Black screen on startup

[dasungeheuer]

Can someone ellaborate on the the .net framework update? I cannot find one, other than my .net framework 3.5 sp1.

Any help >_<

DDO uses .NET 1.1 SP1 - that's quite old, released August 2004. Once DDO installs that, Windows notices that it's not just an old version of .NET, it's an old version of 1.1 SP1 to boot, and that security fixes have been released for it. It will then install those security fixes. In my case, it was KB953297, dated October 13th 2009 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/953297), that got installed. That's what he's referring to.

It's interesting to see that the security fix can cause issues for some folks. I wonder what the difference is to the majority of users that experience no issues with the .NET 1.1 SP1 security updates and DDO.

If DDO used a newer version of .NET, this issue might go away completely. Ah well. C'est la vie.

[Santiago4ever]

DDO uses .NET 1.1 SP1 - that's quite old, released August 2004. Once DDO installs that, Windows notices that it's not just an old version of .NET, it's an old version of 1.1 SP1 to boot, and that security fixes have been released for it. It will then install those security fixes. In my case, it was KB953297, dated October 13th 2009 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/953297), that got installed. That's what he's referring to.

It's interesting to see that the security fix can cause issues for some folks. I wonder what the difference is to the majority of users that experience no issues with the .NET 1.1 SP1 security updates and DDO.

If DDO used a newer version of .NET, this issue might go away completely. Ah well. C'est la vie.

Ack, I am experiencing the same problem but I don't have this security update installed on my computer, and I don't have any security updates or similar installed after I installed the game :/

Tried every and any solution I could think of and I'm just about ready to give up, tried every fix I could find on the forums that were applicable and I still get that cursed black screen.

[Quantumsneak]

I guess it doesnt help that I dont know what im looking for exactly or how to uninstall it >_<

Guess im bumming till they fix it

[dasungeheuer]

I guess it doesnt help that I dont know what im looking for exactly or how to uninstall it >_<

I'd start with "what's going on, and what might be causing it?" And then start crossing items off the list.

If you get a "black screen at startup", then some issues people have seen that can cause this are:

- AntiVirus/AntiMalware software. Turn it all off to test. If that was the problem, get another AV program that doesn't cause issues.
- Hardware not up to snuff / DDO uses the software renderer. Can be tested by installing the DirectX SDK. Not a sensical thing to try if you have a "decent" graphics card.
- DirectInput issues. After the black screen, does dxdiag hang on DInput or report errors on DInput? If so, that needs to be fixed.
- Sound issues, particularly with Creative Labs cards. There's a thread in these forums about OpenAL shenanigans. There's also always the option to test with onboard sound.
- Graphics drivers outdated, or in the case of some ATI cards, too new. Kinda hard to track down on the "too new" part - always an option to go 9.7 if you have an ATI card.
- userprefs.ini corrupted - rename and see whether that helps
- Game files corrupted - can try repair runs, or "nuke-and-reinstall"
- And .NET issues, though those really puzzle me

What makes you think your issue is .NET related?

[Quantumsneak]

Mostly because all of the other fixes either do not apply to me or dont work.

The .net thing is the only one I dont know how to do

[dasungeheuer]

Mostly because all of the other fixes either do not apply to me or dont work.

The .net thing is the only one I dont know how to do

Fair enough. It's easy enough to check. Go into Control Panel, Add/Remove Programs, or its equivalent in whatever version of Windows you are using. On the left, you'll see an option to "View installed updates". Choose that one, and look for the security fix for .NET Framework 1.1. It'll show up as "Microsoft .NET Framework 1.1 Security Update (KB953297)". The KB number may be different if you have an older version of the patch.

I'd be surprised if that was your issue. Worth a try, though.

[gabgabgab]

Hello

I downloaded the game yesterday and had the same issue over and over again even though I tried to check and fix anything that might be the problem. Then, I realized that there was actually an update for .NET framework 1.1 , which fixed my black screen problem instantly. ( Edit: Installing the update, not removing it.)
Hope it works for you as well.

Update: Microsoft.NET Framework 1.1 Security Update (KB953297).

[marxlives]

Ya i changed my dinput8.dll, updated sound and video drivers, I also reinstalled the game, clicked the repair feature and reinstalled the .net stuff and updated it. Yet this game still wont run. This gets pretty irritating because I can run WAR and AOC just fine without any technical issues. But for some reason my computer can run it. I put a post about this about a week ago, and no tech guy or nothing has come to the rescue.

[dasungeheuer]

Ya i changed my dinput8.dll, updated sound and video drivers, I also reinstalled the game, clicked the repair feature and reinstalled the .net stuff and updated it.

White screen when going in - you should feel special! Everybody else just gets a black screen.

From this:

>>
DxDiag Previously: Crashed in DirectInput (stage 1)
>>

My money's on DirectInput. Is that consistent, that you get DInput errors after launching DDO?

It seems DDO is very touchy with DirectInput. Not that I'd know what to do about it. You already replaced your DLL. Other things people have tried were disconnecting all "non-essential" DInput devices (additional joysticks, &c), attempting to run DDO from a "fresh" user account, (re)installing the MicroSoft DirectX runtime, disabling all AntiVirus software - not sure what else to try.

[Tankraide]

I got the same black blank error after startup , coming from turbine i sure wasent expecting that.
Nice ads but im gonna uninstall right away.

Oh well a waste of 4 hours and 5 gig download ratio.
Cheezy Corean F2P where you can see something here i come.

[Quantumsneak]

Success!

[dasungeheuer]

Success!

Congratulations!

This is so strange - one person fixes a black screen by installing the .NET update, and you fix it by _un_installing the .NET update.

It's black magic, not IT, I'm telling you.