Crash Immediately After Game Launch

from Elemental Forums

I purchased the game last night as I felt it was finally time to check out the game.  However, I have been unable to check anything out as the game fails to launch as soon as I press "Play Game" from the launcher.  My monitors turn black as if the game is about to initialize but before it gets anywhere It crashes.  I've looked, the game doesn't create a debug.err file.  What I do receive upon the crash is an error message from windows that states: Elemental: War of Magic has stopped working.  When I view problem details I see the following info:

Problem signature:
  Problem Event Name:    APPCRASH
  Application Name:    Elemental.exe
  Application Version:    1.1.0.1
  Application Timestamp:    4d24a3f5
  Fault Module Name:    ntdll.dll
  Fault Module Version:    6.1.7600.16385
  Fault Module Timestamp:    4a5bdb3b
  Exception Code:    c0000005
  Exception Offset:    000221af
  OS Version:    6.1.7600.2.0.0.256.48
  Locale ID:    1033
  Additional Information 1:    e8ad
  Additional Information 2:    e8adce1c2b9e7be834b4063ac3c53863
  Additional Information 3:    e8ad
  Additional Information 4:    e8adce1c2b9e7be834b4063ac3c53863

I've restarted my PC and Impulse many times since I bought the game.  Turning off the few background programs I had running was also tried.  I've also disabled my secondary monitor.  So far nothing has helped, the game continues to crash in the same way.  I've run a wide range of games on this PC without issue and I'd like to think I maintain the system well.

The PC I'm trying to run Elemental on is a Windows 7 Pro 64 machine with the following specs:

Intel Core i7 860 @ 3.36 GHz
8GBs Memory
AMD 5870 1GB using 10.12 drivers

Does anyone here have advice on how to solve this issue? I can gladly provide more information such as a DXDiag or other if needed.

Thank you.

 

 

 

 

1,291 views 3 replies
Reply #1 from Elemental Forums Top

Fault Module Name: ntdll.dll
End of quote

Cause

    The causes of ntdll.dll error messages can vary greatly. However, most ntdll.dll errors result from a corrupt or damaged version of the ntdll.dll file itself, corrupt hardware drivers, or issues between Windows and other programs.

     

  1. Faulty Windows Installation
    In case you receive the ntdll.dll error soon after you have completed Windows installation on your PC, you must first verify whether or not the Windows installation CD is scratched or damaged. Although you may be able to complete the installation using a damaged CD, the installation process may develop some complications later and cause ntdll.dll errors to occur on your system.

    Similarly, you may encounter ntdll.dll errors if you use an illegal copy or burned copy of Windows for installation. It is recommended that you always install Windows using an original and legitimate Windows Installation CD.

  2. Defective Hardware
    You may also encounter ntdll.dll errors and other Windows installation problems if the cable that connects the hard drive to the motherboard of your computer is defective. To correct the problem, connect your hard drive to another cable of the same type that is used by some other hardware device on your computer. Examples of devices that use the same cable as the hard drive are CD, DVD and Zip drives.

    If switching the cable does not produce the desired result, then it is recommended that you invest some money in the purchase a new cable for your hard drive to resolve the error permanently.

  3. Usage of faulty or obsolete driver files
     Often, obsolete and faulty driver files cause DLL errors. For this reason, you should always be sure that the drivers of all the hardware devices connected to your system are up-to-date. Furthermore, before downloading and installing new drivers, you should make sure that they are compatible with your operating system and hardware.
  4. Malware Infections
     Malicious programs, such as virus, Trojans, worms, spyware and adware often remove or edit important files and in turn, cause a plethora of errors on an unprotected system. To keep your PC safe from malware infections, perform regular virus/malware scans of your complete system, using reliable antivirus and antispyware tools.
  5. Registry Errors
    You may experience ntdll.dll errors if entries related to this file in your system registry are corrupt, invalid or missing. To prevent such a situation and to maintain a healthy and error-free registry, you may use a reliable registry cleaning tool, such as RegGenie, to perform regular registry maintenance.

 

 

Resolution

Method 1

If the ntdll.dll error only displays when you use a specific software program, uninstall the program, reboot your computer, and then install the latest version again from scratch.

Note:If the software program has any updates or service packs available, install them too. The software's programmers may have identified an issue with the program that caused the ntdll.dll error and then issued a patch for it.

 

Google is the shiznit.

 

Summary

Its probably just a faulty install.

Make sure your drivers are up to date (you probably are but this always needs to be said)

Uninstall.

reboot.

reinstall 

Update and then see if it works :grin:

 

If that doesn't solve it go for a full system virus/trojan scan..

 

If the first 2 don't fix it and nothing is found by a decent virus scanner then im out of ideas

Reply #2 from Elemental Forums Top

Success!  I got the game to work.  First, thank you for shedding a bit of light onto the issue.  I should have googled that crash report myself, I just made the improper assumption that it had to be the game that was at fault.  oops.

I did try to uninstall the game and Impulse, after the reinstall I had the exact same crash.  I also tried a clean install of my video card drivers just in case, no change.  I then got to thinking that sometime before the holidays my computer blue screened a 5-6 times within a three day period.  I never figured it out, but I the the problem might have been caused by a bug with my SSD going to, or waking from sleep.  At the time I was worried that these random BSODs would cause damage.   Anyways, I felt it was time to do a bit of computer upkeep.  I backed up my files and then set into an afternoon of computer tinkering.  I upgraded my motherboard's bios, updated my SSD's firmware, cleaned all the dust from the case, and then formatted and reinstalled windows 7.  After installing all the latest drivers and getting windows configured and updated, I re-downloaded Impulse and Elemental and the game launched launched like it should!  I was overdue for some of this computer maintenance, so its all good.  Thanks again for providing a bit of info that eventually led to a proper outcome.

Elemental: Reforged
Reply #3 from Elemental Forums Top

Quoting somekindazombie, reply 2
After installing all the latest drivers and getting windows configured and updated, I re-downloaded Impulse and Elemental and the game launched launched like it should!  I was overdue for some of this computer maintenance, so its all good.  Thanks again for providing a bit of info that eventually led to a proper outcome.
End of somekindazombie's quote

Glad to hear you resolved the issue. I thought it could be a problem with the windows installation itself but i never suggest full reinstalls cause people tend to get pissy when you suggest something as radical as that. I personally end up reformatting and reinstalling every year or 2 depending on how much crap i end up with on my pc lol.

IDC what version of windows a person has.. it still likes to immolate itself overtime. :thumbsdown: