Game starts loading - hidden dialog box?

[murtlap]

I have 3.6.28.0_Beta installed with the screen resolution set to 1280x1024. Occasionally (about 20% of the time) the pie won't come up and the screen remains completely black. If I hit Alt-F4, a box that's approximately 250x200 pops up very briefly (also black but with some trim) in the upper-left corner. The pie then comes up and the game then returns to the menu. If I selected a mission, it says I failed the mission.

Any thoughts?

Thanks.

-M-

[CyberShadow]

Run the attached program in the background, then run W:A. When W:A stops loading, press Ctrl+Alt+Shift. You will hear 5 beeps. Press Alt+F4 to make W:A continue loading, then press Ctrl+Alt+Shift again (you will hear the beeps again). After you're done, find the files named 00000000.txt and 00000001.txt in the folder where you unpacked the attached program; post them as attachments.

[murtlap]

OK, here's the files from the capture utility. It seems to happen less when I have the second display disabled but it still happens (it was in single display mode for this capture).

Thanks.
Dan

[CyberShadow]

Nothing obviously unusual there... Try running the game with WormKit and this module: 30787. If the game loads correctly, exit the game and run it again (via WormKit). When it stops loading, leave the computer as is - after 5 minutes, the game should close and you will find a FREEZE.DMP file in your W:A folder. Please compress and attach it.

[murtlap]

Here's the freeze.dmp file.

Thanks again.
Dan

[CyberShadow]

The lock-up happens in nview.dll, a file that's part of nVidia's drivers. Try updating your video card's drivers.

[KRD]

I just wanted to say that this was the most epic piece of tech support I've ever witnessed on these forums. :o

Nice one, both of you!

[Run]

lol yes. I've never seen such an efficient identification of a problem

[murtlap]

Thanks for your help.

Well, I was running the latest video card driver (for the GeForce 6800) supported by the PC Manufacturer, but I downloaded the latest reference driver (v175.16) from nvidia. Unfortunately that didn't resolve the problem, though I'm no longer getting the flash of a dialog box or window in the upper-left corner as I was before.

NView is an extra utility that adds some additional controls when you have multiple displays. I've tried disabling it but it still hangs. With it disabled I may get an empty pie pan or a narrow slice when it hangs but the problem continues.

Thanks.
Dan

[murtlap]

Hi,

I've gone ahead and created another dump file with nview disabled. It's attached in case it's helpful.

Thanks again.
Dan

[CyberShadow]

The upcoming Beta update may contain a compatibility fix for the type of problem that you are experiencing. In the meantime, I'd like to suggest to try closing any programs that are not absolutely required for the game to function correctly - including instant messengers, music players, window managers and enhancers, etc.

[murtlap]

Thanks for all of your help. I'll keep an eye out for the new beta.

-Dan

[yakuza]

You're on a laptop? Or more importantly, it's not a 6800 mobile card, right?

[murtlap]

Nope, it's a desktop computer (a Dell XPS 400). I think it's the 6800GS.

Dan

[murtlap]

Hi,

I just wanted to give you an update on this problem. I haven't seen the pie get stuck at all after upgrading to 3.6.29. I am occasionally experiencing a new problem where, after the pie screen, the screen stays black and I hear the music from the main menu. Sometimes I can hit shift+ESC to minimize the window and get back to the game, but usually I just need to exit and restart.

Thanks for your help!

-Dan