Author Topic: NWN immediately crashes on startup  (Read 964 times)

Legacy_Neverwinter_Knight77

  • Newbie
  • *
  • Posts: 43
  • Karma: +0/-0
NWN immediately crashes on startup
« on: November 05, 2012, 07:49:58 pm »


               I double click the nwmain.exe icon, the screen goes black (as if it's loading), and then I get one of these two messages.  The difference is the "fault module name".  The first one says atioglxx.dll and the other one says ntdll.dll.

'Image

Neverwinter Nights is fully patched.  I played it for seven straight years.  You might even recognize me if you played local vault RP.  I kinda miss the old forums.  Anyway, I hadn't played the game full-time since around 2009, though I would occassionally log in just to see if anybody's around.  I've had this problem for the past year or so, however.  I'm using the exact same computer that I was using when I last played.

Windows Vista, ATI Radeon 6900 series HD (6970, I think, but I can't remember), 3 GB RAM, Intel Core 2 Quad @ 2.4 Ghz.

I tried reinstalling the game, rolling back to older graphics drivers, replacing atioglxx.dll, and installing new graphics drivers.  None of that worked.  People say "Run it as an administrator."  I never understood the point of that, because most PC owners are by default an administrator account anyway, so the "run by administrator" thing is redundant.  I tried it anyway, and as usual, it did nothing.  Compatibility mode (XP) did nothing either.

And the weirdest thing is that the toolset runs just fine.  No problems at all!

I've tried searching these forums for similar problems and a plausible solution, but I haven't found anything satisfactory.  Hard drive space wouldn't have anything to do with it, would it?  I only have about 20 GB left.

Edit: Removed the second screenshot, because it wasn't necessary... and you couldn't read either of them anyway.
               
               

               


                     Modifié par Neverwinter_Knight77, 06 novembre 2012 - 05:16 .
                     
                  


            

Legacy_Just-Me

  • Newbie
  • *
  • Posts: 39
  • Karma: +0/-0
NWN immediately crashes on startup
« Reply #1 on: November 06, 2012, 12:35:46 am »


               Although that would've been a grand amount at one time, with the sizes of today's drives in the Terabyte range, it may seem small.  However, if it isn't properly managed, and needs defragmenting, then whatever storage remains could be problematic.  Why not follow Selene's guide more completely, and give us more to work with?

social.bioware.com/forum/1/topic/187/index/3303069

Basic Hardware Specification Chart (Empty so far)

Processor Manufacturer: AMD / Intel
Processor Name / Type: Athlon X2 / Pentium D / C2D / dual core / quad, etc.
Processor Speed:  ?.? Ghz
Operating System / Service Pack: WindowsXP with SP #?, Win7, Vista ? 
System RAM: ? ? GBs (MBs, if less than 1024 ? )
Video (GPU) Manufacturer: ATI / Nvidia (only those two are supported, PERIOD, so please answer which of them you have)
Video Card Model: (examples) Radeon HD 6670 / Geforce GTX 550
Video Card Driver Version: Catalyst ?.? / Nforce ??.??
 . . (please use the numbers, and dates, *not* the word "latest")
Video display's default screen resolution
Video Card onboard RAM: ? ? ? MBs
Sound Card Manufacturer:
Sound Card Driver IDs:
Sound Card Model:
               
               

               


                     Modifié par Just-Me, 06 novembre 2012 - 08:13 .
                     
                  


            

Legacy_Pearls

  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 194
  • Karma: +0/-0
NWN immediately crashes on startup
« Reply #2 on: November 06, 2012, 02:09:44 am »


               disable display scaling + desktop composition, that was my fix for 6990s
               
               

               


                     Modifié par Pearls, 06 novembre 2012 - 02:09 .
                     
                  


            

Legacy_Neverwinter_Knight77

  • Newbie
  • *
  • Posts: 43
  • Karma: +0/-0
NWN immediately crashes on startup
« Reply #3 on: November 06, 2012, 05:26:21 am »


               

Just-Me wrote...

Although that would've been a grand amount at one time, with the sizes of today's drives in the Terabyte range, it may seem small.  However, if it isn't properly managed, and needs defragmenting, then whatever storage remains could be problematic.  Why not follow Selene's guide more completely, and give us more to work with?

http://social.biowar...7/index/3303069

I believe I posted most of that info.  I don't think the sound card would be of any use.

Pearls wrote...

disable display scaling + desktop composition, that was my fix for 6990s

Thank you for the advice, but it doesn't work for me.

Edit: I found a replacement atioglxx.dll, and I can launch the game now, but it's unbearably choppy.  Still unplayable at this point.
               
               

               


                     Modifié par Neverwinter_Knight77, 06 novembre 2012 - 07:46 .
                     
                  


            

Legacy_Pearls

  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 194
  • Karma: +0/-0
NWN immediately crashes on startup
« Reply #4 on: November 08, 2012, 06:56:38 am »


               i cant manage to recreate this issue on a 6870 box or a 6990 box, can you check your fps in the game with all sound and graphic settings disabled? particularly shiny water + hardware sounds
               
               

               
            

Legacy_Knight_Shield

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 812
  • Karma: +0/-0
NWN immediately crashes on startup
« Reply #5 on: November 08, 2012, 11:17:18 am »


               I know this sounds weird but run the patch again.


EDIT: run patch as aminstrator and make sure  nwn.exe ,nwmain.exe are set with admin priviledge.
               
               

               


                     Modifié par Knight_Shield, 08 novembre 2012 - 11:19 .
                     
                  


            

Legacy_Neverwinter_Knight77

  • Newbie
  • *
  • Posts: 43
  • Karma: +0/-0
NWN immediately crashes on startup
« Reply #6 on: November 08, 2012, 11:44:41 pm »


               

Pearls wrote...

i cant manage to recreate this issue on a 6870 box or a 6990 box, can you check your fps in the game with all sound and graphic settings disabled? particularly shiny water + hardware sounds

Even with everything disabled, the fps is literally 2.

Knight_Shield wrote...

I know this sounds weird but run the patch again.


EDIT: run patch as aminstrator and make sure  nwn.exe ,nwmain.exe are set with admin priviledge.

I haven't tried this yet, but I will take it into consideration...
               
               

               
            

Legacy_Empyre65

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 662
  • Karma: +0/-0
NWN immediately crashes on startup
« Reply #7 on: November 09, 2012, 03:54:38 am »


               Do you have it using only one core of your processor? I remember years ago when I upgraded my computer from a single-core CPU to a dual-core CPU, NWN went from frames per second to minutes per frame, literally. I could actually watch it slowly draw the frame. Then, somebody told me to edit nwnplayer.ini. Under [Game Options], find Client CPU Affinity (or add it if it isn't there), and set it to 0. That fixed it for me.
               
               

               
            

Legacy_Neverwinter_Knight77

  • Newbie
  • *
  • Posts: 43
  • Karma: +0/-0
NWN immediately crashes on startup
« Reply #8 on: November 09, 2012, 11:34:22 pm »


               

Empyre65 wrote...

Do you have it using only one core of your processor? I remember years ago when I upgraded my computer from a single-core CPU to a dual-core CPU, NWN went from frames per second to minutes per frame, literally. I could actually watch it slowly draw the frame. Then, somebody told me to edit nwnplayer.ini. Under [Game Options], find Client CPU Affinity (or add it if it isn't there), and set it to 0. That fixed it for me.

I checked the file just now, and it's already set to 0.
               
               

               
            

Legacy_Pearls

  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 194
  • Karma: +0/-0
NWN immediately crashes on startup
« Reply #9 on: November 12, 2012, 06:38:00 am »


               since i cant recreate this even with similar cards on 2 different rigs on w7 or under vista vms youre going to have to provide some more information like driver version and ccc settings, i am making the assumption you have 0 overrides and are updated to 1.69 and have all settings on minimum for the purposes of getting it running

the only way i can cause a crash similar on start up is to have my aero enabled and not to have nwn disable it on start up, but 'disable desktop composition' fixes that
               
               

               


                     Modifié par Pearls, 12 novembre 2012 - 07:06 .
                     
                  


            

Legacy_Neverwinter_Knight77

  • Newbie
  • *
  • Posts: 43
  • Karma: +0/-0
NWN immediately crashes on startup
« Reply #10 on: November 14, 2012, 03:46:36 am »


               I ran the patch again.  It didn't work, so we can scratch that off the list.

According to device manager, my driver is 9.2.0.0 (September 27, 2012).

Catalyst Control Center says Catalyst version 12.10

EDIT:  Ha-HA!  I did it!  ':wizard:'  I fixed Neverwinter Nights!

Earlier, I had tried to put an atioglxx.dll file from 2007 into the NWN folder, to see if that would get the game to launch.

http://nwvault.ign.c....Detail&id=1222

That got the game to launch, but the framerate was unbearable.  'Twas like trying to play the game on a Voodoo card.  I was stumped for a while, but then I thought "What if I could find a newer version of that file?"  I figured maybe the file was incompatible with my graphics card's hardware.  So, I searched and found a Catalyst installer file from Nov. 2011.  I then researched how to extract from an exe file without installing...

I extracted the "new" dll file and put it into the NWN folder, and boom!  Neverwinter Nights came roaring back, in all of her beautiful glory.  Ah, now if only the local vault community was still around.  NWN is deader than a ghost town, but it is understandable, considering the game's age.
               
               

               


                     Modifié par Neverwinter_Knight77, 14 novembre 2012 - 04:25 .
                     
                  


            

Legacy_Empyre65

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 662
  • Karma: +0/-0
NWN immediately crashes on startup
« Reply #11 on: November 15, 2012, 04:56:18 am »


               That's great news! Go enjoy yourself some NWN!

The NWN community may be smaller than it once was, but it is not dead. I believe that NWN has the same staying power as Doom, which is even older, and still has a thriving community, with hundreds or even thousands of players and new content being made all the time.
               
               

               


                     Modifié par Empyre65, 15 novembre 2012 - 04:57 .
                     
                  


            

Legacy_Neverwinter_Knight77

  • Newbie
  • *
  • Posts: 43
  • Karma: +0/-0
NWN immediately crashes on startup
« Reply #12 on: November 15, 2012, 06:01:08 am »


               By "dead", I was referring to the local vault community.  I remember a time when there were so many players, we were fighting over the last spot to get into a full server.  Those were the days.  Now you'd be lucky to find two people in LV, and even then, it's probably a passworded server.
               
               

               
            

Legacy_Haarukkamies

  • Newbie
  • *
  • Posts: 4
  • Karma: +0/-0
NWN immediately crashes on startup
« Reply #13 on: November 26, 2012, 07:11:58 pm »


               Ah I'm having the EXACT same problem you encountered Neverwinter_Knight77 it would be VERY appreciated if you could add a bit more detailed explanation to how you managed to find and use the newer file.

A link to the newer file would be much appreciated aswell since I can't seem to find it.
               
               

               
            

Legacy_Neverwinter_Knight77

  • Newbie
  • *
  • Posts: 43
  • Karma: +0/-0
NWN immediately crashes on startup
« Reply #14 on: November 27, 2012, 11:47:02 pm »


               I'm happy to help.  You can do this without getting rid of your newer drivers.

1. Go here and download the November 2011 driver (look for your OS, and 32 vs. 64 bit).  By the way, if the November one doesn't fix your problem, there's others here you can try.

http://www.oldapps.com/ati.php

2. Now here's where my memory gets fuzzy, but I'll try to recall as best as I can.  The free program called 7-Zip can extract from exe files.  Right click the AMD installation file (the exe), and click Open Archive.  If this doesn't work, try "Open Inside".

3. Now you should be able to see the contents of the installation file.  Still in 7-Zip, navigate to $_OUTDIR\\Packages\\Drivers\\Display\\W7_INF\\B126747.  At least, this is how it was organized on mine (Windows Vista 32).  The important part is the next step.

4. Now you should be able to find "atioglxx.dl_".  Extract that file to the desktop or a temporary folder of some kind.  It looks very similar to the final product, but it's not what we need.

5. Use 7-Zip to open atioglxx.dl_.  Inside, you'll find the real file, atioglxx.dll.  Extract that file and put it into your Neverwinter Nights/NWN folder.  But if there's already an atioglxx.dll in your NWN folder, delete it first.

Done!  ':wizard:'  Just a tip though, if any installation prompt pops up, you're doing it wrong.  Click cancel.