What should I do to prevent games from crashing?

Question

I've looked for similar duplicates but my problem is a bit specific than others. I'll clearly explain what my problem is.

When I installed Windows 8, I was able to play game Despicable Me: Minion Rush. But now, it won't work and only the splash screen appears before exiting to Desktop. This problem is only with this game I suppose, as Mail, Calendar and even non-MS apps like PicsArt photo editor and other games work.

I've used some solutions such as:

Checking if all permissions to "All Package System" in Regedit and C:\ is set to Read/Execute
Using Windows App Diagnostic Tool but has a MS Troubleshooter ever worked?
Reinstalling

Specs:

Error Log from Event Log Viewer

Faulting application name: DespicableMe_w8.exe, version: 0.0.0.0, time stamp: 0x5447cec2
Faulting module name: combase.dll, version: 6.3.9600.17031, time stamp: 0x53086d7c
Exception code: 0xc000027b
Fault offset: 0x000fb152
Faulting process id: 0xdc0
Faulting application start time: 0x01cff3819237d66f
Faulting application path: C:\Program Files\WindowsApps\GAMELOFTSA.DespicableMeMinionRush_2.2.0.18_x86__0pp20fcewvvtj\DespicableMe_w8.exe
Faulting module path: C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\combase.dll
Report Id: d00ceaac-5f74-11e4-a373-c0cb38d6092f
Faulting package full name: GAMELOFTSA.DespicableMeMinionRush_2.2.0.18_x86__0pp20fcewvvtj
Faulting package-relative application ID: App

If applications are crashing then its not a display driver problem. You really don't give us much to go on. you tell us you suspect its a Direct X 11 problem but don't tell us what version your display drivers are or if they are even current. — Ramhound, Oct 28 '14 at 16:26
`When I installed Win 8, I was able to play games` - Worst case solution, backup your data and perform a clean reinstall of the OS. It seems likely that something is broken in the OS, drivers, or software. — Zoredache, Oct 28 '14 at 17:15
The Intel GPU in question doesn't even support DirectX 11....It physically can't support it. **The games in question I guarantee you don't use Direct X 11.** — Ramhound, Oct 28 '14 at 17:24
Your also not using the current display drivers. If the newer drivers support something the old ones don't ( most commonly seen with OpenGL support ) it could explain the crash. — Ramhound, Oct 28 '14 at 17:30
I believe this to be your GPU. If its not talk to Intel. [located here](https://downloadcenter.intel.com/Detail_Desc.aspx?DwnldID=23764&lang=eng&ProdId=3319) — Ramhound, Oct 28 '14 at 17:35
You can also use this: http://www.intel.com/p/en_US/support/detect?iid=dc_iduu — Ramhound, Oct 28 '14 at 17:39
look into the eventlog and find the error information about the crash. Open them and post the data. — magicandre1981, Oct 29 '14 at 04:53
@Ramhound my Intel HD 4000 works with DirectX11 (I've run benchmarks on it) and also OpenGL 3 (and probably 4 too) — markasoftware, Nov 01 '14 at 23:07
@Markasoftware - What is your point. `Intel HD 4000` is a modern GPU. The GPU in question is 4 years old and is not. — Ramhound, Nov 02 '14 at 01:42
oh, I thought that is was just saying the general model name. I never knew there was anything before 4000 — markasoftware, Nov 02 '14 at 03:00
`(NTSTATUS) 0xc000027b (3221226107) - An application-internal exception has occurred.` You'll need to get the minidump file from the crash to further debug this. — Tamara Wijsman, Nov 02 '14 at 12:36
@AmitJoki: Haven't done windows store app debugging before; but it's the same system, I think http://superuser.com/a/702861/9666 might shed some light on how to enable and capture them. Otherwise, you can set up http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/dd996900.aspx for capturing them. — Tamara Wijsman, Nov 02 '14 at 15:03
Another place to look at is "View reliability history" (Reliability Monitor) — Tamara Wijsman, Nov 03 '14 at 13:41
It was mentioned somewhere that creating new user and installing the apps under the new user account prevents the crashes. I'm not really sure if it'll help, but maybe give it a shot? You can create a new user right from the command prompt (run as Administrator) with this command `net user NEW_USERNAME PASSWORD /add` — Vinayak, Nov 05 '14 at 20:22

score 2 · Accepted Answer · answered Feb 10 '15 at 11:33

I downgraded my display adapter and found out that the issue was the absence of Windows Media Feature Pack.

I downloaded it from Microsoft Download Center and installed it. Then upgraded my display driver to what it was before and everything worked fine.

score 1 · Answer 2 · answered Nov 01 '14 at 14:39

1

I found the same crash in a VideoLan bug report #10991, marked as a duplicate of bug report #10941, where the answer is :

If the user does not have directories attached to their media libraries, the app hard crashes. In VideoLibraryViewModel?.cs/GetMediaFromFolder is called, it errors with "Error HRESULT E_FAIL has been returned from a call to a COM component.", which is not caught. As a result, it gets passed all the way back up the chain and it crashes.

In this case, the user does not have any media in their library, so I think the error should be caught and either ignored or let the user know that they need to add a directory to their music or video libraries.

If adding a directory to your music or video libraries doesn't help, the problem might have been caused by some product that you have installed, so try to identify it.

It might also be useful to run some antivirus scans on the computer.

answered Nov 01 '14 at 14:39

harrymc

455,459
31
526
924

library? music? Well, its a windows metro app and specifically a game and I've already run scans on the compputer – Amit Joki Nov 01 '14 at 14:54
The above bug is in combase.dll which is a Windows component that handles COM calls, calls that are used on Windows by many programs, Metro and desktop. The symptoms of your crash are similar to that of VideoLan (VLC). Combase.dll might of course have more than one bug, but it might be worthwhile trying their solution, even if it sounds funny. Ensure also that Windows is fully patched using Windows Update including optional updates (except Bing etc.). Are you on a tablet? – harrymc Nov 01 '14 at 15:39
okay, but what will i have to do now? BTW I'm on a laptop – Amit Joki Nov 02 '14 at 01:52
1

Apples and eggs are compared, although they're both food items; "the same crash" is a guess, they're similar but not the same given the information. We're not in the same place in GetMediaFromFolder and a game looking in media folders is a red flag. – Tamara Wijsman Nov 02 '14 at 12:46
@AmitJoki: Remember that this is a long shot, based solely on the fact that both crashes happen in combase.dll. You should open Explorer, display the parent-folder of the folder to add to the library, click on that folder, press Alt-F to open the Files menu, choose "Include in library", then choose the library, Music or Video. Ensure that the folder you add contains at least one video/music file per included library (can be a folder created for this one try with one file). If this doesn't help, ensure the crash still happens on the latest update to the game and then contact the developers. – harrymc Nov 02 '14 at 14:59

score 0 · Answer 3 · answered Nov 05 '14 at 20:08

Look into shell extensions using ShellXView. One solution to a similar problem was to disable 'Microsoft Access Custom Icon Handler', there is a chance that you are having a similar issue with an extension. Have you recently added anything to your system that adds an option to explorer drop down menus?

You can also use filestypeman to see if anything has manipulated your extensions, you can send a report of your extensions (Ctrl+F9) to their website and it will list which program uses which extensions.

A program you recently installed may have changed one of your extension defaults or maybe DespicableMe_w8.exe is set to use something other than the default extension. If you find that it is you can reset them using F4 in filestypeman.

What should I do to prevent games from crashing?

3 Answers3