bioshock.exe has encountered a problem & needs to close..

[tVItkh]

ok, i have tried updating / reinstalling my dx, my nvidia drivers, the vc/vs redist, restarting the comp numerous times, un/reinstalling bioshock, & doing it all over again & tbh ive even tried out a couple of bioshock.exe cracks, but nothing works.

but every time i try & launch the bioshock.exe, after a moment it loads the little bioshock splash screen like its about to enter the game & then it just doesnt start & an error window explaining 'bioshock.exe has encountered a problem & needs to close.. we are sorry for any incoveinience' appears.

i could run the demo flawlessly, but it wont even let me launch the full game.

i am running an nvidia xpertvision 7900gts
win xp pro with sp2
Amd Athlon 64 3400+ 2.40ghz
1.50GB RAM

so can anyone please help me out & tell me what im doing wrong? im really very dissapointed that this has been this difficult.

thankyou in advance.

[tVItkh]

sorry, but seriously, some help would be really aprieciated..

[m3talh3ad]

I had the same problem called tech support and they told me to do the following.

Right click on your shortcut to bioschock
go to properties
in the target field after the .exe add -dx9

ex. xxxx.exe -dx9

and make sure u always run off that shortcut. That worked for me and i got all the way to fort frolic and now my game is crashing again but maybe itll get u started.

[tVItkh]

thanks for the reply, but sadly i just tried it & it did nothing

still just get that damn error message.

[mjt1337]

http://forums.2kgames.com/forums/showthread.php?t=11859

Try that, it's not ideal, but it got me up and running after 3 weeks with no success.

[Tech Richard]

Try disabling the intro video for the game, see if this helps. To do this goto the folder where the game is installed.

C:\Program Files\2K Games\BioShock\Builds\Release

Find the BioShock.exe file, right click and select "Send to" --> "Desktop (Create shortcut). Next view the desktop, right click on the newly created shortcut and choose properties. Find the box called Target which should read as the following :

"C:\Program Files\2K Games\BioShock\Builds\Release\BioShock.exe"

Please change this to read as

"C:\Program Files\2K Games\BioShock\Builds\Release\BioShock.exe" -nointro

Save the changes made by clicking okay. Then run the game again using this new shortcut. Did this allow the game to get to the main menu?

[horrorskope]

i'm having hte exact same problem. what if it didn't install a shortcut? i don't have a bioshock.exe

[methylbenzoate]

I used to get the all too familiar "Bioshock.exe has encountered an error and needs to close" message too. But only on my nVidia system, I might add (2 512MB 7950GTs in SLI).

To remedy the problem, I had to disable the high detail shaders. After I did this, I was able to load into levels without the game crashing. However, once in the level, I tried enabling the high detail shaders, because the game looks so much better with them on, but the game crashed after a few minutes. So it seemed that I could not run Bioshock on my nVidia system with good graphics. Frustrated by this, I upgraded my motherboard to an ASUS Striker Extreme, my CPU to an Intel Core 2 Duo E6600, and my RAM to Corsair XMS DDRII 800 (4-4-4-12). My previous system was an ASUS A8N32-SLI Deluxe, an AMD Athlon 64 FX-57, and 2 x 1024MB of Corsair XMS DDR (2-3-3-6).

Try disabling the high detail shaders after updating the ForceWare drivers to the latest BETA version:

http://www.nzone.com/object/nzone_do...etadriver.html

Let us know how the situation progresses.

[methylbenzoate]

Oh yeah, and if you have an ASUS motherboard, disable PEG Link in the BIOS setup. PEG Link has multiple settings, and when enabled, overclocks your video card. PEG Link, if enabled, can lead to instability, because overclocking increases the temperature of the video card.

[nth]

Thanks Tech Richard!

I've spent 10 hours over the last week trying every suggestion on the net to solve Bioshock failing to launch with the dreaded "Bioshock has stopped working" error. This all started after I did a clean install of Ultimate Vista (from XP) when I upgraded to an NVidia 8800 GTS. Bioshock worked fine for me in XP SP2 but once in Vista, no dice. I'm sure I burned a few of my 5 installs making this work with all the driver un/installations, DirectX un/installations, Steam un/installations, Steam backup restorations, Steam re-downloads, .ini edits, standing on alternating feet, ad infinitum. The problem showing up on such a fresh OS install made me doubt it was a conflict with other running services. I'm glad I ran into this post before I reinstalled Vista.

So, in short, the "-nointro" addition to the app shortcut did the trick. No need to disable DX10, butcher my ini file or hobble my system.

System specs:
AMD Athlon 64 3800
2gb Ram
EVGA 8800 GTS (320)
MSI K8n Neo4 SLI mobo

Cheers,

Nth

Try disabling the intro video for the game, see if this helps. To do this goto the folder where the game is installed.

C:\Program Files\2K Games\BioShock\Builds\Release

Find the BioShock.exe file, right click and select "Send to" --> "Desktop (Create shortcut). Next view the desktop, right click on the newly created shortcut and choose properties. Find the box called Target which should read as the following :

"C:\Program Files\2K Games\BioShock\Builds\Release\BioShock.exe"

Please change this to read as

"C:\Program Files\2K Games\BioShock\Builds\Release\BioShock.exe" -nointro

Save the changes made by clicking okay. Then run the game again using this new shortcut. Did this allow the game to get to the main menu?

[tVItkh]

lol, um, ok, thankyou everyone for your feedback & help, but you'll never guess what, but after safely completely uninstalling the game, clearing the registry of anything to do with bioshock & securom, etc & then doing a new fresh reinstall actually worked.. :P i dont know why it didnt before..

maybe because i had the demo before the full game?

[Hadrian]

lol, um, ok, thankyou everyone for your feedback & help, but you'll never guess what, but after safely completely uninstalling the game, clearing the registry of anything to do with bioshock & securom, etc & then doing a new fresh reinstall actually worked.. :P i dont know why it didnt before..

maybe because i had the demo before the full game?

Quiet possible. Many games can be "broken" if a demo or beta version are still on the system or if registry keys for the same are still imbedded.

[Douglas]

Hi, I'm having this same problem when I try to start Bioshock... it gives me the splash screen, but then an error message saying that it needs to close.

I've tried a bunch of things, like loading it without the intro, or loading in Dx9, but it still crashes. Any suggestions?

Specs:
HP Pavilion dv6000
Windows Vista Home premium
Intel Core Duo CPU
RAM: 2GB
32-bit Operating System
Mobile Intel 945GM/GU Express Chipset Family

Thanks for any help you can give me!

[methylbenzoate]

Hi, I'm having this same problem when I try to start Bioshock... it gives me the splash screen, but then an error message saying that it needs to close.

I've tried a bunch of things, like loading it without the intro, or loading in Dx9, but it still crashes. Any suggestions?

Specs:
HP Pavilion dv6000
Windows Vista Home premium
Intel Core Duo CPU
RAM: 2GB
32-bit Operating System
Mobile Intel 945GM/GU Express Chipset Family

Thanks for any help you can give me!

What video card do you have?

[Hadrian]

Hi, I'm having this same problem when I try to start Bioshock... it gives me the splash screen, but then an error message saying that it needs to close.

I've tried a bunch of things, like loading it without the intro, or loading in Dx9, but it still crashes. Any suggestions?

Specs:
HP Pavilion dv6000
Windows Vista Home premium
Intel Core Duo CPU
RAM: 2GB
32-bit Operating System
Mobile Intel 945GM/GU Express Chipset Family

Thanks for any help you can give me!

Thats the problem right there. You do not have the required hardware to run the game. BioShock minimum requirements state and ATI or Nvidia graphics card ( Geforce 6600 or above/ ATI x1300 or above ~ excluding x1550 models). Sorry bud but you should have payed attention to the requirements on the box.

[Douglas]

The Intel 945GM/GU is the video card, i think... it's what shows up under Display Adapters in my Device Manager...

[Hadrian]

The Intel 945GM/GU is the video card, i think... it's what shows up under Display Adapters in my Device Manager...

Douglas read my above post. Its bad news im afraid .

[Douglas]

Thats the problem right there. You do not have the required hardware to run the game. BioShock minimum requirements state and ATI or Nvidia graphics card ( Geforce 6600 or above/ ATI x1300 or above ~ excluding x1550 models). Sorry bud but you should have payed attention to the requirements on the box.

Well, that sucks... I'm an idiot. :P

Thanks for the help anyway!!

[capt reddog]

im sure everyone means well , but show me another release recently where you have to " add this " or "delete that " or change this " ,even down to changing your bios settings !!! this game is seriously flawed , wasnt tested well and is full of bugs , for gods sake stop telling everyone to do this or try that ,2K and patch the bloody game correctly . its a shame that a game so highly anticipated has shown itself to be so badly tested and rushed into release to quickly , im running a high spec rig , quad core processor , 8800 gtx , 2 gig ram , xfi soundcard , and i treid the -dx9 shortcut .. that got me into the game now ... crash ... crash ... crash , totally random ... what going on ,is there a patch on the lines ?

[Hadrian]

im sure everyone means well , but show me another release recently where you have to " add this " or "delete that " or change this " ,even down to changing your bios settings !!! this game is seriously flawed , wasnt tested well and is full of bugs , for gods sake stop telling everyone to do this or try that ,2K and patch the bloody game correctly . its a shame that a game so highly anticipated has shown itself to be so badly tested and rushed into release to quickly , im running a high spec rig , quad core processor , 8800 gtx , 2 gig ram , xfi soundcard , and i treid the -dx9 shortcut .. that got me into the game now ... crash ... crash ... crash , totally random ... what going on ,is there a patch on the lines ?

Bud half the stuff we have been recommending is standard practice in any game forum. Things like the DC optimiser for AMD, or the Vista/XP hotfixes can easily be overlooked, and since BS was released Nvidia have still yet to release a full driver set that is non-beta that incorporates the tweaks needed for BS, which is hardly the games fault. Screeming for a patch asap wont make it come any faster. Oh and show you a game were you need to add stuff to run it? Gothic 3, that game is so bad the gold master disc was bugged to hell and the retail version needed a 200MB patch on release day plus around 30 seperate "tweaks" just to get it to run, never mind crashing .

[csrussell]

Exact same problem here. I sent a support ticket to 2k games:

Bioshock crashes before I even get in game ("Bioshock.exe has stopped responding..."). I see the splash screen for a little while and then the screen goes black indefinitely. I press CTRL+ALT+DEL and pull up task manager, and then I can see the error. This is my 3rd install of Bioshock. 1st, installed on Vista Ultimate x86, worked great, then I uninstalled. Reinstalled Windows Vista Business x86 instead. Eventually, upgraded the sound card with a Creative X-Fi Xtrememusic. All drivers were up to date, and I was running Forceware 163.37 beta. Installed Bioshock. It crashed. Uninstalled Bioshock, and then reinstalled. Still crashed. Downgraded to Forceware 162.22 WHQL. Still crashed. Disabled my X-Fi in taskmanager, still crashes.

Forgot to mention to them: I've also forced dx9 mode, only difference is when it crashes, I don't have to open taskmanager to get out of the black screen, it crashes straight to the desktop. When using -nointro, nothing changes. Also tried windowed mode. No dice.

Specs:
Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 (stock)
EVGA GeForce 8800 GTS 640MB
Creative X-Fi Xtrememusic
2 GB (2x1GB) Corsair XMS2 DDR2 800 (PC2 6400)
Windows Vista Business

System running latest drivers and Windows updates.

[Hadrian]

Exact same problem here. I sent a support ticket to 2k games:

Bioshock crashes before I even get in game ("Bioshock.exe has stopped responding..."). I see the splash screen for a little while and then the screen goes black indefinitely. I press CTRL+ALT+DEL and pull up task manager, and then I can see the error. This is my 3rd install of Bioshock. 1st, installed on Vista Ultimate x86, worked great, then I uninstalled. Reinstalled Windows Vista Business x86 instead. Eventually, upgraded the sound card with a Creative X-Fi Xtrememusic. All drivers were up to date, and I was running Forceware 163.37 beta. Installed Bioshock. It crashed. Uninstalled Bioshock, and then reinstalled. Still crashed. Downgraded to Forceware 162.22 WHQL. Still crashed. Disabled my X-Fi in taskmanager, still crashes.

Forgot to mention to them: I've also forced dx9 mode, only difference is when it crashes, I don't have to open taskmanager to get out of the black screen, it crashes straight to the desktop. When using -nointro, nothing changes. Also tried windowed mode. No dice.

Specs:
Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 (stock)
EVGA GeForce 8800 GTS 640MB
Creative X-Fi Xtrememusic
2 GB (2x1GB) Corsair XMS2 DDR2 800 (PC2 6400)
Windows Vista Business

System running latest drivers and Windows updates.

Well I would think it might be a component service of the Buisness version casuing problems, if it previously ran fine on another version. Why the change anyhoo?

[csrussell]

Vista Business is the same as Ultimate, it just has slightly fewer features, like no Media Center, no Bitlocker, etc. I was running ultimate in eval mode, but decided to switch to business because I had a free copy of Business I received during a promotion from Microsoft. Also, I was having issues with my network card and some other stuff, so i wanted to install a clean copy.

[capt reddog]

ok i admit gothic was a nightmare .. however ,why has BS been released then , if nvidea doesnt have the correct drivers needed for BS . Surely during testing 2k must have used the drivers currently on nvideas website , if so ,it then follows that the graphics drivers are not at fault or they have ignored the problems , ive tried both drivers , the current whql ones and the beta drivers and both produce the same results , crash ! , ive got 2 rigs , one with xp , and one with vista , both crash and have problems , ive read so many forums on this game its making my eyes hurt ! , ive been building computers since the days of pentium p , have got most of the lastest games including airborne and dx10 games like lost planet , qwet etc , look on those forums and see what problems they have ...er ... none to speak about , and as for shouting for a patch , can you blame the huge amount of people who on buying this game found that they cant get it to work , and then have to be told to , disable this , or try that or add this ... not good enough !

[Hadrian]

Cant really blame 2k for Nvidia or ATI being slow on updating there drivers especially considering the dx10 component in BS, which is a rarity atm. Its not the first time its happened nor will it be the last. Most of the advice given about changing stuff if because there are so many variables in the way people setup there OS that could cause a problem and that is basically MS' fault for adding lots of stuff that is not really needed, but that cause issues with other software (like DEP, or Windows Firewall).
When you cut to the chase there are very few games that work "out of the box" nowadays, but I am one of the smarter chaps who know what can cause a problem and ensure it doesn't. Thats why IMO my BS played fine, with no crashes, and similarly with other games that are new. Remeber aswell a lot of the tech guys are tied up trying to help people emailing them about activation problems, or similar issues so it can be really hard for them to get concrete facts about what is causing crashes with the game, when so many people that buy games are ignorant of even what graphics card they have ( or lack of one).

[sathe]

IMPORTANT:
Using Vista 32, i was receiving the same problem, so i have temporarily changed to XP, but now i am back using Vista (Dual Boot)

Can anyone do the following and confirm whether or not this works for me

(in vista 32)
in Control panel
Go into System> "Advanced System settings" > Advanced Tab-> Settings button> Data Execution Prevention.

Then click "Turn on DEP for Essential Windows programs and services only.

After having the same error with another piece of software in this tab i found Bioshock and this software in their, and they are the ONLY two to stuff me around with this error on vista so far. I no longer have Bioshock installed and
have just packed away the game.

Please ASAP could someone tell me if this works,

Grant.

[Lupercal]

lol, um, ok, thankyou everyone for your feedback & help, but you'll never guess what, but after safely completely uninstalling the game, clearing the registry of anything to do with bioshock & securom, etc & then doing a new fresh reinstall actually worked.. :P i dont know why it didnt before..

maybe because i had the demo before the full game?

I have the same error. Um, could you tell me how I clean out the registry? I had the demo on steam beforehand too. Though it did not work either.

EDIT: Nevermind, I just updated to Vista SP1 and everything works perfectly now. Peculiar.

[Zythyl]

I had the same problem called tech support and they told me to do the following.

Right click on your shortcut to bioschock
go to properties
in the target field after the .exe add -dx9

ex. xxxx.exe -dx9

and make sure u always run off that shortcut. That worked for me and i got all the way to fort frolic and now my game is crashing again but maybe itll get u started.

ok that worked for me - any idea why? and any idea how i can enable dx10 again from in or out fo the game without it crashing...? cheers.

[imdzmg]

the same thing is happening and i tried the nonintro thing and still it doesnt work

[ovler]

had the same problem. got as far as difficulty level then loading screens for a bit then always crashed.

i have a amd dual core processor and there is a known issue with it and bioshock so you have to install the amd dual core timing fix that is on the dvd. after that it runs fine (so far).

ok, i have tried updating / reinstalling my dx, my nvidia drivers, the vc/vs redist, restarting the comp numerous times, un/reinstalling bioshock, & doing it all over again & tbh ive even tried out a couple of bioshock.exe cracks, but nothing works.

but every time i try & launch the bioshock.exe, after a moment it loads the little bioshock splash screen like its about to enter the game & then it just doesnt start & an error window explaining 'bioshock.exe has encountered a problem & needs to close.. we are sorry for any incoveinience' appears.

i could run the demo flawlessly, but it wont even let me launch the full game.

i am running an nvidia xpertvision 7900gts
win xp pro with sp2
Amd Athlon 64 3400+ 2.40ghz
1.50GB RAM

so can anyone please help me out & tell me what im doing wrong? im really very dissapointed that this has been this difficult.

thankyou in advance.