Replicatable crash when joining an online session

[KartAce]

If I go into "Custom Match" and get a list of all current games and then decide to join one with 11/12 in it I quite often get the "Failed to connect" type message which I presume is because someone else has got the place before me.

However, if I then try to join another game GRID crashes and I have to terminate it from Task Manager. It does this without fail everytime.

If, after failing to join the first game, I back out all the way to the top menu and then go into multiplayer everything is fine.

Apologies if this has already been reported but I couldn't find it with a search.

[bmaytum]

If I go into "Custom Match" and get a list of all current games and then decide to join one with 11/12 in it I quite often get the "Failed to connect" type message which I presume is because someone else has got the place before me.

However, if I then try to join another game GRID crashes and I have to terminate it from Task Manager. It does this without fail everytime.

I'm having this same/similar problem! See more below.

If, after failing to join the first game, I back out all the way to the top menu and then go into multiplayer everything is fine.

I haven't tried going back (ESC, ESC, ..... ) to the Main Menu after "Failed to Connect" when unsuccessfully attempting to join a session from Custom Match search result screen. I'll try that next time I get "Failed to Connect".

Apologies if this has already been reported but I couldn't find it with a search.
Likewise.

So after I get "Failed to Connect" and hit Custom Menu to search sessions, if I then try to join that same session or ANY other session, I get a GRID.EXE crash to the desktop (after 10-15sec of hard drive solid LED light, just like after a normal non-crash Exit from Grid Main Menu). Most recent GRID.EXE crash under these conditions wrote a 67KB user.dmp file in
C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Microsoft\Dr Watson folder, wrote many lines in the DrWatson log file (drwtsn.log) located in that subdirectory, and wrote a humongous 2GB replay.pbf file in C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Codemasters\GRID\DataCache\bmaytum\replay folder; both files and the drwatsn.log entries had identical 16:07 timestamps.

Here are some excerpts from that drwtsn crash log for the most recent "Failed to Connect -> Grid.Exe" crash:

Application exception occurred:
App: G:\Programs\GRiD\GRID.exe (pid=2464)
When: 8/13/2008 @ 16:07:18.595
Exception number: c0000005 (access violation)
*----> System Information <----*
Computer Name: P5N32-E
User Name: bmaytum
Terminal Session Id: 0
Number of Processors: 2
Processor Type: x86 Family 6 Model 23 Stepping 6
Windows Version: 5.1
Current Build: 2600
Service Pack: 3
Current Type: Multiprocessor Free
Registered Organization:
Registered Owner: bmaytum
*----> Task List <----*
0 System Process
4 System
840 smss.exe
896 csrss.exe
920 winlogon.exe
964 services.exe
976 lsass.exe
1152 svchost.exe
1196 svchost.exe
1284 svchost.exe
1416 svchost.exe
1448 svchost.exe
1492 ccSvcHst.exe
1888 symlcsvc.exe
256 aawservice.exe
316 Explorer.EXE
648 Smax4.exe
688 ccSvcHst.exe
716 smax4pnp.exe
1432 brsvc01a.exe
1504 brss01a.exe
1548 spoolsv.exe
1636 LWEMon.exe
1716 jusched.exe
156 ctfmon.exe
1804 memturbo.exe
2080 ATKKBService.exe
2092 AluSchedulerSvc.exe
2152 DkService.exe
2208 LSSrvc.exe
2240 nvsvc32.exe
2264 PnkBstrA.exe
2316 svchost.exe
2396 tlntsvr.exe
3452 alg.exe
5880 aaCenter.exe
2464 GRID.exe
3768 drwtsn32.exe
.....
*----> State Dump for Thread Id 0xf04 <----*
eax=00000000 ebx=0220e900 ecx=067241a0 edx=067241a0 esi=00000804 edi=00000000
eip=7c90e4f4 esp=0220d9ec ebp=0220da50 iopl=0 nv up ei pl zr na po nc
cs=001b ss=0023 ds=0023 es=0023 fs=003b gs=0000 efl=00000246
*** ERROR: Symbol file could not be found. Defaulted to export symbols for C:\WINDOWS\system32\ntdll.dll -
function: ntdll!KiFastSystemCallRet
7c90e4da e829000000 call ntdll!RtlRaiseException (7c90e508)
.....
*----> Stack Back Trace <----*
*** ERROR: Symbol file could not be found. Defaulted to export symbols for C:\WINDOWS\system32\kernel32.dll -
WARNING: Stack unwind information not available. Following frames may be wrong.
*** ERROR: Module load completed but symbols could not be loaded for G:\Programs\GRiD\GRID.exe
ChildEBP RetAddr Args to Child
0220da50 7c802542 00000804 ffffffff 00000000 ntdll!KiFastSystemCallRet
0220da64 00a59c9f 00000804 ffffffff 008573a3 kernel32!WaitForSingleObject+0x12
0220e770 0000b0a1 00000002 7ffdebf8 00000000 GRID+0x659c9f
.....
.....
There's lots more in this crash log of course, I excerpted above for brevity what appeared to me to be possibly useful to CodeMasters for debugging. (I'd be happy to email full drwtsn.log section for this particular crash + user.dmp file + DxDiag report if that might help).

One thing I do see in excerpted crash log above is multiple references to "ntdll" and so now I am wondering: Since SecureRom has been identified (implicated and convicted in my view) as the root cause for Vista Windows Explorer shell extension crashes (right-click an *.exe -> ntdll.dll crash), I'm wondering if Grid's SecureRom might be the root cause of these Grid "Failed to Connect" crashes??

(I'm on WinXP Pro SP3, fortunately I do not get the infamous SecureRom/ ntdll Explorer shell extension crash that's discussed in other threads in this forum, and elsewhere across the internet for other SecureRom'd games).

I have retail Grid PC DVD, I've never used a 'no CD' hack.

Aside: Before Grid v1.2 patch, I ALWAYS got Grid.Exe crash when Exiting the game. Now that happens 'only' about 1 out of four times when I Exit Grid from Main Menu. Other v1.2 PC users have noted they too get occasional Grid.Exe crashes when Exiting. So it does still happen after v1.2, it doesn't seem to produce a *.dmp file but it does write many lines into drwtsn.log file.

So to sum up, my Question to CodeMasters is:
Whether Grid's SecureRom might be the root cause of these Grid "Failed to Connect" crashes, or not?? And likewise if SecureRom might be the cause of occasional Grid.Exe crashes when Exiting from the game ?? If not, then what IS the cause, and what is the Fix to stop it from happening?

[gamevirus01]

Aside: Before Grid v1.2 patch, I ALWAYS got Grid.Exe crash when Exiting the game. Now that happens 'only' about 1 out of four times when I Exit Grid from Main Menu. Other v1.2 PC users have noted they too get occasional Grid.Exe crashes when Exiting. So it does still happen after v1.2, it doesn't seem to produce a *.dmp file but it does write many lines into drwtsn.log file.



same exact problem i tried both v1.0 and v1.2 patch, grid.exe still crashes after exiting the game that only if i have my logitech dual action gamepad PLUGGED :/

[Rocks]

Hi,

We're currently working on a fix for this, which hopefully will be released in a forthcoming patch.

If I'm correct in what I think is going on, then it is nothing to do with Securom. Our QA department can get the problem to happen in a build with no Securom protection, which would confirm my assumptions.

[Purple44]

Hmm that the first I've heard there is a v1.3 patch in the works.

Rocks, you guys having any luck figuring this one out:

Video corruption after intro movie (http://community.codemasters.com/forum/showthread.php?t=309643 )

[truetrueplayer]

Having the same online session connectivity issues as described above, only now it is happening everytime I attempt to connect to a session, or 9 out of 10 times. It has been like this for at least 24 hours.

[bmaytum]

@ truetrueplayer (aka BMWe46M3):
As someone suggested, when you get the Could Not Connect message, don't try again (because Grid WILL crash to desktop if you do). Instead, hit ESC, ESC... back to Grid Main Menu, then choose Multiplayer >> Custom, select a desired and try to connect. It usually works for me.

Hope you'll successfully join us in PC Finals today.