EC not working after Windows Crash

[Finley Grant]

Hey guys,

maybe someone from you can give me a hint.

my EC is not starting anymore since it crashed my PC last night.
i tried various things like running as admin and compatibility mode, even reinstalling

as soon as you start it it takes an unsusual time till you see the borders of the opening window and then in closes again without even doing anything.

anyone had that before? its the only appliacation which acts up so i dont think its the windows itself....

thanks

 

[GarthGrey]

As soon as it launches, make sure you click on Perform Full File Check, if you can. See if that helps.

 

[Tyrath]

Yep had it happen regularly and is the main reason I won't use the EC. The only way I could ever get it to work again after a crash like that was to remove it all and do a reinstall. Don't know if the EC just hates me or my system but it got old fast having to reinstall every 2-3 days. I think the crashes corrupt or remove some of the client start up files. Maybe the same thing I was experiencing........ Maybe not.

 

[Finley Grant]

no change sadly, thanks anyway

 

[MalagAste]

Never had that issue been using the EC for years now. Only problem I've ever had with it is when Norton decides it's EVIL because not enough users... and shuts it down.

 

[Victim of Siege]

Hey guys,

maybe someone from you can give me a hint.

my EC is not starting anymore since it crashed my PC last night.
i tried various things like running as admin and compatibility mode, even reinstalling

as soon as you start it it takes an unsusual time till you see the borders of the opening window and then in closes again without even doing anything.

anyone had that before? its the only appliacation which acts up so i dont think its the windows itself....

thanks

did you try deleting everything? i'd save your character config files in a different folder on your desktop, then delete everything and re-install

 

[Dot_Warner]

Make sure all your drivers (and Windows) are up to date, don't solely rely on Windows Update to do that (depending on the age of your machine, it's really bad at it).

As Malag obliquely suggested, check your AV software for false positive/quarantine issues.

You shouldn't need to run UO in compatibility mode, it runs in Win10 natively. Do run as Admin if you use a chat app.

It IS possible that you will need to uninstall and then delete the EC game directory (you should preserve the folder(s) with your account name(s) in the game's User Data folder in your Documents folder - but you can delete the rest) and then reinstall fresh.

 

[Finley Grant]

@Dot_Warner
@Victim of Siege
@MalagAste

to answer all of your questions:

1. windows is up to date and was running EC fine till that crash yesterday
2. yes i removed also the stuff in the documents folder
3. i know it should run without comp mode as it was till that crash yesterday

neither uninstall or deleting the folders or run as admin do anything....

the launcher opens, i click play. several secons nothing, the window opens without anything in (just the border) and its gone within a split second.....

 

[Dot_Warner]

Something may have glitched in the dark, labyrinthine recesses of the OS, try running the system file checker.

 

[MalagAste]

Have you tried shutting off your Antivirus and running it?

 

[celticus]

Agree as above:
=Disable antivirus for 1-2-3 hrs
=Uninstall EC (after you save your characters config files elesewhere safe).
=Delete all the files pertaining to the game, not only in the documents folder, but more importantly all the game files in the EC sub-folder of the EA folder of the x86 directory. There is some file in there possibly invisible (game system file) that is corrupt.

First of all ofc, save your config files with the macros and characters.

But you are not saying whether you tried before loging into the game, CLICK ON THE LEFT LOWER CORNER ON THE CHECK BOX ON THE BOTTOM, TO : "PERFORM FULL FILE CHECK". Would do this first, before any more brain surgery.
Did you try this?

 

[Finley Grant]

@MalagAste
iam not even sure if i can turn off my AV that easily its a B***TH

@celticus
i did the file check thing no effect

iam pretty sure i checked if it left stuff behind which i removed after the uninstall...
at this point of time i dont even worry about the config/settings as long as it is running again...
all of my boxes and gear is meant for EC so using CC is not a proper option as i cant find ****

 

[celticus]

@MalagAste
iam not even sure if i can turn off my AV that easily its a B***TH

@celticus
i did the file check thing no effect

iam pretty sure i checked if it left stuff behind which i removed after the uninstall...
at this point of time i dont even worry about the config/settings as long as it is running again...
all of my boxes and gear is meant for EC so using CC is not a proper option as i cant find ****

Usually in the right bottom corner in the system tray. Click on the icon with all the little things in it, then right click the NAV (Norton?) little icon, you will get a prompt to turn off AV checking for a certain time.

 

[Finley Grant]

@celticus
check the AV, no progress

 

[MalagAste]

So with the AV off... you still can't do it?

I had to with Norton uninstall the AV fix my game reinstall it and then tell it to leave the entire UO folder the heck alone...

 

[celticus]

@celticus
check the AV, no progress

Crap, I'm lost. Can you check to see that the directories pointed to are the right ones? Also are you using any add programs like Pinco's UI etc?

 

[celticus]

Crap, I'm lost. Can you check to see that the directories pointed to are the right ones? Also are you using any add programs like Pinco's UI etc?

One more thing. It was windows that crashed right? Not the game etc. So may have to do with something relating to the PC? I would check also the RAM chips, by going into the system config. Wonder if something happened there? Would not hurt to check and make sure your hardware is ok. There are many ways this can get done, and you want your system to meed minimum requirements for the EC. A system check up would not hurt, just to get info.
If those are ok, I would call EA technical assistance, last resort.

 

[Alexey Kurkdjian]

May sound stupid but did try CC as well?

 

[Finley Grant]

One more thing. It was windows that crashed right? Not the game etc. So may have to do with something relating to the PC? I would check also the RAM chips, by going into the system config. Wonder if something happened there? Would not hurt to check and make sure your hardware is ok. There are many ways this can get done, and you want your system to meed minimum requirements for the EC. A system check up would not hurt, just to get info.
If those are ok, I would call EA technical assistance, last resort.

hi,

PC is fine no other apps/games make issues except the EC

sadly i think EA is the last option...


@Alexey Kurkdjian CC is running fine

 

[GarthGrey]

The last time I had that issue it was because I had too many EC instances open. The EC has never crashed on me but it has done what you've described and just quietly opened and closed. PC reboot always fixed it, I"m sure you've done that. I"m at a loss as to why it continues to do it.

 

[superfrog]

hi,

PC is fine no other apps/games make issues except the EC

sadly i think EA is the last option...


@Alexey Kurkdjian CC is running fine

I had that problem once and what finally fixed it was swapping slots on the memory sticks. don't ask me why that worked.

 

[Finley Grant]

I had that problem once and what finally fixed it was swapping slots on the memory sticks. don't ask me why that worked.

really? wow what a poopshow but ill give it a try

 

[celticus]

I had that problem once and what finally fixed it was swapping slots on the memory sticks. don't ask me why that worked.

It was one memory chip or more, probably re-placing them removed rust and made better contacts likely. He may be having same issue. Just careful how you handle these, static and all. Easy fix.

 

[railshot]

Never had that issue been using the EC for years now. Only problem I've ever had with it is when Norton decides it's EVIL because not enough users... and shuts it down.

That's one reason I stopped using Norton. A bigger reason was that I could not get it to stop deleting things it thought were bad, regardless of the settings. Switched to ESET years ago and have an AV that does what I want it to do and only that.

 

[MissEcho]

Hey guys,

maybe someone from you can give me a hint.

my EC is not starting anymore since it crashed my PC last night.
i tried various things like running as admin and compatibility mode, even reinstalling

as soon as you start it it takes an unsusual time till you see the borders of the opening window and then in closes again without even doing anything.

anyone had that before? its the only appliacation which acts up so i dont think its the windows itself....

thanks

Try this, save your user data file somewhere so you don't need to redo all your character settings.

Then close the client, then rename the 'ultima online stygian abyss' folder (under ea games) to something else completely then start the game again. I renamed my folder 'renamed sa' then log in again.

Worked for me a while ago. May work for you. I had the same problem after my pc crashed years ago, this fix has worked for some people.

 

[Finley Grant]

thanks guys for the help.

unfortunately nothing helped so far.

@MissEcho there is not even the possibility to log in anywhere after i press play at the patcher window the game closes and thats it.

 

[Pinco]

thanks guys for the help.

unfortunately nothing helped so far.

@MissEcho there is not even the possibility to log in anywhere after i press play at the patcher window the game closes and thats it.

Start simple: uninstall the game, delete what's left manually. Make sure User Data folder is gone from documents, also check inside app data and any other user folder if there is another copy of user data or anything else related to uo, and delete it. Empty the trashcan too just to be sure.

At this point turn off the pc and let it cooldown a couple of minutes, then start it over and reinstall the game in a completely different folder, even better if it's in another unit (like d: ). At this point it should work unless windows is recovering files from a restoration point or something like that...

Oh also make sure to start the patcher as admin and give the game folder full control rights.

 

[petemage]

Hey guys,

maybe someone from you can give me a hint.

my EC is not starting anymore since it crashed my PC last night.
i tried various things like running as admin and compatibility mode, even reinstalling

as soon as you start it it takes an unsusual time till you see the borders of the opening window and then in closes again without even doing anything.

anyone had that before? its the only appliacation which acts up so i dont think its the windows itself....

thanks

A standard application shouldn't be able to crash your whole PC unless it triggers some serious issue in say windows itself or one of its drivers, like your graphics driver.

If you don't even see the spash screen (or call title screen), it might well be that the EC is not able to boot some subsystem it needs, again like say the graphics subsystem.

Its *alot* of guesswork at this point though. But if you have something like an expensive nvidia card or the like, I would give uninstalling and reinstalling those drivers a shot.

 

[celticus]

Doubt that the EC crashed his windows. I would give @Pinco 's recommendations a try. First before any real brain surgery.

 

[MalagAste]

Are you sure your Video card driver is up to date? Did you go to their website and check it manually... I kept thinking mine was because supposedly it updated itself but no it was ages out of date.

 

[Finley Grant]

Are you sure your Video card driver is up to date? Did you go to their website and check it manually... I kept thinking mine was because supposedly it updated itself but no it was ages out of date.

yes it is.

@petemage
EC was basically what was running at time of the crash. ofc i cannot be 100% it was caused by it

 

[celticus]

Check the system tray to see what other programs are running in the background also.
I never seen anything like this before. Other games work ok? This is really confounding. Are you using win 10, how much RAM you have, and also free space in HDD? Your hardware and software Cache? HD cache file how many megs? Did you virus scan HDD?
Would also run a computer health check-up program. That will ID the RAM chips and whether they work ok. The HD for data holes and bad sectors. All windows components.
Also did you dowhat Pinco said? Run as administrator?

Also did you get any response from EA tech support?

 

[petemage]

yes it is.

@petemage
EC was basically what was running at time of the crash. ofc i cannot be 100% it was caused by it

I'm just saying if your whole PC crashed, it's because something broke at a very fundamental level. UO crashing because some of its install files being corrupted will not crash windows. This is not windows 95 lol. So just from that it's very unlikely the problem lies with the EC or will be fixed by reinstalling or deleting your profiles. Of course you can try, but it does not sound very plausible to me. I would still - like others said as well - check graphics drivers or direct x first. Because those things can crash your whole PC if there is something wrong with them. What graphics card do you use?

 

[Pawain]

I would have bought a new PC if I couldn't get UO to work in 12hrs.

 

[Tyrath]

I would have bought a new PC if I couldn't get UO to work in 12hrs.

addict

 

[MissEcho]

thanks guys for the help.

unfortunately nothing helped so far.

@MissEcho there is not even the possibility to log in anywhere after i press play at the patcher window the game closes and thats it.

You don't need to 'log in' just save your user data file from your hard drive to your desktop so you don't lose your character settings, then from your file manager RENAME the file:

c:/documents/ea games/ulitma online sygian abyss.

I had the same thing happen after a crash, as have others, you start the game it flashes up on the screen for a second then crashes and you get nothing. I misstyped when I said close the client. Was just meaning get everything shut down, open your file manager and rename that file I have underlined. Reinstalling the client does bugger all it is something to do with the fact that your client crashed. It is what worked for me after I had all the people telling me to reinstall and all that it also worked for Yadd of Legends. You don't delete the file but RENAME it for some reason that worked. See this from ages ago EC Problem

Not saying it will work for you but it worked for me and Yadd and we had the exact same problem after a pc crash while playing.

Just rename this folder to 'EC renamed' or something and then start the client again.

 

[celticus]

You don't need to 'log in' just save your user data file from your hard drive to your desktop so you don't lose your character settings, then from your file manager RENAME the file:

c:/documents/ea games/ulitma online sygian abyss.

I had the same thing happen after a crash, as have others, you start the game it flashes up on the screen for a second then crashes and you get nothing. I misstyped when I said close the client. Was just meaning get everything shut down, open your file manager and rename that file I have underlined. Reinstalling the client does bugger all it is something to do with the fact that your client crashed. It is what worked for me after I had all the people telling me to reinstall and all that it also worked for Yadd of Legends. You don't delete the file but RENAME it for some reason that worked. See this from ages ago EC Problem

Not saying it will work for you but it worked for me and Yadd and we had the exact same problem after a pc crash while playing.

Just rename this folder to 'EC renamed' or something and then start the client again.
View attachment 102663

This is such a simple fix, I would do it in a flash. Definitely worth it. Curious to know if it works! Please let us know..

 

[railshot]

addict

He can quit anytime he wants to.

 

[celticus]

So..Any luck? is it working now? (curiousity is burning us, please let us know).

 

[Finley Grant]

@ all,

i cleaned up all remaining crap from EC including windows regitry remains
iam reinstalling EC now but for some kind of reason the speed of the patch server is way low.... (just to say it upfront, its not my internet connection which is 400mbits)

@celticus
yes PC is running completely fine, all games and apps are working properly, temperatures are all good as they are closely monitored by an aquero which is controlling also my watercooling and the OC

PC specs should be way more than needed, its an gaming rig with gtx2080 and a ryzen 7 1700x with 32gb of fast timned 3200mhz memory. all m.2 and ssd

the most important thing is it was working fine till the day before i made the post. no windows or driver updates were installed on that day.

 

[Finley Grant]

@ALL

good news, something seems did the job, after reinstalling on a different drive UO was loading, iam reinstalling pinco ui now then move my config back in.
unfortunately i cannot say what excactly did the job but i guess the best thing someone which that error can do is the full program:

deinstall
rename/move away any custom settings you did in the documents folder
search in the registry for remaining EC records
install in different location.

ofc keeping your windows up to date and so on wont hurt.

@GarthGrey
@Tyrath
@MalagAste
@celticus
@superfrog
@railshot
@Pinco
@MissEcho
@petemage
@Pawain

thank you folks for all the good hints and help

you saved me basically as i was already not so into uo anymore before that happend and now loosing EC (yes i know its ugly) and its functions and pinco would be the coffin nail as all my boxes and stuff is grid optimized....

HOOORAY

 

[Tyrath]

Total Annihilation and eradication of a program is unpleasant but usually will correct the problem What ever fixed it, glad it all worked out for you!

 

[Tyrath]

He can quit anytime he wants to.

All addicts say that

 

[celticus]

@ALL

good news, something seems did the job, after reinstalling on a different drive UO was loading, iam reinstalling pinco ui now then move my config back in.
unfortunately i cannot say what excactly did the job but i guess the best thing someone which that error can do is the full program:

deinstall
rename/move away any custom settings you did in the documents folder
search in the registry for remaining EC records
install in different location.

ofc keeping your windows up to date and so on wont hurt.

@GarthGrey
@Tyrath
@MalagAste
@celticus
@superfrog
@railshot
@Pinco
@MissEcho
@petemage
@Pawain

thank you folks for all the good hints and help

you saved me basically as i was already not so into uo anymore before that happend and now loosing EC (yes i know its ugly) and its functions and pinco would be the coffin nail as all my boxes and stuff is grid optimized....

HOOORAY

Congrats for making it work again. It likely relates to a rare bug that hits with crashes and there are some older posts in Stratics by msEcho, and few others with fixes that worked then, i.e. renaming the ultima online stygian abyss subdirectory to something irrelevant etc.
This post and the other ones from the past may help someone in the future, and may help the Devs if they decide to take this bug up as a challenge.

 

[MissEcho]

So did you actually try just renaming that file before reinstalling on another drive? Putting it on another drive basically works around the faulty file, but I would of liked to know if that fix still works.

 

[Finley Grant]

i moved it all out of the way

 

[MalagAste]

Glad you are up and running again.... hopefully this doesn't happen again anytime soon.

 

[Finley Grant]

well problem not solved

running EC for not even 5 min, PC crash same story

 

[Pawain]

Stop when fixed:

1. Delete the Anti virus programs and try to run UO.

2. Buy an SSD drive and install UO on it.

3. Give that PC to a family member and get a new one.

I don't have patience with PCs. They only have to do 2 things for me. If they cant, they gone.

 

[MalagAste]

Something is wrong with your PC...