pol closes when starting ffxi

[ratt6166]

I really need some help. pol works really fine can access all areas it is when I try to start ffxi the pol window closes with no error messages at all. this is so frustrating as i have paid good money for the game and cant play. any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
I have spent a lot of time with the support team checking system configurations and driver details and my machine is more than capable of playing ffxi but even they are stumped about this problem so heres hoping somone out there has had a similar experience,
I have reinstalled the game from disk and even from hard drive to no avail and even exchanged disks for new ones just in case but nothing,

[neighbortaru]

Re: pol closes when starting ffxi

you are going to have to give us more to work with than that. what are your computer specs? what other software do you have running? what do you mean by closes? have you run the FFXI benchmark?

[ratt6166]

Re: pol closes when starting ffxi

I will post my comp specs later today as not sat at my machine. I have run the benchmark program very succefully with no problems If memory serves me the score came up at just over 5000. I contacted the help and support guys both in eu and USA and none of them could help.
All have aggreed my machine is more than capable of running ffxi.
When i say closes i open pol sign in look around then i hit game, ffxi, play this takes me to a screen which says a word to our players and 2 buttons back and play, if i hit the back button it works but when i hit the play button the screen hangs for about 5 seconds then closes down, if i have task manager open at the same time it will shoe pol not responding then pol closes and removes itself from task manager, I do not get any error messages either from pol or windows which makes this so frustrating.
Sorry to be vague hopefully you will be to se better when i post machine specs later

[neighbortaru]

Re: pol closes when starting ffxi

do you have a firewall running? did you enable UDP traffic (both ways)? also, check your event viewer logs, there's probably a message there. also double check you have DX installed and check what other programs you have running while you try to play.

[bside]

Re: pol closes when starting ffxi

first of all, lemme clarify the problem at hand. from what i've understood, when u hit "play" under POL viewer, everything closes and brings u back to the desktop, without a single error message. and i'm assuming u get the black screen once before everything shuts down. if any of these r not correct, let us know, just for the sake of understanding things correctly.

edit: obviously u already answered to this before i finished writing things up, so just ignore this para.


now, if there's a problem w/ software, it's generally the case that error message is given, whether by POL viewer or Windows. however, getting no error message doesn't have to mean u don't have a software issue.

let's start by closing all the background apps before running POL. this includes antivirus, softwares for keyboards, mice, sound cards, etc. i'm assuming this isn't what's causing the problem, but worth a try.


if doing the above doesn't solve the problem, then it's likely the hardware. i'm assuming the likely cause for this kinda problem is somewhat related to either vid cards, memory, or USB.

if u r familiar w/ playing around w/ hardware, try taking everything out, w/ only the neccessary components left in. that is, leave only cpu, memory, hdd (only the one w/ Windows and ffxi, take others out if any), and vid card. as for memory, if u have more than 1 memory stick installed, leave just one of them. then, try running ffxi and see if it runs.

if this still doesn't solve the problem, and if u had more than 1 memory stick installed, try switching the memory. otherwise, sry i'm out of suggestions. there still is the possibility that ur vid card is malfunctioning, or all ur memory sticks r bad. also cpu could possibly broken, as well. however, without the replacement components in hand, it's difficult to find out if any of those r working fine or not.

now, if ffxi runs w/ the very minimum configuration, u've just found that the problem is w/ hardware, or the driver files associated to components taken out. in order to further identify which one's causing the problem, put the hardwares back in one by one. when doing this, if u have any PCI, PCI-E or ISA devices besides vid card, try changing the slot to install them into. in other words, put them in so that IRQ won't conflict w/ vid card slot. (Refer to the motherboard manual if u have one. manufacture-made PC's don't come w/ it tho.) repeat this until the ffxi doesn't run like it didn't previously.

after putting everything back in and ffxi still works, then it was prolly the IRQ conflict, assuming u put PCI/PCI-E/ISA devices into the different slots. and more importantly, if ffxi doesn't run after installing a specific hardware, u've just identified the rotten apple.


this is as much as i can think of right now, but it's better if u can list up the details about ur pc. even if ur pc meets the spec requirement, some hardware combinations may be known to cause problems, and listing them up helps identify such conflict-related problems if known.

while i'm assuming this to be a hardware problem, maybe someone else w/ the similar experience can come up w/ better suggestions. in the meantime, try this and see if it helps.

[Rikaku]

Re: pol closes when starting ffxi

nice post bside

best way to rule out the ram is to run a test on it. http://www.memtest.org/
the ram test help me out when my system was rebooting all the time, found out i place the ram in the wrong slots lol

one thing to check is are you runing a firewall?? there are some firewalls that like to take over your system and close progs that are trying to get on the net

[Palin2222]

Re: pol closes when starting ffxi

I had the same problem... ran a virus scan... problem went away

[bside]

Re: pol closes when starting ffxi

best way to rule out the ram is to run a test on it. http://www.memtest.org/
the ram test help me out when my system was rebooting all the time, found out i place the ram in the wrong slots lol

one thing to check is are you runing a firewall?? there are some firewalls that like to take over your system and close progs that are trying to get on the net

yeah, memtest86 is a good way to check if there's any problem w/ memory modules. but i still recommend doing what i said above, in addition to memtest, since his module might have compatibility issues w/ the mobo. and in some cases they just don't work right in a dual-channel config, while works perfect if installed alone. also, maybe the PCB is designed so poorly giving all the headaches.


as for the firewall, if u r using nVidia's Active Armor w/ nForce 4, ratt6166, i strongly recommend that u turn it off completely. it claims to use less cpu power and may seem to be good, but it's almost a trash, largely due to its software. other than that, pretty much what neighbortaru and Rikaku said.

[ratt6166]

Re: pol closes when starting ffxi

well i guess you guys have given me a lot to think about, thanks.
To answer a question when pol closes i do not get black screen at all. the cursor fades away and the the window just shuts down.
For all you computer buffs out there here is my full system specs, Maybe someone will look and see something that makes me look a great idiot but i dont care i just want to play ffxi, i loved all the rest so want to go and do battle but at the moment the only thing i will be slaying is this machine.
okay bit lengthy but here is comp specs good luck..............
=============================== System =================================

CPU = Intel(R) Pentium(R) 4 Processor with MMX
CPU Speed = 2937 MHz
No. of CPUs = 1
OS = Microsoft Windows XP Service Pack 2 Ver 5.01.2600
Version of DirectX = DirectX 9.0
Main Memory = Capacity: 511MB : Free Space: 161MB
Drive [C:\] = Local Disk Free Space: 73.61 GB (Capacity: 144.39 GB )
Drive [D:\] = Local Disk Free Space: 1.03 GB (Capacity: 4.64 GB )
Drive [M:\] = Local Disk Free Space: 16.72 GB (Capacity: 111.79 GB )
PlayOnline Viewer Install Path = C:\Program Files\PlayOnline\SquareEnix\PlayOnlineViewer\
Tetra Master Install Path = C:\Program Files\PlayOnline\SquareEnix\TetraMaster\
FINAL FANTASY XI Install Path = C:\Program Files\PlayOnline\SquareEnix\FINAL FANTASY XI\
Graphics Card = RADEON X300 Series
Type of Chip = Unknown Video Chip
Video Driver = ati2dvag.dll
Version = 6.14.10.6458
Updated = 25 June 2004 11:40
VendorId = 0x1002
DeviceId = 0x5B60
SubSysId = 0x32A1043
Revision = 0
VRAM = 128.0MB
AvailableVidMem = 122.7MB
AvailableTextureMem = 240.0MB
Sound Card = Realtek HD Audio rear output
Sound Driver = RtkHDAud.sys
Version = 5.10.00.5123
Updated = 15 April 2005 17:05
Network Card = Realtek RTL8139/810x Family Fast Ethernet NIC
Network Driver = R8139n51.SYS
Version = 5.505.1004.2002
Updated = 05 October 2002 00:04
Motherboard = Puffer
Manufacturer = ASUSTeK Computer INC.
Version = 1.xx
Serial Number = X312345678

============================ Applications ==============================

System Information Ver.1.01.04

============================== Processes ===============================

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winlogon.exe
services.exe
lsass.exe
Ati2evxx.exe
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block-checker.exe
iTunesHelper.exe
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mwsoemon.exe
lxbkbmon.exe
Skype.exe
DockWatch.exe
hpqtra08.exe
iPodService.exe
msnmsgr.exe
realsched.exe
setuppol.exe
PolSystemInfo.exe

========================= Installed Programs ===========================

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3D Canyon Flight Screensaver (remove only)
3D Canyon Flight Screensaver 1.0
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CueTour

========================== Connection Test ============================

Tested on = 04/11/2005 19:17:48
Test Finished at = 19:19:23
Test Duration = 00:01:35
Upload Bandwidth = Could not connect to server.
Download Bandwidth = Could not connect to server.
Latency = Could not connect to server.
P2P = Could not connect to server.
UPnP Port Map = Failure
Tracert = qc000.pol.com [202.67.56.181]
01 = 13 ms 12 ms 12 ms 217.47.46.145
02 = 13 ms 12 ms 13 ms 217.47.46.13
03 = 28 ms 30 ms 30 ms 217.41.171.25
04 = 14 ms 14 ms 14 ms 217.41.171.114
05 = 13 ms 13 ms 13 ms 217.41.217.42
06 = 12 ms 12 ms 13 ms 217.47.159.43
07 = 13 ms 12 ms 14 ms 62.6.40.125
08 = 14 ms 13 ms 13 ms 62.6.204.93
09 = 14 ms 13 ms 13 ms 194.74.65.181
10 = 13 ms 14 ms 13 ms 64.125.12.225
11 = 16 ms 15 ms 16 ms 208.184.231.65
12 = 16 ms 15 ms 14 ms 208.184.231.145
13 = 88 ms 87 ms 88 ms 64.125.31.186
14 = 112 ms 112 ms 111 ms 64.125.30.226
15 = 113 ms 113 ms 112 ms 64.125.29.185
16 = 163 ms 162 ms 162 ms 64.125.30.205
17 = 273 ms 271 ms 271 ms 64.125.27.53
18 = 285 ms 285 ms 286 ms 209.249.200.22
19 = 285 ms 285 ms 285 ms 202.67.63.41
20 = 273 ms 271 ms 272 ms 202.67.63.49
21 = 273 ms 271 ms 271 ms 202.67.63.118
22 = 286 ms 286 ms 286 ms 202.67.56.181
Ping = qc000.pol.com [202.67.56.181] with 32 bytes of data:
Sent = 10
Received = 10
Lost = 0 (0% loss)
Minimum = 283ms
Maximum = 285ms
Average = 283ms
001 = Reply from 202.67.56.181: bytes=32 time=284ms TTL=235
002 = Reply from 202.67.56.181: bytes=32 time=284ms TTL=235
003 = Reply from 202.67.56.181: bytes=32 time=285ms TTL=235
004 = Reply from 202.67.56.181: bytes=32 time=283ms TTL=235
005 = Reply from 202.67.56.181: bytes=32 time=283ms TTL=235
006 = Reply from 202.67.56.181: bytes=32 time=283ms TTL=235
007 = Reply from 202.67.56.181: bytes=32 time=284ms TTL=235
008 = Reply from 202.67.56.181: bytes=32 time=283ms TTL=235
009 = Reply from 202.67.56.181: bytes=32 time=285ms TTL=235
010 = Reply from 202.67.56.181: bytes=32 time=285ms TTL=235

[neighbortaru]

Re: pol closes when starting ffxi

it's funny how many programs i recognize just by the .exe name.

anyway, why is setuppol.exe running? did your installation not finish?

[ratt6166]

Re: pol closes when starting ffxi

yes installation finished I just used the sys info prgram on the disk to collate all inf at one time for me it saved a lot of messing around so i believe to answer the question it was because the disk as inserted and running.
anyway still desperatly trying to get ffxi running. I really am open to all ideas and at the moment the baseball bat is looking the most promising!!!!

[neighbortaru]

Re: pol closes when starting ffxi

ok, this sounds stupid, but did you reboot? try it if you haven't. and check your settings on the norton internet FW (or just disable it temporarily).

[bside]

Re: pol closes when starting ffxi

ok, my part of suggestions/thoughts;

1. ur video card driver is outdated. try the latest Catalyst driver from ATI and see if that fixes the problem.

2. the Connection Test failed. while the failure on UPnP Port Map is ok, other tests couldn't get the connection it needed to. if u didn't intentionally block it, u'd need to figure out what blocked the connection, likely the firewall, or the router if u r using one. once u identify what's blocking the connection, unblock it. (EDIT: this isn't likely the cause for ur problem, but just try it.)

3. some names appear twice on the list on installed apps, showing the possible pattern of unsuccessful uninstalltion. this could mean that u have some "junk" files left in ur system causing the unexpected errors. for this, the best way is to perform the "clean install" of Windows, meaning installing from the scratch again, but w/ so many apps installed, might not be an option to u.


some app names don't look familiar to me, so i'll leave those possible software-related issues to others, but i'm beginning to think this to be a software problem...

btw, don't worry about the drivers for audio and network card being old; it's just that their drivers r complete enough not to grant updates at this point.


EDIT: oh, and like Palin2222 pointed out, try the virus scan. make sure u have the latest virus pattern file before u do so.

[ratt6166]

Re: pol closes when starting ffxi

okay all virus scans checked ok
for clean install not really a solution YET
I am attempting a complete closedown of everything then trying from nothing to see if software related
checking through isp to see if they have any related problems
all hardware removed except esentials
trying to leave up windows firewall for security as i know that when it is of game still does not run
failing that i will be spending about 8 hours tomorrow doing clean install. most apps can be easily replaced
all ideas are gratefully recieved and will try them all

[Rikaku]

Re: pol closes when starting ffxi

try turning off Norton Security, from the list if processes runing there are a few runing that takes up a lot of system. and you are runing 2 security progs, i don't know if thats a good thing to do, i know that 2 virus scans runing at the same time will say each scaner is a virus

i did a lookup on all the processes you are runing
there are a lot that you don't need runing