Larian Studios Forums Divinity 2 - Ego Draconis (English) Technical problems First Aid : when Div2 does not start or crashes

We want to stress the importance of certain obligatory steps in getting Divinity II to work if it doesn't.

Most importantly: stop playing with a NoDVD crack. People that are playing with a NoDVD crack will experience strange behaviour because we've put in some fun little "features" when the DVD check fails. These are not bugs. If you are playing with a NoDVD crack, do not waste our time with reporting what is going wrong.

If you are experiencing behaviour similar to playing with a NoDVD crack, but you *are* playing with the normal EXE and with the DVD in the drive, check the DVD disc and your disc drive, and contact SecuROM support: http://www.securom.com/support_enduser.asp?t=1

On to the first aid kit

If you are having trouble running Divinity II (e.g. it crashes, doesn't even start up, freezes, you get error messages, ctd's...), there are four very important things you must take care of. Normally, they are being taken care of by the installer, but making sure everything happened correctly is a good first step towards finding the reason of your problem (i.e. eliminating the "normal" causes).

1. DirectX 9.0c : update it. If you're on Vista, download and install it.

Even though DirectX 9.0c is always called that, there are different versions of it. Every couple of months, Microsoft releases updates to DX9.0c and they haven't changed the version number in any of these updates. So whether you have the version of 2004, or you have the up to date version of 2009, there is no way of knowing what "version" you actually have without looking at the dates of your DirectX dll files.

For our game, you need to at least have the version that was released in February 2007. Of course, other games may require newer versions, so the safest is to download and install the latest version Microsoft offers on their website here:

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/...yID=2da43d38-db71-4c1b-bc6a-9b6652cd92a3

If you don't want to download it, you can also install the version that came with the DVD. Explore the Divinity II DVD and start the following program:

[DVDROMDRIVE]:\Support\directX\DXSETUP.exe

Again: there is no way of knowing whether you have the correct version of DirectX9.0c because the version number has been 4.09.0000.0904 for five years already... So don't say "but I have the latest version", just install it

Vista users: you have DirectX 10 but that does NOT mean you have DirectX9.0c! You need to install this too!

2. Make sure you have the PhysX drivers installed that we shipped
with the game OR the latest PhysX drivers that you find on the nVidia website:

Get the latest here: http://www.nvidia.com/object/physx_system_software.html

Or install from Divinity II DVD: [DVDROMDRIVE]:\Support\PhysX\PhysX_9.09.0428_SystemSoftware.exe

A second very important step to get PhysX installed right: run the following exe from the Divinity II DVD:

[DVDROMDRIVE]:\Support\Larian\PhysXRegInstaller.exe

3. Make sure the Visual C++ redistributable files are installed. You can install them from our DVD:

[DVDROMDRIVE]:\Support\Visual C++\vcredist_x86.exe

That's it. If that doesn't help, you may want to try uninstalling the game and reinstalling again (maybe even after a reboot after the uninstall) cause apparently that has helped people here as well...

4. Drivers Drivers Drivers

Always make sure that you have the latest drivers for all your devices. Graphics cards are of course the most important ones, but also check for new drivers for your sound card, chipset, and even CPU (e.g. if you have an AMD processor: install the AMD CPU optimizer and the AMD processor driver).

It has been reported that using applications such as Driver Sweeper helps: uninstall drivers, run Driver Sweeper (or a similar app), then reboot and install drivers.

Remarks:

1. If the game does not start up but you see its process running in the task manager, there is an issue with SecuROM. If you notice such behaviour, please contanct Securom. Follow this link for more information: http://www.securom.com/support_enduser.asp?t=1

2. The game does _NOT_ require the .net framework. Don't let anyone tell you this. You may install it if you wish, but it won't help the game in any way.

3. The game does NOT require any special codecs (unless you messed around too much with Win installation or codec installation). The game uses WMV. Do not start installing codecs if people tell you to to get this game working. This might even make everything worse.

WMV is supported natively by Windows XP Service Pack 2 and up. (Only if you have stripped your Windows installation or if you have not updated Windows Media Player lately, you may not have support for WMV, but normally you should.)

It has been reported that some people cannot run the WMV's in-game because they have a chaotic collection of all kinds of shady codecs and untrustworthy codec packs installed. Let's face it: codecs are wild anarchy. If your game crashes when starting up, or after creating your avatar, remove all codecs you have on your pc, and then re-install Microsoft's WMV Codec pack just to make sure.

If you really cannot live without codecs, you can trust the K-Lite codec pack, but you have to be able to configure it correctly.

Confirmed and solved issue: UNABLE TO SAVE GAME SETTINGS

Description: happens if your Windows username has non-latin chars, so, the path to D2 working dir looks like:
X:\Users\%gibberish%\AppData\Local\Divinity 2\

(P.S. In XP "Users" is "Documents and Settings")

Solution: change your username, use latin chars only.

It does not help (in XP at least).
Changing user name in "User Account Management" changes the name only remaing directory name intact. While the game doesnt like "wrong" characters in the directory title. So you need to do something with the directory: (1) create a new user with a "correct" name from scratch OR (2) rename c:\Documents and Settings\%User%\Local Settings\Application Data\Divinity 2\ so that %User% has latin characters only and replace one of ../ProfileImagePath registry key in some specific place so that it points to that new directory. That #2 way is rather risky and not recommended for newbies. It requires logging on a separate adminstrator account (different from one you gonna change) and some computer knowledge or you can break something.

If people are having crashing or graphical problems and are running Windows Vista or Windows 7 and the above tips don't help there are a couple of things you can do that may help. You set the compatibility modes "Run as Administrator" and "Disable Desktop Composition" and hopefully that will help.

Instructions
Right-click on the Divinity II: Ego Draconis icon on your desktop
Click on Properties in the menu that pops up
In the Window that comes up click on the Compatibility tab at the top of the Window
On the Compatibility tab click the box next to "Disable Desktop Composition"
(For Vista and Windows 7 users) Also click on the box next to "Run as Administrator"
After that click on the Apply button at the bottom and you are done.

PS. On my gamerunning as administrator allowed missing resolutions and character creation options to reappear. (I was able to go above 1280x768)

I would suggest the first one since it is easy and all you have to do is copy everything (except for a few files that won't copy) from the previous profile to the new one. (most things should work in the new profile)

List of threads about "sluttering" issues:

1. http://www.larian.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=393894#Post393894

2. http://www.larian.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=392513#Post392513

3. http://www.larian.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=392919#Post392919


Read it first, perhaps some advice can help you.

[GFX-issues]:

If you have similar issue - check if Textures.dv2 in your ../Data\Win32\Packed\ folder.
Reinstall the game otherwise.

Well my gf bought the game yesterday and it doesnt want to work, Securom says that it has wrond ddvd or cd in, while it is the original one in it. It does run if I eject the dvd and then put it in again. But then it crashes at a later stage.

You cannot transfer your obligations to you clients to a third party Software, either you bring me a solution that i run and it works or you give a refund.

I am not too computer literate and you cannot expect me to try to tweak stuff that you should have brought out correctly in the first place.

We should move this to a new topic (there is a button to start one at the top left of the topic list in each forum), to keep the 'first aid' topic focused on general solutions and troubleshooting tips.


Does the copy protection detect the DVD when you eject and re-insert it, or does the game just start? I think there is a icon displayed onscreen when no DVD is detected (I don't have the game yet).

Do you have a different optical drive you can try the DVD in? Apparently Securerom can be picky about which drive it will use if there is more than one, and I've seen people recommend using the lowest drive letter optical drive.

If you are getting a Securerom error, it is hardly an attempt to transfer obligations to suggest contacting Securerom's support.

No non-trivial software program can run perfectly on every possible combination of hardware and software. Larian certainly has an obligation to fix serious bugs and where possible resolve conflicts, but problems can be caused by many things they have no control over (hardware faults, drivers, anti-virus, virus, spyware, etc). I'm not trying to make excuses, it is just realistically you can not expect everything to always 'just work' perfectly on any remotely open system.
If you never want to tweak anything and don't want to learn anything not directly related to what you are using your computer for, then you may wish to consider getting an XBox for gaming.

Bulabash
...
...
Is is hard to realize that this thread is NOT for general DISCUSS or CONVO?!
...

2mods: remove 3 latest posts please >_>

there's a bug where the game crashes on startup if I'm running two monitors (using both dvi plugs on the videocard, not on a triplehead2go or anything like that)

edit: I'm running windows 7 x64 and the videocard is a nvidia gtx 295 on the latest nvidia drivers and physx.

Ugh,why do you keep post unrelated info? :< If you want to report a bug, make separate thread.

mods? please? :P

who are you and why do you care? you're making more of a mess in this thread than anyone with your pointless drivel.

...
Why do you keep posting?
Can you stop your offtop please?
SENSE. make some.

Hi
I have successfully installed Divinity 2 but when I click in the start icon the game will not launch. I get no error message
I am running Win7X64. I have tried starting as admin and in XP compatibility mode.
I have uninstalled an reinstalled twice made suer I have the correct directx, driver etc
I even went thru has removed all references to the game from the registry between installs
If I have task manager open when I try and launch I can see the divinty2.exe appear in the in the processes list and it stays for about few seconds then disappears.
Any ideas please or should I just take it back for a refund
Also when I install and I have installed about 6 times now. The setup program does not automaticaly stop when the insatll is finshed.
that is the game installs. I click on the finsh button let it install direct x which it does fine and click finsh fot that and the I have the setup program still running in teh back ground. I left it fro over 1 hour last night. When I go to close windows it give me a message that it is waiting for a response from Setup.exe and the only thing I can do is forced it closed
System Specs
CPU Intel E6750
Ram: 6Gb
OS: Win 7 home premium
Video: 8800GTx

Can you *@#%&#% read the thread a bit carrfully?
THIS.IS.NOT.A.DISCUSSION.THREAD!!!

wow kein, you need calm down. i noticed in a lot of posts your reaction is less then desirable. Thank for helping us ppl out, but the way you go about at times....

Ok I just bought this game and I have been having the same problems as lots of ppl apparently, where it gets to after the river scene it just freezes! Now I have tried everything on this forum, and then some. My computer has the recommended specs, but my video card is double the recommended. It is Nvidia. But what I don't understand is how a company can release a game that doesn't work. Now I have a $50 dollar coaster! If anyone knows who I should contact to get my money back, as I understand that it is now open and I can't return it to where I bought it. Very frustrating to say the least. Ty and sorry for my ranting.

I did everything that this post suggests and my game keeps freezing. Charachter will run in place and the only way out of the game is to alt tab and then close in the task manager.

I am running:
XP sp3
dx 9.0c
GeForce 9800GT
amd athlon 64 x2 4200+
3 gig ram

Hi,
i'm writing you directly because i am helpless and answers.
I bought divinityII ego Draconis and the installation was well executed.
to launch the game, I see the generic enters the game.
Important, my error does not occur in the same place game.
So I exchange a few sentences with the order and the surprise ....
no command of the game responds, no inventory, no menu, nothing, the other 2 characters you see their legs but are blurry on the spot, they stalled, the rabbit so it runs on the spot?
I made the 1st aid kit available on the forum but no result still the same error, sometimes I manage to go a little farther in the game.

My Config:
AMD64 X2 dual Core X5200+
Mb Abit KN9
DDR2 800mhz Super Talent 2x2GB
VGA Sparkle GeForce 7950GT 256bits 512MB GDDR3 and now because i think my vgacard defect >
VGA TWINTECHGefroce 9500GT 512MB DDR2 pciexpress 16x.
Drive space C: >35GB

Installed and desinstalled the game several times.
Installed the last version NPhysX Nvidia +DirectX + Driver Nvidia WHQL 195.62_desktop_winxp_32bit_international_whql

Some programs they are responsible for bug? Steam PunkBuster?

I launch the PhysXRegInstaller after installation software.
My name in the game is MERLIN .

I don't understand the problem...

Please HELP ME ....
I have posted message in French forum but not answer and many gamers have this problem
Best regard,

Hi All;

after uninstalling old drivers Creative sound card, I uninstalled all codecs and utilities Divx player, I uninstalled the K-Lite codecs and installed the latest.

I installed the AMD Dual Core Optimiser.

I put all the 3D settings control panel NVIDIA default.

And re testing the game yesterday I managed to play more than 3 hours without a bug! "

Continued ...

I thought of sharing this with everyone in case someone was going through a choppy game.

I started the game and right away the game was choppy. I was irritated because my pc exceeded all the recommendation (6G of RAM, 1G video ram, 3.0Ghz processor, etc). I tried adjusting my pc's video settings to get the game going but nothing worked. Finally, I was getting so fed up that as a last resort, I configured the game's graphic settings to the 'highest' on everything and I checked all the boxes. I then closed the game, reset my pc's graphic settings to default, restarted my pc, and restarted the game…..and the choppy graphics were eliminated. I've been playing without any problems ever since.

Hope this helps someone.

Hi,

I finally started to play DD II. But I'm already frustrated. I'm a loyal fan, so want quiting yet, but ...

I read all forums but havn't found any solution.

When leaving town and going down the alley towards a kind of platform, the game freezes.
I tried out every suggestion done but none were given any solution.
About setting the game settings to max isn't making the game smoothier.

Hope solution could be given soon, other ways ....

I downloaded the demo before buying and couldn't get it to start. Upon loading the game, it showed the 1st 3 loading screens ("Larian", something else, then the 3rd credit screen). After this screen it crashed. I thought it was a demo problem, and bought the game anyway. Same problem: game will not load past the 3rd credit screen. I've reinstalled several times, with and without antivirus SW.

I've tried installing physx, directx, and updated my nvidia driver. I doubt this has anything to do with securerom as the same thing happened on the demo version. Can anyone provide help here, in english? I'm not a computer wiz and pretty much at the end of what I know how to do. I really want to play this game but just about ready to give up. My system is fairly robust, and I haven't had any trouble playing dragon age and anything else (RPG or FPS) that has come out in the last year. thanks.

Please forgive me if this has be answered but I could not find it.
I have installed the game then the update. With or without the update/patch it starts up black screen only then the error pops up and says Couldn't create renderer. I have uninstalled once and patched two times. SeruRom didn't help and Google wasn't any better. I have DX 11 but I did try to install the DX that came with the game and it said my system has better. The GeForce 240 drivers are up to date aswell. Please help. Thank you in advance.

Dell
Win 7 Home Premium
Studio XPS 8000
Intel Core I7 860 @ 2.80GHz
8.00 GB RAM
64-bit Operating System

Possible graphics stuttering fix ( worked for me) would like soem feedback if it fixes anyone elses problems I have found a tweak to the ntfs file sytem that happened to fix my stuttering issue.. was so bad I could barely play (core 2 duo e7200 OC'd 4.03 8GB of ram 8800 GT 512MB)

This fixed it for me Type in the following command to increase the cache setting:

fsutil behavior set memoryusage 2

To check the current value, type in this command:

fsutil behavior query memoryusage

To change the setting back to the default, use this command:

fsutil behavior set memoryusage 1
Top

command prompt is in the all programs/accessories menu ( sorry for the long delay for me to get back to you...) mine was set at 0 as well and after changing to 2, stuttering problem is gone I can play on extreme settings @ 1680x1050... after checking default, if it is set at 0, then go back and change to 2.. and I am 90% sure your problem goes away.. what is being altered is the file system cache buffer. make sure to right click it and choose run as administrator otherwise you cannot change system settings I hope this helps.. let me know if it works for you

HardLine please tell people that you are running Vista and this work arround will not work with Win7

I am amazed that people do not understand First Aid, and continue to post their problems here, maybe Kevin has a point, but not everyone can read english, and even if they do, it doesn't mean they have any common sense

I can't tell ppl this as I did it WITH windows 7 X64.. the same commands are in 7.. windows 7 has the same underlying kernel as vista just a little smaller with performance imporovments.. you have to make sure you run the admin privilige.... right click the cmd in accessories adn choose run as administrator then it will work

I think it just that people are looking for help where ever they can. And posting where they hope a dev will read and hopefully give some feed back.

I do agree that people who are having problems(like me heh) should follow the First Aid suggestions listed and then report back if these steps didn't help.

Please note that these OS changes on a "lower level" may seem to solve certain problems, but may also have side effects that are not documented or well-known. A lot of the Windows tweaking tips may be dangerous or have no effect at all. I do believe that changing this may solve problems, but a good defrag may also fix read/write operations

For instance, concerning the fsutil memoryusage command, read this: http://smallvoid.com/article/winnt-ntfs-memory.html

And note on that page: Note this setting is mainly for server systems with a high end disk system that consists of multiple disks, which is bombarded with file operations (Like a Web-Server).

Note when increasing the memory usage, then it will use more of both paged- and non-paged-memory. Therefore make sure that existing services/drivers are not already using the available paged and non-paged memory, as these services might perform worse with less memory available.

I am always cautious when reading tweaking tips, and google for technical explanations, preferably from Microsoft's own website. I always start from the fact that Windows is at its best as it was shipped. I would like to politely urge our players to act and think similarly

I agree that sometimes there are side effects.. however I found that windows 7 incorrectly set my machine with a value of zero as in "0" file system buffer and I have 8GB of ram.. that is a big mistake and from what I have read, should have at least been set to 1 by default..sometimes the os does not do the right thing and causes an issue.please keep in mind.. I am a system builder and have managed several repair companies before starting my own.. ( not trying to gloat just show experience )

Okay, you're right, that is true!

I am guessing that windows is incorrectly setting the value to 0 during install. but that is def causing streaming issues from the game engine

Well when I start up the game, it runs. But after I create a character it shows this cut scene then the cut scene ends, and the game crashes. Music keeps playing and everything, but I have to task manager outta it. I'm on Vista/32bit. Any ideas how to fix it? Please and Thank you.

what are your system specs? cpu ram graphics card...I will help if I can

I have set it to 0, no sluttering here :P

I would then say that windows did not set it right on your comp either, it should by default be set at 1. Regardless if there is a problem or not. I will be sending an email to microsoft to question this and see what they say

Who said it should be set to 1?

Before even releasing this game:

-Same thing..
My RIG surpassed the recom settings by 2x.. updated drivers(windows/non windows)..
uninstalled VLC(because of the CODECS excuses.. so I've used the latest windows codecs for the WMP)

-service pack 3 winXP.
-ATHLON X2
-ATI HD5600+ series of vid cards on "TWO COMPUTERS".
-4GB ram ddr2

-THE GAME WON'T RUN...

Tsk2x.. I was expecting much from this game..
and gave me this crap..

The most common issue is your desktop resolution is too high. I had to lower my desktop resolution to 1024x768 in order to start the game I was able to kick it up to a max of 1280x1024(to get it to start). You can set much higher resolutions for PLAYING the game but the MAIN MENU & STARTING SCREEN RUNS AT DESKTOP RESOLUTIONS. There are a handfull of games out there like this. So keep this little trick in mind. This is for the start-immediate crash issue & the just won't start issue.

I have this exact problem. I've been emailing back and forth with technical support and they have no idea what is happening. Please post if you get your game working.

hi

I just got this game on Steam Sale and I keep crashing when i port to the Workshop on the Battle Tower.

I attempt to fix all my crash by changing the graphic setting 100% of the time, but the workshop one i never could fix

My pc spec
Operating System: Windows XP Professional (5.1, Build 2600) Service Pack 2
BIOS: )Phoenix - Award WorkstationBIOS v6.00PG
Processor: AMD Athlon(tm) 64 Processor 3500+, MMX, 3DNow, ~2.2GHz
Memory: 2046MB RAM
Page File: 311MB used, 7725MB available

ATI Radeon HD 4650
Display Memory: 1024.0 MB

crash ss

update: after messing with the setting (set it to single core optimized with 25 fps cap, loading to workshop was a success : D

time to see which map give me the crash again hehe