASA DM on Vista, but it seems to crash on launch.

Option 1 Go to your Program Files\MTA San Andreas\mods\race directory, and rename client.dll to something else.
Option 2 Go to your Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas directory (usually Program Files\Rockstar Games\GTA San Andreas"), navigate to the MTA directory, then enter the "data" directory and remove the menu.mkv file. This will start Multi Theft Auto: San Andreas without main menu video rendering.

Crash on connect

• I seem to crash whenever I connect to a server just before I go in-game on Vista

This seems to be an issue with the Microsoft DirectX April 2006 SDK Redistributable DLL file (d3dx9_30.dll) when running in compatibility mode. Please make sure that compatibility mode is competely turned off for both your GTA_SA.exe and Multi Theft Auto.exe executables.

Invalid or disabled serial error

• MTASA DM installer complains about wrong serial provided. I'm running it for the first time.

You need to run the installer with Administrator privileges. To do so, right click on the installer executable, choose 'Properties', go into 'Compatibility' tab and tick the check box on the last field.

Some have found that setting compatibility to Windows XP/2000 have fixed the problem.

If User Account Control is disabled, you might need to enable it and run the installer with admin privileges (like said above) in order to install MTA:SA DM.

• I am getting 'invalid serial' when I try to connect to a server

After some research we have found that in most cases this problem occurs if registry data has not been set for some reason. To fix this problem, take the following steps:

Open regedit (start > run > regedit)
Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Multi Theft Auto: San Andreas
Create a new string key called Username and fill there the username you have on mtabeta.com
Create one more string key called Serial and paste there the serial from mtabeta.com

If you have no serial at http://community.mtasa.com (mtabeta.com) to complete the last step, register on our forums and request one here

• I am getting 'disabled serial' when I try to connect to a server

If you receive this message, your serial has been banned (most likely for cheating). There is nothing you can do to fix this. Registering a new account does not unban you.

Clock manipulation error

• I am getting 'Clock manipulation detected!' error message upon launching MTA:SA DM

Further info coming soon.

Halt on launch

• When I launch MTA:SA DM, nothing happens (GTA_SA.exe is running but not loading up)

Run MTA:SA DM with Administrator privileges. To do this, right click on the installer executable, choose 'Properties', go into 'Compatibility' tab and tick the check box on the last field and try again.

General GTA problems

• I have unexplainable GTA problems or crashes

Make sure your computer as well as your GTA install meet the minimum requirements and that you are not running in any 98/2000/XP/2003 compatibility modes.

Also try the solutions from these pages:

• http://www.gtaforums.com/index.php?showtopic=273549&view=findpost&p=4537502
• http://pullmonkey.com/2007/4/30/how-i-got-gta-san-andreas-to-work-with-a-crappy-os-vista

Server

General

Fatal error 3

• I'm getting Fatal Error 3 whenever I connect to my server

This error happens when the server you are trying to connect to is unable to provide you the required downloads, because it does not have http downloading enabled. Be sure to set the httpdownload configuration tag in your configuration to 1.

Download error 9: Error downloading requested files

• I'm getting Download Error 9: Error downloading requested files whenever I connect to my server

This error happens when the server you are trying to connect to is unable to provide you with a valid link. This results in a 404 (Not found) HTTP error and an error at your end.

• If you are running the built-in server (httpserver is set to 1 and httpdownloadurl is empty), make sure that your HTTP server is accessible (you can try to access it by using a browser) for everyone.

• If you have configured an external web server (httpdownloadurl is set to your custom URL), make sure that your HTTP is accessible and make sure you have read the Configuring an external web server guide.

Download error 28

Try closing anti-virus or firewall applications. If it then works, try adding an exception to your firewall to allow your http port through.

Windows-related

No known reported issues in the version 1.6.0.

Linux-related

Default nohup creates infinitely big nohup.out

Temporary fix, disable the nohup file: 'nohup ./mta_server > /dev/null &'