Constant DirectX11 and Windows crashes while playing FFXIV

[ubuysa]

When you installed the Nvidia driver did you install the Nvidia Audio Driver? We have had several reports of conflicts between the Nvidia audio driver and the Realtek audio driver. If you did install the Nvidia audio driver use DDU to uninstall the Nvidia driver then reinstall it again but without selecting the Nvidia audio driver. See whether that helps?

 

[RexItaliae]

When you installed the Nvidia driver did you install the Nvidia Audio Driver? We have had several reports of conflicts between the Nvidia audio driver and the Realtek audio driver. If you did install the Nvidia audio driver use DDU to uninstall the Nvidia driver then reinstall it again but without selecting the Nvidia audio driver. See whether that helps?

Yes, I did! Following your suggestion I downloaded DDU and, while in Safe Mode, I uninstalled all Nvidia drivers as well as all audio drivers listed there. Then I rebooted the PC in normal mode while being disconnected from the internet and reinstalled the Nvidia driver without selecting the HD audio driver (I did install though PhysX and the USBC driver). Then I connected to the Internet and checked on Windows Update if it would find new audio drivers, but it didn't find anything. Audio works though, also in game.

I'll keep it monitored to see if this changes anything. In the past some of the game crashes were actually audio problems, so it might well be that. Thank you!

 

[RexItaliae]

Sadly today the game crashed once again. I confess that it is more stable than it used to be, but still... I report the error I got, which I think is written mainly for Square Enix people to understand, but maybe some of you recognize which dll's these are and maybe have an idea of a possible cause, or maybe where to look at? At Square they're terribly unhelpful. All this also begs the question whether it's a hardware problem or not.

An unexpected error has occurred. Exiting FINAL FANTASY XIV.
2021-02-09_18:20

nvwgf2umx.dll+2C031A
nvwgf2umx.dll+41BED9
nvwgf2umx.dll+439F5F
nvwgf2umx.dll+106B0BF
nvwgf2umx.dll+10B5F5F
nvwgf2umx.dll+10B5EDA
nvwgf2umx.dll+10AB0FD
nvwgf2umx.dll+681D5A

EDIT: I forgot to mention that this time it crashed while playing solo, with the speakers on, with nothing else in the background. The game was in full-screen mode, and I had disabled already Windows Game Mode. However, just a second or two before the crash occurred, a Windows notification about "finishing setting up" something popped up, which caused the game to flicker a bit (it always does that when you try to alt-tab away from the game while it's in full screen mode). I don't know if the subsequent crash was a mere coincidence, but I thought I should say this. Normally if you alt-tab the game from full screen mode it doesn't crash, mind you.

EDIT2: I have no idea why the timestamp in the error above is wrong. My PC date and time are correct and don't correspond to those.

 

[ubuysa]

Sadly today the game crashed once again. I confess that it is more stable than it used to be, but still... I report the error I got, which I think is written mainly for Square Enix people to understand, but maybe some of you recognize which dll's these are and maybe have an idea of a possible cause, or maybe where to look at? At Square they're terribly unhelpful. All this also begs the question whether it's a hardware problem or not.



EDIT: I forgot to mention that this time it crashed while playing solo, with the speakers on, with nothing else in the background. The game was in full-screen mode, and I had disabled already Windows Game Mode. However, just a second or two before the crash occurred, a Windows notification about "finishing setting up" something popped up, which caused the game to flicker a bit (it always does that when you try to alt-tab away from the game while it's in full screen mode). I don't know if the subsequent crash was a mere coincidence, but I thought I should say this. Normally if you alt-tab the game from full screen mode it doesn't crash, mind you.

EDIT2: I have no idea why the timestamp in the error above is wrong. My PC date and time are correct and don't correspond to those.

The file nvwgf2umx.dll is a dll belonging to the Nvidia D3D10 driver, a component of the Nvidia 3D Vision Video Player, do you have that installed?

 

[RexItaliae]

The file nvwgf2umx.dll is a dll belonging to the Nvidia D3D10 driver, a component of the Nvidia 3D Vision Video Player, do you have that installed?

It doesn't appear on my list of apps, and I didn't personally installed it, so if I have it, it came with either Windows or the latest Nvidia driver. I found nvwgf2umx.dl on the following folder:

C:\Windows\System32\DriverStore\FileRepository\nv_dispi.inf_amd64_d67c20d727d4578c

Perhaps it got there when I installed PhysX or the Nvidia USBC driver? I checked and I shouldn't need either of them to run FF, so I will now once again uninstall all Nvidia stuff with DDU and reinstall the latest driver by selecting, in custom installation, only the graphics driver and unticking GeForce experience, HD audio driver, PhysX System Software and USBC driver.

 

[RexItaliae]

I can confirm that the file nvwgf2umx.dll comes with the graphics driver from Nvidia: after running DDU, I searched for it and I didn't find it anymore. Then I installed the graphics driver only, and there it was again. So this might not have solved the problem... We'll see what happens.

 

[RexItaliae]

The game still crushed a couple of times, with generic "ffxiv_dx11.exe" (which is the main executable of the game) errors. For good measure I decided to use the System File Checker, as instructed on Microsoft's website, and the sfc /scannow did find corrupt files and successfully repaired them. I uploaded the log file, in case someone is able to read through it anything important... I believe I started running the sfc/scannow command at 17:40.

Intel CSME Vulnerability – Google Drive

drive.google.com

In the game's forums I saw someone suggesting to update the chipset drivers. Should I do that? If yes, should I go directly to Intel's website, or the motherboard website instead? Windows Update at the moment doesn't find anything available.

Is it worth of me doing some hardware stress-test of some sorts, to check this isn't just a hardware problem at this point? Although there are quite a few people around playing FFXIV that have my same issues, it's also true that I've had them since the moment I used for the first time this new PC, and my old one (with which I played FF since 2016) has never suffered from this.

 

[jamiephillips909]

Right Click on desktop > Nvidia control panel > Display [Change Resolution] > Customise > Create Custom Resolution > Set to 80 Hz

Sounds weird but could try running the game with it locked at 80hz and just see if its stable ?

 

[RexItaliae]

My monitor is 60Hz though... and the game itself caps the FPS to 60 (I can cap it in-game higher than that or not at all as well, but since the monitor doesn't go higher than 60fps I've always capped it at 60).

 

[jamiephillips909]

My monitor is 60Hz though... and the game itself caps the FPS to 60 (I can cap it in-game higher than that or not at all as well, but since the monitor doesn't go higher than 60fps I've always capped it at 60).

Sorry assumed you were running at 144hz ignore my suggestion is it all games or just ff?

 

[ubuysa]

The game still crushed a couple of times, with generic "ffxiv_dx11.exe" (which is the main executable of the game) errors. For good measure I decided to use the System File Checker, as instructed on Microsoft's website, and the sfc /scannow did find corrupt files and successfully repaired them. I uploaded the log file, in case someone is able to read through it anything important... I believe I started running the sfc/scannow command at 17:40.

Intel CSME Vulnerability – Google Drive

drive.google.com

In the game's forums I saw someone suggesting to update the chipset drivers. Should I do that? If yes, should I go directly to Intel's website, or the motherboard website instead? Windows Update at the moment doesn't find anything available.

Is it worth of me doing some hardware stress-test of some sorts, to check this isn't just a hardware problem at this point? Although there are quite a few people around playing FFXIV that have my same issues, it's also true that I've had them since the moment I used for the first time this new PC, and my old one (with which I played FF since 2016) has never suffered from this.

This could well be a problem with the game itself rather than Windows/Nvidia/Hardware. To check your chipset (and other Intel) drivers download and install the Intel Driver and Support Assistant.

 

[RexItaliae]

Sorry assumed you were running at 144hz ignore my suggestion is it all games or just ff?

I only play FF on PC so I don't know, unfortunately.

This could well be a problem with the game itself rather than Windows/Nvidia/Hardware.

It's a fact, however, that with my old PC (whose components I bought on Amazon and other retailers and a friend of mine built it up from scratch) I've played this game for almost 5 years with no issues whatsoever and with all sort of stuff installed in it, including GeForce Experience and even Norton antivirus. Never had a crush of any sort. Now I buy this one from PCS and from day one the game crushes, even when there is no software installed in it that doesn't come from Windows Update. Given that changing the GPU didn't solve it, it seems plausible to assume it's not the GPU (unless I was sold a faulty GPU twice in a row from PCS: I really hope not). The fact that the game is unstable with this extremely minimal setup is suspicious to me, but I'm far from being an expert, hence why I'm seeking help from more educated people here (for which I'm deeply grateful already!). It's just that I don't know what else to do, and I don't know if I should ring PCS and ask for technical assistance there: sending a message from my account area of the website doesn't seem to work, as they haven't replied in more than a week.

 

[ubuysa]

If these problems happen in just one game then it's not likely to be a hardware issue. It's much more likely to be a software or driver issue.

It's less likely to be a Windows issue, otherwise we'd all be affected, but an Nvidia driver issue is highly likely. It's far from uncommon to find that the latest driver causes problems in games other than those the update is targeted at.

Since the latest driver seems to cause issues for you, try uninstalling that one with DDU and try the previous driver version. If that has issues backup through the next two or three versions to see whether one is stable.

It's not unusual to have to do this. Nvidia graphics drivers are regularly updated to cater for newer games and the more you update a driver the greater the possibility of causing unexpected problems in other areas.

See how you get on with previous Nvidia drivers.

As for contacting PCS, email has never been the best way. The best way is to phone them, even though you'll have a long wait you will get to speak directly with someone.

I get no sense that these issues are anything other than a driver issue.

 

[RexItaliae]

I found another thread on the Square Enix site listing the same issuewith DX11 and FF....the OP solved it by, and I quote:

"I finally got the game to work on DirectX 11! Deleting a software called GeDoSaTo from my computer was able to fix the issue."

That's probably no help whatsoever though

I've never installed that software so it can't be it.
Mind you, I'm fully aware that I'm not the only person with this issue with FFXIV, but at the same time we're only a minority of people among the millions who play it. (It's the second most popular MMORPG after World of Warcraft.)

 

[RexItaliae]

If these problems happen in just one game then it's not likely to be a hardware issue. It's much more likely to be a software or driver issue.

It's less likely to be a Windows issue, otherwise we'd all be affected, but an Nvidia driver issue is highly likely. It's far from uncommon to find that the latest driver causes problems in games other than those the update is targeted at.

Since the latest driver seems to cause issues for you, try uninstalling that one with DDU and try the previous driver version. If that has issues backup through the next two or three versions to see whether one is stable.

It's not unusual to have to do this. Nvidia graphics drivers are regularly updated to cater for newer games and the more you update a driver the greater the possibility of causing unexpected problems in other areas.

See how you get on with previous Nvidia drivers.

As for contacting PCS, email has never been the best way. The best way is to phone them, even though you'll have a long wait you will get to speak directly with someone.

I get no sense that these issues are anything other than a driver issue.

Thank you, I'll try an older driver. I have a question regarding this: with windows update I did get a Nvidia driver automatically, I can't remember which one but it was released back in September 2020. Would it be wise, should I have to clean install Windows again, to just leave that one be?

 

[ubuysa]

Thank you, I'll try an older driver. I have a question regarding this: with windows update I did get a Nvidia driver automatically, I can't remember which one but it was released back in September 2020. Would it be wise, should I have to clean install Windows again, to just leave that one be?

TBH I would want to go back to basics to eliminate an issue with your Windows system or with some other software that may be causing a conflict.

I would do a fully clean install of Windows from bootable media allowing Windows Update to install all drivers. Then download and install the latest Nvidia driver and the game you're having issues with - and nothing else.

If it fails in that state then try backlevel Nvidia drivers. That way you'll know you have a clean Windows system and nothing that may be conflicting.

 

[RexItaliae]

TBH I would want to go back to basics to eliminate an issue with your Windows system or with some other software that may be causing a conflict.

I would do a fully clean install of Windows from bootable media allowing Windows Update to install all drivers. Then download and install the latest Nvidia driver and the game you're having issues with - and nothing else.

If it fails in that state then try backlevel Nvidia drivers. That way you'll know you have a clean Windows system and nothing that may be conflicting.

This is exactly what I did, Saturday last week, as I wrote a few days ago on this thread. It failed on Thursday, as I reported here. To this moment there is no software installed that didn't come with Windows, except for the game and DDU.

 

[ubuysa]

This is exactly what I did, Saturday last week, as I wrote a few days ago on this thread. It failed on Thursday, as I reported here. To this moment there is no software installed that didn't come with Windows, except for the game and DDU.

I don't know what else to tell you. There is no indication that this is hardware and if it were you'd see problems elsewhere and not just in this game.

Have you explored the specific game forum to see whether others have similar problems?

 

[RexItaliae]

I don't know what else to tell you. There is no indication that this is hardware and if it were you'd see problems elsewhere and not just in this game.

Have you explored the specific game forum to see whether others have similar problems?

You have already helped me a lot, and for this I thank you! I'll try to backtrack to previous drivers and see what happens.

I have explored the game forum and yes there are a few other people with my same problems, but they all suggest different things that apparently worked for them, usually the solution being "update your graphics driver". The technical support only suggested to disable Fullscreen Optimization for the game, which I did but nothing changed. Someone else suggested to change, in the Nvidia control panel, the power management mode for the game to "Prefer maximum performance", whereas by default is "Optimal power". I'm now trying this before rolling back to previous drivers.

 

[RexItaliae]

Little update:
In the last week I've been rolling back to a previous driver whenever a crash would occur. By this I mean that if the game crashes once, I reboot in Safe Mode, run DDU to uninstall all Nvidia drivers, reboot in Normal mode with no internet connection and install the previous version of the old driver, downloaded directly from Nvidia. Only the graphics driver, nothing else. The game has so far crashed at least once using the following versions of the Game Ready drivers:

461.72
461.40
461.09
460.89
460.79
457.51
457.30

...and currently trying the 457.09, released on 29/10/2020. I'll continue to roll back as long as I find drivers on Nvidia's website (the oldest available is 442.19, released on 3/2/2020), at which point I really don't know what else to do, apart from ringing PCS. Any suggestions on anything else I could try, before spending hours on the phone with PCS?