Mass effect 2 crashing after "press any key to start"

@Springyyy1

To recapitulate:

Did you used the "MassEffect2Config.exe"?

You installed both versions of the 2005 VCC++ runtimes? (x64 and x86 and restarted the machine?)

You did everything described in this post by the letter?

rename the executables back to their original names.

Go to your "D>drive<:\Program Files (x86)\Origin Games\Mass Effect 2\__Installer\vc\vc2005\redist" folder and run the "vcredist_x86.exe" as an Administrator. (right click > run as Administrator) > restart > test.

@holger1405 

Hello again friend, i opened MassEffect2Config.exe. was there anything specific on it you wanted me to try? also ran vcredist_86.exe as administrator and restarted to no avail. im going to go back to the post you mentioned and try everything there again. i've contacted customer support several times about this now, and nobody has been able to help and it's getting kind of ridiculous lol. i'll let you know if anything changes after i try everything in the post once more.

@Springyyy1

Actually I asked about the "MassEffect2Config.exe" because it can render ME2 unplayable, but that should not happens on Windows 10.

You could try to run the game in windowed mode.

@holger1405

Yeah that's interesting, i actually did try it in windowed mode and also in a variety of different graphical settings and resolutions, it sure made the intro cinetmatic look pretty, but didnt help with my problem unfortunately. also retried everything in the post and it didnt help and im honestly starting to lose hope ☹️

@Springyyy1

At this point we must figure out if this is a Game, a Windows or maybe even a Hardware problem.

Do you play other games and do they run normally?

- Uninstall ME2 from the Windows control panel > reboot.

- Delete the "Mass Effect 2" folder under "C:\Users\>your user name<\Documents\Bioware" if it still exist.

- Make sure the "Mass Effect 2" folder under ">drive<:\Program Files (x86)\Origin Games" is gone completely.

- Download CCleaner > use the "Registry" function to clean the registry. (make the backup CCleaner recommends.) > reboot.

- install ME2 again running Origin as Administrator. > test

@holger1405

Alrighty, Mass effect 2 and all folders are gone, downloaded CCleaner and cleaned registry. Ran origin as administrator and ME2 is installing right now. and yes, i play many other games. Mass effect 1 and 3 work just fine, along with the multitude of other games i play frequently. this is the biggest problem ive ever experienced with any game by far and its driving me nuts. ME2 is my favorite game in the franchise ☹️

@holger1405

mmkay tested after re installing and the problem persists

@Springyyy1

Ok, this is some problem.

There is very little room on your HDD. Could you free some space on the drive? Also run chkdsk on your C: drive.

Press the Windows key and "x" at the same time > Command prompt (Admin) > in the CMD window at the prompt type or copy "chkdsk C: /f /r /x" (without the qoutes) reboot > test

Also please clear your Origin cache again.
All settings in Origin (only in Origin not in the games) are back to default settings after this.)

    - close Origin completely. (right click on the Origin symbol in the task bar > close)
    - Press the Windows key and "R" at the same time.
    - Type or copy  "%ProgramData%/Origin" (without quotes) > hit ENTER
    - Delete all the files and folders in the Origin folder, except for the "LocalContent" folder. (The "LocalContent" folder must remain untouched.)
    - Press the Windows key and "R" at the same time.
    - Type or copy "%AppData%" (without quotes)  > hit ENTER
    - Now your Windows explorer should have brought you to your "C:\Users\>your user name<\AppData\Roaming" folder
    - Delate the "Origin"  folder inside the "Roaming" folder
    - In the address bar of your Windows explorer click on the word "AppData".
    - Open the "Local" folder
    - Delate the "Origin"  folder inside the  "Local" folder
    - Restart your PC. > test

@holger1405

Yes it is quite a nasty little issue i have here. like i said EA couldnt even help me. you've already been 10 times more helpful than them and im truly grateful for all your help so far 🙂,EA should be paying you for this. Once again however.. after trying everything you said, my problem still goes on.

@Springyyy1

Thanks, you can tell that to EA if they ask. 😉

I have to think this over.

In the mean time, please create a new DxDiag, also go to your Reliability monitor (Press the windows key and "R" at the same time and copy or type "perfmon /rel" (without the quotes) in > ENTER and look if it has ME2 entries.

If yes double click at the last one, copy it to the clipboard, (Bottom left corner) save it to a text file and load it up together with the DxDiag. You can do that with the "choose file" button at the bottom right corner of the reply window.

Edit:

There is a newer driver for your 970 out, I don't think that the driver is the reason but to rule that out can't hurt.

@holger1405

Haha, i'll be sure to mention you if i contact customer support for the 100th time. Anyway, take your time man, cant rush perfection. Ive posted a new Dxdiag and my most recent ME2 Problem signature. Thanks so much again for the help!

@Springyyy1

Ok, the error is off course the same.

The problem with this is that the reinstallation of the "vcredist_x86.exe" and/or the C++ runtime and/or the game should have solved that problem.

That means there is something in play here that can't be seen in the crash reports.

The game is installed on your C: drive, right?

Disable the Xbox DVR app in windows 10 after this guide. > test

Create a new (local) user account (Administrator.) > reboot > log on to the new account and test.

@holger1405

Yes, exactly, it's the strangest thing. double checked to make sure it was installed on the correct drive, disabled my Xbox DVR  as well as signed in on a seperate account with admin permissions.. I bet you can guess the outcome ☹️    (didn't work in case you were wondering).

Okay wow do i feel stupid. After ALL that stuff we did... i was digging around for hours on the internet trying to find ANYTHING they could be causing this and finally finally found something. it's an issue with Origin cloud saves. One of my saved games was corrupted. when you delete a saved game from Documents/Bioware/Mass Effect 2/Save it only stays gone untill you load the game up again due to origin cloud saving. So to prevent the loading of the corrupted game save, all you have to do is delete everything from the save folder, turn cloud saves off.. load up the game.. and it should work, or at least it did for me. thank for all your help everyone who replied to this! so many nice people out there who just want to help, truly appreciate it!

@Springyyy1

Yes, that was my first thought. That's why I told you in my first post in this thread to move your "Save" folder out of the "Bioware" folder and also to do it a second time later on.

The save games are only replaced by the cloud saves if you allow them to be replaced at the prompt Origin gives you for a save game mismatch. 

I'm having the same issue and when I removed the save it worked fine. The issue is I don't want to delete my save. I've spent a good bit of time on this character I'd sooner just never finish the games over deleting my save. Is there anyway to recover it?

I actually got this to work. Sorry for the necropost.

The ChapterSave.pcsav was corrupted. When I deleted it the game started working. I just loaded up my save and things look to be in order, I am hoping that the file was not required as I can't play with it there. If something does come up I did find some people talking of another fix that I will put here for anyone who has this issue in the future. Apparently, if you load a save up in Gibbeds ME2 save editor and just resave it there this can fix these issues sometimes.

@Dragon000Heart 

Trial and error is the way to go to find the save game at fault.

The defect ChapterSave.pcsav should not hinder you to import the save into ME3 if you have at least one more save after you finished the game.