Troubleshooting Guide - Start here!

[michael042296]

This is a troubleshooting guide created from everything on the Technical issues forum on the official Darkspore forums. We've put this together and cleaned it up.

If you still have trouble, make a new post containing your problem/bug/etc in the title and then include a short summary of the issue along with a DXDiag report (and exception report for a crash. refer to 1b for reference).

Press windows key+R
Type in DXDiag
Press OK
DXDiag comes up (if you're using 64-bit Win click for the 64-bit version)
Click Save All Information after it has run
Open it and copy/paste it into your post.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

• 1 - Installation
  1a - Downloading
  1b - Installing
  1c - Patching
  
  2 - Initial Startup
  2a - Crash at startup
  2b - Logging In
  
  3 - Game play
  3a - Crash!
  3b - Graphical bugs
  3c - Lag!
  
  4 - Connection Issues
  4a - General Troubleshooting
  4b - Reserved

[michael042296]

INSTALLATION

1a - Downloading

Where can I get the DarkSpore client?

You can download from either of the two.
DarkSpore Site - Installer or full install available
Steam - Requires the Steam client with an active account

1b - Installing

Catastrophic error/crash while installing with the standalone!
1. Make sure you have the latest installer found at
http://beta.darkspore.com/download
2. Remove any Darkspore files copied to your PC during the install process.
3. Run the up to date launcher

By default, Darkspore installs to
Standalone
For Windows XP and 2000:
"C:\Program Files\Electronic Arts\Darkspore"
For Windows 7 and Vista:
"C:\Program Files(x86)\Electronic Arts\Darkspore"
Steam
For Windows XP and 2000:
"C:\Program Files\Steam\Steamapps\common\Darkspore"
For Windows 7 and Vista:
"C:\Program Files(x86)\Steam\Steamapps\common\Darkspore"


1c - Patching

Patch fails with no code
Delete the patches folder found in the Darksporebin. Reference the previous entry for paths.

I am seeing Error Code 6 when patching
You do not have enough hard drive space to patch the game. Darkspore requires
at least 10 GB free when patching. The game will download and decompress patches
to the same directory as your Darkspore install.

2. Free up 10 GB of space on the same drive as your Darkspore install
2. Delete your patch directory "<your install location>\DarksporeBin\Patches"
3. Restart the Game

I am seeing Error Code 14 when patching
You may have an old installer and are having locale issues. Completely uninstall the game download the latest installer, and try again.

I am seeing Error Code 18 when patching
You may be having problems downloading our patches. Download the patches manually (info coming soon)
and restart the Launcher.

I am seeing Error Code 19 when patching
You may have an old installer or there may not be enough space on your hard drive for patching. Download the latest installer and follow the steps for Error Code 6
Look here for more info on this.

Initial startup

2a - Crash on startup

Standalone
Try reinstalling the client to verify that everything was installed correctly

Steam
Open Steam library
Right click Darkspore Beta in your Steam list
Click on properties
On the local files tab click verify integrity of game cache.

I was playing another game when I launched Darkspore and it crashed, now I can't get it to work even with reinstalls!
Uninstall Darkspore completely
Download/install CCleaner
Run CCleaner in program and registry
Reinstall Darkspore

2b - Logging In

Invalid email/password?!
That's not the name I want!

Since we use EA's central namespace, you can correct this by contacting EA Customer Support. Follow the steps below to start a chat with a CS representative and explain the situation to them. they should be able to resolve your issue very quickly.

Go to:
http://support.ea.com/app/ask

Enter:
Product: Darkspore
Platform: PC
Category: Account / Registration
Subcategory: Account creation / Changes

Click:
Live Chat


Game play

3a - Crash bang zing!

ATI video cards
Update your Catalyst Control Center. Look here if you have trouble installing normally.

I have a Bigfoot Killer NIC
This NIC definitely kills DS, use another one if at all possible!

3b - Graphical bugs

I have a Nvidia video card
Launch the NVIDIA Control Panel:
Right-click the Windows desktop, then click NVIDIA Control Panel from the context menu
Click 3D Settings from the NVIDIA Control Panel Select a Category page.
Set all settings that you can to application controlled.

I have an ATI video card
Make sure all drivers are up to date as well as Catalyst Control Center!

If all else fails, try reinstalling with the full install.

3c - Lag/slow game play!

Have an AMD Athlon X2 Processor?
Please install:
AMD fix

Everyone else
Try setting CPU affinity while Darkspore is running.
Open the Task Manager.
Right click on Darkspore and click "Go to Process".
Right click on Darkspore.exe and select "Set Affinity".
Unselect all the boxes except CPU 0.

Connection Issues

General Connection Issues

I can't login
1) Turn off any firewalls. This includes hardware (router firmware, etc.) and software (Windows Firewall, Norton/McAfee/Kaspersky/etc). If this works we don't want you to sacrifice your security, so you can just make sure that these ports are available: 42100-42199 TCP, 10500-10599 TCP, and be able to open an ephemeral port TCP/UDP. (NOTE: The ports may change.)

2) Check your hosts file. Depending on your OS, your hosts file should either just have a localhost entry or be no entries by default. (DISCLAIMER: If you have other entries in your hosts file, they may be there for a reason, so edit at your own risk.)

3) Make sure you are running as an admin. Find your Darkspore executable, right click to bring up the properties and check 'Run this program as an Administrator'.

4) Get a new installer. Our earlier installers didn't handle flaky connections and non-standard locales. Use your current installer to uninstall and download the latest installer for the Beta site.

5) Search the forums. Many people have been using the forums to resolve issues to great effect. Search the forums to see if your specific issue has already been resolved.

Stuck after pressing start
Run through the steps for the previous problem just to make sure everything is running correctly but pay special attention to port forwarding. The usual culprit is a blocked port.

Doesn't help? Please post information about any error messages you get. Please tell us where you are trying to connect from.