Crash Reporting 101

Hopefully this guide will provide an outline for people looking to post discussion topics looking for help with KotOR 2 Crashes and/or instability. I've written this as a response to the majority of discussion threads which have been created complaining about crashes. Often threads which are created lack a few basic elements which are required to narrow down the possible fixes and/or workarounds with your particular case. For instance starting a thread, which is called your operating system, doesn't help much. Additionally only specifying your operating system does not constitute providing system specifications. In the same way listing your hardware manufacturers isn't the best case, you need to actually provide specific details on your specs, which I'll be going through in this guide.

So you're enjoying your TSL experience, aaand it decides to crash. Or you just bought the game and it doesn't even make it to the menu.

So first thing you should do is click on the "View Problem Details" button.

Next is select and copy the contents of it, you'll need this for later, so drop it in notepad. It'll look something like this.

Problem Event Name: APPCRASH
Application Name: swkotor2.exe
Application Version: 1.0.2.0
Application Timestamp: 5603005d
Fault Module Name: StackHash_0a9e
Fault Module Version: 0.0.0.0
Fault Module Timestamp: 00000000
Exception Code: c0000005
Exception Offset: 00000000
OS Version: 6.1.7601.2.1.0.256.48
Locale ID: 1033
Additional Information 1: 0a9e
Additional Information 2: 0a9e372d3b4ad19135b953a78882e789
Additional Information 3: 0a9e
Additional Information 4: 0a9e372d3b4ad19135b953a78882e789

Your game crashes, but you don't get the 'swkotor2 has stopped working' dialog, you get another error take a screenshot of it. If no error shows up at all, and the game just closes remember to mention it later. This information is still important. The more you know about the problem, the more likely you are to find a fix. For example:

(Source: https://steamcommunity.com/app/208580/discussions/1/458604254470127410/)

If it's a startup crash, it'll probably happen everytime, but some other crashes require a specific series of events to occur. Make note of the events leading up to the crash, but try keep it short.
If you can't replicate it, then you don't need to report anything. (Unless ofc. it happens again in another playthrough)
Example Case:

Originally posted by me:

I'm having a crash on Telos after I've borded the shuttle to the surface. The cutscenes and movies run fine until the shuttle has crashed. My character gets up and the camera shows Bao-Dur's face, I'm able to select maybe 1 or 2 conversation options before the game hangs, then crashes. Sometimes the game crashes immediately upon seeing Bao-Dur.

Armed with error codes, or Fault Module Names/Exception Codes(From the Kotor2 has stopped working window), you can google your way to victory.
Alternatively you can take a look at these fixes:

• http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=326836697 (also read the comments section, has a few fixes in there too)
  
• http://www.lucasforums.com/showthread.php?t=194296 (Look at section 13 if you're having issues with ATI/AMD cards)
  
• http://pcgamingwiki.com/wiki/Star_Wars:_Knights_of_the_Old_Republic_II_%E2%80%93_The_Sith_Lords (Quite a long list of fixes)
  
• http://deadlystream.com/forum/topic/1545-nvidia-gfx-guide/?&pid=16526 (More specialised Stability improvements for Nvidia Cards, which I think might be able to help with vsync related issues)

Or if you're having Startup Crashes, try out my swkotor2.ini: http://pastebin.com/6CavZTEL (has the fixes already added, you may need to manually change the height and width to your screen resolution however, as it defaults to 1920x1080)

DxDiag is a essentially a detailed run-down of your system specifications, the drivers you have installed and your hardware itself. To Run DxDiag, Press Windows Key + R (Opens Run) and type dxdiag
Hit enter and you'll get a DirectX Diagnostic Tool window popping up

Click Save All Information... and save the file somewhere accessible. You can then open the DxDiag.txt file, and post it's information either on a pastebin or the discussion page itself. (Could be messy, but it's better than nothing) Use Pastebin[www.pastebin.com], steam has 18 000 character limit

But before you only post your dxdiag, you should read the next section on putting it all together.

If you are sure of your system specs, then this would be the bare minimum you'd need to provide:

• Operating System
  
• CPU
  
• Graphics Card (GPU)
  
• RAM

NB: Simply listing manufacturers is not sufficient information, rather use Option 1 above. Example System Specs:

Originally posted by me:

OS: Windows 7 Ultimate SP1 64bit
CPU: Intel i5-4690k
GPU: Palit Nvidia GeForce GTX 660 Ti 2GB
RAM: 16GB

Formatting it right makes it really easy to read, and understand. Anyone looking to help doesn't have to read over it a few times to figure out what the hell is going on.

Note: this is just personal preference, go ahead and format it anyway you like, I'm not saying mine is the only way, or the best way to format it.

• Short, and to the point, For Example: Telos Shuttle to Surface Crash
  
• Don't ask for help in the title, you've posted on the Tech Support board because you need help.
  
• Steer clear of mentioning System Specifications in the Title, especially if you were originally going with only the OS name as your title.

1. Brief description you came up with in the Try To Replicate the Crash section.
   
2. Leave a line.
   
3. The Evidence you found in the The Crash section.
   
4. Leave a line.
   
5. Your DxDiag/System Specifications/Link to DxDiag on pastebin.
   
6. Leave a line.
   
7. List any Mods you have installed.
   
8. Leave a line.
   
9. List the fixes you've tried.
   
10. Leave a line.
    
11. Closing Comments. (Maybe you have a feeling it has to do with the openGL libraries you have, or have another suggestion as to the nature of the problem)

While most probably won't use this format, I can dream right? Example Post: (Title: Telos Shuttle to Surface Crash)

Originally posted by me:

I'm having a crash on Telos after I've borded the shuttle to the surface. The cutscenes and movies run fine until the shuttle has crashed. My character gets up and the camera shows Bao-Dur's face, I'm able to select maybe 1 or 2 conversation options before the game hangs, then crashes. Sometimes the game crashes immediately upon seeing Bao-Dur.

Here's the error I get:
http://images.akamai.steamusercontent.com/ugc/365155921117814908/767E360E3B1D57F7D0D2691495F56B486B247B89/

My DxDiag:
http://pastebin.com/TVnhmZ2s

Mods Installed:
-TSLRCM (Workshop)
-Handmaiden 4 Females Disciple 4 Males (Not Workshop)
-Canon Exile (Workshop)

I've tried a variety of ini fixes
I've tried to run the game using this ini: http://pastebin.com/6CavZTEL
I'm running the exe in admin mode, and in compatability mode for Windows XP SP2

It's a hard gfx card crash so I'm guessing it's openGL related, but nothing convincing came up on my search, anybody got an idea on how to fix?

So there you have it, my ideal format for posting threads which are easy to read and understand. (atleast for those looking to help you fix your problem) Feel free to ask questions/make suggestions in the comments section.

Posting on mod issues (still pretty relevant): http://deadlystream.com/forum/topic/2390-read-me-second-information-for-those-posting-errors-glitches/