Has anyone played Bioshock on G73?

I downloaded Bioshock from Steam on my G73 but I can not get the game to work. I've searched all over and solutions don't work. I figured since it's such a popular game that people here are bound to have played it.

Normally the game will load the splash screen but not start. If I set it to -nosound it works but with no sound obviously. I uninstalled the RealTek drivers and the game worked with sound and all but my headphone jack was inoperative and the laptop would not even recognize that anything was plugged into it (ie- it would continue to play sound through the speakers). Obviously, not having my headphone jack work would not be acceptable.

I've updated the RealTek driver, ran in every compatibility mode, and tried various small fixes that I came across like enabled the mixer, plugging something into the microphone jack, etc. but nothing works.

So how about any of you fellow ASUS 73 owners get it to work?

 

Hmm just tested Bioshock 2 so far which runs really nice.
My guess is an issue with the Creative drivers here...
But a quick google search found this:
bioshock black screen windows 7 - Google Search
As you can see, you're not the only one with this problem. It seems to be quite common with Windows 7 and Bioshock.
As a first try, install the latest directx9 drivers (if you haven't done so):
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/...38-db71-4c1b-bc6a-9b6652cd92a3&displaylang=en

pato

 

Done that. And I don't actually get a black screen. It doesn't start period.

 

I had problems with patch 1.1 so I used patch 1.0
try the demo if the demo works for you it's the problem with the patch

 

Well I can't download Bioshock Demo from Steam because I own Bioshock full version. Even deleting local content, when I tried to download demo, it went straight to downloading the full version. I'm downloading the Bioshock demo from Cnet but it's going to take 3 hours to finish. Sigh.

Should I really bother? I'm re-downloading Bioshock full from Steam instead of the demo from Cnet. Is there anyway to make it so I can get the pre-patch version?

It'll still take several hours to finish downloading from Steam, though.

 

I have Bioshock on Steam and haven't had any problems with it.

 

And you have a G73JH?

How is that possible for you to be problem-free and it won't work for me? We have the same computer!

 

I have the G73JW.

 

So how can I play Bioshock in Steam without updating to the patch? I've set it to not automatically update for when it's installing but I got a feeling it's downloading the patch automatically.

 

Which drivers from ATI do you have installed? The stock ones or have you updated to 10.8?
I beleive there once was something in the release notes in one of the last 10 version...

 

I opened up ATI Catalyst Control Center and it says Version 2010.0803.2125.36577

I downloaded it as part of my troubleshooting for the game. Didn't make a difference.

 

I played both BioShock 1 and 2 on my G73JH without any problem. Solid FPS count on max settings on both games. I think I have Catalyst... 10.6 maybe.. I haven't update it since my initial config in June.

 

HOW?!

This is what I'm not understanding. You have RealTek sound drivers?

 

I can't get it from Steam without patching it to 1.1. It automatically patches so I can not play v1.0 as was suggested.

 

I went back to Catalyst 10.6. Nope. No change. Still not working. Upgrading back to 10.9 now...

it's got to be a sound issue though if it starts on -nosound and if it works fine if I uninstall RealTek drivers. But again, that's not an option since doing that disables my headphone jack.

 

I double click the Bioshock button. And then I press load game. And then I play. That's how I do it.

 

Doesn't work for me. The splash screen comes up and then it crashes and I get this same as always, just like when I try to run through Steam:

"bioshock.exe has stopped working"

I hadn't touched any drivers or did any updates since I got my Asus G73JH-A1 back from RMA (and none before that). As far as I know, it was all stock until I started trying to get BioShock to work. All other games have worked flawlessly.


I think RealTek Audio has something to do with it so what version are you guys who have no problems using?

I had upgraded to 6.0.1.6215 in the process of trying to make BioShock work.

 

Also, I've found that disabling RealTek drivers (mind you, this means the computer has no sound) does not allow BioShock to start (it crashes same as always) even after a restart of the computer. Only UNINSTALLING RealTek allows BioShock to start.

Again I ask those who have no problem getting Bioshock to work on their Asus G73... do you have RealTek and what version drivers do you have?

 

I was able to play Bioshock on JH retail version. For that, I must stay in v1.0 of the game because when the game updates itself to v1.1 a nice black screen shows up and the game do not start. Sadly, the widescreen fix is only available in the v1.1 version not working for me. So, I stay in v1.0 and I use a fix/hack from here which pressing a couple of button I'm able to fix for real 16:9.

 

I can not get 1.0 from Steam. It automatically updates to 1.1.

Also, I don't have a black screen problem. The game just doesn't start.

It's a sound issue, judging from how the game starts if I use -nosound.

What is your RealTek driver version?

 

2.48 so far, but i can give more details in the night since i'm far from my g73. One tips which seems to works is to install bioshock in the default directory (for retail).

UPdate: trying to recall how I made it to run.... in v1.0 install and works, but with no widescreen support. When I did the upgrade to 1.1, the game never started (windows says Bioshock as found a problem and will close). The things is, in 1.1 the widescreen was fixed. So, I reinstall 1.0 and I use a fix from the link given above.

 

I can't even get 1.0 through Steam. It's always automatically 1.1.

It's pretty obviously a sound issue since it works with -nosound and if RealTek is uninstalled. Also, googling has shown this is a very common problem that occurs for Windows 7 owners who have RealTek audio drivers but the solutions offered have had no effect. I'm also seeing a lot of people posting saying that the solutions are not working and they never get responses on what to do.

It looks like 2K has made a game that plain does not work on some computers. I'm not going to give up hope yet though especially since you guys are getting it to work on your G73's.

Again, for anyone else who has gotten it to run successfully, would you kindly go into Control Panel, Hardware & Sound, then Device Manager and check what's there under Sound, video, and game controllers and check the driver version of Realtek High Definition Audio?

If you guys have the same version as me then I just plain have no idea what is wrong.


Also, Nekki, where do you get Realtek 2.48 from? My driver version is 6 something. Audio codec ALC269.

 

Well I uninstalled Creative Audigy HD and now BioShock works.

Unfortunately, StarCraft 2 is now freezing at the loading screen which may be because of all the fooling around with drivers I've been doing but I notice that battle.net is down so maybe those two are related. I hope they are but that is kind of silly if battle.net being down means SC2 doesn't work.

 

Okay I spoke too soon. BioShock actually starts now but after a few minutes, it turns black and I can do nothing but take out the battery to get the computer to work again. The laptop wasn't even hot so it's not an overheating issue.

On my 3rd attempt, it did the same freeze crash after a few minutes but this time, the screen was grey and had vertical lines going down it. Is this a GSOD? I haven't had one before.

 

Yep that was a GSOD.

I also googled the error you have and found this:
Programs that play audio stop working and duplicate entries appear in the Default Format audio format list in Windows Vista (I know it's for Vista, but maybe the same problem applies to Win7)
Do you maybe have some USB headset, speakers, webcam, ... ?
Those are all sound devices which might cause the error. If you have any USB or HDMI devices plugged in, try to unplug them and check if it helps.

 

I removed the creative drivers when I got the laptop so I'm running the G73's basic sound settings.

The only problem I had with Bioshock 1 was when I patched to v1.1 it crashed everything so I had to remove bioshock and reinstall it to v1.0

 

Bioshock seems to be a very poorly coded piece of software. That + the poor widescreen implementation = I'm glad I avoided getting it.

 

Hmmm.......Im playing Bioshock 1 on my desktop rig, in full HD, the version is 1.0, and didn't need any widescreen patch or hack. Runs flawlessly. Haven't played it on the laptop though. And after all the horror stories, can't say I will.

 

Bioshock runs in v1.0 in widescreen, the problem the image is vert from 4:3 resolution to adjust the 16:9 res. That means you loose part of the image when you run in widescreen. In Wide you should gain image on the left and right area. That why you need a hack/fix in v1.0.

Here what I'm writing about.

 

Hi, I already posted a fix for Bioshock earlier:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/asus/497152-fixed-running-bioshock-asus-g73jh.html

Hope this helps.

Chas .. Bioshock is a beautifully crafted game and a great piece of gaming art - one of the best games I've played in a while - up there with HL2. It's one of those games that holds you emotionally - something very few games are able to do.

It does have some sound issues but we were able to resolve them (see my previous post). It's unfortunate that the developers did not fix this, but considering that it's resolvable (at least for me) I think it's worth the investment for
such an amazing game ($20.00 in Steam).

I'd like to think of Bioshock as the software analogue to the G73jh. We all love the G73jh - it's an amazing machine
with great performance, specs, pricing, and looks - but it's not perfect. It has a whole host of issues that we all know about but they have been resolved/worked around. In spite of the problems with the G73jh I think the majority of owners love this machine - Bioshock is similar

I'll be interested in knowing if the fix is helping others with Bioshock as well.