# [SOLVED] Oblivion crash: Failed to initialize renderer GetAdapterDesc() failed



## crushinrussian

just recently Oblivion crashes on start up and gives the error "Failed to initialize renderer GetAdapterDesc() failed". I can't start the launcher either saying that "Oblivion launcher encountered a problem and must be shut down". I tried reinstalling Oblivion, patching Oblivion, updating video drivers, directx reinstall, nothing seems to work. I found other people on forums with this problem but no solution has been found yet. Thank you.
My computer:
AMD Athlon 3 3200+
1 GB of 400DDR RAM
Asus Nforce 4 motherboard
Geforce 7600GT


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## Indoril Nerevar

You say Oblivion started crashing recently, so I take it it was working fine before?

What video drivers have you used (which versions), and what version of DirectX are you using?

If you haven't already, try using the 84.21 drivers from NVIDIA. Also, update your DirectX to the latest version.

Did you make any changes to your system just before Oblivion started crashing (hardware/software/drivers/etc)?

And one last thing: could you please post the specs of your power supply, especially the brand, wattage, and number of amps on the +12V rail. You can find this information on the side of the power supply itself.

Post back with all that info and the results of the new drivers and DirectX, and we'll take it from there.


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## Gaezerbeam

*not original poster ...*

Hello Indoril Nerevar,
I am aquiver over your machine specs, which is the main reason I registered to respond to your query about this problem. I understand this was 13 days ago but I hope you will humor me because my system is frequently crashing from playing this game Oblivion. 

I firstly would like to know Honestly if the game has crashed your top of the line machine ever?

My rig is a bit older, the problem is the game crashing windows to a dead standstill lock-up, that requires a manual reboot (reset switch) to get the machine running. Sometimes the game will play for 8 hours without a crash. Other times, (like today) the game crashes constantly. I have rebooted the machine from lock-up 3x within the last 30-40 minutes.

system specs:
Pentium 4 CPU 478 PIN 2.53gh 533 FSB retail heatsink/fan
Gigabyte GA-8SG667 mobo latest bios optimized defaults
1024MB OCZ 3200 SDRAM CAS 2.5
Antec 430w PS (20 AMP max output)
Creative Audigy 2 ZS 
2x Maxtor ATA 133 80GB 7200 hard disc
Toshiba DVD +-RW 16x
Nvidia drivers 77.77 through beta 91.33 tried (all crash)

OK then ... any reply is appreciated, some_suweeeet rig you got there!

thanks again, J.M.


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## Indoril Nerevar

Hi, Gaezerbeam. Welcome to TSF.

The answer to whether Oblivion has crashed on my system is a big, resounding “Yes”. Oblivion, like its predecessor, Morrowind, is one of those games which will have problems on any system, regardless of quality or performance. Unfortunately, not all Oblivion problems are fixable. Sometimes, you just have to hope that they’ll come out with a patch to fix it soon.

In response to your problem, can you first please tell us whether you have similar problem with any other games? Also, we need to know exactly what video card you have in your system.

Before proceeding any further, I recommend you uninstall whatever video drivers you currently have installed, and install the 84.21’s, as they seem to be more stable than any other drivers.

When you’ve done that, update your DirectX, and then download and install the latest Oblivion patch from the Elder Scrolls site.

Then try the game again, and let us know how it goes.




By the way,


Gaezerbeam said:


> some_suweeeet rig you got there!


Thanks. I rather like it myself. :winkgrin:


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## gamerman0203

I run Oblivion on a laptop with most things turned down or off and I have very little problems. I think it's crashed on me once in my 50+ hours or playing. I honestly believe that the more stuff you turn up/on, the more the game can mess up. But my image quality is $&!# so it's kind of a trade off: good quality with crashes or crappy quality with stability.


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## Gaezerbeam

*Doh !*

Hello again --- I am such a nut

duh -- Video card is a XFX 7800GS AGP 256MB

upon checking my driver versions, my soundcard driver was outdated and I changed that yesterday. It got me through the area that was crashing the game, but then crashed again, to a giant DOS style, black window, with an error report for microsoft. Also the gameplay now stutters, the video lags and stutters. The game was smoother with the driver from my creative installation disc. It's my opinion that the crashes are sound related mostly.

I have the forceware 84.21 running, yes seems to be the most stable according to reports. I have experienced crashes in Doom 3, and Quake 4, and even Quake 3, so I wrote Nvidia and they responed that yes they are working diligently to get a better driver out to public. 

I also wrote my Video card manufacturer. Get this, they want me to turn off "fast writes" and run the AGP slot in "4x" from the bios! I went to try this and those 2 options are not accessabile in bios on this particular motherboard. I bought this motherboard when SDRAM 3200 first came out. It was one of the first boards to support 3200 speed RAM. Before that I was using a VIA p4pb Ultra mainboard, but I had problems with it and somehow ended up with this old gigabyte board being a stable fallback mobo. It's like a dinosaur 4 year old mainboard. I have a selfbuilt system. I am a bit framiliar with tweaking and such, I used to visit a website called "Tweaktown" from Australia for my benchmark and hardware reviews. They were excellent.

yatayata... I have about exhausted myself trying to get this game to run and I've tried a fresh windows install on another machine (of similar specs to mine.) Thats why I asked if this game crashed your machine, because your rig is alot newer hardware technology than I am useing. 

Lets just consider this query closed and resolved as "bethesda software crashes windows XP pro SP2 and 'it's no small feat' says Bill Gates. "

Thanks again, J.M.


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## deltonesan

*Re: Oblivion crash: Failed to initialize renderer GetAdapterDesc() failed*

Oblivion gives me this error when I attempt to run it:

"Failed to initialize renderer.
NiXAdapaterDesc::GetDeviceCaps() failed."


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## pharoah

*Re: Oblivion crash: Failed to initialize renderer GetAdapterDesc() failed*

be sure you have the newest version of the windows installer,and direct-x.


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## deltonesan

*Re: Oblivion crash: Failed to initialize renderer GetAdapterDesc() failed*

Thank you for the brief support, I solved my problem and am embarassed to admit that it was simply because the monitor cord was plugged into the motherboard instead of the graphics card.

:laugh:


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## pharoah

*Re: Oblivion crash: Failed to initialize renderer GetAdapterDesc() failed*

lol its fixed thats all that matters:wave:


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