Can't play the game; freezes on startup

[SadPanda]

I deleted the Amnesia folder and tried everything again. The hpl.log file I've attached is my most recent attempt after I:

- disabled firewall and antivirus
- ended each process that you listed
- launched the game with default settings in fullscreen mode

This time, however, the screen got as far as the Frictional Games logo before freezing. This has never happened before.

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Here is the hpl.log from doing the same exact thing, only launching the game in windowed mode, which gets me as far as the main menu.

[plutomaniac]

try running the game as an administrator, maybe it has permission problems. Have you tried different resolutions at windowed mode or fullscreen?

[SadPanda]

I've tried running it as an administrator and also with several different resolutions in windowed and fullscreen mode. My last attempt involved:

- disabling firewall and antivirus
- ending the listed processes
- deleting Amnesia folder
- removing read-only status from all files in common\Amnesia folder
- disabling Steam Overlay
- running both the launcher and the game in compatibility mode for Windows XP (Service Pack 3)
- running both the launcher and the game as an administrator
- launching game with minimum resolution in windowed mode

I got to the main menu, started a new game, and let it run on the loading screen for a few minutes just to see what would happen and got this runtime error message: "This application has requested the Runtime to terminate it in an unusual way."

Then the music stopped, I clicked "ok" and the game closed.

hpl.log remains the same as last time I tried windowed mode.

[plutomaniac]

This error looks like a Visual C++ Runtime error.

Run the System File Checker (SFC) from an elevated Command Prompt, i.e. click Start > All Programs > Accessories and right-click Command Prompt, then ‘Run as Administrator’. Type sfc /scannow (note the space) and press Enter.

[SadPanda]

"Windows Resource Protection did not find any integrity violations"

[plutomaniac]

A) Install the following from Microsoft(who knows...):

Spoiler below!

1) .NET Framework 4.5
2) Microsoft Visual C++ 2005 Redistributable Package (x86)
3) Microsoft Visual C++ 2005 Redistributable Package (x64)
4) Microsoft Visual C++ 2008 Redistributable Package (x86)
5) Microsoft Visual C++ 2008 Redistributable Package (x64)
6) Microsoft Visual C++ 2010 Redistributable Package (x86)
7) Microsoft Visual C++ 2010 Redistributable Package (x64)

B) Do a Windows Update, install everything and reboot.
C) Go to C:\Users\-YOUR-USER-NAME-\AppData\Local\VirtualStore and rename the folder to VirtualStore_TEST.
D) Go to Documents and delete the folder Amnesia.
E) Try the game again.

[SadPanda]

Step 1 resulted in this message: Microsoft .NET Framework 4.5 is already a part of this operating system. You do not need to install the .Net Framework 4.5 redistributable.

Steps 2-5 went fine

Steps 6-7 resulted in this message: A newer version of Microsoft Visual C++ 2010 Redistributable has been detected on the machine.

There was an important Windows update that wasn't installing properly. I ran the troubleshooting and it resolved the issue and installed that as well as an optional update. I went to restart and got this message: The exception unknown software exception (0xe0434352) occurred in the application at location 0x74da4b32

It still restarted just fine, but I'm still having no better luck with the game. I'll keep trying a few combinations of fixes unless you have any other recommendations.

[plutomaniac]

Does this error occur every time you restart? If yes, you may want to uninstall steps 2-5 since they did not help with the game.

1) Do you happen to have Comodo installed? I remember it causing back screen issues some time back.

2) I recommend to try reinstalling the graphics card drivers. Maybe the opengl part is corrupted. Uninstall them completely and do a clean reinstall with the latest ones from AMD site.

3) After the reinstallation of the drivers, turn all the graphics to the lowest possible from the launcher and start the game.

4) If the above still don't work, you can try this last thing. Take this file main_settings.cfg and paste it at Documents\Amnesia\Main overwriting the previous one.

[SadPanda]

I haven't seen that error again, but I am getting another when I log out and log back in that says: Access violation at address 0042D25A in module 'TurboVHelp.exe'. Read of address 00000000.

I don't have Comodo installed. I've just been using Windows Firewall and Antivirus, but I've turned those off while testing the game.

I've done everything you said, including uninstalling and reinstalling Amnesia, and it still didn't work. However, when I started it in windowed mode, I was getting a bunch of static and flashes across my entire screen, even outside the window. Then, when I took your main_setting file, the game went straight to the loading screen where it froze without any music.

[plutomaniac]

You must have an Asus application installed called TurboV, which by the way seems to be an overclocking tool. Maybe it automatically overclocks causing problems. Uninstall it because it seems to be causing general issues at your computer.

The HPL.log did not show anything different after the frozen loading screen I guess. Same as before?

Have you tried other games because from the look of it you may have a defected graphics card. Meaning a hardware problem and not a software that we were trying to find. What you are describing is probably artifacts caused by overclocking or a defected graphics card.