Help. Steam games won't play..

Nemesis X2

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Hi all,

Some of you many have seen some of my posts, if so you'll be aware i got a new PC about 6 weeks ago and want to get back into PC gaming to supplement my consoles, but have had almost nothing but problems.

BF3 ive given up on after Licence error EA didnt fix, so thought i'd grab some games in the Steam sale but they now have issues also, bar Portal 2 which is fine. Of the others:

Payday The Heist: when i go to play it a box comes on screen which says: :

Performing first time set up....
Installing: Microsoft DirectX for Windows (step 1 of 1).

IT then sits, curser flickers and then nothing, no error or anything, just wont play.

Ive now had similar issue with Borderlands. It went to a copy your CD key screen but then nothing after that whjen you go to play.

And neither Trine or Trine 2 start either, although they did appear to get past that "Installing microsoft Direct X for windows" page, and went to resolution etc screen, but then nothing.

I have Windows 7 64bit and DirectX 11. Is this a DirectX error, or something unrelated, or is it steam related...?

I'm seriously losing the will to live when it comes to gaming on my new PC and i don't really know what to do next, but i'm certainly not buying more games when i can never play them....
 
Hi

In past version of direct X they have been fully backwards compatible (please if i am talking rubbish please someone else correct me here) however this is not the case with DX11


AFAIK older none dx11 games actually still need directx 9 installing as well, have you tried installing this?
I guess the game should do it itsself but if not try going to the microsoft site and installing it yourself.

the fact that you are having so many issues with different games hints that something in your pc is not happy - probably just software.
 
I recently got a copy of Commandos 3 for free off Greenman Gaming and i think with that it installed DirectX 9... only reason i noticed this is last night i tried to search DirectX related stuff on system and found link to it and GMG.... It tried running updates but don't think it worked.

Not sure if there may be some conflict or something, but not tried commando's yet to know if that works.

Seems really stupid DX 11 isnt backward compatible.... would Portal 2 be DX11 as its not too old, becasue that played no problem?

What i don't get though is i got a free code for Company of Heroes a while back and that plays ok through Steam and that wouldn't be DX11 would it so confused....

Can you have more than one version od DirectX on the system at the same time then?
 
Most games I install seem to get DX or .NET or VC pretty much every new game I run on steam. One of them always pops up saying it needs to install
 
What i don't understand though is if it needs to install a different version of DirectX for windows, fine, but why does it fail at step 1 of 1.....?

I asusme it would be trying to install a pre DX11 version, or does it normally just install older drivers or something?

Please excuse the ignorance, but before i got this new PC the last PC game i bought was probably Pro Evo 5 back in the day and a lot's changed since then...
 
With problems in that many independent games I'd be inclined to think the problem is more fundamental, either dodgy hardware or a bad O/S install.

If you got the disks you could try reinstalling windows, but otherwise get onto Chillblast about it (assuming the PC in your sig is the problem child).
 
When you run a steam game for the first time it should install what i needs. I reinstalled window 7 in January and copied over the steam folder, when I ran the games it installed the relevant extra's it needed regardless of the age of them.

There must be some underlying software stopping it doing that I'm guessing. DX9 can be installed alongside another version, I think they just take the most relevant parts of them.
 
I would also say there is a system/OS problem for so many games to be having problems. I would suggest checking that system drivers are installed and up to date. If your PC was built and sent out it's quite possible they did not install all the system drivers from the manufactures website instead of from the motherboard drivers CD.
 
Thanks for the input all. I had a look at that thread linked to in addyb's post. When readin i thought hello as i have a Logitech keyboard / mouse set.... However, when i searched devices from Control panel and select Keyboard or mouse, and check to update drivers it says Microsoft driver and MS device....???? Very confused by this.

I also have a Logitech 2.1 speaker set but couldn't find anything for them either...

Do such devices use a standardised Windows driver or something, hence the MS reference?

I've also seen other threads listing issues with Steam installing of Directx and and stalling at step 1 of 1 before the box disappears and people not being able to play games. Some refer to removing a line from within the game folder in steamapps which instrucks the instll process... didnt work for me, but it may do if i install DX9 at a guess....

Another thread mentioned taking a line out of the scripts etc..... I'm still guessing at the moment and trying different things, but would appreciate further ideas if anyone has any. I will speak with Chillblast (yes my sig is my new PC EndlessWaves) to see what they say as must be familiar with steam etc....
 
Go to windows update, and see if there's anything there that needs updated(directx will install there, with an update if needed).

Update your video card drivers to the latest ones.

Verify Steams file integrity:

Load Steam
From the Library section, right-click on the game and select Properties from the menu.
Select the Local files tab and click the Verify integrity of game cache... button.
Steam will verify the game's files - this process may take several minutes.
Once the process is completed, the Check Window will automatically exit.


Those steps(dunno which one), got me through getting Steam sale games bought for my son, which had the same error/issues.

I just did windows update first, then went to Ati's site and downloaded the 12.4 Cat's(as the latest 12.6 are crap), installed them, then verified the troubled game in Steam, exited Steam, started it again, picked "Play", and it ran.

Go to Control Panel - Programes and Features, and see if theres anything Logitech related in the list, if so, uninstall it, and see if that helps, you can always re-install them from Logitechs site, as you will now know the name of the programme/driver you uninstalled.
 
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Hi RottenFox...

I've done the Windows update last night and it said all was fine.

I've also verified the game cache for a few of the games and again it says all ok whenever i've done this.

I haven't on this occasion checked card drivers yet but will do, however, i have cheked these about a month or so ago when i was having issues with BF3 and at the time they were up to date, so assume fine now.... I have a Radeon 6970 2GB card.

AS i say i'll check the card drivers again, but the other things didn't work....

That said, both Trine / 2 and Borderlands don't show the first time start install directx for windows box anymore... From memory, The Trine ones when i select play bring up an options box for resolutions etc, and then i press launch option and it just dissapears with nothing happening. Borderlands i select to play and a box flashes on / off quickly, but think it may have said launching (but cant remember for certain) and again just nothing after that....

Confused.
 
VERY long shot given so many games, but back when i 1st got batman AC I spent hours trying to get the game to work. No matter what I did, when running the benchmark as soon as it got to the outside part it hardlocked and dumped me to desktop.

I tried everything, drivers, underclocking gpu & cpu, changing settings to minimum, disabling physx etc all no joy.

in the end in desperation i uninstalled and reinstalled from scratch, and had no issue since. Somewhere there was a corrupt file breaking it.

I would be tempted to uninstall all your games, uninstall steam and start from scratch (back up your saves and then remove everyhting you can. failing that i would do an entire format but that is just me and maybe overkill.
 
Do such devices use a standardised Windows driver or something, hence the MS reference?

Yeah, USB has a pre-defined protocol for mice and keyboard (known as HID - Human Interface Devices) and Microsoft provides a driver for that. Logitech does have their own software for configuring/rebinding buttons which would probably relabel the entries to their correct names but the default USB HID driver should work fine unless the devices have any unique features.
 
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Yeah, USB has a pre-defined protocol for mice and keyboard (know has HID - Human Interface Devices) and Microsoft provides a driver for that. Logitech does have their own software for configuring/rebinding buttons which would probably relabel the entries to their correct names but the default USB HID driver should work fine unless the devices have any unique features.

Ok makes sense, yes was HID reference.

Would there possibly be Logitech drivers somewhere on the system also then, which could be causing the issue as detaile din the link above?

I looked in program files from start menu and searched Logitech but couldn't find anything so assume not.......
 
AMD drivers were up to date... bit stumped now and frustrated.

Really stupid question but how do i find .exe files? have read in places people say they started games from the exe file, not steam etc, but i can't find any.

Saw somewhere mention in search box from start menu type*.exe, but that brings up hardly anything, just install links for Itunes / Powerdvd etc (about 4 in total), nothing for any of the games i have installed....

IS that normal?
 
Was just searching Microsoft site for Dx9 and noticed download for DirectX End-User Runtimes.... Would this be something i should do, or not? Noticed it says it can't be iuninstalled and usually for people not connected online when installing... so not sure it's relevant as i don't fall under that catagory...?
 
AMD drivers were up to date... bit stumped now and frustrated.

Really stupid question but how do i find .exe files? have read in places people say they started games from the exe file, not steam etc, but i can't find any.

Saw somewhere mention in search box from start menu type*.exe, but that brings up hardly anything, just install links for Itunes / Powerdvd etc (about 4 in total), nothing for any of the games i have installed....

IS that normal?

The exe files for the steam games? They are in the steam folder in program files. In a folder called common I think.
 
IS that normal?

Extensions have been turned off by default since at least windows 98 but they're so widely referenced many people turn them right back on. The option is under the view tab in folder options and is called 'Hide extensions for known file types'.

exe files are the program files so they run anyway, this suggestion is usually given when the program has a broken launcher and you can run the game directly rather than starting it from the launcher.

AMD drivers were up to date... bit stumped now and frustrated.

Nuke and Pave.

Backup, Format the disk and Reinstall windows.

It's a great troubleshooting step because it eliminates a whole host of things, if the games aren't working on a fresh install then you can be almost certain it's not a mucked up install of the drivers, directX or anything similar (accidents do very occasionally happen twice). The only reason it's not the immediate solution to every problem is because it's slightly more work than the option of reinstalling/updating drivers/directX.

But at this point it sounds like the right option rather than spending more time hunting around for other minor tweaks you could try.
 
I cant see any exe files either in the common folder or individual game folders within common..... i don't understand why not. Ive also got it set to show hidden folders etc so not that..?

Also went to C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\PAYDAY The Heist\redist\DirectX

And from there right clicked on DXSETUP, ran as administrator... It then brought up an MS DirectX box, which said initialising comonents, searching for updated DirectX Runtime components and updating as necessary.. this may take a few minutes.

A doiwnlowas scrolloing through nicely and just as it got to the end another box came on screen saying the following:

DirectX Setup
An internal system error occured.
Please refer to DXError.log and DirectX.log in your Windows folder to determine problem.

I had to click OK and then the main MS DirectX box said Install end. Install failed.

I was thinking ok, at least with these logs it might identify the problem but they are just double dutch and a vast amount of text, which mean nothing to me... mentions certain plug ins Failed etc, but i can't work it out.

Anyone here know what to look for....?

If not i may speak with Chillblast tomorrow and send them the logs to see if they can identify a problem...
 
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Hi EndlessWaves... think we both posted almost at the same time.

I can see the exe files now thanks... went into the PAyday: The Heist folder and tried to run as admin and the below box came up.

---------------------------
payday_win32_release.exe - Bad Image
---------------------------
C:\Windows\system32\d3dx9_40.dll is either not designed to run on Windows or it contains an error. Try installing the program again using the original installation media or contact your system administrator or the software vendor for support.
---------------------------
OK
---------------------------

I will see if Chillblast suggest anything, but note you think a Windows re-install may be best... The idea does daunt me i must admit as never done it before.

You mentione format the drive, but I have no external drive to back up stuff to, all of which i think is on my SSD currently.

Assume if drive has to be formatted to uninstall and reinstall windows i'd have to get an external drive to do this, and can't transfer everything to my HDD and format the SSD...?
 
You mentione format the drive, but I have no external drive to back up stuff to, all of which i think is on my SSD currently.

Assume if drive has to be formatted to uninstall and reinstall windows i'd have to get an external drive to do this, and can't transfer everything to my HDD and format the SSD...?

You only need to format the partition windows is on (there's no uninstaller for windows, you just wipe it), any other partitions on the SSD and any other drives are unaffected.

It's all the backing up that can be the intricate bit, the install is easy as once you've done the partition stuff (i.e. made sure you've got the correct one to wipe) it's just the same any program install, and these days windows update will even do most of the drivers and directX updates automatically afterwards as well
 
what antivirus software do you have?
are you sure it ain't stopping some of the games to run. I've had a similar thing with avast, but gives me
the chance to approve
 
You only need to format the partition windows is on (there's no uninstaller for windows, you just wipe it), any other partitions on the SSD and any other drives are unaffected.

It's all the backing up that can be the intricate bit, the install is easy as once you've done the partition stuff (i.e. made sure you've got the correct one to wipe) it's just the same any program install, and these days windows update will even do most of the drivers and directX updates automatically afterwards as well

Cheers for the info.

I actually called Chillblast earlier and the person advised they get quite a lot of calls about Steam issues. I mentioned things i'd read and he referred to things people suggest sometimes which are very complicated often.

Said to uninstall games / steam first and do a system restore which may work, and i said about reinstalling windows and he said that is the other option and would sort it, until potentially anything that may have caused the problem does the same thing again.

After speaking to him i'm less concerned about redoing windows. I will put everything i need to keep secure on my HDD which is currently empty so i can then format my SSD. Then he said install windows, then Z68 drivers, then GPU drivers before doing windows updates, which he said can take a long timie as there are so many to do, mentioned about 100...

I have started uninstalling games and will do steam when the kids are in bed and see how i get on, if not will prob wait until Saturday to do windows...
 

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