Forum Discussion

Anonymous

10 years ago

Solved

ME2: Crash during intro sequence

I recently finished a playthrough of the original Mass Effect and wanted to continue with the same character in ME2, so I bought it on Steam. However, it crashes at various points during the intro; sometimes during the scene with Miranda and the Illusive Man, sometimes further in, but at most I've managed to start talking to Joker before the game stops responding.

I've googled and tried all the suggested solutions I found: verifying game files, making the game Large Address Aware (using this utility: https://www.techpowerup.com/forums/threads/large-address-aware.112556/), installing legacy PhysX drivers, ensuring all nonessential background processes are closed and so forth. I also found someone talking about the config utility making the game unrunnable, and although I wasn't having that exact problem I tried reinstalling the game and doing a manual save import instead of using the config utility. Despite all of these things, the problem persists. There is no information within the error message beyong telling me the program has stopped responding. Please help, I can ask Steam for a refund if I have to but I'd set my mind on playing the entire trilogy.

My computer specs (the game is installed on the SSD):

Operating System
	Windows 10 Pro 64-bit
CPU
	Intel Core i5 3570 @ 3.40GHz	51 °C
	Ivy Bridge 22nm Technology
RAM
	8.00GB Dual-Channel DDR3 @ 686MHz (9-9-9-24)
Motherboard
	ASUSTeK COMPUTER INC. P8Z77-V LX (LGA1155)	29 °C
Graphics
	BenQ GL2750H (1920x1080@60Hz)
	BenQ GL2750H (1920x1080@60Hz)
	2047MB NVIDIA GeForce GTX 660 (ASUStek Computer Inc)	32 °C
Storage
	931GB Samsung SSD 850 EVO 1TB (SSD)	36 °C
	2794GB Western Digital WDC WD30EZRX-00DC0B0 (SATA)	28 °C
Optical Drives
	No optical disk drives detected
Audio
	Realtek High Definition Audio

Anonymous
10 years ago
@holger1405

Hello again! I'm pleased to report that after a full reinstall of my PC, the game finally runs without issues (so far, at least, but it's far enough to save so that's a good step). Thanks again for all the troubleshooting help you offered!

18 Replies

Anonymous
10 years ago
@holger1405

I've tried doing as you suggested and gone back to older drivers (368.81) as well as removing the legacy PhysX drivers and making sure the correct ones are installed, but I'm afraid the problem persists. Attaching new versions of all the information you've asked for previously.
Reliability Monitor - Stopped responding.txt1 KB
Reliability Monitor - Stopped working.txt1 KB
DxDiag.txt76 KB
holger1405
Hero+
10 years ago
@Woebin

Do you use SweetFX?
Anonymous
10 years ago
@holger1405

No, I don't use SweetFX, ENB or any other external shader things.
holger1405
Hero+
10 years ago
@Woebin

There are two ME2 error reports in the DXDiag. One is the "d3d9.dll" error that's indicate a DX problem and one is an error I can't assign to a specific file or event because there is no information available.

So, lets go back to the basics. (Please attempt the following suggestions in the order I wrote them and test the game afterwards.) (Just to be clear, "Move" means that the folder or files must be gone from the original location)

Make sure that the Game and Steam are closed > Go to your "Documents\BioWare" folder and move the "Mass Effect 2" folder to your Desktop. > Start a new game without importing a character from ME1

Make sure that the Game and Steam are closed. > Go to your "C:\Games\Steam\steamapps\common\Mass Effect 2\redist\DirectX" folder and move all files in it with a .cab" file extension to a folder of your choice. (only the .cab files) > Go back to the "C:\Games\Steam\steamapps\common\Mass Effect 2\redist\DirectX" folder and run the "DXSETUP.exe" as an Administrator > reboot > test.

Run the Game as an Administrator directly from the "MassEffect2.exe" (C:\Games\Steam\steamapps\common\Mass Effect 2\Binaries)

Set the "MassEffect2.exe" to Windows Vista and Windows 7 compatibility mode > Test

Disable SLI > Test

If all this don't works, I would suggest you download and install Origin. Redeem the Steam ME2 codes in Origin and download the Game with Origin. > Test.
Anonymous
10 years ago
@holger1405

To be honest, I don't think this is worth any more trouble for me. I might try downloading the Origin version if it allows me to simply redeem my Steam code without buying it again, but other than that I feel done. Thanks for all your help though, I really appreciate it. Would it be appropriate to accept your most recent response as a solution, or should I leave it since I haven't actually tested that one?
holger1405
Hero+
10 years ago
@Woebin

You can redeem the Steam codes in Origin for free.

And no, please don't accept the last post as a solution unless the Origin download works.

I hope it does work, this games are worth it. 😉
Anonymous
10 years ago
@holger1405

Hello again! I'm pleased to report that after a full reinstall of my PC, the game finally runs without issues (so far, at least, but it's far enough to save so that's a good step). Thanks again for all the troubleshooting help you offered!
holger1405
Hero+
10 years ago
@Woebin

Good to hear. Have fun Gaming.