Guide: Solving Vista Error 13/14/driver stopped..

Tease · 12-05-2008 03:10 AM

Thanks for this info goes to Zloth (and various other forumites), which is where I picked it up from.

I'm compiling this mostly for my own benefit so I have something I can link to every time this issue comes up (at least twice a week, LOL).

[u]Vista Error 13/Vista Error 14/ "graphics driver has stopped responding"[u]

All three of these are different ways of indicating the same error. There is some minor variance between them, often indicating whether its vista 32 bit or vista 64 bit.

Unlike many bugs we see, that happen on old machines with old hardware, this bug series shows up on newer hardware with the most recent drivers. We're beginning to reach the point of CoX being an "old" game, and as such the newest drivers are not always the right answer.

The remedy may require one or both parts of the available solution, but is generally very fixable and not immensely difficult. Please dont let the length of the steps scare you, as I've tried to be as detailed and clear as possible on what is a fairly simple process.

[1] [u]Start by applying the Vista Hotfix appropriate for your operating system[u]. Be sure to select the most recently dated version. (Click View and Request Hotfix Download, at the top of the first page to see versions available. )

<ul type="square">For [u]Vista 64 bit[u] users: (be sure to click show additional information!)
Windows Vista All (Global) x86 sp2 Fix245313 Vista 6000 2529929 10/22/2008 12:25:04 AM

For [u]Vista 32 bit[u] users: (be sure to click show additional information!)
Windows Vista All (Global) x64 sp2 Fix245313 Vista 6000 3177788 10/22/2008 12:26:21 AM

Microsoft will send you an email with the link you need to access the download and the password you need to be able to unpack the download to install it. You'll need to reboot afterwards.

"That fix seems to help with folks who get crashes in the 'hours' timeframes, especially 64-bit users. It doesn't seem to help with the folks who get an error number (13?) from OpenGL when they go down." -Zloth[/list]
[2] Assuming that #1 did not entirely fix your problem, its time to [u]do a driver roll back[u]. This requires rolling back to a driver that had a OpenGL implementation that was using the same calls as the game uses. (The game is now referencing calls that are said to be obsolete and have been removed from the newer driver.) Below I'll list the driver *I* SUGGEST you download. Others have found stability on slightly different versions of the driver, but all are generally at least as old as the one I list. If the driver I list does not get you stable, select an older (lower numbered) driver and try again. (My husband prefers the 163.xx series for his PC.) For stability, I like to stay with WHQL certified drivers, but not everyone agrees.

*For 6xxx,7xxx,8xxx Series cards, such as 8800GT*
For [u]Vista 64 bit[u] users: (be sure to click show additional information!)
<ul type="square">Nvidia Forceware Vista 64 English WHQL 169.25[/list]For [u]Vista 32 bit[u] users: (be sure to click show additional information!)
<ul type="square">Nvidia Forceware Vista 32 English WHQL 169.25[/list]*For 9xxx Series cards*

[Space held for further additions]

*For Laptops*
[u]Vista Laptop[u] Users:
<ul type="square"> Because laptop video cards are often different, if the above drivers do not work for you, I highly recommend you check out LaptopVideo2Go's website for a driver more matched to your hardware.[/list]Generally you want the newest available driver that gets you stable. Rolling back TOO far, older than the 163.xx's, may introduce other bugs.

Also, go pick up a handy copy of Guru3D's Driver Sweeper (free).

Now, to properly - fully - uninstall the old drivers and reinstall the new drivers.
<ul type="square">1. Navigate to the the Programs window: (Start -> Computer -> Control Panel -> Programs and Features)
2. Find the "Nvidia Drivers" listed in the list.
3. Click "Uninstall/Change" near the top of the list. Uninstall your video drivers only, if the option comes up. (The other board drivers are not to blame.) Let it do its thing.
4. Reboot when prompted. As it is rebooting, begin step #5.
5. While the PC is rebooting, before it brings up the first windows splash screen, begin tapping continually on the F8 key. (If it boots into regular windows, simply try again.) This should bring up the "Windows Advanced Options Menu", a black and white "dos" style menu. Use your arrow keys to move to "Safe Mode" and press your Enter key.Once the PC is booted successfully into safe mode...
6. Navigate on your hard drive to where you saved the Driver Sweeper utility to. Run Driver Sweeper and select the Nvidia Display drivers. Clean "sweep" them. Once that is complete...
7. Reboot, again, this time not hitting F8, going back into "regular" Windows Vista.
8. Navigate on your hard drive to where you saved the new drivers to and install them, following any prompts they include.
9. Reboot when prompted.[/list]
These 2 parts of the fix. When used together, should correct this issue. However if it does not, we need to hear from you. Please post a new post, explaining your issue, that you've worked through both steps in this guide fully, and the output from two programs: COH Helper and HijackThis which will assist us in troubleshooting the issue.

Good luck everyone & see you in game!
Tease

Vicious Circle · 12-12-2008 08:26 PM

Any ideas yet on the drivers that might fix this for the 9xxx series?

"You'll never defeat SetTargetHealth 0. "-Castle
---
"Oh, and we�ll probably nerf Regen again�just for fun."-BaB
---
"so we are looking into the possiblity of maybe someday thinking about maybe implementing something similar to this, in the future" -Positron

Tease · 12-12-2008 08:31 PM

Theres a 174.xx whql driver i found on guru3d's site. The person I asked to used an early 179 which improved their situation w/o curing it.

I've also heard that 9x's need to disable aero and the side bar - but I've heard that debated.

McDunkin · 12-16-2008 06:37 PM

[ QUOTE ]
For Vista 64 bit users: (be sure to click show additional information!)
Windows Vista All (Global) x86 sp2 Fix245313 Vista 6000 2529929 10/22/2008 12:25:04 AM

For Vista 32 bit users: (be sure to click show additional information!)
Windows Vista All (Global) x64 sp2 Fix245313 Vista 6000 3177788 10/22/2008 12:26:21 AM

[/ QUOTE ]

The two bolded parts need switched.

Silver_Dragon · 12-23-2008 10:21 PM

From COH Helper

---System information gathered by CoH Helper version 0.1.1.5---

DxDiag gathered at December 23, 2008 23:17 (-06:00)
Operating System: Windows Vista Business (6.0, Build 6001) Service Pack 1 (6001.vistasp1_gdr.080917-1612)
System Manufacturer: System manufacturer
System Model: System Product Name
BIOS: BIOS Date: 04/18/08 Ver: 08.00.14
Central Processor: AMD Phenom(tm) 9850 Quad-Core Processor (4 CPUs), ~2.5GHz
Memory: 5118MB
.Net Memory Report: 3159MB out of 5118MB available
Page File: 8347MB (2109MB currently in use)
C Drive: (Maxtor 7Y250M0 ATA Device) 156926MB out of 239369MB (65%) free
D Drive: (Maxtor 7Y250M0 ATA Device) 39415MB out of 239366MB (16%) free
E Drive: (SAMSUNG HD103UJ ATA Device) 198345MB out of 953867MB (20%) free
F Drive: (TSSTcorp CDDVDW SH-S223F ATA Device) zero-size drive
Windows directory location: C:\Windows
DirectX: DirectX 10
DirectX Diag version: 6.00.6001.18000 (64-bit version)

Display Notes: No problems found.
Sound Notes: No problems found.

No problems found.
Input Notes: No problems found.

Monitor: Generic PnP Monitor
Monitor's Max Resolution: (blank)
Video Device Name: NVIDIA GeForce 9800 GT
Manufacturer / Chip: NVIDIA / GeForce 9800 GT
Video Memory: 2544 MB
Driver Version: 7.15.0011.8048
Driver Date: 11/12/2008 2:54:00 PM
Driver Language: English

Sound Device Description: Speakers (Realtek High Definition Audio)
Driver File: RTKVHD64.sys
Driver Version: 6.00.0001.5464
Driver Date: 8/9/2007 11:47:46 PM

Sound Device Description: Realtek Digital Output (Realtek High Definition Audio)
Driver File: RTKVHD64.sys
Driver Version: 6.00.0001.5464
Driver Date: 8/9/2007 11:47:46 PM

WMI Information
Motherboard Manufacturer: ASUSTeK Computer INC.
Motherboard Model: (empty)
Motherboard Product: M3A
Motherboard Version: Rev 1.xx
BIOS Manufacturer: American Megatrends Inc.
BIOS Name: BIOS Date: 04/18/08 Ver: 08.00.14
BIOS Version: 041808 - 20080418
BIOS Release: 20080418000000.000000+000

Registry Information for Current User
Resolution: 1280x1024
3D Resolution: 1280x1024 (Not using renderscale)
Full Screen: Yes
Maximized: No
Screen Position: 0, 0
Refresh Rate: 60Hz
Vertical Sync Enabled: Yes

Physics Quality: Medium
Maximum Particles: 50000
Max Particle Fill? 10.000
Physics Card Enabled: No

Anti-aliasing: 4x
Anisotropic Filtering: 16x
Texture LOD Bias: Smooth
Water Effects: High Quality
Bloom: 1.000 (turned off)
Depth of Field Enabled: No
Desaturation Effects (Sepia) Enabled: Yes
Shader Detail: High

World Texture Level: Very High
Character Texture Level: Very High
World Detail Level (Vis_Scale): 2.000
Entity Detail Level: 2.000
Shadows Enabled: Yes
Gamma Correction: 1.000
Geometry Buffers (VBOs) Enabled: Yes
Suppression of Extra Player FX Enabled: No
Suppression of FX When Camera Close Enabled: No
Close Suppression Range: 3.000
Show Advertisements: Yes

Audio Mode: Performance
3D Audio: No
FX Sound Volume: 0.512
Music Sound Volume: 0.343

Show Advanced Graphics Options: Yes
Overall Graphics Quality: 0.600
Reverse Mouse Buttons: No
Save Login Username: Yes
Transfer Rate: 190077 bytes/second
Current Game Version: 18.20081105.12T5
Installation Directory: C:\Program Files (x86)\City of Heroes

Mod files in the Data directory
No modifications found

From Hijack This
Logfile of Trend Micro HijackThis v2.0.2
Scan saved at 11:20:00 PM, on 12/23/2008
Platform: Windows Vista SP1 (WinNT 6.00.1905)
MSIE: Internet Explorer v7.00 (7.00.6001.18000)
Boot mode: Normal

Running processes:
C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\Ink\TabTip32.exe
C:\Hanvon_soft\hwshell.exe
C:\Program Files\Alwil Software\Avast4\ashDisp.exe
C:\Program Files (x86)\Kodak\Kodak EasyShare software\bin\EasyShare.exe
C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\Pure Networks Shared\Platform\nmctxth.exe
C:\Program Files (x86)\Pure Networks\Network Magic\nmapp.exe
C:\Program Files (x86)\OpenOffice.org 3\program\soffice.exe
C:\Program Files (x86)\OpenOffice.org 3\program\soffice.bin
C:\Program Files (x86)\iTunes\iTunesHelper.exe
C:\Windows\SysWOW64\HWKeyPlus.exe
C:\Windows\SysWOW64\HWTabTray.exe
C:\Program Files (x86)\Java\jre6\bin\jusched.exe
C:\Program Files (x86)\PowerISO\PWRISOVM.EXE
C:\Program Files (x86)\uTorrent\uTorrent.exe
C:\Program Files (x86)\Trillian\trillian.exe
C:\Program Files (x86)\SlySoft\AnyDVD\AnyDVDtray.exe
C:\Program Files (x86)\Mozilla Firefox\firefox.exe
C:\Program Files (x86)\Trend Micro\HijackThis\HijackThis.exe

R1 - HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Search Page = http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=54896
R0 - HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Start Page = http://www.daemon-search.com/startpage
R1 - HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Default_Page_URL = http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=69157
R1 - HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Default_Search_URL = http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=54896
R1 - HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Search Page = http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=54896
R0 - HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Start Page = http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=69157
R0 - HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Search,SearchAssistant =
R0 - HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Search,CustomizeSearch =
R0 - HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Toolbar,LinksFolderName =
R3 - URLSearchHook: Yahoo! Toolbar - {EF99BD32-C1FB-11D2-892F-0090271D4F88} - C:\PROGRA~2\Yahoo!\Companion\Installs\cpn\yt.dll
F2 - REG:system.ini: UserInit=userinit.exe
O1 - Hosts: ::1 localhost
O2 - BHO: &Yahoo! Toolbar Helper - {02478D38-C3F9-4efb-9B51-7695ECA05670} - C:\PROGRA~2\Yahoo!\Companion\Installs\cpn\yt.dll
O2 - BHO: Java(tm) Plug-In SSV Helper - {761497BB-D6F0-462C-B6EB-D4DAF1D92D43} - C:\Program Files (x86)\Java\jre6\bin\ssv.dll
O2 - BHO: C:\Windows\SysWow64\jsne87fidgf.dll - {C5BF49A2-94F3-42BD-F434-3604812C897D} - C:\Windows\SysWow64\jsne87fidgf.dll (file missing)
O2 - BHO: Java(tm) Plug-In 2 SSV Helper - {DBC80044-A445-435b-BC74-9C25C1C588A9} - C:\Program Files (x86)\Java\jre6\bin\jp2ssv.dll
O3 - Toolbar: Yahoo! Toolbar - {EF99BD32-C1FB-11D2-892F-0090271D4F88} - C:\PROGRA~2\Yahoo!\Companion\Installs\cpn\yt.dll
O3 - Toolbar: DAEMON Tools Toolbar - {32099AAC-C132-4136-9E9A-4E364A424E17} - C:\Program Files (x86)\DAEMON Tools Toolbar\DTToolbar.dll
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [avast!] C:\PROGRA~1\ALWILS~1\Avast4\ashDisp.exe
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [nmctxth] "C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\Pure Networks Shared\Platform\nmctxth.exe"
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [nmapp] "C:\Program Files (x86)\Pure Networks\Network Magic\nmapp.exe" -autorun -nosplash
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [Adobe Reader Speed Launcher] "C:\Program Files (x86)\Adobe\Reader 9.0\Reader\Reader_sl.exe"
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [AppleSyncNotifier] C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\Apple\Mobile Device Support\bin\AppleSyncNotifier.exe
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [System Restore] C:\Windows\TEMP\EXPLORER.EXE
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [Language_Shortcut] C:\Windows\TEMP\IEXPLORE.EXE
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [QuickTime Task] "C:\Program Files (x86)\QuickTime\QTTask.exe" -atboottime
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [iTunesHelper] "C:\Program Files (x86)\iTunes\iTunesHelper.exe"
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [HWTablet KeyPlus] C:\Windows\SysWOW64\HWKeyPlus.exe
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [HWTablet Service] C:\Windows\SysWOW64\HWTabTray.exe
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [SunJavaUpdateSched] "C:\Program Files (x86)\Java\jre6\bin\jusched.exe"
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [PWRISOVM.EXE] "C:\Program Files (x86)\PowerISO\PWRISOVM.EXE"
O4 - HKCU\..\Run: [AnyDVD] C:\Program Files (x86)\SlySoft\AnyDVD\AnyDVDtray.exe
O4 - HKCU\..\Run: [SService] C:\Windows\Temp\EXPLORER.EXE
O4 - HKCU\..\Run: [DAEMON Tools Lite] "C:\Program Files (x86)\DAEMON Tools Lite\daemon.exe" -autorun
O4 - HKUS\S-1-5-19\..\Run: [Sidebar] %ProgramFiles%\Windows Sidebar\Sidebar.exe /detectMem (User 'LOCAL SERVICE')
O4 - HKUS\S-1-5-19\..\Run: [WindowsWelcomeCenter] rundll32.exe oobefldr.dll,ShowWelcomeCenter (User 'LOCAL SERVICE')
O4 - HKUS\S-1-5-20\..\Run: [Sidebar] %ProgramFiles%\Windows Sidebar\Sidebar.exe /detectMem (User 'NETWORK SERVICE')
O4 - Startup: OpenOffice.org 3.0.lnk = C:\Program Files (x86)\OpenOffice.org 3\program\quickstart.exe
O4 - Global Startup: Hanvon Shell.lnk = ?
O4 - Global Startup: Kodak EasyShare software.lnk = C:\Program Files (x86)\Kodak\Kodak EasyShare software\bin\EasyShare.exe
O7 - HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Pol icies\System, DisableRegedit=1
O13 - Gopher Prefix:
O16 - DPF: {D27CDB6E-AE6D-11CF-96B8-444553540000} (Shockwave Flash Object) - http://fpdownload2.macromedia.com/ge...sh/swflash.cab
O22 - SharedTaskScheduler: lke3iemrl490kgfgdsfd - {C5AF42A3-94F3-42BD-F434-3604832C897D} - C:\Windows\SysWow64\siejf93.dll (file missing)
O22 - SharedTaskScheduler: mcb7uehuj3n8weuhejsw - {C5BF49A2-94F3-42BD-F434-3604812C897D} - C:\Windows\SysWow64\jsne87fidgf.dll (file missing)
O23 - Service: @%SystemRoot%\system32\Alg.exe,-112 (ALG) - Unknown owner - C:\Windows\System32\alg.exe (file missing)
O23 - Service: Apple Mobile Device - Apple Inc. - C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\Apple\Mobile Device Support\bin\AppleMobileDeviceService.exe
O23 - Service: ASP.NET State Service (aspnet_state) - Unknown owner - C:\Windows\Microsoft.NET\Framework\v2.0.50727\aspn et_state.exe (file missing)
O23 - Service: avast! iAVS4 Control Service (aswUpdSv) - ALWIL Software - C:\Program Files\Alwil Software\Avast4\aswUpdSv.exe
O23 - Service: avast! Antivirus - ALWIL Software - C:\Program Files\Alwil Software\Avast4\ashServ.exe
O23 - Service: avast! Mail Scanner - ALWIL Software - C:\Program Files\Alwil Software\Avast4\ashMaiSv.exe
O23 - Service: avast! Web Scanner - ALWIL Software - C:\Program Files\Alwil Software\Avast4\ashWebSv.exe
O23 - Service: Bonjour Service - Apple Inc. - C:\Program Files (x86)\Bonjour\mDNSResponder.exe
O23 - Service: @dfsrres.dll,-101 (DFSR) - Unknown owner - C:\Windows\system32\DFSR.exe (file missing)
O23 - Service: @%systemroot%\system32\fxsresm.dll,-118 (Fax) - Unknown owner - C:\Windows\system32\fxssvc.exe (file missing)
O23 - Service: FLEXnet Licensing Service - Macrovision Europe Ltd. - C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\Macrovision Shared\FLEXnet Publisher\FNPLicensingService.exe
O23 - Service: getPlus(R) Helper - NOS Microsystems Ltd. - C:\Program Files (x86)\NOS\bin\getPlus_HelperSvc.exe
O23 - Service: HWSuperPowerTablet - Unknown owner - C:\Windows\jwpen.exe
O23 - Service: InstallDriver Table Manager (IDriverT) - Macrovision Corporation - C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\InstallShield\Driver\1050\Intel 32\IDriverT.exe
O23 - Service: iPod Service - Apple Inc. - C:\Program Files (x86)\iPod\bin\iPodService.exe
O23 - Service: @keyiso.dll,-100 (KeyIso) - Unknown owner - C:\Windows\system32\lsass.exe (file missing)
O23 - Service: @comres.dll,-2797 (MSDTC) - Unknown owner - C:\Windows\System32\msdtc.exe (file missing)
O23 - Service: @%SystemRoot%\System32\netlogon.dll,-102 (Netlogon) - Unknown owner - C:\Windows\system32\lsass.exe (file missing)
O23 - Service: Pure Networks Net2Go Service (nmraapache) - Pure Networks, Inc. - C:\Program Files (x86)\Pure Networks\Network Magic\WebServer\bin\nmraapache.exe
O23 - Service: Pure Networks Platform Service (nmservice) - Pure Networks, Inc. - C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\Pure Networks Shared\Platform\nmsrvc.exe
O23 - Service: NVIDIA Display Driver Service (nvsvc) - Unknown owner - C:\Windows\system32\nvvsvc.exe (file missing)
O23 - Service: @%systemroot%\system32\psbase.dll,-300 (ProtectedStorage) - Unknown owner - C:\Windows\system32\lsass.exe (file missing)
O23 - Service: @%systemroot%\system32\Locator.exe,-2 (RpcLocator) - Unknown owner - C:\Windows\system32\locator.exe (file missing)
O23 - Service: @%SystemRoot%\system32\samsrv.dll,-1 (SamSs) - Unknown owner - C:\Windows\system32\lsass.exe (file missing)
O23 - Service: @%SystemRoot%\system32\SLsvc.exe,-101 (slsvc) - Unknown owner - C:\Windows\system32\SLsvc.exe (file missing)
O23 - Service: @%SystemRoot%\system32\snmptrap.exe,-3 (SNMPTRAP) - Unknown owner - C:\Windows\System32\snmptrap.exe (file missing)
O23 - Service: @%systemroot%\system32\spoolsv.exe,-1 (Spooler) - Unknown owner - C:\Windows\System32\spoolsv.exe (file missing)
O23 - Service: @%SystemRoot%\system32\ui0detect.exe,-101 (UI0Detect) - Unknown owner - C:\Windows\system32\UI0Detect.exe (file missing)
O23 - Service: @%SystemRoot%\system32\vds.exe,-100 (vds) - Unknown owner - C:\Windows\System32\vds.exe (file missing)
O23 - Service: @%systemroot%\system32\vssvc.exe,-102 (VSS) - Unknown owner - C:\Windows\system32\vssvc.exe (file missing)
O23 - Service: @%systemroot%\system32\wbengine.exe,-104 (wbengine) - Unknown owner - C:\Windows\system32\wbengine.exe (file missing)
O23 - Service: @%Systemroot%\system32\wbem\wmiapsrv.exe,-110 (wmiApSrv) - Unknown owner - C:\Windows\system32\wbem\WmiApSrv.exe (file missing)
O23 - Service: @%ProgramFiles%\Windows Media Player\wmpnetwk.exe,-101 (WMPNetworkSvc) - Unknown owner - C:\Program Files (x86)\Windows Media Player\wmpnetwk.exe (file missing)

--
End of file - 9846 bytes

Tease · 12-23-2008 11:36 PM

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
For Vista 64 bit users: (be sure to click show additional information!)
Windows Vista All (Global) x86 sp2 Fix245313 Vista 6000 2529929 10/22/2008 12:25:04 AM

For Vista 32 bit users: (be sure to click show additional information!)
Windows Vista All (Global) x64 sp2 Fix245313 Vista 6000 3177788 10/22/2008 12:26:21 AM

[/ QUOTE ]

The two bolded parts need switched.

[/ QUOTE ]

Thanks for this info, but it wont let me edit the guide at this point. Hopefully in the next day or two I can repost it with a bit more information.

Tease · 12-24-2008 07:03 AM

So much for a couple days, I decided you guys needed an update for the holidays!

Unless you require it for a game other than COX, I highly suggest you utilize the Pre-PhysX drivers I've provided. Once PhysX was enabled, the problems began snowballing. However, I've included them because for some of you, lack of at least the option to try them to reduce your crashing, could be a deal-breaker. In most cases, the PhysX enabled driver I've listed will drastically reduce crashing, but will not eliminate it.

*For 6xxx,7xxx,8xxx Series cards, such as 8800GT*
For Vista 64 bit users:

Nvidia Forceware Vista 64 English WHQL 169.25 Pre-PhysX

For Vista 32 bit users:

Nvidia Forceware Vista 32 English WHQL 169.25 Pre-PhysX

*For 9xxx Series Cards*

Note: Listing Three Drivers. Try the higher numbered one first. Work Backwards. Use caution if you decide to try the 177.39 WHQL, as it retroactively includes PhysX support. (I did not provide a link.)

For Vista 64 bit users:

Nvidia Forceware Vista 64 English 177.79 Pre-PhysX
Nvidia Forceware Vista 64 English WHQL 175.16 Pre-PhysX
Nvidia Forceware Vista 64 English WHQL 174.74 Pre-PhysX

For Vista 32 bit users:

Nvidia Forceware Vista 32 English 177.79 Pre-PhysX
Nvidia Forceware Vista 32 English WHQL 175.16 Pre-PhysX
Nvidia Forceware Vista 32 English WHQL 174.74 Pre-PhysX

*For 2xx Series Cards*

Note: Listing Two Drivers. Try the higher numbered one first. Work Backwards.

For Vista 64 bit users:

Nvidia Forceware Vista 64 English WHQL 177.41 PhysX Enabled
Nvidia Forceware Vista 64 English 177.35 Pre-PhysX

For Vista 32 bit users:

Nvidia Forceware Vista 32 English WHQL 177.41 PhysX Enabled
Nvidia Forceware Vista 32 English 177.35 Pre-PhysX

Zloth · 12-24-2008 08:19 AM

[ QUOTE ]
In most cases, the PhysX enabled driver I've listed will drastically reduce crashing, but will not eliminate it.

[/ QUOTE ]
That's pretty odd.

I should note that the hotfixes listed above are included in Vista SP2, which is currently beta testing. I'm hoping it will be out by the end of January so at least that problem will get stomped on.

I don't agree with the older-games-need-older-drivers statement. This game is still being developed. Tech support routinely asks people to get the latest or near-latest drivers.

Tease · 12-24-2008 09:39 AM

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
In most cases, the PhysX enabled driver I've listed will drastically reduce crashing, but will not eliminate it.

[/ QUOTE ]
That's pretty odd.

I should note that the hotfixes listed above are included in Vista SP2, which is currently beta testing. I'm hoping it will be out by the end of January so at least that problem will get stomped on.

I don't agree with the older-games-need-older-drivers statement. This game is still being developed. Tech support routinely asks people to get the latest or near-latest drivers.

[/ QUOTE ]

It may be odd. Heck it may be incorrect, however its what I and some others are observing. Best I can do is put it up here as I understand it.

Yeah, I'm currently running sp2's beta and testing to see if I can move off my 169.25 driver (doubtful) although I'd already had the most recent version of the hotfix installed. Sp2 releasing will squash the need to install the hotfix, but I'm not sure it will squash the crashing for the countless folks that are having to do driver rollbacks.

Yeah, tech support does ask folks to go to the most recent driver. Then in my case they threw their hands in the air and left me hanging. It was only through forum support that I found out a driver rollback was in order. I go anything newer than the 169's, I crash.. and thats with the hotfix. Pretty cut and dry like that. Not much they seem able to do for me.

So, let me appoligize to anyone that finds incorrect info here. Best I can say is.. I tried. Good luck.

LordSparky · 12-24-2008 10:54 AM

OK here is my update.....in this thread as opposed to the other ones..

I was using an 8800GTX and had the crashing issue using anything after 169.25. Tried lots of things with the other drivers but it just did not work. The 8800GTX recently died & I now have a 9800GTX+ with the same issue only I dont think it works with the 169.25 drivers.

I was using the 180.43's and had a few crashes, always at kind of key moments so I dumped them and had a long hard read of this thread. What I did find on Guru3D was 181.0 drivers - for developers so I could not find them on the Nvidia site.

Sadly, its still crashed using these drivers BUT it was at least a bit idfferent. This time it went to a white screen where I could then pull up task manager to stop the game without having to reboot the PC. Previously I always had to reboot.

So 1 crash in 5 hours of gameplay without the need to reboot is maybe a step in the right direction. Will continue to monitor and if keeps crashing I may switch to the earlier drivers.

Eislor · 12-24-2008 11:21 AM

A couple of times lately I have had CoH go "Not Responding" and go to a black screen, change to a white screen, then the game continues! This has happened 3 times since i13 came out. I want to point out, the message "Drivers not Responding" did not occur, when the screen went black I opened the Task Manager and it said CoH was not responding, I saw the screen go white and I waited for the "Drivers not Responding" message. I never got that message, and my video came back. SURPRISE!

Has anyone else seen CoH start working again after stopping?

BTW, some people have reported that underclocking their video card by a small amount stopped the "Drivers not Responding" crashes. [these crashes are caused by timing issues, change the timing and the crashes can disappear]

"I used to make diddly squat, but I've been with the company for 16 years and have had plenty of great raises. Now I just make squat" -- Me

Pediatric brain tumors are the #1 cause of cancer related deaths in children.

Sampoerna · 12-24-2008 12:53 PM

I don't know if this is the same thing, but I will read as much as I can when I get home. My issues have been with the screen freezing, turning grey and then a popup comes up saying that my graphics card has stopped responding but has recovered. The game does not continue. I have to shut it down and restart. There is no problem restarting the game and I can get back on in 30 seconds to a minute as long as it does not involve some sound string that gets caught and continues droning on and on. At that time, then yes, I have to shut off the computer and reboot it. But it almost always happends at the worst possible time. I can't remember the exact message right now. But I'll be sure to write it down and update.

McDunkin · 12-24-2008 01:32 PM

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Tech support routinely asks people to get the latest or near-latest drivers.

[/ QUOTE ]

Yeah, tech support does ask folks to go to the most recent driver. Then in my case they threw their hands in the air and left me hanging.

[/ QUOTE ]

They tried to do the same thing to me, when I petitioned about an error with my SG's base. I told them the error was happening to everyone in the SG (freezing when we tried to enter our base), and that it had been working earlier that night, so it was extremely unlikely to be my drivers, and I would not update them for performance reasons. They of course refused to help me any further. Thankfully, the next day was maintenance, so we were able to get back into the base then.

They really need to have better troubleshooting procedures. Sure updated drivers are important (for the most part), but they do not fix everything (not even close). They really should look at the symptoms as a whole (base crashing, multiple people affected, single SG/VG, in my case) and troubleshoot from there, instead of having a one-list-fits-all approach.

Ex_Libris · 12-24-2008 02:01 PM

[ QUOTE ]
So much for a couple days, I decided you guys needed an update for the holidays!

Unless you require it for a game other than COX, I highly suggest you utilize the Pre-PhysX drivers I've provided. Once PhysX was enabled, the problems began snowballing. However, I've included them because for some of you, lack of at least the option to try them to reduce your crashing, could be a deal-breaker. In most cases, the PhysX enabled driver I've listed will drastically reduce crashing, but will not eliminate it.

*For 6xxx,7xxx,8xxx Series cards, such as 8800GT*
For Vista 64 bit users:

Nvidia Forceware Vista 64 English WHQL 169.25 Pre-PhysX

For Vista 32 bit users:

Nvidia Forceware Vista 32 English WHQL 169.25 Pre-PhysX

*For 9xxx Series Cards*

Note: Listing Three Drivers. Try the higher numbered one first. Work Backwards. Use caution if you decide to try the 177.39 WHQL, as it retroactively includes PhysX support. (I did not provide a link.)

For Vista 64 bit users:

Nvidia Forceware Vista 64 English 177.79 Pre-PhysX
Nvidia Forceware Vista 64 English WHQL 175.16 Pre-PhysX
Nvidia Forceware Vista 64 English WHQL 174.74 Pre-PhysX

For Vista 32 bit users:

Nvidia Forceware Vista 32 English 177.79 Pre-PhysX
Nvidia Forceware Vista 32 English WHQL 175.16 Pre-PhysX
Nvidia Forceware Vista 32 English WHQL 174.74 Pre-PhysX

*For 2xx Series Cards*

Note: Listing Two Drivers. Try the higher numbered one first. Work Backwards.

For Vista 64 bit users:

Nvidia Forceware Vista 64 English WHQL 177.41 PhysX Enabled
Nvidia Forceware Vista 64 English 177.35 Pre-PhysX

For Vista 32 bit users:

Nvidia Forceware Vista 32 English WHQL 177.41 PhysX Enabled
Nvidia Forceware Vista 32 English 177.35 Pre-PhysX

[/ QUOTE ]

Thank you Tease for pulling up this information for the community. Our compatibility lab is aware of the issues and is testing out various cards. We will contact nVidia with our findings but we don't expect resolution until after the New Year.

Thank you for helping your fellow players trouble shoot this issue.

Regards,

Ex

Tease · 12-24-2008 10:58 PM

In an interesting addition to this thread...

On the original hotfix version (there are now two), I was STILL unable to get past the 169.25 driver (8800GT). I recently updated to the second version of the hotfix, and then a few weeks later to sp2 beta. I didnt retest before beta. Now that I'm on sp2 beta, with that included version, and (after solving the purple screen of death conflict between the driver and the IE security patch), I decided to try the most recent WHQL driver. 180.48_geforce_winvista_64bit_english_whql Crossing my fingers but my machine has been stable 24hrs and I wanted to share this info.

My guess is that there was a serious difference between first and second version of this hotfix. However there may be more to sp2 than meets the eye. If your on the original version, and still stuck on an old driver, switch up. (Up to you if you want to gamble on sp2 beta, I personally am pleased with it on my machine as long as I keep the IE patch far far away from my nvidia driver.)

I cant confirm that the second version of the hotfix is identical to whats in sp2, but I'm definitely liking the sp2 results! At this point saying "I have the hotfix" may not be enough, the correct answer may be "I have the correct version of the hotfix". Something in the first version of the hotfix obviously wasnt "quite right".

169.25 -> 180.48 = ~15FPS better for me.

I will add an update in a few days noting if I remained stable of if traces of the crashing resumed.

PS: Technically, at this point, I have version 1, version 2 and sp2's version all existing somewhere on this system. What their state of behavior is in this combination, I dont know. I'm merely providing all the state information I can in hopes that Tech Support will look into this further.

MegaEX · 12-26-2008 08:01 AM

hey i had this problem for a while on my setup which is in my sig but the way i solved it was by rasieing ram and MCH voltages a tad ram from 1.9 to 1.950 and MCH from 1.25 to 1.44. problem went compltely away been stable for 3 weeks now . hope this helps someone.

Zloth · 12-26-2008 05:12 PM

Yep. The hotfixes help a lot of folks but there are still plenty of video cards that aren't seated quite right on the motherboard or just plain old lemons out there. No amount of software hotfixing will ever fix those problems.

aurangela · 12-26-2008 11:24 PM

Im running 64bit Vista, the hotfixes are telling me that this fix doesn't apply to my system.

Am I missing something?

Tease · 12-26-2008 11:37 PM

Aurangela, I switched the x86 and x64 parts of my post. I cant edit the original now. Be sure your system is beign properly detected by your browser (firefox mis-reports sadly), and that you ARE getting the x64 bit hotfix.

Shining_Path · 12-27-2008 06:01 AM

I have a 9500GT on a 4-processor Windows Server 2008 system with 6GB ram. I tried various flavors of drivers with the v2 patch installed and CoH invariably crashes after 0-10 minutes of doing essentially nothing in game. I just applied Vista SP2 Beta and the behavior is unchanged. At this point I have 181.00 installed with PhysX disabled. Is it worth going through the older drivers, or should I hold my breath for someone at NCSoft or nVidia to run this in a debugger and actually find and fix the problem?

Tease · 12-27-2008 06:19 AM

Shining you actually havent given me much information on the crash or the rest of your system specs. It is however definitely worth attempting a driver rollback. As Ex noted in another post the 9x series card particularly has been one that the tech support has been dealing with on an older driver.

Folks... please remember if you want me to look at these I need your full reports.

Father Xmas · 12-27-2008 12:08 PM

[ QUOTE ]
Folks... please remember if you want me to look at these I need your full reports.

[/ QUOTE ]
Don't forget Tease, there are others here who help and we also want to see those reports.

Father Xmas - Level 50 Ice/Ice Tanker - Victory
$725 and $1350 parts lists --- My guide to computer components

Tempus unum hominem manet

aurangela · 12-27-2008 12:40 PM

Thanks Tease, switching my browser worked. Now just to see how long I can play for.

I hope this works, I feel like Im in an abusive relationship with my computer. It treats me so bad, but when it's being nice.. its drop dead gorgeous.

EDIT: Three hours and no crash. Not gonna get too optimistic, but thank you for this thread.

Stryph · 12-27-2008 07:05 PM

Hey so what's the status on updating the Vista hotfix. If you check it labels only SP2 for release and I don't think I recall seeing SP2 openly being downloaded; rather still in the beta process.

Tease · 12-27-2008 07:28 PM

No, the sp2 designates that this hotfix is included in the sp2 (beta). Once everyone has sp2 installed, this wont be something we have to send folks to download.