Game Installation Brings Windows To A Crash

[JC Denton]

OK. This is the second game that crashed Windows to a halt. The Microsoft Flight Simulator 2004 crashed the system at the 4th CD of installation. Same CDs tried at some friend's PC and it worked. Now Deus Ex 2 crashed the OS again. I want to know what's going on with my PC. It's working OK otherwise.

The message on the blueish screen that i got:

"A problem has been detected and Windows has been shut down to prevent damage to your computer.

MACHINE_CHECK_EXCEPTION

If this is the first time you've seen this Stop error screen, restart your computer. If this screen appears again, follow these steps:

Check to make sure any new hardware or software is properly installed. If this is a new installation, ask your hardware or software manufacturer for any Windows updates you might need.

If problems continue, disable or remove any newly installed hardware or software. Disable BIOS memory options such as caching or shadowing. If you need to use Safe Mode to remove or disable components, press F8 to select Advanced Startup Options, and then select Safe Mode.

Technical information:

*** STOP: 0x0000009c (0x00000004, 0x80545FF0, 0xB2000000, 0x00070F0F)"

Someone please help me...

[Skiracing108]

google the stop code and check microsofts website

[Skiracing108]

http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=329284

[JC Denton]

Well..."To do this, the processor used the Machine Check Exception (MCE) feature of Pentium processors or the Machine Check Architecture (MCA) feature of some Pentium Pro processors." Why do i think this is virtually impossible because i m not running an Intel Pentium CPU?

I also checked those most common reasons. None of them seems to fit at least a bit.

-no OCing (TRIED to overclock my GPU a long time ago but reset it to default because it actually wroked slower - no other attempts of overclocking)
-more than enough power and stable (a 530 W PSU - ASUS Probe showing a smooth voltage graph)
-no overheating, fans running at optimal levels (temperature alerts set in BIOS - ASUS showing safe temperature and optimal RPMs)
-memory modules untouched since the hardware upgrade (all worked normally since then)

Appreciate the help but it looks like this ain't gonna solve the problem.

[Skiracing108]

i get that every once in a while too and im running amd doesnt bother me

[JC Denton]

Well...i get it every time i try to instal MS FS 2004 or DX2. Now this is a serious problem because it means i actually cannot play these 2 (i wonder how many other games are waiting out there for me to find out they can't even be installed) games.

[dolanenwindrift]

Couple of other things to check, your optical drive may be acting up, or if you are running Daemon tools or Alcohol 120% there may be issues with your virtual drives due to copy protection software.

[JC Denton]

nope...both DVD drives are running A OK. i dont use virtual drive programs because its a waste of HDD space. i burn things on CDs.

[JC Denton]

actually...today i copied a CD of MS Office 2003 for a friend of mine. i inserted teh CD in the DVD reader to verify that its teh CD i wanna copy.

Autorun and.....boom blue screen ( this never happened before )
i tried teh second drive ( DVD RW burner ) it worked

after 3 CDs being "defective" on ym primary DVD drive i have concluded that that Windows error was generated by my faulty primary DVD drive.

i also think both MS FS2004 and Deus ex 2 will work normally on teh secondary DVD drive. i ll try that when i get home.

[chrisbard]

Originally Posted by JC Denton

OK. This is the second game that crashed Windows to a halt. The Microsoft Flight Simulator 2004 crashed the system at the 4th CD of installation. Same CDs tried at some friend's PC and it worked. Now Deus Ex 2 crashed the OS again. I want to know what's going on with my PC. It's working OK otherwise.

The message on the blueish screen that i got:

"A problem has been detected and Windows has been shut down to prevent damage to your computer.

MACHINE_CHECK_EXCEPTION

If this is the first time you've seen this Stop error screen, restart your computer. If this screen appears again, follow these steps:

Check to make sure any new hardware or software is properly installed. If this is a new installation, ask your hardware or software manufacturer for any Windows updates you might need.

If problems continue, disable or remove any newly installed hardware or software. Disable BIOS memory options such as caching or shadowing. If you need to use Safe Mode to remove or disable components, press F8 to select Advanced Startup Options, and then select Safe Mode.

Technical information:

*** STOP: 0x0000009c (0x00000004, 0x80545FF0, 0xB2000000, 0x00070F0F)"

Someone please help me...

Did you try "Boot into last known good configuration"?
Did you try "Safe mode" or "System Restore" ?

[JC Denton]

no...because i would have to set things back and i know those arent teh fault ( if they were teh malfunction would show up as soon as i have made those changes ).

[JC Denton]

thats it. just confirmed. both CDs ran just fine on teh secondary drive.

Conclusion:

stop message generated by faulty DVD reader.

[Doodar]

You don't by chance have now or have you had in the past, any games using the Star Force copy protection on that computer?

If your not sure, you can get more info here;

http://www.glop.org/starforce/

[JC Denton]

confirmed.

2 drivers were detected and deleted.

where can i get list of starforce protected games ?

BTW as far as i heard...isnt starforce impossible to crack ... therefore games which are copyied wouldnt run with simple one crakecd .exe file...

[Doodar]

JC, scroll to the bottom of that link I posted. Star Force protected games are listed there.

[JC Denton]

so Area 51 and Xpand rally messed up ym drive ?

so now what...does that mean i mustnt touch them anymore if i want to avoid starforce crap ?

[Doodar]

JC, here are instructions for removing Star Force. This thing is a menace, IMHO. A flight sim squad mate of mine spent most of yesterday on the phone with Plextor getting his burner working again.

Hope this helps.

1. Remove these files:
%SystemRoot%\system32\drivers\sfsync03.sys
%SystemRoot%\system32\drivers\sfhlp02.sys
%SystemRoot%\system32\drivers\sfdrv01.sys

2. Remove these registry keys:
HKLM\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\sfsync03
HKLM\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\sfhlp02
HKLM\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\sfdrv01

This is the method I found to work:

1. Device removal
Go into the device manager and show non-plug and play devices. There will be three Starfoce items.
Select the first one and Uninstall -> Are you sure -> YES -> Do you wish to restart -> No.
Select the second one and Uninstall -> Are you sure -> YES -> Do you wish to restart -> No.
Select the third (final) one and Uninstall -> Are you sure -> YES -> Do you wish to restart -> YES.
*computer restarts*

2. File removal
open the search window (F3) and look for any of the following files on ANY drive:
sfsync*.sys, sfhlp*.sys, sfdrv*.sys
When you find any of them, remove them.

3. Registry cleanup
open the windows registry (Start -> Run -> Regedit) and look for any of the following items:
sfsync
sfhlp
sfdrv
Again, remove anything even related to any of these items. be sure to search for KEYS, VALUES and DATA. You will get more hits then just the ones given by the Starforce crew. I removed all trace of them

[JC Denton]

uummm...i already removed the starforce data with that cleanup tool...do i really ahve to mess with teh OS's guts ?

[Doodar]

As long as the removal tool got it all, no you don't.

However, experience has shown that the removal tool does not always get it all.

Aren't you glad that the game publishers are protecting us from pirates by messing up our machines?

[JC Denton]

no. right now i would put every ****ing game publisher on a wooden stake and tear his guts out.