Larian Studios Forums Beyond Divinity (English) Technical Problems BD seems to shut down Windows.

I'm running Beyond Divinity with the 1.45 patch, and from time to time the game would appear to shut down Windows XP. At first it looks like an ordinary crash-to-desktop, but then the taskbar disappears and I get the blue "Windows is shutting down" screen, and then it does.

Not that big of a deal: All I need to do is save more often, but I was wondering if this is common, or if it's a symptom of some deeper problem.

Thanks in advance. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

I played this game on Windows XP Home: never had the prob you described. This shutting down prob => could it be you have a virus causing this?
Kiya

had the same problem. I tought my laptop battery was broken (that if in fact broken). But I hopr they will try and fix this. what are youre specs?

I don't think I have a virus; in any case it's not a one that my antivirus software can detect. It happened once while clicking the desktop shortcut to start the game, and after that it's happened while loading a new area, such as when I enter or exit a battlefield. It's pretty bizarre. I've gotten crashes-to-desktop with BD in the past but nothing like this.

Oh, and it only happens while playing BD. Never shuts down on its own otherwise.

Technical information:

OS Name Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition
Version 5.1.2600 Service Pack 1 Build 2600
OS Manufacturer Microsoft Corporation
System Manufacturer NVIDIA
System Model AWRDACPI
System Type X86-based PC
Processor x86 Family 6 Model 10 Stepping 0 AuthenticAMD ~1843 Mhz
BIOS Version/Date Phoenix Technologies, LTD 6.00 PG, 10/2/2003
SMBIOS Version 2.2
Hardware Abstraction Layer Version = "5.1.2600.1106 (xpsp1.020828-1920)"
Total Physical Memory 512.00 MB
Available Physical Memory 336.46 MB
Total Virtual Memory 1.72 GB
Available Virtual Memory 1.42 GB
Page File Space 1.22 GB
Page File C:\pagefile.sys

This may be a long shot, but I had a similar problem after installing a previous version of the .NET Framework from Windows Update, that wouldn't pick up as an old version when the newest patch of .NET was released. This happened on 4 different systems, 3 running WinXP Home, 1 running WinXP Pro, and all of them different physical builds. If you have .NET Framework 1.1 installed, you might try uninstalling it, rebooting, then going to Windows Update and downloading it again. Again, this is a long shot, but it may help out.

I don't think I have that, but I'll check. While we're on the topic, I thought WinXP was up to Service Pack 2? Says I only have SP1, even though I updated it a couple of weeks ago after reformatting my hard drive... hmm....

For the record, I'm now getting three types of BD-related errors:

1. Standard crash-to-desktop.
2. Shut-down error described above.
3. After exiting BD and shutting down Windows myself, Windows reboots and says an error was encountered. I'll have to get the details of the error next time it happens.

All only while or just after playing BD.

EDIT: Here's the info from the Windows reboot error:

C:\WINDOWS\Minidump\Mini071604-02.dmp
C:\DOCUME~1\Stark\LOCALS~1\Temp\WER1.tmp.dir00\sysdata.xml

And no I don't know what it means.

No, SP2 isn't out yet. As for having .NET 1.1 installed, if you install every recommended, non-critical update, it'll be there.

1: CTDs
I used to experience these on almost all Diablo II style fullscreen games, though I attribute that to some tweaks I've done to my system. After a few changes to default Windows settings (which are set way to low for most systems, but making them compatible with all configurations), these have dropped to ~5% of all runs, as opposed to ~35%. As for BD in general, if you'll look through this board you'll see numerous topics that focus on this and, if you follow some of the tips, you may be able to eliminate your CTDs.

2: Shutdowns
Do these happen at random, or can you duplicate even a general set of actions that can bring this up? Other than the .NET Framework bad patch I mentioned before, out-dated video/sound drivers and adware/spyware installations are possible considerations.

3: Crashes with minidump
I just have one question: when was the last time you ran Ad-Aware 6 or, preferably, Spybot S&D and cleaned all the adware and spyware off your PC? Not too long ago I was having the exact same problem, but it would happen at random at any given time. Came to find out it was a conflict between two adware programs (n-Case and SmartSearch to be exact) that had found their way through my protections and onto my PC.

Could've sworn SP2 was out. Must be one of those ideas that gets lodged in your head and becomes accepted as fact. Anyway.

2. The shutdowns occur only (though not every time) I load a new area, such as when I enter or depart a battlefield. That's the only common factor I've noticed. Oh, one time it happened when I double-clicked the desktop shortcut to start the game.

3. I run Ad-Aware at least once a week and haven't encountered anything worse than tracking cookies. I used to have Spybot before reformatting my hard drive but haven't bothered getting it again, but since you mentioned it I will.

I shall also look into that .NET thing. Thanks for all your suggestions. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

If the CTDs are hapening during battlefield loads, try uninstalling the game, then reinstalling it and patching it again. If that doesn't work, uninstal it again. back up your saves, download/run the Starforce removal tool, reboot your PC, wipe ou any other traces of the game, then reinstall/patch.

As for Spybot S&D, definitely get it again. They've advanced the rogram quite a bit lately.

SP2, from my sources, is reported to be a requirement for the next build of DirectX, so I'm expecting it some time before a major gaming title, such as Halo 2, releases.

Also, you seem to know your way around a PC, yes? You may want to go to www.freshdownloads.com and download FreshUI. Awsome hardware/software tweak tool. It's the kind that can hose a PC if you don't know what you're doing, but it taught me that WinXP Pro defaults 0KB usage of L2 cache to make it compatible by default with all CPUs, and allowed me to change that. That and many other performance features make it very handy for tuning up a PC.