BSODs when exiting WH40k: Dawn of War and Dawn of War 2

[TastyCheese]

Been playing Dawn of War 1 for about 2-3 months. Apart from the occasional crash when exiting the game (it gives me the game's own "Report error" bugsender with send/don't send options) there hasn't been any problems. I didn't give it much thought: sure, games crash occasionally and this one is almost 10 years old. Two weeks or so ago, it straight out BSOD-ed me on exit and I haven't played it since. Got Dawn of War II: Retribution a few days ago, started it up yesterday. Steam installed the DirectX and Visual C Redistributable that go with the game, and it started with no problems. So in the menu, I go to the options screen and see that not all video options are set to high so I do that. The moment I click "Apply", the game freezes. I can still move the mouse and everything, and 5 seconds later the game just closes and I get an error telling me that I am using an outdated version of DirectX, and 2 seconds later I get a BSOD for no apparent reason. I play quite a bit of other games (Team Fortress 2, Just Cause 2, Don't Starve, League of Legends, Bastion) and none of those give me any trouble. Infact, I've only had only 3 BSODs ever since I've installed Windows - one from a faulty program and the last two from Dawn of War. I've attached the log created by the SF diagnostic tool, hope it can help root out the problem >.<

 

[x BlueRobot]

Informational Purposes:

[COLOR="red"]BugCheck 3B[/COLOR], {c0000005, fffff80002c936de, fffff88007b30e00, 0}

Probably caused by : ntkrnlmp.exe ( nt!ExEnterCriticalRegionAndAcquireFastMutexUnsafe+26 )

Usual causes:  System service, Device driver, graphics driver, memory

What To Do:

3: kd> [COLOR="SeaGreen"]lmvm nvlddmkm[/COLOR]
start             end                 module name
fffff880`04896000 fffff880`0533e000   nvlddmkm T (no symbols)           
    Loaded symbol image file: nvlddmkm.sys
    Image path: \SystemRoot\system32\DRIVERS\nvlddmkm.sys
    Image name: nvlddmkm.sys
    Timestamp:        [COLOR="red"]Sat Feb 09 23:13:08 2013[/COLOR] (5116D804)
    CheckSum:         00A90CB0
    ImageSize:        00AA8000
    Translations:     0000.04b0 0000.04e4 0409.04b0 0409.04e4

• http://www.sevenforums.com/graphic-cards/602-latest-nvidia-forceware-video-drivers-windows-7-a.html

Install the latest WHQL driver:

Version: 314.22
Release Date for Desktops and Notebooks : March 25th 2013
In Device Manager: 9.18.13.1422

1. Download Driver
2. Start rb: Type: Device Manager
3. Expand Display Adapters
4. Right-Click Driver Name, Uninstall
5. Reboot
6. Run Driver Sweeper
7. Reboot
8. Install Downloaded Driver

Driver Sweeper will scan for any left over files from the old driver, old driver files can cause conflicts with new driver installations. Create a System Restore point beforehand, in case any problems or issues arise.

Driver Sweeper:

• http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/83814-drivers-clean-left-over-files-after-uninstalling.html

Install Service Pack 1:

Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium  6.1.7600 N/A Build 7600

• Learn how to install Windows 7 Service Pack 1 (SP1)

Service Pack 1 has provided many security and stability updates for Windows 7, which would be highly beneficial for your system.

Update BIOS:

Award Software International, Inc. F6, [COLOR="Red"]31.8.2009[/COLOR] г.

Remove:

Start Menu\Programs\DAEMON Tools Lite

Daemon Tools uses a driver called sptd.sys, which is known to cause BSODs with Windows 7. It is recommend you remove this program, and use Windows own in-built features or MagicISO.

Install and perform full scans with:

• Malwarebytes : Free anti-malware download
• Microsoft Security Essentials | Protect against viruses, spyware, and other malware

   Information

Remember to install the free version of Malwarebytes not the free trail; untick the free trial box during installation. MSE is the most lightweight and compatible with the Windows 7 operating system

You can also view this thread for a complete free and lightweight security protection combination:

• http://www.sevenforums.com/system-security/206705-good-free-system-security-combination.html