DARK SOULS™: Prepare To Die Edition

DARK SOULS™: Prepare To Die Edition

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New Player's Guide To Fixing Problems
By RachelSnow0451
So. You bought dark souls in the sale. You installed it. You clicked play

DARK SOULS PREPARE TO DIE EDITION HAS STOPPED WORKING

This is a common problem and is not your computer's fault

This guide is your guide [YOU DONT SAY] to fixing that and other problems

These problems are :

How to fix dark souls crashing on start
GFWL not working fix
DSfix framerate fix
DSCfix change


Links to download DSfix and DSCfix

DSfix : http://www.nexusmods.com/darksouls/mods/19/?
DSCfix : http://www.nexusmods.com/darksouls/mods/334/?

Disclaimer : This guide may if not read correctly get your stuck in a dishwasher
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How To Fix Dark Souls Crashing On Start
1. right click on dark souls in your steam library and go to properties
2. go to local files
3. go to data
4. right click on DarkSouls and click properties
5. go to compatibility and click on Run in compatibility mode
6. do step 4 and 5 for Data
7. click play

It should work
2. GFWL not working fix
1. go to control panel and find the uninstall program section

2. uninstall microsoft games for windows - LIVE redistributable and microsoft games for windows marketplace

3. then go online and download GFWL installer

4. once downloaded [shouldnt take long] go to where its saved and right click on it and go to properties then compatibility mode and click run in compatibility mode and run as admin

5.r un the installer

6. once installed it should now work
3. DSfix framerate fix
DSfix has been known to cause major framerate issues

1. to fix any framerate issues once DSfix is installed go into DSfix.ini

1. and delete everything EXCEPT this

# Dinput dll chaining
# if you want to use another dinput8.dll wrapper together
# with DSfix, rename it (e.g. "dinputwrapper.dll") and put the new name here
dinput8dllWrapper none
# dscfix.dll

and anything else you wish to keep

my DSfix looks like this

# skip the intro logos
# this should now be slightly more stable, but should still be
# the first thing to disable in case you experience any problems
skipIntro 1

# Dinput dll chaining
# if you want to use another dinput8.dll wrapper together
# with DSfix, rename it (e.g. "dinputwrapper.dll") and put the new name here
dinput8dllWrapper none
# dscfix.dll
3.5 What DSfix looks like
Your DSfix when downloaded with no changes should look like this

# You can configure DSfix by editing this file
# Lines starting with "#" are ignored by the program and contain descriptions of the options

###############################################################################
# Graphics Options
###############################################################################

# internal rendering resolution of the game
# higher values will decrease performance
renderWidth 1920
renderHeight 1080

# The display width/height
# 0 means use the same resolution as renderWidth/Height
# (use for downscaling - if in doubt, leave at 0)
presentWidth 0
presentHeight 0

############# Anti Aliasing

# AA toggle and quality setting
# 0 = off (best performance, worst IQ)
# 1 = low
# 2 = medium
# 3 = high
# 4 = ultra (worst performance, best IQ)
aaQuality 0

# AA type
# either "SMAA" or "FXAA"
aaType SMAA

############# Ambient Occlusion

# Enable and set the strength of the SSAO effect (all 3 settings have the same performance impact!)
# 0 = off
# 1 = low
# 2 = medium
# 3 = high
ssaoStrength 0

# Set SSAO scale
# 1 = high quality (default)
# 2 = lower quality, lower impact on performance
# 3 = lowest quality, lowest impact on performance
ssaoScale 1

# Determine the type of AO used
# "VSSAO" = Volumetric SSAO (default, only option pre-1.9)
# "HBAO" = Horizon-Based Ambient Occlusion
# "SCAO" = VSSAO + HBAO
# "VSSAO2" = Volumetric SSAO with more samples (tweaked by Asmodean)
# VSSAO and HBAO types have a slightly different effect. and similar performance
# SCAO combines both, with a higher performance impact
# VSSAO2 is generally more accurate, but also requires more performance
ssaoType VSSAO

############# Depth of field

# Depth of Field resolution override, possible values:
# 0 = no change from default (DoF pyramid starts at 512x360)
# 540 = DoF pyramid starts at 960x540
# 810 = DoF pyramid starts at 1440x810
# 1080 = DoF pyramid starts at 1920x1080
# 2160 = DoF pyramid starts at 3840x2160
# higher values will decrease performance
# do NOT set this to the same value as your vertical rendering resolution!
dofOverrideResolution 540

# Depth of Field scaling override (NOT RECOMMENDED)
# 0 = DoF scaling enabled (default, recommended)
# 1 = DoF scaling disabled (sharper, worse performance, not as originally intended)
disableDofScaling 0

# Depth of field additional blur
# allows you to use high DoF resolutions and still get the originally intended effect
# suggested values:
# o (off) at default DoF resolution
# 0 or 1 at 540 DoF resolution
# 1 or 2 above that
# 3 or 4 at 2160 DoF resolution (if you're running a 680+)
dofBlurAmount 1

############# Framerate

# Enable variable framerate (up to 60)
# NOTE:
# - this requires in-memory modification of game code, and may get you banned from GFWL
# - there may be unintended side-effects in terms of gameplay
# - you need a very powerful system (especially CPU) in order to maintain 60 FPS
# - in some instances, collision detection may fail. Avoid sliding down ladders
# Use this at your own risk!
# 0 = no changes to game code
# 1 = unlock the frame rate
unlockFPS 0

# FPS limit, only used with unlocked framerate
# do not set this much higher than 60, this will lead to various issues with the engine
FPSlimit 60

# FPS threshold
# DSfix will dynamically disable AA if your framerate drops below this value
# and re-enable it once it has normalized (with a bit of hysteresis thresholding)
FPSthreshold 28

############# Filtering

# texture filtering override
# 0 = no change
# 1 = enable some bilinear filtering (use only if you need it!)
# 2 = full AF override (may degrade performance)
# if in doubt, leave this at 0
filteringOverride 0

###############################################################################
# HUD options
###############################################################################

# Enable HUD modifications
# 0 = off (default) - none of the options below will do anything!
# 1 = on
enableHudMod 0

# Remove the weapon icons from the HUD
# (you can see which weapons you have equipped from your character model)
enableMinimalHud 1

# Scale down HuD, examples:
# 1.0 = original scale
# 0.75 = 75% of the original size
hudScaleFactor 0.75

# Set opacity for different elements of the HUD
# 1.0 = fully opaque
# 0.0 = fully transparent
# Top left: health bars, stamina bar, humanity counter, status indicators
hudTopLeftOpacity 0.8f
# Bottom left: item indicators & counts
hudBottomLeftOpacity 0.75f
# Bottom right: soul count
hudBottomRightOpacity 0.5f

###############################################################################
# Window & Mouse Cursor Options
###############################################################################

# borderless fullscreen mode
# make sure to select windowed mode in the game settings for this to work!
# 0 = disable
# 1 = enable
borderlessFullscreen 0

# disable cursor at startup
# 0 = no change
# 1 = off at start
disableCursor 0

# capture cursor (do not allow it to leave the window)
# 0 = don't capture
# 1 = capture
# (this also works if the cursor is not visible)
captureCursor 0

###############################################################################
# Save Game Backup Options
###############################################################################

# enables save game backups
# 0 = no backups
# 1 = backups enabled
# backups are stored in the save folder, as "[timestamp]_[original name].bak"
enableBackups 0

# backup interval in seconds (1500 = 25 minutes)
# (minimum setting 600)
backupInterval 1500

# maximum amount of backups, older ones will be deleted
maxBackups 10

###############################################################################
# Texture Override Options
###############################################################################

# enables texture dumping
# you *only* need this if you want to create your own override textures
# textures will be dumped to "dsfix\tex_override\[hash].tga"
enableTextureDumping 0

# enables texture override
# textures in "dsfix\tex_override\[hash].png" will replace the corresponding originals
# will cause a small slowdown during texture loading!
enableTextureOverride 0

###############################################################################
# Other Options
###############################################################################

# skip the intro logos
# this should now be slightly more stable, but should still be
# the first thing to disable in case you experience any problems
skipIntro 0

# change the screenshot directory
# default: . (current directory)
# example: C:\Users\Peter\Pictures
# directory must exist!
screenshotDir .

# override the in-game language
# none = no override
# en-GB = English, fr = French, it = Italian, de = German, es = Spanish
# ko = Korean, zh-tw = Chinese, pl = Polish, ru = Russian
# this does not work in Windows XP!
overrideLanguage none

# Dinput dll chaining
# if you want to use another dinput8.dll wrapper together
# with DSfix, rename it (e.g. "dinputwrapper.dll") and put the new name here
dinput8dllWrapper none
# dsmfix.dll

# D3D adapter override
# -1 = no override
# N = use adapter N
# this setting is for multiple (non-SLI/crossfire) GPUs
# everyone else should leave it at -1
d3dAdapterOverride -1

# Log level - 0 to 11, higher numbers mean more logging
# only enable for debugging
logLevel 0

###############################################################################
# The settings below are not yet ready to use!!
###############################################################################

# You can only set either forceFullscreen or forceWindowed (or neither)
# 0 = off, 1 = on
forceWindowed 0
forceFullscreen 0

# turn on/off Vsync
enableVsync 0
# adjust display refresh rate in fullscreen mode - this is NOT linked to FPS!
fullscreenHz 60
4. DSCfix change
your dinput dll chaining one wont has dscfix.dll it will have dsfix.dll

if dscfix is downloaded and is in the data folder then change dsfix.dll to dscfix.dll
30 Comments
Sponge Platinum 23 Dec, 2014 @ 11:27pm 
You need to update this guide to include opting in for the beta, which removes GFWL.
Kranche_ 22 Dec, 2014 @ 7:27pm 
I still can't save, even after doing the part 2
eyeofyourstorm 17 Dec, 2014 @ 3:24am 
Where I can download GFWL?
Saneeeuku 17 Dec, 2014 @ 2:45am 
My problem was in compatibility Win8 x64 and GFWL. I solve the problem follow that steps:
After installation GFWL go to "C:/Windows/SysWOW64" and find 4 files: xlive.dll, xlive.dll.cat, xlivefnt.dll, xliveinstall.dll, xliveinstallhost and copy them to "C:/Windows/System32".
That's it, no need for "compatibility mod" on the GFWL exe
RachelSnow0451  [author] 16 Dec, 2014 @ 9:25am 
@Colipson

Thank you! :D \[+]/
RachelSnow0451  [author] 16 Dec, 2014 @ 9:24am 
@CloudyWolf

The game works fine for me. Try installing the latest DSfix version
http://blog.metaclassofnil.com/?tag=dsfix
RachelSnow0451  [author] 16 Dec, 2014 @ 9:22am 
@Spooky Mike

this is a guide of things i know how to fix
i dont know how to fix this
i suspect this will be fixed soon
probably server issues or something
RachelSnow0451  [author] 16 Dec, 2014 @ 9:20am 
@T-E-M-E-K-A

The fix was in the guide

Part 2. GFWL not working fix
RachelSnow0451  [author] 16 Dec, 2014 @ 9:19am 
@T-E-M-E-K-A

this is a common problem. not sure if its in my guide

if not then i'll add it

first run dark souls and press the xbox guide button on your controller
if the GFWL thing doesnt drop down then close dark souls
go into control panel and find uninstall programs
uninstall all GFWL programs
go online and download GFWL installer
DO NOT RUN STRAIGHT AWAY
right click the installer and go to properties
go to compatibility and click run in compatibility mode and run as admin
run it
once installed it should now work