Electron Toolset
…is taking a toll on production with the number of system crashes it has put us through.
It may well be a compatibility issue with Windows 7 or the NVIDIA drivers are flaking out; whatever the reason it is counter-productive to say the least to have to restart the application almost every time an area needs to be rendered. Frankly, it is frustrating and digging for a solution is taking most of the day month away.
Categories: Troubleshooting
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5 Responses to “Electron Toolset”
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October 24th, 2010 at 18:35
From all appearances, if the rendering is performed on a MOD file under ~26 MB, the engine is stable. Hopefully this is per area, not the aggregate number of areas.
October 25th, 2010 at 17:18
Under the Computer Management Center, and looking at the Windows logs, there is an application error for the Toolset directed at
NWN2_MemoryMgr_amdxp.dll
the log reads:
Faulting application name: NWN2ToolsetLauncher.exe, version: 1.0.23.1765, time stamp: 0x4a89fba1
Faulting module name: NWN2_MemoryMgr_amdxp.dll, version: 1.0.23.1765, time stamp: 0x4a89f7ec
Exception code: 0xc0000005
Fault offset: 0x00006fc5
reinstalled DirectX 11, .NET client manager and uninstalled the NVIDIA video card, just to reinstall with updated (same) drivers. No improvement to report.
October 27th, 2010 at 14:13
Microsoft incorporated a new security feature from Windows XP SP2 and onward that is called DEP (Data Execution Prevention). Many programs that dynamically generate code do not tag the memory allocated as being executable memory, so DEP catches it and terminates the process, throwing 0xc0000005 as the exception code. Thankfully, it is possible to add exceptions to DEP so that it will allow some programs to do whatever they want when it comes to memory management.
Here is how to add an exception for Windows Vista (and probably Windows 7 also):
1. Click the Start button => Control Panel => System and Maintenance => System.
2. Choose Advanced System Settings. Further actions require Administrator permission. To continue you need to enter the Administrator password or confirm your actions if you operate as the Administrator.
3. In the window that opens under Performance click Settings.
4. Click the Data Execution Prevention tab (along the top), and choose “Turn on DEP for all programs and services except those I select”.
5. To disable DEP for an individual program click Add, find the executable ( .exe) file for the program and then click Open.
6. Click Apply to save changes.
And here is how to add an exception for Windows XP:
1. Right-click on My Computer icon on your desktop (you can also find it on the Start menu) and choose Properties.
2. In the window that appears (System Properties) choose the Advanced tab.
3. Under Performance and click Settings.
4. Click the Data Execution Prevention tab (along the top), and choose Turn on DEP for all programs and services except those I select.
5. To disable DEP for an individual program click Add, find the executable ( .exe) file for the program and then click Open.
Hope this helps.
October 27th, 2010 at 20:16
Thanks for the effort; It was a good theory, but after evoking the changes you suggested there is still no change.
I have changed the affinity to a single processor, and the priority to High and Real Time.
I changed the properties of the Toolset launcher to run in XPsp2, sp3, and every other Windows version down to ’95. The Toolset would not even load on Windows versions under XP. There are more details here.
Will attempt to reinstall the NWN2 package, and updates next. I do not believe it is a hardware issue, at least in terms of performance; the specs seem to jive with minimum requirements and other user’s platforms in the community.
November 4th, 2010 at 18:25
This problem has been solved.
A hardware upgrade and OS re-installation and the NWN2 project is back on schedule.