Re: Direct x Error message "GetDeviceRemovedReason"

OK so a mate has had a fiddle with my computer and he can't see why the game won't work. I had issues with an online game but I have resolved them but still cannot play dragon age. The issues I had with the other game people asked me to upload some files so I have attached those files here in the hope that it may help someone identify the issues here.

Hope that helps and thanks to everyone trying to help resolve this for me. I have not been able to play for over a year so would really like to play again.

Thanks

I'm having the same problem! DA:I worked fine for me through the shift to Windows 10, but I didn't play for a while, and then had to replace the video card. I can only assume that in some way contributed to it not working now.

I, too, am getting "GetDeviceRemovedReason" errors. They're happening between when I select the initial character options for a new game and when the game itself loads, so I'm not able to save, name the character, or design it.

I've tried the latest drivers and DirectX.

I've tried rolling back the video driver.

I've tried installing the DirectX End-User Runtimes (June 2010) as recommended on several sites.

I've tried putting the game and the Origins client in Compatibility mode for Win 7.

I haven't tried editing the registry yet, because I'm very wary of doing that in Win 10, though I've seen advice that gives instructions for changing Windows 8 settings that might help...

Here's my DxDiag, for what it's worth. I'm currently on the rolled back drivers, but this was recorded before I tried compatibility mode.

https://hastebin.com/ubexozajiw.tex

I'm rapidly becoming convinced that there isn't actually a current solution. I gather it's a problem with the combination of Windows 10, DirectX 12, and games of a certain age, which happens to include DA:I. ☹️

I don't suppose anyone has news?

-E-

@EmberVoices

You may want to look into running a video stress test, as the problem may be hardware related instead of software.  You have tried the latest drivers, old drivers, I assume you have done a clean uninstall and reinstall to get there...but the one thing that has remained constant is the hardware in all this.  It is unusual to hear of a video card being replaced in a laptop computer, usually when one of them dies, the whole thing is scrap...because usually the video card is either built onto the main board or is integrated into the main chip, thus there isn't a way to really replace it without rebuilding the whole thing, which means scrapping it and getting a new one.

So what I am wondering is IF the video element was replaced, did it get installed correctly, is the cooling system installed correctly, and was the issue partly power related to begin with and or is a power supply issue cropping up now.  DAI was a fairly taxing game when it came out, and can even now stress mid range computers to the point of showing up weak components.  You may want to see about running a furmark or other video stress test and see how your system preforms, keeping a close eye on heat and such as you do, using either afterburner, speedfan or some other monitoring program.

Also if you haven't already done so, I would move the saves folder out of its default location, which will make the game recreate it, and if you do this while Origin is NOT backing up to cloud, it will return all settings to default and help eliminate a corrupted save or setting for the game.

Oh, and I noticed an Wacom tablet also in your DxDiag, I would uninstall that and all software from that as well, as it is a know issue with frostbite games.

I'm not sure what gave you the impression that I'm using a laptop? This is my desktop computer.

Huh, the tablet is an issue? I had been using it before. I'll try uninstalling and reinstalling it. I need it, so I can't just not have it on the machine, but I can use a regular mouse to play the game at least, if that would help...

I can try running a video stress test, but I'm not sure why that would make much difference. The new video card is one step *better* than the previous one that worked just fine.

Since I was trying to run a new game anyway, removing the local version of my old saves is definitely something I can try. Again, not sure why that might help, but it can't hurt!

I was bummed to discover that one of the common fixes - running a system check to restore any broken Windows .dll files - found no problems and thus fixed nothing. :/

It really seems like a compatibility problem somewhere between DirectX 12, Windows 10, and DA:I, since most of the folks having this problem *didn't* just install a new video card, and no one brand of card seems responsible.

The most credible answer I've seen so far has to do with some kind of refresh rate in post-Vista Windows that didn't apply before and is potentially editable, but I haven't seen instructions geared towards Win 10 for it yet.

I will try replacing the old saves and un/re installing the Tablet next, thank you.

-E-

I forgot to mention that the *first* thing I did was use the Origin option to repair the game itself.

Removed the Wacom tablet entirely for the moment. That didn't help.

Tried to run a benchmark in the game and got the same error as I've been getting when I try to start a new game.

So now I'm downloading the FurMark stress test installer. We'll see what that tells us, I suppose.

*sigh*

[Edit] No problems with the FurMark stress test or benchmark test.

Maybe I should look into that reg edit option... mrrr...

-E-

Okay, I tried both regedit options. No dice. *sigh*

I did a full clean reinstall of the game, just in case the prior repair of the game was insufficient.

I'm really bummed about this. I have no idea what the real problem is, but none of the solutions that have worked for other people seem to be working for me. Perhaps it requires a precise combination I haven't accidentally hit upon in the process of trying each thing individually. Argh.

It seems clear that no one piece is malfunctioning. The operating system seems to be fine. The drivers are fine. The game is properly installed. The card runs fine and can handle the FurMark testing. Every piece is fine, yet somehow they aren't fine together. ☹️

-E-

@EmberVoices

I got the impression that you are on a laptop because in the DxDiag the video card is listed as a

AMD Radeon HD 7670M 

 and when it lists a M after the numbers generally means mobile version which most times is a reduced or hybrid version of the video card.  Most times that I have ever heard, you never get a mobility card listed in a desktop.....

Which MAY be part of the issue, as if it is a full HD 7670 and for some reason the driver thinks it is the mobile version then issues can occur....

Aha! That's good to know, thank you. I haven't a clue what to do about that, and it doesn't seem to be affecting anything else, but I'll see if it's fixable!

> Any Razer or Logitech hw/sw?

That never crossed my mind, but no, it seems my keyboard, mouse, and ear phones are all HP. However, I do also have a broken set of HEBE earphones that may still have drivers installed.

That said, the *sound* has been just fine. It's clearly a video issue that's crashing. Do you suppose it's still possible that there's interference there somehow?

-E-

So, a bit of research into the card I do have... I don't see how it's possible that I have the M version, it would be shaped wrong. So somehow my machine is very confused what card I actually have.

The side of the machine says 7670, but we got the "next version up" (don't remember the details) when we had to replace it, and now I don't know what exactly we got!

If we did indeed get a 7670 again, that might not be supported for Windows 10, which may be part of the problem. I'm not sure *why* it's a problem, as the card had no trouble with the FurMark test, but that could be it.

Unfortunately, it's looking like the problem may well be that this machine can't be made entirely happy. I can't afford to replace it just for one game, even if it's my very favorite game. :/

-E-

One thing to try, is to go into your system and remove the card from the system and let Windows "refind" and thus reinstall the drivers for the hardware.  What I would hope would happen is when it is reinstalled, the system correctly identifies the card allowing it to install everything needed and continue on.  That is my hope. 

It is my understanding that mobile cards aren't actually cards, but instead are part of the motherboard of the laptop, integrated into the machine.  Now my understanding my be wrong, but that is what I have always understood about them...thus making an "installation" of a mobile card almost impossible, unless you somehow got it as part of a new motherboard by some strange manufacturing incident....

Apropo of nothing, it IS possible to change out the major processors on a motherboard - upgrading the core processor for example. So yes, you can still change them on a laptop, but laptops are enough of a pain to fix stuff like that, and I've never had one break in the hardware layer before it was obsolete anyway, so *shrug*.

I just tried getting the AMD software to fix the drivers. Whatever it did worked in the sense that the computer is fine, but I still get the damned error.

I can try uninstalling the video card, but... I'm not sure how I'll use the interface without video??

-E-

Okay, according to our *purchase* record, this is what I should have in the machine:
Video Graphics Card ATI Radeon HD 7670 4GB DDR5 128Bit PCI-Express Output VGA DVI HDMI

That is according to both the side of the machine, and the old card sitting on my table, *exactly* the same generation of card as what came with the original machine, except the old card, according to the machine label, had 1GB GDDR5. So I really can't see any reason replacing the card would cause this problem.

That leads me back to my previous supposition that it's definitely a software problem. ☹️

I'm wondering if I somehow have the laptop version of the operating system... It does sometimes seem like it expects I have a touch screen...

-E-

Update: I tried the hard re-find of the graphics card. It still thinks it has the M version. So I reinstalled the drivers via the AMD app, which also still thinks it's the M version.

I found and installed an older version of DirectX. I set the game to the lowest possible video settings and full windowed mode.

News! It got the farthest it has thus far! I actually saw the first few frames of the opening! But then it errored out exactly as before.

I'm seeing if AMD's "Gaming Evolved" optimizers will fix it.

Wish me luck.

*sigh*

-E-

Aha!

Okay, letting AMD's Gaming Evolved app optimize DA:I has helped a great deal. I wouldn't say it *fixed* it, because the game runs smaller than full screen in reduced quality graphics, where before it was full screen and better quality. But I WAS able to play far enough to save! So that's something.

I can't say this is "resolved", because it's frankly not, and I also know that the solution I have found wouldn't work for other combinations, and that this problem is happening in a wide variety of contexts.

But it's enough that I can at least play again, so for the moment I'm satisfied. Of course, I don't know if it will error out after hours of gameplay - I haven't tested that just yet.

-E-

@EmberVoices

You may want to have a chat with whoever swapped out your video card and discuss what or why your machine sees it as a mobile version of the card.  From the outside looking in, the game worked previously, then you had a video card replaced, your machine mis-identifies it and now the game doesn't run anywhere near what it should or doesn't run at all.  While a bunch can change in a computer, such as drivers, OS updates, installed programs...the issue is your video card basically dropping out of service when trying to play the game, and the only thing major changed since the last time it worked....your video card. 

If you are comfortable opening the box, you may want to see if you can swap your video card to another PCI slot and see if your system identifies it correctly.  If you aren't then I would talk to whoever worked last on your PC.  IF the system truly sees your video card as a mobile as it lists and it isn't then it could cause some weird issues with any program that access the video card...not just DAI, which just happens to be the first most likely.  It MAY not make a difference, but anytime my computer doesn't see the correct hardware makes me very nervous because that usually means I have a bunch of PIB work coming up to fix stuff about to go real wrong...

Now for stupid question of the day....your cable going to your monitor, it is plugged INTO the video card and not plugged into the motherboard in some way, thereby using an onboard video card of the MOBO??  Yeah, yeah, I know stupid question, but I have to ask, cause yup, I have seen it....

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@mcsupersport wrote:

@EmberVoices

 <snip>

Yeah, yeah, I know stupid question, but I have to ask, cause yup, I have seen it....

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Me too.  I've even done it (although I realized it immediately.)  🤭

It's not a stupid question, it's exactly the kind of question I'd have asked while doing tech support forever ago. Always check the basics first.

I'm rusty as hell though, and Windows 10 is a different beast.

To answer your question, as far as I recall, the motherboard doesn't offer a monitor plug position out to the back of the machine. Without the card in, I *can't* plug in a monitor. And we put the new card right where the old card had been. But next time I'm home, I will double check to make sure I haven't done anything truly stupid.

I'm very comfortable opening the machine. I'm not particularly comfortable lugging it off the desk, though. So I'll need to recruit a minion before I dig into the machine again.

We (my partner and I) replaced the card ourselves, which we are reasonably qualified to do, both having built machines from parts in the past.

I don't have total confidence in the place we got the card from, however. It was hard to find the right kind, and the one place we found one for a decent price it was the only card they had - very obviously a stray item in a small shop online that otherwise sells other stuff.

Regardless, I'm pretty sure IF there's a problem with the card, it's with the card *itself*, not with how we installed it. It's not possible we got the wrong kind of card - it wouldn't go in the slot if it was the wrong kind of card. But we theorize that it somehow has the wrong version of the chip on it, if that's possible (I'd have to do deeper research to determine if that's even possible - the two kinds of chips may not be shaped the same).

That said, I've looked it up and in this case there's very little difference between the two versions of this generation of card in terms of capacity. They have the same scores, etc. Everything has worked just fine except DA:I, and the error I'm getting is one lots of people have gotten without having the card issues since Windows upgraded past 7 and DirectX 10. So while I can't rule it out - and am still interested in sorting it out - I'm not convinced it's conclusively the card that's the problem.

I have an alternate card I can try that a friend gave me. I'm not sure if it's a suitable replacement - I think it's weaker - but it's also the right kind of slot, so it at least hypothetically could work if it's supported on the software level.

Alas, AMD's site *does* say the generation of card I have and that my machine originally came with is NOT supported for Win 10, but of course, Win 7 is no longer supported by Microsoft, and I can't afford a whole new machine right now. But it was AMD's optimization software that allowed me to play again, so at least their ambient support works pretty well.

*sigh*

-E-