Bioshock+Windows 7+Steam=Broken

[NerfedFalcon]

Okay, here's the deal: A while back, I bought Bioshock on Steam, since I was interested in it. Decent game, but that's not what I've come here for. The reason I'm posting here is because it's suddenly stopped working. After I click the "play" button in the Steam console (or double-click the icon), it gets as far as a splash panel, spinning circle cursor for a few seconds, then "bioshock.exe has stopped working". And it doesn't even let me "wait for the program to respond". That's right - my computer has entirely given up on it ever working again.

Anyone have a fix for this? I run Windows 7, in case the title didn't give it away.

 

[RhombusHatesYou]

Have you tried verifying the integrity of the game cache?

Steam -> Library -> right click on game -> click 'properties' -> click 'local files' tab -> click 'verify integrity of game cache'

It's usually a good first stop when a Steamworks game starts fucking around.

 

[NerfedFalcon]

Have you tried verifying the integrity of the game cache?

Steam -> Library -> right click on game -> click 'properties' -> click 'local files' tab -> click 'verify integrity of game cache'

It's usually a good first stop when a Steamworks game starts fucking around.

Tried that. Says it's all been validated. Still ain't working.

 

[Dr. Pepper Unlimited]

Okay, here's the deal: A while back, I bought Bioshock on Steam, since I was interested in it. Decent game, but that's not what I've come here for. The reason I'm posting here is because it's suddenly stopped working. After I click the "play" button in the Steam console (or double-click the icon), it gets as far as a splash panel, spinning circle cursor for a few seconds, then "bioshock.exe has stopped working". And it doesn't even let me "wait for the program to respond". That's right - my computer has entirely given up on it ever working again.

Anyone have a fix for this? I run Windows 7, in case the title didn't give it away.

A few tricks for something like this:

A simple uninstall and reinstall of the game might be needed. If a simple re-installation fails, then:

Go to your "steamapps" folder (the one with all you game data). Shut down Steam, rename the "steamapps" folder to "old_steamapps" and launch Steam. This will preserve all your games while you do a factory-new install of Bioshock. Reinstall Bioshock from this point. Once it is finish installing, go into the new "steamapps" folder (this is not the old_steamapps one, but the new steamapps one Steam would create upon launching it again) and put the Bioshock folder into the "old_steamapps" folder and overwrite the old Bioshock folder. Delete the "steamapps" folder and re-name the "old_steamapps" to just "steamapps". All your games will be intact and Bioshock is like new now. Re-launch Bioshock.

 

[mParadox]

Quick fix! Change the games compatibility to Windows XP. Worked for me and my friend. I had the same problem as you, sooo, good luck!

 

[NerfedFalcon]

Okay, I reinstalled the game and after a slight hiccup it's working again - but as soon as I leave the main menu and start actually playing the game, there's no sound. And no subtitles, either, even though the options menu says they're turned on.

 

[Edmundo Santiago]

Okay, I reinstalled the game and after a slight hiccup it's working again - but as soon as I leave the main menu and start actually playing the game, there's no sound. And no subtitles, either, even though the options menu says they're turned on.

Same problem here. Anyone can help?

 

[Eisbrecher12]

mParadox's solution has worked for a lot of people. There's an in-depth article in the Steam support forums, but I'll put it here as well. You will likely need to put the game into compatibility mode for Windows XP. To do this, go to the location of the Bioshock.exe program [usually in C:, Program Files (or Program Files x86), Steam, steamapps, common, Bioshock, Builds, Release]. Then right click on the Bioshock application, Bioshock.exe, and select Properties. Then, go to the Compatibility tab, and select Windows XP Service Pack 3. This fixes most issues.

 

[Panorama]

Quick fix! Change the games compatibility to Windows XP. Worked for me and my friend. I had the same problem as you, sooo, good luck!

Thank you!! got it working and have sound.