Guide: Vista/Win7/Server08 Crash
By
arabianknight,
Posted on: 2009-07-21 14:13 in ALL ACCESS Gameplay Technical Issues Bugs
I made 2 clickable reg files for Step 3 if you are uncomfortable editing the registry yourself. One to add the values to the registry as described above and the other to remove those values if it doesn't improve your performance or causes more issues.
After downloading, double-click the file and choose yes to add to the registry.
I uploaded them to Mediafire:
ADD to registry
REMOVE from registry
To check the reg files I created, just open them with Notepad and read the values. You will see they are the same as noted above. After adding them to your registry, you can follow the instructions above and verify they were added as explained if you'd like.
I double checked these, and they are clean files that would do the job. Prez, your absolutely awesome! I'd been meaning to do this but hadnt had the time myself and wanted to get the guide up. Thanks for saving all of us so much work!
When you write 20, is that 20 hex or 20 decimal? The default interpretation in RegEdit is hex, so I don't know if you mean 32 decimal or 20 decimal.
Quote:
Yes, 20 hex. I'll try to clear that up when I edit the guide soon. Thanks!
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Originally Posted by Mallard
When you write 20, is that 20 hex or 20 decimal? The default interpretation in RegEdit is hex, so I don't know if you mean 32 decimal or 20 decimal.
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I went with 20h. So far it looks like the fix works. I see some odd slowdowns once in awhile, but no crashing.
I just wanted to thank you for all of the work you have done in helping players fix this. I am happy to say that after several months of frustration, installing SP2 fixed the problem. Thanks again for all of the tips along the way.
Some Established Villains:
Father McKenzie - Fire/Dark, Voltage Adapter - Elec/Nin
Some Established Heroes:
Sous Chef - DB/WP, Frost Advisory - Ice/Kin, Papa Xmas - Ice/FF, Bubbe - Sonic/Kin, Redeker Plan - Arch/Dev, Dr. Duplicitous - Ill/Kin
I just recently finished building a PC, and have had these blue screens ONLY associated with city of heroes for the last week and a half. I'm running windows 7 RC 1 and of course am thinking its either a piece of malfunctioning hardware or driver that needs to be rolled back (however there is no rollback for most windows 7 drivers as retail isn't out yet), but I happen to stumble upon this post today while checking out the new forums and WOW am I relieved. I'll be giving this a shot on Sunday and hope that it fixes the problem. Really appreciate the great guide and diagnosis though!
Well I went ahead and made the appropriate changes to the registry file there, and the good news is that it staved off the blue screen for probably 10 or 15 minutes instead of the usual 30-120 seconds after launch. So it seems to have done some good, but unfortunately hasn't fixed the problem. I'm installing Ubuntu 64-bit on another partition at the moment to do some system diagnostics on the rest of the computer, but since the BSOD still reads "System service exception" I have a feeling it is still related to this video driver issue. I do have a few comments/questions though.
-Since I'm running windows 7 RC and the earliest available driver for the GTS 250 on this operating system is the 190.36, do I have any other options apart from reformating with Vista 64 or hoping NVidia comes out with yet another new driver that just so happens to fix the problem?
-Who would I contact for support with this issue? I'm sure NCSoft can't do anything (Especially anything beyond what this thread has done), and I highly doubt ASUS (Card Manufacturer) or NVidia will be able to do anything either.
-With the original vista 64-bit driver that came on the card's utility CD, (I have a feeling it was the 169 driver listed for vista rollback in step 1) I had a terrible VSync issue/frame refreshing problem where I watched each individual frame as it was refreshed, creating a strobe-light affect. This was resolved with the new driver, however the BSOD problem arose, leaving me with the choice between seizure or irritation-induced brain anurism :P. Is there another driver I may be able to roll-back to, perhaps a microsoft one that could avoid both problems?
-And finally, I really appreciate all of the effort Tease and Prez put into this, you guys did an EXCELLENT job and even if this doesn't get resolved, I really appreciate the initiative.
AK,
Sorry for my slow reply I've been afk the last couple weeks.
Looks like I can't get you back to my preferred 181 driver, however I stumbled across a 185 beta driver that looks interesting.
Here's the deal though. I dont know if your on 32 or 64 bit.
More details here, with a product supported tab:
http://www.nvidia.com/object/win7_x64_185.81_beta.html
Then there is also a whql:
http://www.nvidia.com/object/win7_x86_185.85_whql.html
From a Vista standpoint you have a lot of room now to work with both this patch and the 180 series drivers bringing further stability in most cases. However, I personally would rather assist you in troubleshooting the win7 box until we exhaust all options than see you roll back to vista. I guess that said, since you HAVE a vista copy, I think dual-booting (with coh/cov on another partition so it can be shared) is really in your favor atm.
All of this said - please please please - take your original post, my post, and all of your diagnostic logs your gonna post for me and start a new thread. If your planning to dual-boot vista and work on both issues at once, please post logs from both OSs so we can look at the full scope of the issue.
Tease
Conveniently, I don't get the driver crash anymore in Win7 64 RTM. I'm using the latest stable driver (non-beta) for my GTX 280 from the nVidia site. With Vista I originally had a hotfix from MS for address it, but a later nVidia driver resolved it as well.
@bpphantom
The Defenders of Paragon
KGB Special Section 8
Looks like Nvidia released the 190.62 drivers on Friday. I've been stable with the 186.18s. I'll try the 190.62s today and report back.
@Jimmy Amp
Currently working on:
Jimmy Crush - Kin/Regen Scrapper
"Life writes the best scripts."
Just played all day with the 190.62s and the TDR registry entries. No crashes at all. I'd say give them a shot.
ETA: Almost forgot: I'm running Vista 64 with a BFG Geforce 285.
@Jimmy Amp
Currently working on:
Jimmy Crush - Kin/Regen Scrapper
"Life writes the best scripts."
I'm having crashing issues on windows 7 as well, but I'm using an ATI card. I haven't tried rolling back drivers (as I don't know which drivers to roll back to), but I have tried both 9.7 and 9.8 drivers, neither seems any better or worse. I also tried the registry edit listed but that didn't help either. Any suggestions?
Hello, I have been reading some of these issues and "horror stories" here because I will upgrade to a new system by Christmas. My new system will have the following specs.
Intel Core2 Quad
Windows Vista 64-bit SP1 w/ free Windows 7 upgrade
SLI Dual NVIDIA GeForce GTS 240 w/ 2048MB
8 GB of Ram
1 TB of Sata Raid Drive
Killer NIC Xeno Pro
I just need a solid answer of what I will need to do to make COH/COV to play soothly and not so jerky. Like it is now with my current NVIDA/XP/P4 machine.
Any specific tweaks to ini files or other command line peramaters? How well does COH/COV do with multi core machines/dual video cards? How about the gaming accelerator?
Any comments or suggestions are very welcome in addition to the tech answers.
Thanks in advance
Shajin
Roid & Shajin,
You guys both need to start new threads if you havent already. One is for help with pre-purchase PC specs and the other is for help with an ATI card that may or may not be crashing to exactly this issue. There are countless varieties of crashes and you have not provided me nearly enough information. Roid, when you post, be sure to post your COHHelper & HijackThis logs as well or no one else will be able to assist you till you do. Shajin, start a thread and get input, we can tell you approximately your performance, however there are countless odd-ball cases where we see random issues that most dont suffer from. No one can ever promise you in advance you wont suffer from them. That said, spec-wise they can give you lots of feedback and ideas.
Tease
Vista/Win7/Server08 Driver Crash
This document is for a very specific driver crash which involves hanging or freezing of the game and is often followed by one of these 3 error messages:
<ul type="square">
a. Graphics Driver Has Stopped Responding and has Been Recovered
b. Error 13 or 14
c. On Win7 may produce a System_Service_Exception bluescreen under certain drivers. (This is not the only cause of that particular BSOD however and other drivers should be tried.)[/list]Step 1:
<ul type="square">
Windows 7 RC1: Make sure you have all available windows updates. The hotfix you need is actually already included however you do need other updates as well.
Vista & Server 2008: Install Service Pack 2 (SP2) and all available updates which contain the hotfix you will need. More information about SP2 is available here: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/948465[/list]This should be solving the issue for somewhere around 80% of folks. However Zloth notes: "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 from OpenGL when they go down."
Step 2:
This step is now debatable and potentially very skippable IF you are comfortable with the risks associated with step 3 which should allow you to use the most current stable driver. This step is safe although often not practical if you play games besides COX that require the most current driver.
Assuming that #1 did not entirely fix your problem, its time to do a driver roll back. This requires rolling back to a driver that had a OpenGL implementation that was using the same calls as the game uses 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.
These drivers can be found at http://downloads.guru3d.com
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.
<ul type="square">
*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
*For Laptops*
Vista Laptop Users:
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][u]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. [u]
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 for something along the lines of 95-99% of users.
Step 3:
Danger, Will Robinson! Danger!
This step is AT YOUR OWN RISK. YMMV (Your Mileage May Vary).
I have yet to sort out if this is a true corrective fix or if this is a band-aid. I hope it is a corrective fix, but there is always the potential that what it is masking is infact dangerous for the machine/hardware. However, if you follow the instructions is quite simple to test (or remove if you are uncertain later).
<ul type="square">
1) Open Regedit (Start -> Run -> Type: Regedit -> Enter
2) In the top menu, select File -> Export. Give the registry backup a name (preferably with todays date) and click okay. (In case anything goes drastically wrong, thats your backup file.)
3) On the left hand side there is a folder tree. Drill down through there till you navigate to:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Contro l\GraphicsDrivers
4) Once you are there and clicked on Graphics Driver, the right hand pane should have 2 (potentially 3) entries in it.
5) In the right hand pane, right click, select NEW, then DWORD (32-bit) Value.
6) Name the value TdrDdiDelay then double click it and give it a value of 20.
7) Repeat step 4, and name the new one TdrDelay also with a value of 20
8) Again repeat step 4, and name the new one TdrLevel this time with a value of 0.
9) Done. Close Regedit. REBOOT. [/list]This step 3 seems to be cleaning up the remainder of the PCs that were unable to get fully stable on steps 1 & 2. It also is allowing many PCs to get stable on the newest driver, completely skipping step 2.
Just a reminder as well that if your using Step 3 then Step 4 is actually upgrading to the most recent stable working driver. As of today's date (7/21/09) that's 190.36.
If on the off-chance something goes drastically wrong with this on your machine, we need to know! Also, you will need to boot into safe mode, open regedit and import the backup registry file you made, to return the system to its previous state. (Fairly simple.) I don't expect this to give us 100% fix but it certainly gave me a fix for several machines that were not being solved by steps 1 & 2.
My system is a dual-boot EVGA 750i SLI, E8400, 8800GT with Vista and Win7. I have had great success with step three and have also used it to patch several VG mates systems with success. Regardless of how happy I am with the new-found stability, and regardless of how relatively safe this edit is, I must stress, this is AT YOUR OWN RISK any time you mess with the registry.
This should provide you with a fully-working solution. However if it does not, we need to hear from you. Please post a NEW topic/post (not in this thread!), explaining your issue, that you've worked through all 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