Solved Games Crash On Launch

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Londmen

PCHF Member
Feb 11, 2023
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Hey, I've run into quite a bad problem. I updated my GPU drivers yesterday to prepare for Hogwarts Legacy but couldn't launch it. I've also noticed that this is also the case with games such as Apex Legends and Overwatch 2. HL and OW2 won't even show more than a black screen and Apex shows me the first 2 seconds of loading. However I tried Valheim, Monster Hunter Rise and The Witcher 3, which all worked with no problem.
This is everything I did prior to finding out about my problem and what I did to try and solve it.
Before:
  • Downloaded the latest NVIDIA drivers.
  • Installed them but got an error message, still it completed the install(I'm not sure if I uninstalled the old drivers with DDU beforehand but let's say I didn't)
  • I rebooted and tried to open Hogwarts Legacy to no avail.
After I tried:
  • Uninstalling drivers with DDU, reinstalling both the new, old and even the driver that released in between those but still the same issue.
  • Disk Cleanup.
  • /scfscannow.
  • Updated Windows 11 as far as I could.
  • Uninstalled & Reinstalled HL.
  • Used Restoro to try finding a problem.
  • Used HD Sentinel but no issues were found.
  • Tried reinstalling Microsoft Visual C++.
  • Tried disabling Firewall.
  • Did a double uninstall of drivers with DDU to try and remove all residual files.
  • Tried disabling XMP.
  • Tried disabling the slight OC I have on my GPU.
  • Tried finding some config file in HL directory that people said could help if changed but couldn't find.
  • Tried going back to an old restore point but the oldest ones were made today.
Drivers I Tried: 528.49(the one that got me the issue), 528.24, 527.56(the one I started with).
Specs:
Asus Rog Strix 3080TI
i7 12700k
32gb RAM
~35gb free space where the games are located(all of the above are on the same drive except Valheim and MH Rise)
1000w PSU
Motherboard: Gigabyte Z690 UD DDR4
2 monitors

Thanks for any suggestions!
 
Can you post the brand and model name or number of the power supply.

Download then run Speccy (free) and post the resultant url for us, details here, this will provide us with information about your computer hardware + any software that you have installed that may explain the present issue/s.

To publish a Speccy profile to the Web:

In Speccy, click File, and then click Publish Snapshot.

In the Publish Snapshot dialog box, click Yes to enable Speccy to proceed.

Speccy publishes the profile and displays a second Publish Snapshot. You can open the URL in your default browser, copy it to the clipboard, or close the dialog box.
 
Here you go! And thanks. * this should be my PSU: NZXT C1000 1000W

phillpower2 said:
Can you post the brand and model name or number of the power supply.

Download then run Speccy (free) and post the resultant url for us, details here, this will provide us with information about your computer hardware + any software that you have installed that may explain the present issue/s.

To publish a Speccy profile to the Web:

In Speccy, click File, and then click Publish Snapshot.

In the Publish Snapshot dialog box, click Yes to enable Speccy to proceed.

Speccy publishes the profile and displays a second Publish Snapshot. You can open the URL in your default browser, copy it to the clipboard, or close the dialog box.
Click to expand...
 
Power Profile
Active power scheme: High performance
Click to expand...

Change the Windows Power Plan to Balanced, Ultra and High Performance are a form of overclocking that is known to cause stability and overheating issues, the setting should only be used for gaming type notebooks that have a discrete GPU that needs the extra power.

Londmen said:
~35gb free space where the games are located(all of the above are on the same drive except Valheim and MH Rise)
Click to expand...

The main reason why we ask for a Speccy report is because it can tell us so much so that we do not need to ask you, the below confirms our suspicions, just highlighting the most important drive that is low on free storage space;

Partition 2
Partition ID: Disk #1, Partition #2
Disk Letter: C:
File System: NTFS
Volume Serial Number: AC62744E
Size: 231 GB
Used Space: 220 GB (95%)
Free Space: 11.1 GB (5%)
Click to expand...

See my canned info below;

For Windows to be able to run efficiently and to be able to update you need to have between 20 and 25% of the partition or drive available on a HDD and an SSD between 10 and 15% as free storage space at all times, if you don`t you risk Windows becoming corrupt or not being able to update which puts you at risk of malware attack.

Data only storage devices should not be allowed to get any lower than 10% of free storage space of the full capacity of the drive/partition on the drive, this also to avoid data corruption.

Please note that storage devices can physically fail if the amount of free storage space is allowed to drop below the required 10 or 20/25% minimum.

Uninstall as many unused programs, games, videos and music files as you can and get yourself another means of backing up to, post back when you have between 20 and 25% free storage space on the C: drive/partition and we can go from there.
 
phillpower2 said:
Change the Windows Power Plan to Balanced, Ultra and High Performance are a form of overclocking that is known to cause stability and overheating issues, the setting should only be used for gaming type notebooks that have a discrete GPU that needs the extra power.



The main reason why we ask for a Speccy report is because it can tell us so much so that we do not need to ask you, the below confirms our suspicions, just highlighting the most important drive that is low on free storage space;



See my canned info below;

For Windows to be able to run efficiently and to be able to update you need to have between 20 and 25% of the partition or drive available on a HDD and an SSD between 10 and 15% as free storage space at all times, if you don`t you risk Windows becoming corrupt or not being able to update which puts you at risk of malware attack.

Data only storage devices should not be allowed to get any lower than 10% of free storage space of the full capacity of the drive/partition on the drive, this also to avoid data corruption.

Please note that storage devices can physically fail if the amount of free storage space is allowed to drop below the required 10 or 20/25% minimum.

Uninstall as many unused programs, games, videos and music files as you can and get yourself another means of backing up to, post back when you have between 20 and 25% free storage space on the C: drive/partition and we can go from there.
Click to expand...
I'll clear up some space then, thanks for the help! I'll let you know if I need help once that is done.
 
phillpower2 said:
Change the Windows Power Plan to Balanced, Ultra and High Performance are a form of overclocking that is known to cause stability and overheating issues, the setting should only be used for gaming type notebooks that have a discrete GPU that needs the extra power.



The main reason why we ask for a Speccy report is because it can tell us so much so that we do not need to ask you, the below confirms our suspicions, just highlighting the most important drive that is low on free storage space;



See my canned info below;

For Windows to be able to run efficiently and to be able to update you need to have between 20 and 25% of the partition or drive available on a HDD and an SSD between 10 and 15% as free storage space at all times, if you don`t you risk Windows becoming corrupt or not being able to update which puts you at risk of malware attack.

Data only storage devices should not be allowed to get any lower than 10% of free storage space of the full capacity of the drive/partition on the drive, this also to avoid data corruption.

Please note that storage devices can physically fail if the amount of free storage space is allowed to drop below the required 10 or 20/25% minimum.

Uninstall as many unused programs, games, videos and music files as you can and get yourself another means of backing up to, post back when you have between 20 and 25% free storage space on the C: drive/partition and we can go from there.
Click to expand...
I've now changed my power plan and freed up more space on the C: drive. from 11gb>47gb free storage. I will be attempting to solve my problem meanwhile but probably to no avail, so what would you recommend me to try doing now? :)
 
Post a new Speccy url for us + let us know how things have been since you changed the power plan and freed up the space.

Can I ask that you do not quote every reply as we have to read the full post to make sure nothing gets missed,, thanks.
 
In a bizzare turn of events, overnight I'm guessing, my C: drive went from 47gb down to 10gb free space. No clue how it happened but I managed to look through most folders and get it back up to 31gb.

After changing the power plan I haven't noticed any difference and everything is running the same as before. I actually tried reinstalling Windows 11 while keeping apps and personal files and I'm still having the same problem as before after trying Apex Legends and Overwatch 2 again.

Here's my Speccy link: http://speccy.piriform.com/results/5Ajzu3UClTm4t1zE3erbHEB

Thanks for the help
 
Londmen said:
In a bizzare turn of events, overnight I'm guessing, my C: drive went from 47gb down to 10gb free space.
Click to expand...

That is strange and you reinstalling Windows has kind of aggravated the issue because you are down to only 13% of free storage space and we cannot see any Windows 11 drivers present. fwiw, you really should not have anything else on the boot SSD as 250GB is just a bout big enough for just Windows and the system drivers, remember, Windows is just going to keep on growing and the last thing that you want to be doing is reinstalling every time Windows upgrades.

The two games that you mention are played online, are you aware that using a VPN impacts online gaming.

Question, why do you have so many sound and keyboard etc drivers installed, any drivers for hardware no longer present should be gotten rid of before the new hardware is installed, this goes for all devices including printers.
 
I actually don't have any games installed on the C: drive, a small part of it is personal files, the rest are programs I'm guessing and the windows install is 45gb which I don't know if it's normal or not.

I do know that using a VPN affects online games however I have not used one for a very long time so any VPN-files should be ones that I forgot about.

Another problem I have is that I can't access the Device Manager, I've tried to fix it but nothing has worked so far. the error message is "The operation has been canceled due to computer limitations. Contact the system administrator."

I've probably been too lazy to clean the drivers up and I've had my pc for quite a long time.
 
Londmen said:
Another problem I have is that I can't access the Device Manager,
Click to expand...

Is this since you reinstalled Windows.

Londmen said:
I've probably been too lazy to clean the drivers up and I've had my pc for quite a long time.
Click to expand...

You sure do have a load of stuff surplus to requirements, including Tunnel Bear which was never any good by all accounts.
 
No, I've had the issue with the Device Manager for a long time. But I didn't have any necessity to try and fix it at the time.
 
Being that Device Manager is an integral part of Windows it needs fixing but what is more worrying is why the issue was not corrected when you reinstalled Windows back in November and again today.
 
I chose to save all my apps when reinstalling W11, maybe an app would be tampering with something? I doubt it though.
 
Above all else you need to get Windows fixed first, your security is compromised otherwise.
 
Do you think I should do a complete reinstall of W11 and to just back up my files to a usb stick.?
 
Try a Windows repair first, if that doesn't resolve the issue you will need to fully clean install Windows and the system drivers, try the quick steps below first;

Download then run the Windows All in One Repair tool from here, disregard the malware guidance but follow the other steps to the letter and in particular ensuring that you first create a new restore point and perform a proper Windows clean boot before running the repair, details for the clean boot here.

The above is inclusive of Windows 11 and the steps are the same.
 
Hey, I just wanted to check in and tell you that I did the repair and the steps you told me to do.. and fortunately it worked! I just booted up Hogwarts Legacy and now it actually shows a loading screen haha.

Thank you very much for the technical support, without your help I would very likely not of been able to fix it. BIG thumbs up.(y)
 
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