Bioshock Crash, Resolution, Change Language, No Sound and FOV fix

Simple troubleshooting guide for the game crashing on startup. You can find most of the common fixes and tweaks here.

Introduction

Hi, everyone! :) I made this simple troubleshooting guide for fixing the game crashing on start up on Windows 7 and Windows 8 OS, which seem to be the most common issue on most of the modern Systems/Computer. You can find most of the common fixes and tweaks here.

This fix is for Windows 7 and Windows 8 users. The same might apply to Windows 10 users.

Crash on startup in Windows 7 64-bit & Windows 8 64-bit

Solution 1:

• Right-click Bioshock on Steam > Properties > Under the General tab > Uncheck Enable the Steam Overlay while in-game.
  
• Click on Set Launch Options > then add "-nointro" without quotes.

Note: Enabling the Steam in-game Overlay will make your game crash (for some users). You have to disable the Steam in-game overlay to play the game.

Or, you can just leave the steam in-game overlay on and download the fix below which let you play the game with the overlay on modern PCs. (As reported by some users)

Download[drive.google.com] For 32-bit OS
Download[drive.google.com] For 64-bit OS

If you are having trouble downloading from the links above. You can download the file from here
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1XJDA2qo2L1On5Rab9yi3jMrv1UU6Navf

Extract it and copy openal32.dll in Builds\Release folder, where the main Bioshock.exe is located.

Note: Tested the fix myself. The game works with the overlay on but the game still crashes randomly.

Solution 2:

If the above fix doesn't work for you then try running the game in DirectX 9 mode.

• Right-click Bioshock on Steam > Properties > Set Launch Options > Type "-dx9" without quotes.

Note: If you want to run the game in DirectX 10 mode, remove "-dx9" from Set Launch Options and follow the instructions on Solution 3 and Solution 4.


Solution 3:

Enable Stereo Mix and try running the game again.

• Go to Control Panel > Hardware and Sound > Sound > Click on Recodring tab > Right-click and enable Show Disabled Devices > Right-click on Stereo Mix and Enable it.

Note: If you can't find Stereo Mix under the recording tab, download the latest audio driver from your motherboard's manufacturer website and install it.


Solution 4:

• If you have a Headphone, try plugging it in on the front jack and try running the game again.

If the above fix doesn't work

• Right-click Bioshock on Steam > Properties > Set Launch Options > Type "-dx9" without quotes and try running the game again with the Headphone still plugged in.

Note: See Solution 2 for images.


Solution 5:

If none of the above fix worked for you then try this.

• Locate BioShock.exe
  
  In my case, its in
  
  

  D:\Program Files (x86)\SteamLibrary\SteamApps\common\Bioshock\Builds\Release

  (as seen in the picture below)
  
  If you haven't changed the default installation directory, it should be in this location
  
  

  C:\Program Files (x86)\SteamLibrary\SteamApps\common\Bioshock\Builds\Release

  (or depending on which drive you installed the game)
  
  
• Right-click on Bioshock.exe > Troubleshoot Compatibility > Try recommended settings > Click on start the program and see if the game still crashes.

Note: You have to disable the Steam in-game overlay before you start to Troubleshoot Compatibility as the Steam in-game overlay make the game crash.


Solution 6:

• Right-click Bioshock on steam > Properties > Set Launch Options > Type "-nosound" without quotes.

No Sound Fix

Those facing the problem with no sound in game try "Solution 3 and 4" from the "Crash on Startup in Windows 7 64-bit & Windows 8-64bit" section or alternatively you can try the fix below.

• Download OpenAL from here OpenAL[drive.google.com].
  
• Extract the archive and install the program.
  
• Go to

  C:\Windows\System32

• or

  C:\Windows\SysWoW64 for 64bit OS)

• Copy over wrap_oal.dll into the same folder where Bioshock's executable is located

  (Bioshock\Builds\Release\)

  (Right-click Bioshock on Steam > Properties > Local Files > Browse Local Files)
  
• Rename the file wrap_oal.dll to openal32.dll and run the game again see if the game has sound this time

Resolution Issue

Can't change the resolution from 1024x768. Changing the resolution make the game crash.

• Locate Default.ini in
  

  C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\SteamApps\common\Bioshock\Builds\Release

  (or depending on which drive you installed the game)
  
  In my case, its located in
  

  D:\Program Files (x86)\SteamLibrary\SteamApps\common\Bioshock\Builds\Release

  (as seen in the picture below)
  
  
• Edit with Notepad and press Ctrl + F to search for "Fullscreen" in [WinDrv.WindowsClient] section without quotes).
  
• Edit the FullscreenViewportX and FullscreenViewportY values to your desired resolution then save the file.
  

Example:

FullscreenViewportX=1920
FullscreenViewportY=1080

Change Language

Locate

C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\SteamApps\common\Bioshock\Builds\Release

• Edit Default.ini with notepad. Press Ctrl + F then type "Engine.Engine" without quotes.
  
• Click on Find Next then scroll down a bit and look for "Language=int".
  
• Change it to "Language=xxx" accordingly (see below for language codes) then save the file.

Language Codes

• Language=int (English)
  
• Language=esp (Spainish)
  
• Language=deu (German)
  
• Language=fra (French)
  
• Language=ita (Italian)

For Example: The default language is in English. If you want to change the language to German. Edit

"Language=int" to "Language=deu." (without quotes)

FOV(Field of View)

The default FOV makes my head hurts and make me feel dizzy. The FOV looks much better after turning off the Horizontal FOV Lock.

• Go to the in-game Options > Graphics Settings > Turn off the Horizontal FOV Lock
  
  
  Screeshots comparison with Horizontal FOV Lock On and Off.
  
  Horizontal FOV Lock On:
  
  Horizontal FOV Lock Off:
  
  

[Andr]

Yes, while the processor maybe overkill, older games don't run well with multi-core CPU and especially Hyperthreading where the game only uses 1 or 2 CPU cores out of 8 CPU cores. And core i5 9300H doesn't have 8 Physical Cores but only 4, and remember turning ON Hyperthreading make the individual core weaker which is like 50% of your individual core. So the game is running on 50% of each individual CPU core which is why you are experiencing the lag.

You can install MSI Afterburner Rivatuner Statistic Server and monitor each CPU core usage in games and you can see it for yourself.

If you want to run older games smoothly then you'll have to turn Hyperthreading OFF in BIOS.

[Internalized Bigotry]

pretty sure the individual cores of my i5 9300H are overkill for this game and even for games far more demanding like CSGO. and yes, while my CPU is a joke compared to flagships such as i9 14900KF or R9 7950X3D, it's still a very capable piece of tech for older and even newer games (up until 2023).

[Andr]

@JH_98 the reason why you are getting the fps drop is probably because the game is made for older systems. It's can't take advantage of the multi-core CPU and only runs on a few or single core. Older games requires physical cores (more raw power), instead of Hyperthreading which makes your makes your single core weaker by splitting into two cores. For modern games it's better to leave Hyperthreading ON but if you want to play older game smoothly, you can disable Hyperthreading in BIOS.

[Internalized Bigotry]

other specs for my gaming laptop are irrelevant; since i won the silicon lottery (according to benchmarks from UBM and Crucial), my CPU actually rivals the i5 8600K/R5 2600X instead of i5 6600K/R5 1500X, while my GPU rivals the GTX 1650/RX 5300 XT instead of GTX 1050 Ti/RX 5300 as initially assumed. of course swapping out the slow ass WD Blue 1TB HDD with the 2 SSDs from Crucial, as well as upgrading from single channel 8GB RAM to dual channel 16GB RAM would've also somewhat improved performance. i have no intentions of overclocking my GPU and my CPU sadly cannot be overclocked; overvolting for a laptop is way too risky, so i'd rather not do that.

[Internalized Bigotry]

i wonder why i'm getting frame drops in some areas of Rapture, even though my gaming laptop greatly exceeds the recommended requirements dozen times over. the recommended specs are equivalent to that of an Xbox 360, meanwhile my gaming laptop is equivalent to the Steam Deck (actually the GPU is more on par with Xbox One X). i have the 2019 version of the Acer Nitro 5, and my specs are Intel Core i5 9300H @ 2.4GHZ 4C/8T (4.1GHZ Turbo) 45W 14nm+, Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050 3GB GDDR5 @ 1366MHZ (1750MHZ Boost), 16GB DDR4 SODIMM SDRAM @ 2666MHZ (2x8GB) 1.5V Non-ECC, Crucial MX500 2.5" SATA SSD 250GB @ 600MBPS + Crucial MX500 M.2 2280 SATA SSD 250GB @ 600MBPS, Windows 10 Home Edition OEM x64-Bit Version 22H2, DirectX12 (D3D 12_1) + Vulkan V1.3 + OpenGL V4.6, 1920x1080 FHD 15.6" LED IPS 60HZ 20ms Display.

[Internalized Bigotry]

yeah Windows 11 isn't really compatible with older programs, same for Windows 10

[[]D []-[] [] []_]

I had issues with sound while using windows 11. My fix was running compatibility mode as win xp.

[lil_caesar1]

Update 1/3/2022 after this post try use -dx11 instead of -dxlevel 100 sometimes steam doesn't close the game properly.

[lil_caesar1]

Update: 1/3/2023 -dxlevel 100 for game launch option then the start game and head down over to audio option its in the option menu then turn on Use Creative Eax whatever an Boom you all set.

[Phoenix]

Why send epic games to the collection with DLC at the same time