Mass Effect won't start

I have also experienced this.  I have tried:

- All of the above in various permutation (eg. close everything, reboot, start from ME icon, start from Origin, change to various other compatibility modes)

- Changed video drivers

- Uninstalled / Reinstalled

- Uninstalled Origin and reinstalled as Admin, then reinstalled ME

- Installed ME2 (Runs perfectly)

- Tried a suggestion where there MassEffect2config replaces the MassEffectconfig.  

- Reinstalled on the C drive in case using the secondary drive was the culprit.

- MassEffectConfig.exe indicates that patch 1.02 is applied

My system:

Windows 8 x64

Core i-7

8GB RAM

NVidia 630m

64GB SSD

1TB HDD

One slight oddity.  I gather that the file MassEffectLauncher.exe should be somewhere?  It isn't.  I am wondering if Origin might not be applying the 1.02 patch correctly?  I've tried doing it myself, but it pops up a message indicating that ME isn't installed.  

I just bought the game yesterday, so I have had no prior experience running it.  I do have another computer capable of running it, so I might try that.  But I don't know if there is a limited number of systems it can be authenticated on and I'm hesitant to try.

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@maxexter wrote:

I have also experienced this.  I have tried:

- All of the above in various permutation (eg. close everything, reboot, start from ME icon, start from Origin, change to various other compatibility modes)

- Changed video drivers

- Uninstalled / Reinstalled

- Uninstalled Origin and reinstalled as Admin, then reinstalled ME

- Installed ME2 (Runs perfectly)

- Tried a suggestion where there MassEffect2config replaces the MassEffectconfig.  

- Reinstalled on the C drive in case using the secondary drive was the culprit.

- MassEffectConfig.exe indicates that patch 1.02 is applied

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I tried all of the above yesterday and nothing. I spoke to a help advisor yesterday who asked me for the product code, I didn't have one. I also noticed that the MassEffectLauncher.exe was missing. She had me open a pogo.com account, no idea why, and did something because it opens the launcher now.

Success! I thought, but no now when I click play it says "the activation limit has been reached". Again I spoke to a help advisor who suggested I uninstall Mass effect, run Cclean to clean my registry, and reinstall Mass Effect. I did all that and I am still getting the error message "the activation limit has been reached".

I spoke to yet another advisor who has escalated the issue to a "specialist" who will email me back. I await with baited breath.

I paid origin £9.99 and I have realised if I had gone into town I could have got it on disc in the Game store, or delivered to my home, for just £4.99. Why is it £5 cheaper for a hard copy? Especially as it would have been so much easier to install without f*%$ing around with Origin.

I'm also having problems.

I suspect that the answer I'm going to get is "your computer sucks." Which is true. (I've got the dreaded intel integrated chip right now).

Which I would be fine with, except that before my old laptop died, I'd been running ME1, 2, and 3 (not beautifully, but acceptably), and the specs on the laptop I'm currently using are nearly identical to my old one (If anything, this computer is slightly better).

Besides which, I can run ME3. It's got some weird graphical things happening, but no crashes.

I can't get ME1 to run at all (I haven't installed ME2).

I've tried administrator/compatibility mode, I'v uninstalled, reinstalled, rebooted, updated my sound card drivers, updated the game...Is the answer really "Well, your specs aren't good enough, even though they were before"? Is ME3 really less demanding than ME1? Or does it just not quit as easily? 

ETA: If it helps, the pop-up error message I get is a generic it-stopped-working sort of message. The log file says this:

[0.074] Log: Log file open, 09/09/13 11:33:38
[0.074] Init: BioWare Final Build Version: 1.2.20608.0
[0.074] Init: Command line:
[0.074] Init: Base directory: C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\SteamApps\common\Mass Effect\Binaries\
[0.601] Init: CPU Page size=4096, Processors=4
[0.601] Init: High frequency timer resolution =2.078183 MHz
[0.601] Init: Memory total: Phys=1048575K Pagef=2097151K Virt=2097024K
[32.928] Log: Shader compiling for material Nodebuddy_GOOD took 20.25s
[46.798] Log: Failed to load 'Material None.': Failed to find object 'Material None.'
[46.798] Log: Failed to load 'Material None.': Failed to find object 'Material None.'
[46.798] Log: Failed to load 'Material None.': Failed to find object 'Material None.'
[46.798] Log: Failed to load 'Material None.': Failed to find object 'Material None.'
[46.798] Log: Failed to load 'Material None.': Failed to find object 'Material None.'
[46.835] Log: Failed to load 'Material None.': Failed to find object 'Material None.'

Oh, you're replying to an old thread.  I got mine working some time ago.  My detailed (albeit tediou) solution is here:

http://answers.ea.com/t5/Mass-Effect-1/PC-Mass-Effect-Won-t-Start-A-New-Solution/m-p/1435670#M2911

 - me -

Your solution was wrong. The way to play on Winows 7 is:

Right Click ME Icon

Click Properties

Click Compatability Tab

Check "run this program in compatability mode for:

Select option windows xp service pack 3

Let me know if this fixes any problems.

Ya it worked by .

1.Closing ORIGIN,

2.then Running Origin as Administrator then launching

I have tried everything suggested and the game still won't start. Even worse is the fact that I had to download it because it doesn't want to load from my discs. The game runs fine, but if you leave it in the menu for to long it crashes, I can't even get as far as making a new character . Any assistance would be great 

@BLaCKoNi323 When the game crashes, do you get an error message?

If you restart with a Clean Boot does that have any effect on the issue?

https://help.ea.com/en/help/faq/how-to-clean-boot-your-pc/