Half Life 2 hl2.exe/datacache.dll Error findings / Visual C++ runtime error R6054

[BTK]

I know this is my first post but this error is making me mad as I want to play the game without a crash.

I decided to put my 3 college prep classes of programming/debugging to some use.

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Many of you know about THIS, the well known and common hl2.exe/datacache.dll error. It seems to happen on select systems and there is no real fix for it.

I decided to look into it.

Every time this crash happens the game creates a minidump file and saves it in

Program Files/Steam/steamapps/Username/whatever game it crashed in

Mine is named "Steam__3056__2007_5_19T0_23_50C14968"

You can open it with a notepad file but it won't make really any sense. So I downloaded windows debugger to analyze it and here is what I found.

I just used the .ecxr and !analyze -v commands

RESULTS

It looks like it's a problem with the engine.dll. I think that this is something wrong with the Source Engine on Valve's behalf and we will half to await a fix.

As for memory could not be read problems I think that's a stability problem or faulty RAM.

I may be totally wrong here but I am sick of not being able to play a game I rightfully bought!

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I am also going to download Visual studio C++ and use that and source sdk/base to see what else I can find from this minidump file and maybe possibly a fix!
Which might require engine modding/dll modding which probably = VAC ban.

I will maybe submit findings to Valve.

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Seems to me it really is an engine problems

1) It's in ongoing issues
http://support.steampowered.com/cgi-bin/steampowered.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=472

2)Go to google and type Hl2.exe error and look thread hundreds of threads with no real fix

3) maybe the programmers are being real lazy and a fix would require a whole reworking of the source engine so valve won't release any statement on it and the only thing they will do is put it as "ongoing issues"

they don't deny just have not made a statement on it

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BTK

 

[Beerdude26]

A game engine is an incredibly complicated piece of code. Hell, I'm currently testing a mod that gets updated every week or so, and there's always some kind of odd new bug that enters because of unforeseen consequences. Finding such a bug is especially hard because it's a product of another piece of code, not a previously existing bug.

 

[Dekstar]

It's not a fault on VALVe's part if not everyone gets the error - which they don't.

 

[dadopap]

R6054 Problem solved

I Had a similar problem:

Visual C++ runtime error R6054

I solved it.

It seems that the Half life installation misses some files or it does not look for them in the right directory. I did this:

search your hard drive for:

winsta.dll
shimeng.dll
setupapi.dll
wtsapi32.dll

and copy them into program files\steam\steamapps\<profile>\half-life 2\

then copy the file engine.dll located in
program files\steam\steamapps\<profile>\half-life 2\bin

to the following directory:
program files\steam\steamapps\<profile>\half-life 2\

now the game magically works.

 

[arsenoxide]

My god man. dadopap helped me so much with his last post.

I had the C++ runtime error he referred to and using his suggestion it was fixed, completely.
HL2 runs fine now. I know hundreds of people must have gone crazy looking for a fix to this.

Thanks!