A BAD_POOL_HEADER error that I haven't seen yet, please help

[Atreyu2003]

I hope someone can help out! I just bought a computer from Gateway. All of my 3d games run great, including RCT3 and The Sims 2 and WarCraft etc.etc.
However, when I run Neverwinter Nights, between 1 and 3 minutes into the gameplay, I get the blue screen of death that tells me a BAD_POOL_HEADER error has occurred. I have turned off my Microsoft indexing, which got me a bit further in the game, but still I got the crash. I've talked to Atari, who said I need to call Gateway, who said they didn't know what it was, probably something concerning SP2, and recommended I post here for help. So...Please help, I'm dying to play this game I've heard so much about. Thank you, Troy

[BigSexy396]

Re: A BAD_POOL_HEADER error that I haven't seen yet, please help

I have no idea about how to fix that.
But ATREYU IS THE ****!!!!!!

[KoolDrew]

Re: A BAD_POOL_HEADER error that I haven't seen yet, please help

What OS? What Service Pack?

[Darthtanion]

Re: A BAD_POOL_HEADER error that I haven't seen yet, please help

http://forums.tweaktown.com/showthread.php?t=18888

[Atreyu2003]

Re: A BAD_POOL_HEADER error that I haven't seen yet, please help

I am using Windows XP with Service Pack 2
NVIDIA GeForce 6600 256mb PCI Express
Pentium(R) 4 CPU 3.40 GHz
1.00 GB of RAM
Multilayer DVD/CD/R/RW
250GB HD
19" Flat Screen Monitor

Only 3 weeks out of the box

I find the RAM being faulty hard to swallow since 24 other games work 1/2 of them are 3D, some with much higher demands than Neverwinter Nights, and also because the system is BRAND spankin' new!

[Yawgm0th]

Re: A BAD_POOL_HEADER error that I haven't seen yet, please help

Did this start happenig as soon as you played the game, or has it jsut started happening recently?

[Atreyu2003]

Re: A BAD_POOL_HEADER error that I haven't seen yet, please help

It crashed the first time I played it, when the PC was about 5 days old.

[Yawgm0th]

Re: A BAD_POOL_HEADER error that I haven't seen yet, please help

There can be a lot of different specific causes of this error, but it's possible that's it's just a specific bug in the game. Make sure you have the latests patch. NWN is actually quite buggy without the patches.

You should also check the Bioware forums, not Atari. Atari is a publisher, not a developer, so don't expect them to be of any help. There's a decent chance the people there will know what the specific problem is if it's caused by the game rather than a hardware issue (which would seem likely if this is the only application with problems).

If you can't get this solved, Gateway is going to have to do sometihng I bet. The warranty should cover this somehow. Personally, I'd just return the damn thing since you could probably build two gaming machines of greater power for what this cost.

[Atreyu2003]

Re: A BAD_POOL_HEADER error that I haven't seen yet, please help

I'll try to contact Bioware. Also, how do I go about building a more powerful gaming machine? Troy

[Yawgm0th]

Re: A BAD_POOL_HEADER error that I haven't seen yet, please help

Buy parts, put them together. Kind of like Gateway does. It's not as hard you'd think, and you end up getting a much better macine for a lot less money, particularly if it's a gaming machine. Your machine isn't bad, but if you could return it I'm sure building one would produce much better results for much less money.

As for Bioware, I'd suggest you go straight to the forums and contact them. The tech support may be able to help, but the forums are much more likely to, so post and -mail and you'll get a possilbe solution fast.

[Bainemo]

Re: A BAD_POOL_HEADER error that I haven't seen yet, please help

It isn't your computer. Buying a new one would be a waste of your time.

The problem is due to Windows XP Service Pack 2. I'm 90% sure. People with Linux don't get it, and the only people I've seen that get the NWN restart/BAD_POOL_HEADER bug are those with SP 2. I'm trying to find a fix for it, but I'm just saying...unless you really want to, don't buy a new computer. If you want to play NWN that badly, reinstall XP and don't download SP2.

EDIT: Ah, and don't bother with Bioware either. They're just spouting "UR COMP IS TEH SUX" over and over.