Any recourse when a PC game doesn't run? (1 Viewer)

[Dave F]

After playing PC games for years (since DoomII), I have finally hit upon a game that just will not run (Medal of Honor). Everytime, it crashes the entire system as it tries to load a level. Usually requires a hard reboot to recover - ctrl-alt-del doesn't respond. My system is well within the specs, and the demo ran just peachy on my PC.
Anyway, what can a person do in this circumstance? Stores won't accept a return on an opened item, they will only replace, and every single copy will be exactly the same. The manufacturer's warranty is for the media, and even then, will only replace & will not refund.
Suggestions?
-Dave

 

[Romier S]

Do you get any errors when the game crashed Dave? What graphics card are you using? Driver version?

 

[Dave F]

Nope, no error message. Just the standard dialog box to report errors to Microsoft. I'm using a GeForce4 Ti4200, with the 30.82 drivers. I've found many, many, postings with the exact same problem (same thing with Battlefield 1942).

I have strong suspicions that it is due to the safedisc "protection", given that it occurs only in the retail release, and also in Battlefield 1942. But, I also tried the hacked nocd-exe's, and that didn't seem to solve the problem.

-Dave

 

[MikeyWeitz]

Go to Nvidia and try the 40.41 drivers, your 30's are old.

Also, make sure your File structure is in tip top shape, defrag, the whole 9 yards.

If that doesn't do it, I would do a fresh fromat and install of everything. That should straighten out a lot of issues. If you are overclocking, try dropping it down a notch or 2.

 

[Dave F]

Reformatting is out of the question. The 40.41 drivers did not help either (I was downloading while writing the first post). I've been up and down MoH boards and tech support, trying various solutions to no avail. The fact remains that this is a commonly reported problem which appears on other EA games as well. The 1.11 patch was supposed to fix it, but it didn't. At this point, I have done far more troubleshooting than 99% of people would do, and unless a miracle cure pops up, I'm finished with it.

So, is there any recourse? As far as I'm concerned, it is a faulty product. What can a consumer do?

 

[Scott "E"]

What OS are you running? If it's either WinXP or Win2k have you looked in the event viewer to see if it logged the error? Also, what are the components you are using in the system, processor, video card, motherboard, etc?

I've been building gaming PC's for a couple of years now and there are certain combinations that just don't play well together. I feel for you though, I've been in your situation more times than I'd like to remember.

 

[Graeme Clark]

You could always try and take it back to the store and explain to them that the product doesn't run and there is no chance that another copy is going to fix it. Depending on where you got it, they may let you exchange it for something else.
Unfortunatly, the only other thing you can really do is sell it or trade with someone else.

 

[Brad Grenz]

What kind of CD drive do you have? Kenwood True-X drives can sometimes cause these types of problems.

 

[Brandon_S]

Brad,

I know what you mean. I have a Kenwood True X drive and it has been nothing but problems for me. These drives generally got good reviews which really puzzles me.

Dave,

My brothers computer had problems with MOH also, but a video driver upgrade corrected his problem. Do you have a second drive you can try to play the game from? I hope you get the game working. It is loads of fun. Good luck!

Brandon Smith

 

[MikeyWeitz]

Go return it for a new unopened one, then return the opened one and exchange it for something else.

Never say fomrat and reinstall is out of the question. When it comes to MS products, it will have to be done sooner or later.

 

[Dave F]

Obviously a reformat will happen in the future, but there is no indication to think that it will help this situation. I'm not going to embark on wiping everything out, digging up install disks, downloading patches & days of tweaks to return my settings to normal, when everything else is running perfectly.

-Dave

 

[Scott L]

Most places should offer store credit. If all else fails sell it on ebay or the HTF software F/S thread.
btw- It's a shame it won't run, the game kicks ace!

 

[Max Leung]

Have you tried playing with the game sound disabled? I'm betting that your sound drivers are the culprit, if it isn't the copy protection. Of course, you never did give us your hardware specs to do a proper diagnosis!

Motherboard? Brand of RAM? Amount of RAM? Sound card and sound card driver version? Any other peripherals/cards installed?

You could also get a "patch" which would eliminate the copy-protection check to determine if the copy-protection is the cause of the crash (an extremely common occurance nowadays). I can't tell you how in public, though.

 

[Dave F]

you never did give us your hardware specs to do a proper diagnosis!

This was on purpose. I've tried what can be tried. I appreciate the offer to help, but my question is along the lines of the legal responsibility of the company to provide a working product, and what protection the consumer has (which is apparently none).

-Dave