hyperfighter Posted January 5, 2009 Posted January 5, 2009 (edited) Hello, i just bought a brand new pc with vista and installed dcs: black shark. i have downloaded and payed for the english version. I installed the game and everything worked fine for several hours, then the game crashed and i got a message about something to do with protection (i dont remember the exact message). i had to reset the pc...but now it wont boot anymore and my dvd drive wont work (so i cant fix it by reinstalling vista)....now for the weirdest part, after keeping to try restart my pc it miracoulously now wants to boot again (left vista cd in overnight, but not much was happening imo) but still my dvd-station doesnt work, i tried everything (like reinstalling drivers, reconnecting it etc) nothing works. so i went on the net and found that starforce can cause these problems!! wel reason for me to stop installing games and playing stuff that uses it, and i am pissed off about this because i really liked black shark... but is there anyway i can fix my dvd-burner again? remember that i cant just reinstall vista because i need my broken dvd for that :S.. i just want a working computer again...and dont want to buy a new dvd-burner that breaks down everytime when dcs: black shark crashed.. plz help me! :(:helpsmilie: Edited January 5, 2009 by hyperfighter
GGTharos Posted January 5, 2009 Posted January 5, 2009 This isn't an SF issue. The english download does not install SF drivers, and doesn't bother checking your DVD drives. I'm sorry to say that your computer is suffering from something else, and you'll have to dig deeper to find what's going on. Your DVD will not boot from a bootable disc? If so, you have a hardware problem. Make sure all cables etc. are well connected first inside the PC. [sIGPIC][/sIGPIC] Reminder: SAM = Speed Bump :D I used to play flight sims like you, but then I took a slammer to the knee - Yoda
ZaltysZ Posted January 5, 2009 Posted January 5, 2009 As GGTharos said, downloadable version does not install Starforce drivers. If you can't even boot from CD/DVD, then the problem is in hardware. Maybe overheat damage. What exactly happens when you try to boot from CD? Yes, I know it doesn't boot, but does it shows some errors? Wir sehen uns in Walhalla.
Airway Posted January 5, 2009 Posted January 5, 2009 Hello and welcome. If it's a brand new computer, you still have warranty and may return it to the vendor for repair. And by the way the simulation is called Black Shark, not Black Strike :D Everything else is said. Good luck :) 1
hyperfighter Posted January 5, 2009 Author Posted January 5, 2009 The dvd drive makes a unhealty sound, it sounds like it is trying to read something but it keeps doing it forever (if i boot with vista in it). while in vista ( i fixed the boot from harddisk but dont know why..) if i insert a cd it doesnt recognizes (after trying to read for 10 mins first) it and ask me to insert a correct medium. i have all kinds of strange problems with black shark under vista and had to 3 installs already..because i have this pc new i burned the downloaded files on a disc (only the data and setup files) and installed it like i did with the downloaded version. i did not deactivate the key on old pc because i had 8 activations left and i was afraid it wouldnt work when going to a new pc, i had no problems activating again. the pc has been on for a long time and it was warm so maybe that caused a crash. but its weird that that would kill my dvd player. I still have a warranty for my week old pc so if its only hardware i am actually more glad then if i would have this starforce stuff on my pc...is there a way i can verify no starforce is installed? if u need something like system info or screenshots ill be glad to provide it, just tell me what u need.. btw thanx for the help so far, really glad its not starforce after reading the horror stories online, it means i can still play black shark after i get my pc fixed..
Airway Posted January 5, 2009 Posted January 5, 2009 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/StarForce If your drive makes strange noises, then better return it.
diveplane Posted January 6, 2009 Posted January 6, 2009 (edited) it might be a bad mold?, i had a drive that was not quite aligned and the cd rubbed on the plastic tray causing horrid noises and plastic shavings inside the drive, ended up quickly throwing the drive out and replacing it with a new unit. open the dvd drive and check for cd run marks on the tray. Edited January 6, 2009 by diveplane https://www.youtube.com/user/diveplane11 DCS Audio Modding.
hyperfighter Posted February 9, 2009 Author Posted February 9, 2009 ok, well replaced the dvd, guy checked my entire system (hard-disk and mem etc where fine), added 550v power instead of 450 and guess what, exactly the same problems again after dcs crashed (and it ran fine for several days when i didnt install dcs...), and the new dvd-drive is starting to get slow now again too, already used 8 activation codes $@#$@# and when reinstalling vista reactivation doesnt work! i did some research and although they say there is isnt starforce protection anymore, the protection (whatever you want to call it) is made by the starforce company......since i have a NEW system wich now already broke 3 times after dcs has crashed i have no other reason to believe dcs is actually breaking my pc when it crashes (while running in server mode). i mean exactly the same problems occur on different hardware after the same event (DCS running in server mode crashes) is there anyone having similar problems (eg boot problems after dcs crash?)..
GGTharos Posted February 9, 2009 Posted February 9, 2009 If you made your research correctly you'd know ED never claimed they weren't using StarForce, they said they aren't using the disk-based driver. Other than that, so -far- you are the only one to report this sort of problem ... that's extremely odd. [sIGPIC][/sIGPIC] Reminder: SAM = Speed Bump :D I used to play flight sims like you, but then I took a slammer to the knee - Yoda
ZaltysZ Posted February 9, 2009 Posted February 9, 2009 Do you have other games? Maybe something with SecuROM? Mostly SecuROM can be blaimed for slow optical drive. If you have one of such games, make research on SecuROM too, that thing isn't nice. Wir sehen uns in Walhalla.
hyperfighter Posted February 9, 2009 Author Posted February 9, 2009 i know, for me its even worse one the one hand if have the guy that sold me the pc (he is giving decent service, i know he builds decent systems too, and offered a refund even though he is sure the hardware is fine) that says the software is messing up vista, on the other hand i have u guys (dont get me wrong i really reaaallly dig dcs very much!) telling me my hardware is broken (but its all brand new and i even replaced the old new hardware and getting the same probs again... but if no one reports boot problems its probably something with my hardware then :S, i have a habit of selecting broken stuff from stores, if theres 999 boxes with a fine produkt and 1 box has a broken product chances are i get the broken produkt..
hyperfighter Posted February 9, 2009 Author Posted February 9, 2009 dunno, the total war series (rome, barbarians , medieval 2 & kingdoms ) and thats about it...all legit ofc, never gave me problems before
GGTharos Posted February 9, 2009 Posted February 9, 2009 The strangest thing is that you are having problems after DCS crashes. I've never known DCS to hose anything but itself in certain cases, so I am wondering if the crash is simply a symptom of something else which just happens to be triggered while DCS is running. What is your new hardware, could you describe? [sIGPIC][/sIGPIC] Reminder: SAM = Speed Bump :D I used to play flight sims like you, but then I took a slammer to the knee - Yoda
hyperfighter Posted February 9, 2009 Author Posted February 9, 2009 The strangest thing is that you are having problems after DCS crashes. I've never known DCS to hose anything but itself in certain cases, so I am wondering if the crash is simply a symptom of something else which just happens to be triggered while DCS is running. What is your new hardware, could you describe? Chipset : nVidia nForce4 Processor : AMD Athlon 64 X2 6000+ @ 3100 MHz Fysiek Geheugen : 4096 MB Videokaart : ATI Radeon HD 4800 Series (ati hd 4850 to be exact) Harde Schijf : MAXTOR (500 GB) DVD-Rom Station : Optiarc DVD RW AD-7191S SCSI CdRom Device Monitor Type : LG Electronics 42PC35 - 32 inches Besturingssysteem : Windows Vista Home Premium Home Editie 6.00.6001 Service Pack 1 DirectX : Versie 10.00 Windows Performance Index : 5.0 Performance Global : 5.0 Performance CPU : 5.5 Performance Memory : 5.0 <--- dont know why this is slow its kingston mem Performance Graphics : 5.9 Performance Gaming : 5.9 Performance Disk : 5.9 i can give more specific info per hardware item if u need it, but then this would get a very long list, so left the details out for now
GGTharos Posted February 9, 2009 Posted February 9, 2009 No that's cool; your hardware seems to be entirely capable of handling things. The only other thing I would ask is, do you know what your mobo manufacturer and number is? You've run into a -seriously- weird problem here ... like I said, first time anyone has reported their system being hosed ... and repeatedly, across multiple hardware at that. I just find it difficult to believe that DCS is doing it since it's being used on so much other hardware. Anyway, did you do a clean install of vista on that PC, or was it a clone from the previous one etc? [sIGPIC][/sIGPIC] Reminder: SAM = Speed Bump :D I used to play flight sims like you, but then I took a slammer to the knee - Yoda
hyperfighter Posted February 9, 2009 Author Posted February 9, 2009 No that's cool; your hardware seems to be entirely capable of handling things. The only other thing I would ask is, do you know what your mobo manufacturer and number is? You've run into a -seriously- weird problem here ... like I said, first time anyone has reported their system being hosed ... and repeatedly, across multiple hardware at that. I just find it difficult to believe that DCS is doing it since it's being used on so much other hardware. Anyway, did you do a clean install of vista on that PC, or was it a clone from the previous one etc? i agree its odd (ill return this sytem i think this week). it were clean installs. mobo specs: Fabrikant : System manufacturer Moederbord : Asus M2N-SLI Bios : Phoenix Technologies, LTD Chipset : nVidia nForce4 Product : System Product Name Versie : System Version Serienummer : System Serial Number Unique ID : E01B5699-0EDCDC11-B519001A-92359E7E SKU : Niet nader omschreven Familie : Niet nader omschreven Startmodus : Power Switch Fabrikant : ASUSTeK Computer INC. (Asus) Product : M2N-SLI Versie : 1.XX Serienummer : 123456789000 MP Ondersteuning : Ja, 2 CPU(s) Versie MPS : 1.4 Chassis Informatie : Fabrikant : Chassis Manufacture Type : Desktop Versie : Chassis Version Serienummer : EVAL Asset : 123456789000 Sensorinformatie : Hardware Monitoring : ITE IT8716F On-Board Apparaatinformatie : Embedded Controller : Ja Sleufinformatie : Slot PCI : Available (32-bit) 5.0v Slot PCI : In Use (32-bit) 5.0v Slot PCI-Express : In Use (x16) 5.0v Slot PCI-Express : Available (x16) 5.0v Slot PCI-Express : Available (x1) 5.0v Slot PCI-Express : Available (x1) 5.0v Externe Connectoren : Serial 16450 Compatible : DB-9 male Parallel ECP/EPP : DB25 female Keyboard : PS/2 Mouse : PS/2 Audio : Mini-jack (headphones) Audio : Mini-jack (headphones) Network : RJ-45 FireWire (IEEE P1394) : 1394 FireWire (IEEE P1394) : 1394 Interne Connectoren : PRI_IDE : On Board IDE SEC_IDE : On Board IDE FLOPPY : On Board Floppy COM1 : 9 Pin Dual Inline (pin 10 cut) LPT1 : DB25 female PS/2 Keyboard : PS/2 PS/2 Mouse : PS/2 LINE_IN : LINE_OUT : MIC_IN : CD_IN : On Board Sound Input from CD-ROM SPDIF_OUT : FP_AUDIO : SATA1 : On Board IDE SATA2 : On Board IDE SATA3 : On Board IDE SATA4 : On Board IDE CHASSIS : CPU_FAN1 : PWR_FAN1 : CHA_FAN1 : NorthBridge (SPP) : nVidia nForce4 NorthBridge : AMD K8 Bridge NorthBridge : AMD K8 Bridge SouthBridge (MCP) : nVidia nForce4 MCP NorthBridge Informatie : Architecture : Northbridge Fabrikant : nVidia (ASUSTeK Computer Inc) Codenaam : CK8-04 Revision : A3 NorthBridge Informatie : Architecture : Northbridge Fabrikant : AMD Revision : 00 BusSnelheid : 201 MHz HT Link : 1005.2 MHz HyperTransport Klok : 1000 MHz Upstream : 16-bit Downstream : 16-bit HTT max. Ondersteuning : 2000 MHz RAM max. Ondersteuning : DDR2 (800 MHz) NorthBridge Informatie : Architecture : Northbridge Fabrikant : AMD Revision : 00 BusSnelheid : 201 MHz HT Link : 1005.2 MHz HyperTransport Klok : 1000 MHz Upstream : 16-bit Downstream : 16-bit HTT max. Ondersteuning : 2000 MHz RAM max. Ondersteuning : DDR2 (800 MHz) Geheugeninformatie : Type : DDR2-SDRAM PC2-5500 Frequentie : 346.2 MHz DRAM/FSB Ratio : CPU/9 Ondersteunde Kanalen : Dual (128-bit) Geactiveerde Kanalen : Single ECC Diagnostic : Nee CAS Latency (tCL) : 5 clocks RAS to CAS (tRCD) : 5 clocks RAS Precharge (tRP) : 5 clocks Cycle Time (tRAS) : 15 clocks Bank Cycle Time (tRC) : 21 clocks Command Rate : 2 T Gedeeld Geheugen (video) : Ja Fysieke Mogelijkheden : Multi-Processor : Nee 128-bit RAM : Ja ECC : Ja - Uitgeschakeld ChipKill ECC : Ja - Uitgeschakeld HTC : Ja UnGanging Support : Nee Multi VID Plane : Nee DRAM Scrub Rate : Uitgeschakeld L3 Cache Scrub Rate : Uitgeschakeld L2 Cache Scrub Rate : Uitgeschakeld L1 Cache Scrub Rate : Uitgeschakeld APIC Informatie : Versie : 1.01 Maximum Interrupties : 24 IRQ Handler ingeschakeld : Nee Apparaatcapaciteiten (PCI) : I/O Access : Nee Memory Access : Ja Bus Master Capable : Ja Special Cycle Recognition : Nee Memory Write & Invalidate : Nee VGA Palette Snoop : Nee Parity Error Response : Nee Cycle Wait : Nee System Error Line : Nee Fast Back-to-Back : Nee Detects Parity Errors : Nee User Defined Format : Nee PCI 66Mhz Bus Support : Ja New Capability List : Ja PCI Support : Hyper-Transport PCI Support : Hyper-Transport all i could find on it used a free tool pc wizard 2008 so cant guarantee its all correct but it looks correct to me..
GGTharos Posted February 9, 2009 Posted February 9, 2009 All I needed was the name, but hey ;) Are you running in SLI mode? Try turning that off if so. [sIGPIC][/sIGPIC] Reminder: SAM = Speed Bump :D I used to play flight sims like you, but then I took a slammer to the knee - Yoda
hyperfighter Posted February 9, 2009 Author Posted February 9, 2009 All I needed was the name, but hey ;) Are you running in SLI mode? Try turning that off if so. am i? how do i turn it off ? :pilotfly:
Dunkan Aidaho Posted February 9, 2009 Posted February 9, 2009 Weird problem, but not impossible. I had similar problem, when VMWare crash completely killed onboard sound on my old PC. Power-off, reboot and driver/VMWare (un)reinstall has no effect. Sound was broken even on live cd systems and the only way I found to to bring it back - wipe current OS and make a clean OS&driver install. Also, like a hyperfighter I repeat this error on another PC with same MB (sorry Ivan, the innocent victim of mine:)). I think this cases has no connection between them, the point is that sometimes software crashes may lead to really strange and serious hardware failures. Open your eyes, open yor mind... ©Guano Apes Sorry for my bad english.
hyperfighter Posted February 9, 2009 Author Posted February 9, 2009 yep, i kinda suspect the hardrive from shutting itself down, causing a crash, then ofc the system wont boot. i found (only a few days ago ) that after just leaving the unbootable pc to rest for an hour magically makes it boot again (had to fix several errors using chkdisk though) now its almost fine again.(dvd = slow and i know ill get boot problems within a few weeks again but get more adept at fixing it {dont know if this is a good sign though}). weird thing is the temperatures are fine so the disk isnt shutting down due to overheating (at least it shouldnt). i play mostly dcs so i cant say if dcs causes this or my system or vista or a combo of these (had it happen for the first time in another game yesterday). so dont know what to blaim vista dcs or the hardware. temp readings: Hardware Monitoring : ITE IT8716F Voltage CPU : 1.41 V +3.3V Voltage : 3.38 V +5V Voltage : 5.02 V +12V Voltage : 11.94 V VBAT : 3.04 V Processor Ventilator : 3729 rpm Chassis Ventilator : 10 rpm Power/Aux Ventilator : 10 rpm Processor Temperatuur : 51 °C Moederbord Temperatuur : 41 °C Power/Aux Temperatuur : 25 °C ACPI Thermal Zone : 40 °C : Processor : Thermal Diode AMD Athlon 64 X2 (Core 1) : 28.2 °C AMD Athlon 64 X2 (Core 2) : 33.8 °C : ATI Radeon HD 4800 Series : ATI Catalyst Driver GPU Temperature : 42 °C GPU Fan : 60% : nVidia Monitoring : NVSU Interface Processor Temperatuur : 51 °C Moederbord Temperatuur : 41 °C Processor Ventilator : 3729 rpm
bumfire Posted February 9, 2009 Posted February 9, 2009 (edited) Can you try a Different make of dvd drive, something from a totally different manufacturer and not a sony Optiarc dvdrw. As it could be that those dvd rw's are a bad batch and die after a few hours of being used ??? Personally I dont believe that its anything to do with SF as people have said, but what is causing that problem is intriguing, maybe a vista windows update ? maybe vista flashes firmware on the drive in an update and thats the cause of the problems ??? Too much specualtion but whatever it is I sure would like to know if you ever find a fix for it. The not booting up part of your pc I would relate to motherboard or harddrive, one of the two could be messed up and both would explain problems with your dvdrw. If the dvdrw is connected with a 40 conductor cable, then I have heard things about optiarc's needing 80 conductor cables to connect and burn with, doubt that this is the problem here but maybe worth a look since you will probably have an 80 conductor cable lying about doing nothing. Edited February 9, 2009 by bumfire
hyperfighter Posted February 9, 2009 Author Posted February 9, 2009 (edited) the dvd burner before this one was a samsung.. btw i have set sli-mode off in the bios now, and chose pci-e as first boot device now..havent had any crashes today, or any since the last chkdsk fix...but its only day2..i hope turning off sli-mode (no idea why it was on) will fix things is there anyway i can run a test on my motherboard to see if anything is wrong with it? ill keep u guys updated... Edited February 9, 2009 by hyperfighter
bumfire Posted February 9, 2009 Posted February 9, 2009 No their isnt any test for a motherboard that I know of, if their is only a manufacturer will have such a thing and use it to test new mobo's whilst they are still on the production line. I am not sure what you mean when you have chosen pci-e as first boot device, first boot device is usually harddrives and pci-e relates to video cards and alike. SLI can cause problems but since you dont have sli, as its a ati video card you have then sli cannot be enabled on your motherboard even if it says so in the bios, the option you have in your bios will probably be a case of if you have 2 nvidia video cards would you like to enable the sli function, but since you dont have an nvidia card that setting wont do anything as you dont have a nvidia video driver installed for it to do anything with. Apart from that and the fact that you have tried 2 different makes of dvd drive then I dont have a clue whats wrong unless as I mentioned before it is either a motherboard or other hardware problem. Best of luck trying to figure this one out ;)
hyperfighter Posted February 23, 2009 Author Posted February 23, 2009 got my pc back to day after sending it to repair. hard-drive was tested all was ok but (fortunately for me) then vista gave problems on reinstall. they replaced hard-disk, memory, the case (display broke). dvd drive was replaced earlier.. i had my fair share of bad luck, and luck that i got good service and guarantee on the hardware. i just reinstalled dcs and havent had any probs so far (apart from having only a few activations left grr!!!the deactivations dont work) hopefully i can finally play online with my mp maps (i host using nname spike btw ;P) and dont lose all my hard work on the maps again.... bottom line: prob dcs had nothing to do with the boot crash! however if i get the same probs again it will most likely be caused by dcs because thats the only thing i have practically installed and all the hardware has been replaced (samsung hd this time instead of maxtor, still kingston mem)..anyway i dont expect any more problems anymore so untill then i blame everything that happened on a faulty hard drive, still a lot of thx for all the help i got thought it was polight to let u guys know everything is working over here now. 1
bumfire Posted February 24, 2009 Posted February 24, 2009 Good to hear that you think the problem has now been fixed, hopefully you will now get a chance to fly this sim without any problems ;) I hope the problem doesnt re-occur with your new hardware...
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