Can't Save Game (PC Full Version)

[dhm116]

After entering Rapture and attempting to save, the game just hangs. If I kill the process or end the task and attempt to restart the game, all of my settings are lost despite them being previously saved (I verified my settings were saved by exiting and restarting several times).

I've got a P4 3.4 with 1gig of ram and a 7600GT video card with the latest NVidia beta drivers on XP.

The game seems to run just fine, I just can't save my game and I lose all of my video/audio/control settings after it crashes - which kind of makes it pointless for me to play this game until this is fixed.

Anybody else experiencing this or know of any fixes?

[Dakhath]

The game seems to crash when autosaving. As soon as I try to save manually, it crashes completely too. Running in dx9 mode. Crashes immediately after intro movie if running in dx10.

Using a Dell laptop, w/ Vista, 2G RAM, 8600 GT

[M-O-S]

can't save, either - crashes to desktop

whenever i want to use a thing, like the one "hole in bathroom wall" - crashes to desktop

whenever i press "m" - crashes to desktop

[dhm116]

bump

I'm surprised to see not many others are experiencing this issue...

[davun]

I signed up just now to mention I have exactly the same problem, and almost exactly same specs as original poster. Extremely annoying bug. Game also hangs after about 15-20 mins of play, and the only way out is hard reboot. And it also never remembers my custom settings.

[dhm116]

After entering Rapture and attempting to save, the game just hangs. If I kill the process or end the task and attempt to restart the game, all of my settings are lost despite them being previously saved (I verified my settings were saved by exiting and restarting several times).

I've got a P4 3.4 with 1gig of ram and a 7600GT video card with the latest NVidia beta drivers on XP.

The game seems to run just fine, I just can't save my game and I lose all of my video/audio/control settings after it crashes - which kind of makes it pointless for me to play this game until this is fixed.

Anybody else experiencing this or know of any fixes?

I forgot to mention in this post that I am experiencing this issue with the Retail Box version.

[HykCraft]

Sounds like the video drivers are crashing when it goes to different screens. Do this:

Right click on the Bioshock.exe shortcut, go to the Compatibility tab, and checkmark "Disable Visual Themes."

Try saving again.

[dhm116]

Sounds like the video drivers are crashing when it goes to different screens. Do this:

Right click on the Bioshock.exe shortcut, go to the Compatibility tab, and checkmark "Disable Visual Themes."

Try saving again.

I appreciate the suggestion, but there was no change after disabling visual themes - I still could not save.

I seem to be able to access the map/diary/etc. screens just fine, as well as the menu screens, however I simply cannot quick save or manually save. I also verified that progressing to the next level (the medical lab or something like that) also caused a system lockup.

So now, not only can I not save my progress, I cannot even proceed through the game beyond the first level :/

[firefo-X-]

who need to save :P ^^ ;)


but same problem here with windows vista 32bit

[Nebunu]

well... the old nvidia drivers worked with bioshock demo... imo downgrade

[dhm116]

well... the old nvidia drivers worked with bioshock demo... imo downgrade

I did try installing the latest official Nvidia drivers (162.18 for XP) and I was actually able to save my game with no problems. I'll post back with an update as I get a chance to thoroughly test saving multiple times throughout the game.

[davun]

alright dudes, here's the answer. Finally got this solved. I did a couple of things for my setup, I've got a geForce 7600 GS, which is fairly old, but still runs the game quite nicely. Not sure exactly what was the real answer, but I suspect:
1) goto here:
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=2da43d38-db71-4c1b-bc6a-9b6652cd92a3&displaylang=en&Hash=SJdl1arr6GCtrmBbmDfsKQN4geVI3Fa1IPkpOZfLzLBGv %2f%2bNl1PgrPw8Te4N7jfy%2frhisRzyguhPpz%2b%2fcUiBF g%3d%3d
make sure you have the most up to date directx. Once I did this, suddently I can save games, get to the next level without crash to desktop, etc. However, I also did:
2) reinstalled the pre-beta nvidia driver, as I suspect the beta driver is for newer cards that are still being brought under control
3) modified the virtual memory settings, described in the game's readme.

Good luck to all.

[dhm116]

alright dudes, here's the answer. Finally got this solved. I did a couple of things for my setup, I've got a geForce 7600 GS, which is fairly old, but still runs the game quite nicely. Not sure exactly what was the real answer, but I suspect:
1) goto here:
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=2da43d38-db71-4c1b-bc6a-9b6652cd92a3&displaylang=en&Hash=SJdl1arr6GCtrmBbmDfsKQN4geVI3Fa1IPkpOZfLzLBGv %2f%2bNl1PgrPw8Te4N7jfy%2frhisRzyguhPpz%2b%2fcUiBF g%3d%3d
make sure you have the most up to date directx. Once I did this, suddently I can save games, get to the next level without crash to desktop, etc. However, I also did:
2) reinstalled the pre-beta nvidia driver, as I suspect the beta driver is for newer cards that are still being brought under control
3) modified the virtual memory settings, described in the game's readme.

Good luck to all.

I already had the latest DirectX (DX update didn't update anything), had the latest non-beta NVidia drivers and had the virtual memory settings configured.

I was able to save my game a couple times, then upon entering the Medical Lab the game crashed. Now the game crashes every time I try to continue from the last save - so it seems like there is still an unresolved issue here.

Thanks for the suggestions though!

[davun]

I've found that once it crashes ( or becomes unplayably slow due to a memory leak I believe ), I must reboot the computer before I can continue a save game. So basically, I play for 40 mins or so, have to exit the game, reboot the computer, continue from my save. This actually works for me. Pretty shameful for an AAA game. Getting the save games to work is a tricky business. However, I have also found that once I've exited the game, most attempts to restart the game will simply crash to desktop, so I don't bother anymore. Reboot -> play is the only way it will work.

[Agent808]

My game plays really well except for the occasional visual glitch every so often. Anyways, as soon as i try to save it freezes up on me until i ctrl alt del and exit out of the game. My drivers are up to date but i cant get it to save what so ever. any help would be appreciated. i really hope they just release a patch but i havent seen many other people that are experiencing this problem.

[Shligaloe]

I've been having the same problem for a while now. I have 2 SLI linked 7600 GS video cards and am running with the most current beta drivers on Windows Xp 64 bit. Random Crashes but works for 2-10 minutes with vsync and shaders off. This game has been destroying my week.

[Agent808]

i dont even want to play too far into the game knowing that i wont be able to save. first cnc 3 now this :( bummer

[Adde1]

can't save, either - crashes to desktop

whenever i want to use a thing, like the one "hole in bathroom wall" - crashes to desktop

whenever i press "m" - crashes to desktop

I have exactly the same problems as above. Started it in DX 9 since it would only crash in DX 10 also

[1up]

I am having the same problem, not being able to autosave or manual save. If I try, the game will hang and the sound clip will just repeat over and over. I can't even ctrl-alt-del out to end the task. I have to do a hard reboot. Then of course I lose all of my custom settings which makes me want to stab myself in the liver with a dirty spoon.

AMD FX55
1GB ram
Dual 6800 Ultras in SLI
Win XP 32bit
DirectX 9.0c
I can't run the latest beta Nvidia drivers because they don't recognize my video cards for some reason. So I am using 162.18.

Please post suggestions to try!
Thanks,
Bill

[Adde1]

I have exactly the same problems as above. Started it in DX 9 since it would only crash in DX 10 also

I actually came past this by turning off the detailed shadings in the graphics. I could actually play for a while. But now the game freezed as I entered the Medal Pavillion (or something like that) instead

[1up]

As a followup, here is what I did so that I can now save my games without crashing and I am through the medical facility level too:

Installed directx web update as suggested earlier by someone. I was at 9.0c before and still am, but it did do an update.

Loaded nvidia drivers 163.44 (I was at 162.18)
Loaded Creative X-fi beta drivers
Under Options, turned off high detail shaders (will turn back on to see if that had any effect on stability)

Bill

[Teira]

I can't believe an issue like this got past alpha, let alone beta, and all the way into final release. Not being able to save is kind of a big issue.

I did the vista virtual memory hotfix, I disabled high detail shaders, I can't update DX as I'm already at 10, I turned off vertical sync, ran it under DX9 and DX10, admin mode and not, XPSP2 compatability mode and not, and I can't install those beta nvidia drivers 'cause I'm running a mobile card. All my drivers are up to date, bioshock is just being a hater.

Anything at all anyone can think of to try? The game runs beautifully, I just really need to be able to save. Saving is pretty chill. Some of my best times with games were when I was able to save. Not-saving killed my parents.

Related Specs:

2.4ghz Intel Core 2 Duo
4gig ram
nVidia GeForce 8600m GT 256mg vram

[Teira]

You know what? I've given up. I tried a couple more things, and I got to the point where the game locks up instead of simply exiting when I try to save, but either way it's a completely unacceptable bug that renders the game unplayable. 2k needs to release a patch immediately. I'm amazed that such major issues got past testing.

[Teira]

I lied about giving up. I'm now trying every fix for every problem anyone has listed in these forums, problem is, vista's decided to start hating now. Even with user account control turned off and full permissions allowed to everyone, it's marked my entire harddrive as read only, and when I turn it off, it turns it right back on again, so I can't edit my Defaults.ini file, and I assume it could also be interfering with saving (bioshock not being able to write to the disk). Thanks microsoft. Thanks for making this easy on me.

[dhm116]

I find it rather absurd that despite this topic being around since the day the game was released, not one single forum moderator has posted here regarding potential solutions, workarounds, etc. - not even a "we acknowledge this as an issue and we're working on it". I feel I have been extremely patient waiting for a solution to a problem that renders the game I paid honest money for completely unplayable. To still not be able to use what I paid for several weeks afterwards is starting to irritate me - this isn't a layaway program here.

I have never in my life seen a game released for sale with this many issues that did not have a patch immediately available the day the public could purchase the game or shortly thereafter (I am ignoring the "autopatcher" since there appears to be no documentation of this patch or what it actually patches). Perhaps I simply did not purchase a game that did have that kind of launch (and theoretically why I have never heard of it), but this is absolutely absurd.

What exactly were all the developers doing between the weeks-long period when this game went Gold and it's release date, since they all apparently went on vacation after the game was actually on store shelves? Don't get me wrong, the entire 2kgames team worked, I'm sure, extremely hard on this game for a very long period of time. I also know that they worked very hard to build up the hype for this game for quite some time.

To knowingly release a game with this many issues and then disappear for weeks after all the people that actually pay your salaries are left to "deal with it" until you get back is completely disrespectful. Take your vacation after you deliver a finished product that reflects all the hard work you put into it. In fact, take twice as long of a vacation to reward yourself for delivering a finished, working product - just don't take one for delivering me a box with a shiny new round plastic disc in it.

I hope every other gaming company takes not of what 2kgames did here and avoids it like the plague, as I'm sure every gamer that purchased BioShock and cannot play it for one reason or another from the time they purchased it will quite surely avoid 2kgames future releases...I know I will.

[Teira]

And now, the next day, changed nothing and the program won't even launch. Guess I have to chalk this up to a $50 loss. Thanks 2k.

[bloodylegend]

bump

I'm surprised to see not many others are experiencing this issue...
probably would report it as an issue considering i have similar specs to this paying customer. but because i cant get passed one of the loading screens without the game crashing i havent been in rapture very much yet.

[Fornowagain]

Come on what are you playing at? I can't get more than a few minutes before the game freezes after saving or changing levels. I didn't pay all this money for what has to be the MOST bug ridden game I ever NOT had the pleasure of playing. Sort it out.

[Fornowagain]

Come on what are you playing at? I can't get more than a few minutes before the game freezes after saving or changing levels. I didn't pay all this money for what has to be the MOST bug ridden game I ever NOT had the pleasure of playing. Sort it out.

Ip35 Pro
Q6600
Vista 64
4Gb ram
8800GTX
Latest drives and directX, all updates current.

[Kuchinator]

I have the exact same problem. The game runs fine (although it takes a very long time to load), but every time I try to save or go through the hole my system hangs. I am running an Asus G1s notebook so I cannot update my drivers
2.2Ghz core 2 duo
2 gigs ram
32 bit vista home premium
8600m GT

[Agent808]

So i wrote an email to 2k support about our problem and they said they were going to get back to me within 24 hours. I didnt read that they wanted my dxdiag report so of course they didnt get back to me because i wrote to them about a week ago. anyways, i just sent them my updated question with my dxdiag log and i'm hoping they will get back to me soon. i will let you all know what they tell me.

[RabidWombat]

I've had exactly this bug, I had the beta nvidea drivers for a 7800 card that the demo insisted on. Installed 162.18 drivers and it worked fine - well, except for crashing 30mins into the game, but the saves worked

[Agent808]

I'm still waiting on a response from them about the problem but nothing. i will wait until tonight to email them again but i hope they respond quickly. i was thinking about just getting it for the 360, but if they arent going to try and help me with the pc version, why would i want to give them more of my money? i'm not mad yet and am sure they cant just easily solve the problem, but any response from them would be welcome.

[sirith]

Check if the Bioshock folder in My Documents is read only. It was for me, and I was having these problems.

[Agent808]

So i've been waiting for a reply from 2k support and its been longer then i would like. i understand if they are working on the problem or something, but how about a little reply telling me to be patient instead of not doing anything. i've written them twice and the first response they gave was that i was going to get a repsonse in 24 hours. that was like 2 weeks ago already. sorry 2k, this one customer might not mean much to you at this point, but you are slowly losing a fan. I know they have a lot on their plate, but, i've been dealing with microsoft support as well as EA support and they have been a lot more helpful with very quick responses. i dont mean to compare, but this is getting frustrating considering i should be able to run the game fine.

[Hackez]

So i've been waiting for a reply from 2k support and its been longer then i would like. i understand if they are working on the problem or something, but how about a little reply telling me to be patient instead of not doing anything. i've written them twice and the first response they gave was that i was going to get a repsonse in 24 hours. that was like 2 weeks ago already. sorry 2k, this one customer might not mean much to you at this point, but you are slowly losing a fan. I know they have a lot on their plate, but, i've been dealing with microsoft support as well as EA support and they have been a lot more helpful with very quick responses. i dont mean to compare, but this is getting frustrating considering i should be able to run the game fine.

Ensure your BioShock folder and the location of your saved game folder, normally under My Documents aren't set to ready only.

[cargasm]

the game freezes for me when i try to save and adjust brightness while in game

[Agent808]

I checked the save games folder which was in mydocu after someone posted that earlier but is it not supposed to be read only and can i just change that under the folder options?

[Agent808]

Not a single support tech has even been on this post and i've waited a month for a single reply to no avail. i'm tired of waiting and there are too many good games coming out to worry about trying to play this one. laters 2k, i hope i never have to play any of your games again no matter how good they may be. you guys are just too busy celebrating bioshock to care about people that cant even play it.

[jwark007]

Having the same problems. Experienced two application failed messages from Win XP. Had played through 2nd level (Medical). When I restarted game, program worked fine; until I tried to save progress. Bioshock returns a "Game failed to save" message, but the application continues to play okay. Quit to Windows and restarted game, same response--game fails to save. Restarted computer, restarted game, played to same point again, the got the same "failed to save" message. Using nVidia 162.18 driver (163.44 beta will not work with my system).

Am using this machine for games:
Falcon Mach V - Silverstone 600 watt
ASUS ASN-SLI 32 DLX Motherboard
Athlon 64 FX-60 dual core
Cosair TwinX 2048 (2x1024) PC3200
2 nVidia 7900GTX 512MB PCIE
BFG Agea PHYSX -128MB
WD Raptor 150GB 10,000 RPM SATA
Sony 16X DVD-ROM
Plextor 760A 16X DVD+-RW DL
On-board sound

Will try to uninstall and install to see if that solves problem.

jwark

[jwark007]

Reinstalled all drivers and game. Bioshock worked through two saves in the first (Welcome to Rapture) level. On third save attempt just prior to entry to Neptune's Bounty area, Windows XP dumped the application and apologized for the inconveniance. Rebooted, tried the game again, twice. Same crash.

Think I'll have to shelve this game until they fix it.

jwark

[Spirit]

Just signed up to mention as well that whenever I quicksave the game it crashes to the desktop! After the crash my custom settings are lost.
Also the game is not working in dx10 (games freezes with black screen during the intro).

Using an HP laptop, Vista, 2G RAM, Nvidia 8600M

Hoping 2K releases a fix for this as soon as possible!

[dhm116]

I just have to state here that it's been over a month with absolutely no resolution to this issue. While I realize that there isn't any official way to get my money back for a game I cannot play (other than ebay), I am officially fed up with this complete lack of support for this game.

They claim to not be trying to solve every issue for the sake of getting a patch out faster, but franky, it's been a month. You could have addressed many of these issues with a series of incremental updates by now. This is just plain absurd. I don't care how fancy you try to make your game look, or how many years you put into making it - if you can't even solve critical issues like players being unable to save their game in a timely mannor, well, you suck at your job.

I'll never buy a 2kgame after this. Ever. Even when a patch comes out, I'll be playing games that actually work (like Half-Life 2: Ep 2, Team Fortress 2, etc. etc.) so I doubt I'll ever even bother with this game.

Thanks for the $50 coaster.

[Noirtier]

This is ridiculous. What can one do if one can't save? My computer is way up to spec and I have done what I can do to make it run this game, only it hangs everytime I try to save - either quicksave or esc menu.

I am running Vista 32, latest DX drivers, playing the game in DX9 mode, have the latest driver for my g8600m gt and I cannot save, and I am not alone in this, others are experiencing the same.

PATCH IT, quick, or tell me what I can do, PLEASE.

[andresz]

Ive the same problem, i cant play the game crash when it tray to autosave !!!


I wont my U$D50 BACK !!!

[jstar09]

ive got same problem

Vista 32 bit
Inspiron 1420
NVIDIA 8400M GS video card

runs in dx9 only, dx10 crashes after plane video

as soon as i try to save or push 'M' the game alt-tabs and then crashes with a "bioshock.exe has crashed" error message

a fix would be nice

[jstar09]

Here are my system specs

Time of this report: 10/8/2007, 22:29:58
Machine name: KEVIN-LAPTOP
Operating System: Windows Vista™ Home Basic (6.0, Build 6000) (6000.vista_gdr.070627-1500)
Language: English (Regional Setting: English)
System Manufacturer: Dell Inc.
System Model: Inspiron 1420
BIOS: Phoenix ROM BIOS PLUS Version 1.10 A00
Processor: Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo CPU T7100 @ 1.80GHz (2 CPUs), ~1.8GHz
Memory: 2046MB RAM
Page File: 1016MB used, 3293MB available
Windows Dir: C:\Windows
DirectX Version: DirectX 10
DX Setup Parameters: Not found
DxDiag Version: 6.00.6000.16386 32bit Unicode

------------
DxDiag Notes
------------
Display Tab 1: No problems found.
Sound Tab 1: No problems found.
Sound Tab 2: No problems found.
Input Tab: No problems found.

--------------------
DirectX Debug Levels
--------------------
Direct3D: 0/4 (retail)
DirectDraw: 0/4 (retail)
DirectInput: 0/5 (retail)
DirectMusic: 0/5 (retail)
DirectPlay: 0/9 (retail)
DirectSound: 0/5 (retail)
DirectShow: 0/6 (retail)

---------------
Display Devices
---------------
Card name: NVIDIA GeForce 8400M GS
Manufacturer: NVIDIA
Chip type: GeForce 8400M GS
DAC type: Integrated RAMDAC
Device Key: Enum\PCI\VEN_10DE&DEV_0427&SUBSYS_01F31028&REV_A1
Display Memory: 880 MB
Dedicated Memory: 113 MB
Shared Memory: 767 MB
Current Mode: 1440 x 900 (32 bit) (60Hz)
Monitor: Generic PnP Monitor
Driver Name: nvd3dum.dll,nvwgf2um.dll
Driver Version: 7.15.0011.0143 (English)
DDI Version: 9Ex
Driver Attributes: Final Retail
Driver Date/Size: 6/14/2007 16:25:00, 4763648 bytes
WHQL Logo'd: Yes
WHQL Date Stamp:
Device Identifier: {D7B71E3E-4767-11CF-1773-F82101C2CA35}
Vendor ID: 0x10DE
Device ID: 0x0427
SubSys ID: 0x01F31028
Revision ID: 0x00A1

[Tech John]

ive got same problem

Vista 32 bit
Inspiron 1420
NVIDIA 8400M GS video card

runs in dx9 only, dx10 crashes after plane video

as soon as i try to save or push 'M' the game alt-tabs and then crashes with a "bioshock.exe has crashed" error message

a fix would be nice

Have you tried anything to fix this issue?

You could try to download and install thelatest Direct X update. This can be done from the link below.

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=2da43d38-db71-4c1b-bc6a-9b6652cd92a3&DisplayLang=en

[resistance]

What is the problem?

Crash

Where is the problem happening?

After going into the Bathysphere and entering rapture, see the teleknesis sign and it crashes, also when I try and save the game.

What version of the game do you have (Steam / Retail )

Retail

What platform (PC / Xbox360)

PC

Are other people having this problem?

Yes



------------------
System Information
------------------
Time of this report: 10/10/2007, 01:12:31
Machine name: BURNINATOR
Operating System: Windows Vista™ Ultimate (6.0, Build 6000) (6000.vista_gdr.070627-1500)
Language: English (Regional Setting: English)
System Manufacturer: Gigabyte Technology Co., Ltd.
System Model: P35-S3
BIOS: Award Modular BIOS v6.00PG
Processor: Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo CPU E6750 @ 2.66GHz (2 CPUs), ~2.7GHz
Memory: 2046MB RAM
Page File: 706MB used, 3608MB available
Windows Dir: C:\Windows
DirectX Version: DirectX 10
DX Setup Parameters: Not found
DxDiag Version: 6.00.6000.16386 32bit Unicode


---------------
Display Devices
---------------
Card name: NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GTS
Manufacturer: NVIDIA
Chip type: GeForce 8800 GTS
Dedicated Memory: 284 MB
DDraw Status: Enabled
D3D Status: Enabled
AGP Status: Enabled

-------------
Sound Devices
-------------
Description: Speakers (Realtek High Definition Audio)
Driver Name: RTKVHDA.sys
Driver Version: 6.00.0001.5490 (English)
Driver Attributes: Final Retail
WHQL Logo'd: Yes
Date and Size: 10/2/2007 16:30:06, 1967576 bytes



ERROR LOG OF FAULT:


Problem signature:
Problem Event Name: APPCRASH
Application Name: Bioshock.exe
Application Version: 1.0.0.0
Application Timestamp: 46b7d7a9
Fault Module Name: StackHash_8d13
Fault Module Version: 0.0.0.0
Fault Module Timestamp: 00000000
Exception Code: c0000005
Exception Offset: 7c809e01
OS Version: 6.0.6000.2.0.0.256.1
Locale ID: 5129
Additional Information 1: 8d13
Additional Information 2: cdca9b1d21d12b77d84f02df48e34311
Additional Information 3: 8d13
Additional Information 4: cdca9b1d21d12b77d84f02df48e34311



Fixes Tried:

Installed DX10 (Latest)
Installed Latest NVIDIA drivers
Installed DX10 (August SDK)
Disabled Tablet PC Service from Windows Services
Tried Running in DX9 Mode
Tried Running with Shaders off
Tried Running in DX9 Mode with Shaders off
Tried Running in windowed mode

Uninstalled and Reinstalled Soundcard, Graphics Card.
Uninstalled and Reinstalled Bioshock

AVG isn't running on my computer.

Pretty much all I can do now is format and install XP for one game. Which isn't going to happen.

I can play Medal of Honour: Airborne - FINE on the same setup.

This is incredibly frustrating. I've been checking the site every day for a fix and yet there is none posted. Ready to take my $100 (NZ$) coaster and go to the commerce commission in NZ for failure to comply with basic business practices.

[jstar09]

Have you tried anything to fix this issue?

You could try to download and install thelatest Direct X update. This can be done from the link below.

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=2da43d38-db71-4c1b-bc6a-9b6652cd92a3&DisplayLang=en

Hey yup i've already updated directX
and also my NVIDIA graphics card driver with the patch I got from the Dell Website

[Tech John]

Hey yup i've already updated directX
and also my NVIDIA graphics card driver with the patch I got from the Dell Website

Just something to try.

Try to create another user account, with admin rights and call it Test.

Then try to play and create a save.

Any change?

[Criscokilika]

The title confuses me. Is there a "not full version" of the game?

[Tech John]

There is a demo available. People who were having issues with the demo were posting on here before release of the retail version.

[jstar09]

Just something to try.

Try to create another user account, with admin rights and call it Test.

Then try to play and create a save.

Any change?


hey actually that worked for me thanks!

so what should i do to get it working in the regular account?

[NakedSnake]

I've got the same problem.

Shortly after the scene with the Big Daddy, where you prompted to press Escape to save, the game crashed out. The 'Saving' screen started to fade in, paused almost immediately after, then the screen turned black and about 30 seconds later I received the typical "This program is not working" message from XP.

Fired the game back up, selected Continue, and I was back at the autosave from just before getting out of the 'bubble car' thing; my quicksave wasn't there. I got close to the scene with the Big Daddy again, and went to quicksave in case it locked up after that scene again, and it froze here this time.

Now, every time the game attempts to save, it does the same thing, and since the game autosaves when it transitions to a new area, that means I can't advance anywhere.

I tried deleting the save files in the case that there was some corruption there that caused the problem. That had no effect.

I deleted the game save folders and remade them, which also had no effect.

I uninstalled the game then reinstalled, and that as well had no impact.


Windows XP SP2, all updates
Epox EP-9NPA+Ultra with 6.86 nForce 4 Ultra AMD drivers
Sapphire Radeon X1800XT with 7.10 Catalyst drivers
DirectX 9.0c

[Tech Dan]

Have you also tried playing this game on another user account snake to see if your issue with saving is fixed?

[NakedSnake]

I tried that this morning, and it was no help.

[Tech Dan]

@ NakedSnake.

It may be worthwhile trying to close down background applications on startup to see if this helps with your issue. Please have a try at the following and revert the changes made in startup if this has had no impact on your problem:

To close down all third party applications on startup try to run "msconfig" to do this please follow the below information:

- Click on start
- Then click on the "run" button
- Type MSCONFIG and click ok
- When the box appears with the options click on the startup tab
- Select the "disable all button"
- Click "apply" and then close
- Restart the machine as requested and choose whether or not to display the message again

Try also clearing your temp files (or as much as you can remove) If you are unsure of how to do this please follow the below instructions:

- Enter Start
- Select Run
- Type %temp%
- Clear all files within the directory
- Please empty the contents of your recycle bin afterwards

Please let me know if this helps

[Dahakon]

:) Hey Guys, i dont know if anyone is still dealing with this issue but i solved it for me - iam running vista32, GC is GeForce8600gs an unfortunate card for Bioshock... Anyway i installed some hotfixes that i found for vista on the microsoft, though i dont think it was of any help, i also have the latest DX9c installed and am running the game through it. The game was running but i had the same problem, when i tried to save the game with quick save or the regular save, or for example tried "what is this?" on the VitaChamber it just crashed down... I tried everything in this forum, nothing helped and in the end totally hopeless i just tried to put the settings in the Graphics options to Medium instead of High as was the default it suddenly works fine. Yes from time to time it crashes - dont try to save when some other animation or speech is going on and you are fine. I hope this will fix the issues for you as it did for me :D :D

[NakedSnake]

@ NakedSnake.

It may be worthwhile trying to close down background applications on startup to see if this helps with your issue. Please have a try at the following and revert the changes made in startup if this has had no impact on your problem:

To close down all third party applications on startup try to run "msconfig" to do this please follow the below information:

- Click on start
- Then click on the "run" button
- Type MSCONFIG and click ok
- When the box appears with the options click on the startup tab
- Select the "disable all button"
- Click "apply" and then close
- Restart the machine as requested and choose whether or not to display the message again

Try also clearing your temp files (or as much as you can remove) If you are unsure of how to do this please follow the below instructions:

- Enter Start
- Select Run
- Type %temp%
- Clear all files within the directory
- Please empty the contents of your recycle bin afterwards

Please let me know if this helps
Dan, that did not work.

I even reinstalled Windows to no avail - I had severe problems with the Crysis demo, and a few had popped up in Far Cry (now fixed) - , though every other game has worked: COD4 demo, UT3 demo, Orange Box, etc.

I would like to note that the problem first occurred when I reached the scene with the Big Daddy where it prompts you to save. After reinstalling, at first, I simply got a Windows prompt of "The application failed to open because the application configuration is incorrect.", and remembered I had forgot to install the AMD 64 drivers and Dual Core optimizer. After doing so, I was able to start up Bioshock, but as soon as the first autosave occurred when the bubble car makes its way to Rapture, it crashed again. From a fresh installation after formatting both the Windows and Games partitions, it crashed at the very first save; there was no getting to a certain scene and then the problem arises as there was before.

Searching around the forums here, and elsewhere on the 'net, it's apparently not a thing limited certain hardware configurations. It's happened to people with AMD and those with Intel, regardless of whether they're using NVIDIA or ATi cards.

Given that the game has been out approximately two months now, with these problems, and there's not even a work around found, let alone a patch for it, and the release of COD4 is less than a week and several other games will be following within the next month, I'm rather close to giving up on this game all together.

[Tech JT]

Could you download this quicksave (http://forums.2kgames.com/forums/showthread.php?t=5632&page=6) .Now can you move it to the bioshock save game folder and then try load the save. If the game loads successfully could you try and save the game again.

[NakedSnake]

JT, it appears that link points to page 6 of this thread, and I do not see any quicksave files there.

[Tech JT]

Sorry my mistake this is the link below.

http://www.megafileupload.com/en/file/17813/QuickSave-bsb.html

[NakedSnake]

Game loaded successfully. Pressed F8 to QuickSave, and it locked up again. Every time the 'Saving Content' screen starts to fade in, it freezes just shortly after, so that the 'Saving Content' message is barely seen, some times a little bit more visible than others, the music skips - oddly, any sound effects seem to keep going, as I attempted a second time to save near the Plasmid, and while I could hear the voice from the machine continue to talk, but the audio in the background was frozen in that stutter phase that seems common when any game locks up - and anywhere from 10-60 seconds later, the 'This program is not responding' message shows up. I checked the Savegames folder after that, and the BSB file was gone, replaced by a BSH file of 40 bytes.

And when starting BioShock after these crashes, all settings are restored to default. It doesn't matter if I change settings, then exit the game, then load - which still has the settings saved - and then start a game and attempt to save, or if I don't exit the game, for it resets the settings every time this save crash occurs.

[sandeepkrdhir]

Hi Guys,

i am facing this problem that my game is not proceeding to arcadia stage after the smugglers hideout..can someone be kind enough to upload the arcadia starting stage after the smugglers hideout for me?

[Ketz]

Im experiencing exactly the same problems as NakedSnake. I can download a quicksave and load it, but when i do something and try to save or quicksave, it goes down :(

Comeone 2k, do something. This is stupid...

[Tech John]

Hi Guys,

i am facing this problem that my game is not proceeding to arcadia stage after the smugglers hideout..can someone be kind enough to upload the arcadia starting stage after the smugglers hideout for me?

When you say it is not proceeding, do you mean that it freezes on the load screen or the load screen will not appear at the end of the level?

[Tech John]

Game loaded successfully. Pressed F8 to QuickSave, and it locked up again. Every time the 'Saving Content' screen starts to fade in, it freezes just shortly after, so that the 'Saving Content' message is barely seen, some times a little bit more visible than others, the music skips - oddly, any sound effects seem to keep going, as I attempted a second time to save near the Plasmid, and while I could hear the voice from the machine continue to talk, but the audio in the background was frozen in that stutter phase that seems common when any game locks up - and anywhere from 10-60 seconds later, the 'This program is not responding' message shows up. I checked the Savegames folder after that, and the BSB file was gone, replaced by a BSH file of 40 bytes.

And when starting BioShock after these crashes, all settings are restored to default. It doesn't matter if I change settings, then exit the game, then load - which still has the settings saved - and then start a game and attempt to save, or if I don't exit the game, for it resets the settings every time this save crash occurs.

If you navigate to the save game folder in documents and make sure it is not set to read only.

[Ketz]

mine was set to read only, i turned it off. the same thing happened.

should i be looking to any other folders on the game folder as well?

[Tech John]

mine was set to read only, i turned it off. the same thing happened.

should i be looking to any other folders on the game folder as well?

Where was the save folder located? Also what else have you tried to fix the problem?

[Ketz]

C:\Users\Frederico\Documents\Bioshock\SaveGames


im on VISTA

[Tech John]

Im assuming that you have an admin account on the PC, is that correct? Are you using the Steam or retail DVD version?

[Ketz]

Yes, im admin and its the retail dvd version.

thank you for your time

[Tech John]

No problem. Have you tried to run as admin? If not right click on the shortcut for the game and choose run as admin. You could also try to run in DX9 mode by doing the same but choosing run - dx9.

[Ketz]

the "run as admin" is disabled and it wont let me enable. its not active.

what should i do?

[Tech John]

Make sure that your user accound it set to admin. I think it is only greyed out when the user accound does not have admin rights.

[Ketz]

my account is Admin, but it has that security center icon near it.

could it be something about the group policies or something?

[Tech John]

Where abouts is the security icon?

[NakedSnake]

If you navigate to the save game folder in documents and make sure it is not set to read only.

It's not set to read-only.

[Tech John]

It's not set to read-only.

Have you tried to run the game as admin?

[NakedSnake]

Yes, my account is an admin account.

[Tech John]

There seems to be some misunderstanding. When you try to run the game right click on the short cut, here you should have an option to run as admin. Click on this and the game should launch, once at the same point see if the problem persists.

[Ketz]

this one:
http://www.andreassalino.com/screen1.jpg

when i enter the account type , it only shows ADMIN and starndard is greyed out.

[NakedSnake]

There seems to be some misunderstanding. When you try to run the game right click on the short cut, here you should have an option to run as admin. Click on this and the game should launch, once at the same point see if the problem persists.

No offense, but I don't see any misunderstanding.

As I stated previously, I'm using Windows XP. If I were using Vista, I could understand that suggestion, since there's only one account with true admin rights. However, on XP, any account created as an admin account has all the same rights as 'Administrator'.

Also stated previously, is that it saved until a certain point in time, and has not saved since then. This occurred during the same play through, as I had used quick save approximately five minutes prior. Unless the user that BioShock was running as changed while playing, that wouldn't have been the cause.

However, for funsies, I went ahead and chose 'Run As...' and then 'Administrator', and it made no difference. Well, the "Saving" screen faded in a little bit more than it has any time before, but it still crashed.

[Ketz]

Ok, so now im running as admin, with dx9 and it still crashes on save.

I've tried to unset the read only from the saves folder, but as soon as i press apply and ok, it will go back to read only.
I've tried to take ownership of the folders as well, still nothing.

So i was thinking...is there anyway to change the path to the savegames folder?

I was checking the config and there is a variable that corresponds to that path, but i tried to change it with no success.

Any clues?

Thank you

[Grim_2o0o]

Hi peeps, been having this save problem aswell for about a week now using the retail DVD (Save files were being saved with the extension bsg when they should be bsb), I tried everything suggested by tech support etc and still had no joy: which was quite frustrating since the demo blew me away.

However, I recently stumbled upon a little app called BioShock Tweaker which has a setting to turn the SaveEXT back into bsb from bsg and it fixed the save problem for me, before that I couldn't advance past the first level where you're in the bathysphere going into Rapture after the lighthouse.

The game still crashes occasionally and I have to reset my graphics resolution back to 1440*900 from default, but at least I can play the game without it crashing everytime it saves/autosaves.

I have uploaded the app so others can try this technique out.

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=F13QIOJU
http://www.zshare.net/download/4642386115a024/
http://rapidshare.com/files/67164931/BioShock_Tweaker.zip.html
http://www.badongo.com/file/4992310

Hope it works for you guys, the game is definately brilliant but littered with bugs unfortunatly. :confused: