Elemental will not run (0xc0000005) error

Try going to the location you installed the game at and running the exe directly. If you're getting nothing at all, it might just be the launcher.

Hello,

I went to the application folder and tried to launch it directly and recieved the same error. I am now attempting to re-download and re-install Elemental to see if that will help. Otherwise I am out of ideas

Would installing it outside of the Program Files 86x help at all? Seeing as I am running on 64bit?

Update: on reinstalling i get the same problem. This time I managed to spot an error message during the install process that says:

Adding Elemental: War of Magic failed: 0x80004005

What does this mean?

If you're getting the games explorer error that shouldn't be anything related (Windows doesn't remove it on uninstall so it'll fail trying to add it since it's still there, AFAIK).

Is there any debug.err file in My Documents\My Games\Elemental (if so, post it), or is the game not getting far enough to create one?

There is only an InstallGDF file which has the following:

Install switch found
DLL path: C:\Program Files (x86)\Stardock Games\Elemental\GDF_Elemental.dll
Install directory: C:\Program Files (x86)\Stardock Games\Elemental\
Game exe path: C:\Program Files (x86)\Stardock Games\Elemental\Elemental.exe
Error adding Elemental: War of Magic to Game Explorer.
C:\Program Files (x86)\Stardock Games\Elemental\DXAtlasWin.exe /w 1024 /h 512 /OUTPUTDIR "C:\ProgramData\Stardock\Elemental - War of Magic\screens\" /SCREENPATH "C:\Program Files (x86)\Stardock Games\Elemental\screens"
ERROR: DXAtlasWin.exe returned an error code: -1073741511

No Debug.err file is present

A couple of notifications in Windows Event Viewer regarding Elemental:

Fault bucket , type 0
Event Name: PCA2
Response: Not available
Cab Id: 0

Problem signature:
P1: Elemental.exe
P2: 1.0.0.0
P3: Elemental: War of Magic
P4: Elemental: War of Magic
P5: Stardock Entertainment, Inc.
P6: 200
P7: -1
P8:
P9:
P10:

Attached files:
C:\Users\DoomWaffle\AppData\Local\Temp\{81b3d0c8-07ce-45a8-a378-11c17217eaf2}\appcompat.txt
C:\Users\DoomWaffle\AppData\Local\Temp\Tab2570.tmp

These files may be available here:


Analysis symbol:
Rechecking for solution: 0
Report Id: fa1bd5bb-aee0-11df-9861-e0cb4eb8bb77

Does this shed any light on the issue?

In absence of a debug.err then, please post a dxdiag report. You can do so by:

Click Start->Run-> type in dxdiag and click OK.

Once it finishes, click the Save All button, give it a name, then open that file up in Notepad, copy+paste everything to pastebin.com or similar, and post the link here (please do not paste the report directly here as very long texts like that can make the page difficult to read).

Here we are

http://pastebin.com/ccyeymNp

Ok, I tried out what you have said and I get  anew error message after ignoring the first one:

DXatlaswin

'The procedure entry point D3DXGetImageInfoFromFileInMemory could not be located in the dynamic link library d3dx9_41.dll'

That last thing looks awfully familar as a reason for some of my Steam games not running properly. It's something to do with DirectX? But I am up to date? Plenty of games run fine (Starcraft2, DoW2, WoW to name a few).

Any ideas?

Thanks for the responses so far

Hello,

I have exactly the same problem with the same configuration.

I have change the write file permissions on  folder ..\Documents\My Games\Elemental but the problem persist.

Thanks in advance.

PS : Sorry for my english

I'm trying to untick 'read only' for the screens folder but it keeps resetting itself back to a square check in the box for 'read only' whenever I apply and go back to the folder properties.

I've checked my system32 folder and all the directX .dlls are there. I just checked DirectX for updates and went through that business and am still getting the same problem. Arrrgh I wish PC gaming wasn't so complex sometimes.

Shameful bump before sleep. I'm at my wits end. I've tried all that I can think of.

If the problem is related to DirectX in some way, wouldnt the dxdiag reveal exactly what it is? The d3dx9_41.dll is not missing, just an entry point error regarding it...

The prospect of getting to play Elemental after work had me psyched for the day, but what an anti-climax this has been

DoomWaffle, have you tried a clean re-install of Directx? The entry point procedure usually refers to a version mis-match.  It's possible that another game on your system installed the D3DX9_41.dll and that it's not the correct version for your OS.  

Can both of you please get this tool http://www.dependencywalker.com/ and load elemental.exe with it and then save the report and upload it using dropbox or a similar service?  

When an application crashes on startup like this, it's usually because it's having trouble loading a particular dll.  The dependency walker should help us figure out which one is having trouble.

Hello,

Thank you for the responses, I will try out your suggestions. In the meantime, how would I carry out a clean re-install of DirectX? I have tried downloading the latest DirectX redist from microsoft and updated over my original but that doesn't seem to work.

I have placed the elemental.dwi file into my dropbox. I have never used this program before so I am unsure if it is accessible or not. All I have to do is drag it into the dropbox?

EDIT: I think i figured out the dropbox thing, here it is: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/10480576/Elemental.dwi

Hi,

Ok, I have found. The problem come of ATI Tray Tools.

I have uninstall then reinstall the game and applied the update.

The error at the install is always there but I ignore it.

I Launch the game and... it works ! Before all that, I have close ATI tray tools of course.

I hope that works for you DoomWaffle.

Thanks and sorry again for my english

My best guess is that you have a corrupted DirectX install.  This could be caused by another game shipping the wrong version of the dll for you OS, or actually modifying the file.  So, as a warning, fixing this problem may break one of your other games, but if you're having problems with other steam games, maybe this will fix those as well.  

It may be just the one file, D3D9_41.dll, so you could start by just deleting that and then trying the directx redist install again.

I found an article on Microsoft's forums on how to remove DirectX to re-install:

http://social.answers.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/vistagaming/thread/a668c2c0-1c7e-497d-b605-44957540fbb6

Hello, thank you for the continued responses.

I deleted d3d9_41.dll and reinstalled using the redist but encountered the same problem. I have recently got Elemental to work however by doing the following:

I noticed in my sins of a solar empire directory that d3d9_41.dll was present in the folder. This got me thinking, considering that SoaSE works fine. I copied the .dll file from the SoaSE folder and pasted it into the E:WoM folder.

Now it works <touch wood>. I have managed to update the game and play for a couple of hours with no problem. This seems like a really awkward fix but whatever goes

hi. i have been reading so many forums about Fallen enchantress (Elemental) not working and have the no-start up problem and have tried all the things suggested.... nothing works. as the specs of my computer are more than adequate have i brought a faulty product?