Dirt 3 Complete Edition crash on launch

[MrGobbyteh]

So I purchased the game few months ago, and I run the game so I'll be sure is working, back then I had the build 1909 on Windows 10 now early, I updated the windows to 2004 build and the game continues to crash at launch without any reason

[Kaly]

i have exact same problem, game installed, launch on steam then crash. tried 2 computers so far so i dont think this is my pc's that's cause the crash
also launching the game from the .exe in game folder say opengl is not installed

[DirtOrange]

it helped me :) I wiash we can have any problems with launchung the game ;/

{i}Początkowo opublikowane przez ARmodder:
I had this issue as well, I was able to fix it by using the following procedure which is very easy and takes only a few minutes.

Go to where your Steam games are on your PC C;/Program Files x86/Steam/Steam Apps/Common/DIRT3 Complete Edition. then open the " _CommonRedist"
folder which should be at the top of the file list, then open the OpenAL folder and double-click on the version folder it should come up saying "software Installed".

now go down to the vcredist folder open it and open the "2010" folder this will open giving you the following install files for the C++ Redistributable software click on the x86 version and when it comes up asking you if you want to uninstall or repair, choose repair. This should be all you need to do to get the game to run properly. [/i]

[DirtOrange]

But WHY.... Why we must do this. We bought the game and still have to do some triks to launch it :(
It's ~5 years after the release and still we have to do the installations of our own and the whole package is not provided by the Steam :/

[CarDr]

Originally posted by DirtOrange:

But WHY.... Why we must do this. We bought the game and still have to do some triks to launch it :(
It's ~5 years after the release and still we have to do the installations of our own and the whole package is not provided by the Steam :/

Dirt3 was released in 2011 with GFWL DRM for W7, complete edition with all DLC 2012 (at least for consoles, not sure about Steam). In 2015 they removed the GFWL, saves would not be compatable and created a new Steam APP number version with a free update for anyone with the older version.

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For PC games on Windows

https://www.howtogeek.com/256245/why-are-there-so-many-microsoft-visual-c-redistributables-installed-on-my-pc/
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How Steam determines when and what to install

Steam apps can now simply opt into common redistributables, which will be installed on their first run only if necessary. Valve creates and maintains install scripts for these redistributables, and updates them when patches become available. Where applicable, both 64-bit and 32-bit of redistributables are installed on 64-bit systems.
https://partner.steamgames.com/doc/features/common_redist

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common redists such as DirectX, msvc run time, etc, are likely to be used by other games
Steam checks that the return code is zero. If it sees that the return code is zero, it marks the redist as installed and doesn't run it again.
https://partner.steamgames.com/doc/sdk/installscripts

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Lots of reasons for a failed install, 3rd party AV (even Win defender) blocking the command. Windows updates or reinstall removing or corrupting what had been previously installed to your OS, OS reinstall without clearing the registry, error with Steam client update or in the registry.
So if your registry for Steam or the game has already been flagged these extensions and runtimes as installed, it will not try again on its own.

You did say you ran repair to fix your problem, that would likely had been a issue with Windows.

[yourma2000]

Same issue, tried changing the force DX9 suggestion and reinstalling the OpenAL and C++ redists but no progress.

[CarDr]

Originally posted by yourma2000:

Same issue, tried changing the force DX9 suggestion and reinstalling the OpenAL and C++ redists but no progress.

What 3rd party apps do you have running? Anti virus, anti malware, MSI Afterburner or Rivatuner....

Try running directly from the exe as admin, it may generate an error code message. Check Windows event viewer logs for errors.

[yourma2000]

No 3rd party software, just Windows Security.

I managed to get it to work twice, but it crashed when I alt-tabbed out and tried to go back in. It failed to startup again after that.

I'm suspecting it may have something to do with the C++ redist package, but trying to find which is the absolute latest 2010 version is a pain.

[CarDr]

Originally posted by yourma2000:

No 3rd party software, just Windows Security.

I managed to get it to work twice, but it crashed when I alt-tabbed out and tried to go back in. It failed to startup again after that.

I'm suspecting it may have something to do with the C++ redist package, but trying to find which is the absolute latest 2010 version is a pain.

Your save files may have been corrupted with the crash. If there was anything you want to keep, rename or move them for a test, or just delete them. Either way the game will create new ones at default settings.

Main game save, progression profile and controller config at;
steam/userdata/ [ your id # ] / 321040

Hardware config at;
C/documents/mygames/codemasters/dirt3

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As for the redistributes, looking at a 5 year old backup copy, the game was shipped with;
Openal ver: 2.0.7.0
Directx June 2010 ver: 4.9.0.0904
vcredist 2010, both 32 & 64 bit required (x64 &x86) ver: 10.0.40219.325

Newer version numbers might work, see link below.

As mentioned in this article, sometimes the repair function is not enough and manual removal / replacement might be necessary.

https://www.howtogeek.com/256245/why-are-there-so-many-microsoft-visual-c-redistributables-installed-on-my-pc/

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Sometimes off brand wheels and controllers will use a generic driver app, these may have an outdated dll file and cause the game to crash or no start if they are plugged in.

[CarDr]

You need to turn off cloud save off to clear saves.