Chris Priestly
Community Coordinator
Joined: 17 Oct 2001
From: Behind an Evil desk in Marketing |
 Posted: Wednesday, 11 February 2009 09:54PM |
We are working on creating the next patch for Mass Effect for the PC.
One of the issues we are working on is fixing the GPF (General Protection Fault) crash some users are experiencing. We are trying to track down this problem and help from people who encounter this issue would be appreciated. I have checked with the QA team working on the patch and they have asked you please do the following:
We need the DxDiag for their (your) system (you can get this file by clicking run in your start menu and typing in DXDiag) , a description of exactly where they are crashing, and if they get a 100% crash how did they get that crash (with log files which is in their My Documents folder), and if their computer automatically reboots they need to change the settings not to automatically reboot because if they down automatically reboot they get the blue screen of death message. We need them to write down their blue screen of death message.
Instructions for users to change their settings to automatically reboot their PC’s
• Right-Click on My Computer
• Choose Properties
• Click on the Advanced Tab
• In the Start-Up and Recovery section select the Settings button
• A new window appears and under the System Failure list there is a check-box Automatically Restart they need to uncheck that.
Please email your results and files to bulletin@bioware.com
We appreciate your help with this issue.
_________________
Like a great predatory piano, I sit silent in the darkness. Until it is time to attack and then I strike in a cacophony of violence and ivory keys. |
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Milil
Game Owner
 NWN
NWN: SoU
NWN: HotU
SW: KotOR PC
Jade Empire
NWN 2
Mass Effect
Mass Effect PC
Joined: 07 Feb 2002
From: Still within stalking distance! |
Posted: Wednesday, 11 February 2009 10:45PM |
Quote: Posted 02/11/09 21:54 (GMT) by Chris Priestly
and if their computer automatically reboots they need to change the settings not to automatically reboot because if they down automatically reboot they get the blue screen of death message. We need them to write down their blue screen of death message.
Instructions for users to change their settings to automatically reboot their PC’s
• Right-Click on My Computer
• Choose Properties
• Click on the Advanced Tab
• In the Start-Up and Recovery section select the Settings button
• A new window appears and under the System Failure list there is a check-box Automatically Restart they need to uncheck that.
This section isn't very clearly worded Chris.
What I'm guessing you mean is that if your computer is set to automatically reboot upon encountering an error, it has to be set to not reboot. This will then allow the user to copy down the BSOD message without the computer rebooting before they can copy it down. The BSOD error message should then be included with the DxDiag and log files that you send to BioWare.
Something like that?
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Quote: Posted 12/03/08 20:15 (GMT) by Chris Priestly
I can't yet officially comment on exactly how wrong this page is.
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Chris Priestly
Community Coordinator
Joined: 17 Oct 2001
From: Behind an Evil desk in Marketing |
Posted: Wednesday, 11 February 2009 11:04PM |
Yes, well said. Thanks. 
_________________
Like a great predatory piano, I sit silent in the darkness. Until it is time to attack and then I strike in a cacophony of violence and ivory keys. |
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Ritly13
Game Owner
 SW: KotOR PC
Mass Effect PC
Joined: 18 Jun 2008 |
Posted: Wednesday, 11 February 2009 11:21PM |
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We already know what is going on. Most of the Nvidia card users are getting crashes after the 175.19 drivers were released. ( The series after 175.19)This is because of Nvidia implementing the PhysX software to their graphics cards as a physics card. My theory is that you some how make Mass Effect PhysX be compatible with the Nvidia card w/ PhysX drivers, the problem SHOULD (not 100%) be fixed. |
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Chris Priestly
Community Coordinator
Joined: 17 Oct 2001
From: Behind an Evil desk in Marketing |
Posted: Wednesday, 11 February 2009 11:39PM |
Supplying us with the requested DXDiag files and other information requested will help us pin down the fix.
_________________
Like a great predatory piano, I sit silent in the darkness. Until it is time to attack and then I strike in a cacophony of violence and ivory keys. |
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Darklord70
Game Owner
 Mass Effect PC
Joined: 22 Dec 2008 |
Posted: Thursday, 12 February 2009 05:10PM |
I don't understand, why you can't reproduce the GPF-error by yourselves. I'm quite sure that it applies to almost 100 % people with a common and mid- or highend hardware setup. The configurations are listed many times and they look often very similar.
E.g. I have a Intel DuoCPU E 8500, Asus P5Q-Pro MB, 4 GB RAM, NVidia GTX 260. Why not try it on a similar PC ? 
The error happened not often to me. Somehow worser are the black screen freezes with no sign of a BSOD. I think BSOD's are not a problem here and the "automatic reboot" settings doesn't help much because the PC freezes, not reboots. 
The error seems to be the result of a code/driver conflict because, in many cases, it didn't occur whilst using old drivers before the 178.xxx-series. 
However I want to contribute in the patching process as much as I can and I sent you my DXDiag for further analysis. Hope it helps you guys.  |
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danjw_net
Game Owner
 SW: KotOR PC
Mass Effect PC
Joined: 02 Jan 2009 |
Posted: Thursday, 12 February 2009 05:29PM |
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I'm sure they can reproduce it atleast to some degree but reproducing and fixing are two different things. The more info the better. |
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Kami3k
Game Owner
 Mass Effect PC
Joined: 04 Jun 2008 |
Posted: Thursday, 12 February 2009 07:09PM |
You say to try to fix the GPF issue, well I have no clue what problem I have.
Using any driver made in the past year from Nvidia, well maybe not the latest ones, locks up my computer completely. Not only that but causes the sound to emit a high pitch noise that I think was the cause of my last headphones dying.
I'll still send the logs and DXdiag files at the email address. But still, my entire computer locks up. |
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Chevrefoil
Game Owner
 Mass Effect PC
Joined: 02 Feb 2009 |
Posted: Friday, 13 February 2009 12:45AM |
I'm not running into GPF issues, but the black screen freeze issue (so I don't have a BSOD error message).
The freezing occurs right at the initial banner screens (or, if I rename them so they aren't run - right at the first cutscene after character creation). This seems to be tied to the .bik video files. If I rename the video folder, the game runs fine until it requires a video (which is right after character creation, at which point the game crashes when it can't find the files it needs). I can play these videos using Bink Video.
I've tried up & downgrading my graphics drivers and most of the esoteric fixes posted in these and the steam forums short of a clean OS install (sorry - I'll burn the $20 first - not worth the hassle).
I'm running:
Core 2 Duo E8500
Asus P5E3 Deluxe Motherboard
Radeon 4870
2GB (1GB sticks) Corsair XMS3 DDR3 1600 RAM
On board sound run through Bose usb speakers
The system is overclocked (a requirement for it to post - otherwise the RAM does not play well with the mobo).
I've emailed my dxdiag.
Forgive my spelling - that would be the beer talking  |
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t4ct1c47
Game Owner
Mass Effect PC
Joined: 29 Jul 2008 |
Posted: Friday, 13 February 2009 01:14AM |
I can't even get the game to run anymore since upgradeing to my i7 system.
I install the game, and try to run it for the first time as Administrator. The game configuration prompt then crashes.
I install the patch with included BDtS and once again try to run the game as administrator. The Mass Effect splash screen comes up and then the screen flashes to a black one with the litle Vista spinning circle in the middle. However, it simply hangs here and fails to progress. Task Manager states that "Mass Effect has stopped responding" although the process for Mass Effect is still reporting 50% CPU usage.
My current specs;
Core i7 920 @ 4.0Ghz
Dominator3 6GB @ 1600Mhz
Rampage II Formula (X58)
GeForce GTX260 (192 shaders) 896MB SLi
Xonar D2X
Video driver; Forceware 181.22
Audio driver; 6.12.8.1747Edited By t4ct1c47 on 02/13/09 01:15 |
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jeanlucw
Game Owner
 Mass Effect PC
Joined: 22 May 2008 |
Posted: Friday, 13 February 2009 01:34PM |
I got the black loading screen, GPF message, and BSOD, ever since upgrading to the latest NVIDIA drivers with PhysX.
Just sent the requested files (DxDiag, Mass Effect log, BSOD screenshot) to the email address. Good luck guys!
System specs
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Mass Effect with the 1.01 patch (BDTS content not installed)
Windows XP Service Pack 2
NVIDIA GeForce 8600 GTS
Latest NVIDIA drivers with PhysX support
Pentium D 2.x GHzEdited By jeanlucw on 02/13/09 13:43 |
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t4ct1c47
Game Owner
Mass Effect PC
Joined: 29 Jul 2008 |
Posted: Saturday, 14 February 2009 07:08AM |
I emailed a DX diag and explanation of the issue.
I've confirmed the issue as being my audio drivers for the Xonar D2X. When I uninstall the card, or disable it in Device Manager, the game loads perfectly. Although this obviously means I'm forced to play without sound. |
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Techgee
Game Owner
Mass Effect PC
Joined: 16 Dec 2008 |
Posted: Saturday, 14 February 2009 07:06PM |
If you have "unreal-...dmp" crash dump files, for example:
unreal-v3240-2009.01.31-21.46.29.dmp
in:
C:\Program Files\Mass Effect\Binaries
it would be a good idea to forward them to BioWare as well.Edited By Techgee on 02/14/09 19:09 |
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Lord Kupty
Game Owner
 NWN
NWN: SoU
NWN: HotU
Mass Effect PC
Joined: 07 Jan 2006 |
Posted: Saturday, 14 February 2009 11:45PM |
Quote: Posted 02/14/09 19:06 (GMT) by Techgee If you have "unreal-...dmp" crash dump files, for example:
unreal-v3240-2009.01.31-21.46.29.dmp
in:
C:\Program Files\Mass Effect\Binaries
it would be a good idea to forward them to BioWare as well.
What are those files for?
I mean.. Why they're there? |
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Techgee
Game Owner
Mass Effect PC
Joined: 16 Dec 2008 |
Posted: Sunday, 15 February 2009 12:10AM |
In some cases when ME crashes it produces a "crash dump" file like the one above. The purpose of this file is to provide diagnostic information for programmers to help identify the problem that caused the crash. Think of it like an airplane's "black box" for the game's crash. This is exactly what BioWare is looking for - help identifying the problem.
You may or may not have these dump files - depends on how/why ME is crashing on your PC. If you got 'em, I'd forward them to BioWare along with the other files they've requested.Edited By Techgee on 02/15/09 00:14 |
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