CFS2 crashes after intro video on Windows XP Pro ("has encountered a problem")

CFS2 CTD right after the intro on XP (splash screen crash)

Hi bholden52,

Yep, that exact timing (video finishes, splash appears, then XP throws the “has encountered a problem” box) is usually when CFS2 is doing its first real round of hardware initialization: DirectX video, DirectSound, and controller/FF enumeration. So we’re looking for the one device/setting it trips over.

Here’s the cleanest way I’d go at it, step by step, and each step is easy to undo:

1) Make CFS2 rebuild its config
A bad display/sound mode written once can make it die at the same point every launch.

1. Find your CFS2 config file and rename it so the sim is forced to create a fresh one.
2. Look for a file named cfs2.cfg. If you find it, rename it to something like cfs2.cfg.bak.
3. Start CFS2 again and see if it gets past the splash.

If it starts after this, you’ve basically confirmed it was a corrupted/unsupported setting and you can re-set options from scratch.

2) Quick controller test (Sidewinder FF2)
CFS2 can be touchy when it polls controllers and force feedback at startup.

1. Unplug the Sidewinder Force Feedback 2 completely.
2. Launch CFS2 with only keyboard/mouse.
3. If it now reaches the main menu, exit, plug the stick back in, and try again.

If unplugging it fixes the crash, we can focus on input/FF drivers or how CFS2 is seeing the device.

3) Sound device sanity check
A lot of “splash screen” crashes turn out to be DirectSound choking on a device/driver.

1. If you have more than one audio output enabled (onboard + USB headset, etc.), temporarily disable the extra one(s) in Device Manager.
2. Try launching CFS2 again.

4) Video mode/driver edge case test
Just to rule out a mode/refresh oddity right at first initialization:

1. Set the Windows desktop to something conservative: 1024x768, 32-bit color, 60Hz.
2. If you’re running dual monitors, try a single monitor for the test.
3. Launch CFS2 again.

A couple key questions so we don’t guess
If you can post these, it usually points straight to the culprit:

• Is this a completely stock, “out of the box” CFS2 install (no patches/add-ons), or has anything been applied?
• What video card are you on (and roughly what driver timeframe/version, if you know it)?
• When you get the XP crash dialog, what does it list as the faulting module? (Examples: d3d8.dll, ddraw.dll, dsound.dll, etc.)
• Most important: does it still crash if you start CFS2 once with the Sidewinder unplugged?

If you can paste the faulting module name (or the Event Viewer “Application Error” entry), we can usually tell in one glance whether we’re dealing with video, sound, or joystick/FF initialization.