Vince
09-18-2006, 07:44 PM
So my dad has been unable to play Half-Life 2 Deathmatch in a long time -- he keeps getting a .dll file failure. Following the directions off STEAM, they mention that the WMI should be cleaned, dumped, then re-installed. It's a bit technical for me, but I can follow directions, and I did, and it didn't work. So we contacted technical support, and they sent a long response. Basically, it said to update the graphics card drivers, sound card drivers, DirectX, Windows, and make sure that I restart between each one. So, even though I knew all were up-to-date, I re-installed the drivers anyways, and sure enough, it still doesn't work. They then said to try it with the sound card disabled, and to try it with some command line instructions nerfing the graphics options and the sound card. All have failed. We have e-mailed them back, asking for further instructions, but I was wondering if anyone here might have any ideas? Here's a copy of the error signature and what they told us we should do. I haven't messed with the BIOS stuff -- I don't know enough about it, and I'm leery of messing up my dad's computer. So in summary...
Problem: "hl2.exe has encountered a problem and needs to close. We are sorry for the inconvenience."
Occurs: When trying to run Half-Life 2 Deathmatch, the online head-to-head version. Playing single player Half-Life 2 is perfectly fine, as is playing the original Half-Life Deathmatch online. Only HL2 online is the problem.
AppName: hl2.exe AppVer: 0.0.0.0 ModName: shaderapidx9.dll
ModVer: 0.0.0.0 Offset: 0002e02a
<table border="0" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td class="text" bgcolor="#c6d3ba">Response (Chris)</td><td class="text" align="right" bgcolor="#c6d3ba">09/07/2006 02:32 PM</td></tr> <tr><td class="text" colspan="2">Hello,
Please take the following Steps. Please be sure to complete each one and reboot your computer after each step as these have been found to be some of the most likely causes of the error you are receiving.
1. Update all graphics card and motherboard drivers. *NOTE* Be sure you are using the driver removal tool on your card manufacturer's site to fully remove the old drivers before installing the new one, this step is necessary!**
2. Download and install the most up to date version of DirectX
3. Download the newest drivers for your sound card
4. Update windows
5. If none of the above works, disable the soundcard via device manager and try running the game.
If you still have the same crash after completing these steps please try the following:
Right click the game name in the Play Games menu in Steam, then select advanced, launch options. Add the following line in the bar for launch options:
-nosound -window -dxlevel 70 +mat_forcehardwaresync 0
If that works then remove -nosound and set the directx hardware sound acceleration to "BASIC"
You will also want to run a memory test to be sure your RAM is not faulty, one popular free test is linked below:
http://www.memtest86.com (http://www.memtest86.com/)/
In addition to checking your RAM, you will also want to verify your RAM's timing matches what it is set to in the BIOS, you will need to review what latency your RAM stick (be sure they match, example: If you RAM is set to 3.0 timing in the bios you should have 3.0 timed RAM in your PC)
After each step be sure to reboot the machine and try running the game, if none of the above works, please reply to this message, and attach the error logs from whichever game you are attempting to play.
Additional Troubleshooting:
Please do not attempt these steps unless you are familiar with the system BIOS.
Disabling Fastwrites may increase system stability. You should find this feature within the system BIOS.
If you are using an AGP 8x motherboard, with an AGP 8x Videocard, try reducing 8x to 4x.
Try rolling back your drivers to the previous known good version for your card.
The following settings are for advanced users, do not attempt if you are unfamiliar with these settings.
AGP Aperture or Graphics Windows Size should be set to 128 or 256
Disable any “Shadowing” or “Memory Hole”
Disable "Cache Video BIOS"
AGP Driving mode should be set to “Auto”
Adjust AGP voltage to 1.6v in Bios
If you are overclocking your computer, please revert memory timing and voltage to standard settings for your machine.\\
Finally, be sure to check your videocard manufacturer's site for any sofware/driver conflicts that may be known issues with your particular card/driver version:
http://www.ati.com (http://www.ati.com/)
http://www.nvidia.com (http://www.nvidia.com/)
http://www.sis.com (http://www.sis.com/)
Once this has been completed, Please click the following link:
steam://support/?Issues=*
This will run a diagnostic program on your computer, Please copy and paste the output, or attach the html output file in a reply to this message.
If you cannot click the link, copy and paste it into and address bar to run the tool.
</td></tr></tbody></table>
Any help would be appreciated...my dad's really jonesing for some HL2, and it's getting on my nerves because I'm the "tech savvy" one of the family, so it falls to me to drive over to his house and try to fix the damned game.
Problem: "hl2.exe has encountered a problem and needs to close. We are sorry for the inconvenience."
Occurs: When trying to run Half-Life 2 Deathmatch, the online head-to-head version. Playing single player Half-Life 2 is perfectly fine, as is playing the original Half-Life Deathmatch online. Only HL2 online is the problem.
AppName: hl2.exe AppVer: 0.0.0.0 ModName: shaderapidx9.dll
ModVer: 0.0.0.0 Offset: 0002e02a
<table border="0" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td class="text" bgcolor="#c6d3ba">Response (Chris)</td><td class="text" align="right" bgcolor="#c6d3ba">09/07/2006 02:32 PM</td></tr> <tr><td class="text" colspan="2">Hello,
Please take the following Steps. Please be sure to complete each one and reboot your computer after each step as these have been found to be some of the most likely causes of the error you are receiving.
1. Update all graphics card and motherboard drivers. *NOTE* Be sure you are using the driver removal tool on your card manufacturer's site to fully remove the old drivers before installing the new one, this step is necessary!**
2. Download and install the most up to date version of DirectX
3. Download the newest drivers for your sound card
4. Update windows
5. If none of the above works, disable the soundcard via device manager and try running the game.
If you still have the same crash after completing these steps please try the following:
Right click the game name in the Play Games menu in Steam, then select advanced, launch options. Add the following line in the bar for launch options:
-nosound -window -dxlevel 70 +mat_forcehardwaresync 0
If that works then remove -nosound and set the directx hardware sound acceleration to "BASIC"
You will also want to run a memory test to be sure your RAM is not faulty, one popular free test is linked below:
http://www.memtest86.com (http://www.memtest86.com/)/
In addition to checking your RAM, you will also want to verify your RAM's timing matches what it is set to in the BIOS, you will need to review what latency your RAM stick (be sure they match, example: If you RAM is set to 3.0 timing in the bios you should have 3.0 timed RAM in your PC)
After each step be sure to reboot the machine and try running the game, if none of the above works, please reply to this message, and attach the error logs from whichever game you are attempting to play.
Additional Troubleshooting:
Please do not attempt these steps unless you are familiar with the system BIOS.
Disabling Fastwrites may increase system stability. You should find this feature within the system BIOS.
If you are using an AGP 8x motherboard, with an AGP 8x Videocard, try reducing 8x to 4x.
Try rolling back your drivers to the previous known good version for your card.
The following settings are for advanced users, do not attempt if you are unfamiliar with these settings.
AGP Aperture or Graphics Windows Size should be set to 128 or 256
Disable any “Shadowing” or “Memory Hole”
Disable "Cache Video BIOS"
AGP Driving mode should be set to “Auto”
Adjust AGP voltage to 1.6v in Bios
If you are overclocking your computer, please revert memory timing and voltage to standard settings for your machine.\\
Finally, be sure to check your videocard manufacturer's site for any sofware/driver conflicts that may be known issues with your particular card/driver version:
http://www.ati.com (http://www.ati.com/)
http://www.nvidia.com (http://www.nvidia.com/)
http://www.sis.com (http://www.sis.com/)
Once this has been completed, Please click the following link:
steam://support/?Issues=*
This will run a diagnostic program on your computer, Please copy and paste the output, or attach the html output file in a reply to this message.
If you cannot click the link, copy and paste it into and address bar to run the tool.
</td></tr></tbody></table>
Any help would be appreciated...my dad's really jonesing for some HL2, and it's getting on my nerves because I'm the "tech savvy" one of the family, so it falls to me to drive over to his house and try to fix the damned game.