How to Run Bioshock on Windows 7

I admit it.  I like to play games on my computer.  My latest gaming obsession is Bioshock. For me, it's a great game and I'm having a blast working through it. 

I recently purchased it for $19.99 from Steam, downloaded it, and got extremely frustrated because I couldn't get it to work with Windows 7.  Every time I started the game, I got a small splash screen saying BIOSHOCK followed by an error message stating, "bioshock.exe has stopped working..."

As tech people do, I went hunting for a solution on Google.  I updated video drivers and Direct X, uninstalled and reinstalled C++ runtimes, uninstalled and reinstalled the game, and tried running it in a variety of Windows compatibility modes.  I still could not get it to work. 

So, I kept digging and I finally found a fix that has been working just fine.  Here is what I did:

1. First, make sure that you meet the minimum hardware requirements and that you are running the latest drivers for your video card.  You know, this is the basic stuff that you need to do for any game issue.
2. Next, go to Control Panel, Hardware and Sound, Manage Audio Devices, and select the Recording tab.
3. Next, right click the empty space below the installed devices and check Show Disabled Devices. 
4. The Stereo Mix should appear.  Right click on the icon and enable it.  Then, click on OK to close the window and then close the Control Panel.
5. Next, locate the bioshock.exe file. Mine is located here: "C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\bioshock\Builds\Release\Bioshock.exe".  Right click on it and select Properties.  Select the Compatibility tab and and check "Run this program in compatibility mode for Windows Vista". 
6. To start the game, double click on the bioshock.exe file.

This is what I did and everything about Bioshock is running great.

If this post was helpful to you, please click on Comments below and leave a comment.

Contact Info: info@consideritfixed.com

Comments

[fff]

i had same problem and fixed it with your help thank u :)

[Gabriel Goes]

You saved my life, thanks a lot, bro!

[Riley]

It is still doing the same thing...
:(
please someone help?

[Angelina Lemon]

Thanks, this fixed the issue I was having with a Bioshock demo on Steam. To help the Google robots:

EXCEPTION 0xc0000005
BIOSHOCK
DEMO
STEAM
WINDOWS 7

Have a happy Thanksgiving!

[AndrewHY]

Many Thanks. Soulution worked perfectly.

[shaun]

i dont have a stereo mix cuz my sound card isnt realtek its a windows hd audio device is there a solution? ive tried lots of things and i updated all drivers im stuck not being able to have sound after the plane crashes

[Nate]

If you don't know how to install new drivers this thread can shed some light on the topic. http://forums.steampowered.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1133842

[TK]

Awesome!

[Dredge Dorolok]

Hi,

I had all the same problems everyone had above. The solution I used was soooo simple. Sometimes people will have two different sound devices on their computer (i.e. motherboard sound and a soundcard). If so, disable the one you are not using through the windows sound panel (right click on the device and choose disable) and Presto! Bioshock works.

Sometimes low-tech just works :)

[Enes]

i dont have the compatibility tab.. any suggestions?

[Steve]

Same problem and a quick google search lead me here. Thank you for posting this. It works!

[Roullete guy]

Thank you !
I was searching for this now.
Great game , i finished on my Xbox360 but now i want to finish it also on my computer...

[Noble]

Yes, this fixed mine problem too.
Thanks.

[Jay]

Thank you so much. Perfect.

[Rachel]

YOU.ARE.FREAKING.AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[me]

Way to go dude!!
Thanks ~~ ~~ ~

[marianne brum]

I ABSOLUTELY LOVE YOU!

[Englesos]

Result :-)

Much obliged

[Brandan]

I managed to fix this error "bioshock.exe has stopped working..." but now it appears something about a dll file :(

[Jake]

Thank you the game works great now!

[alsan]

Thanks, very usefull

[LMSFDewey]

thanks worked perfectly great

[DDs Central]

This fixed the crash issue on Windows 7. I didn't have to run the game in compatibility mode, just enabled Stereo Mix.

[Josh]

For me all I had to do was Enable the sound.

[Josh]

Thanks this worked great

[Garry]

Seems to work. Good man nice job.

[jjj]

It worked for me after restarting windows! Thank you!

[NabRever]

Dave look around on google.. the fix for fall out 3 on W7 is easyli done, you have to edit some lines in a document.. this fix enables Fall out 3 to run on computers with more than two cores or two treahds.. that is if your problems with the game is that it crashes after a short while of playing.. search for Fall out 3 W7 fix.. and you will find the answer on a forum somewhere, dont remember the place.

[AbbKnormal]

Ah, man.
Stereo Mix didn't show up. I'm very sorry to bother you, but do you know any ways this might've happened?

[Patrick Wu]

I don't have a stereo mix, but I have a Waveout mix instead, is that why it doesn't work for me?

[aaqibi]

Wow it works like a charm, thanks mate

[Komokosy]

Worked for me, Thanks

[Matt]

I don't have a realtech sound card, so this doesn't work. Any way to get it to work without a specific sound card?

[Ben]

Thank you! but I have a windows 7 home premium, and it worked just fine for me... Thanks anyway!

[Dave]

I had the same problem. I searched and found your fix. Works like a charm! Many thanks!

[callum wood]

Hey would this work for fallout 3 as well? Because that also doesnt work on Win7.

[{uZa}DOA]

Thanks alot for this fix!!

[KW]

Bioshock worked fine in W7 RC but when I installed W7 Home Premium, it wouldn't run. Followed these instructions and all is well again.

THANK YOU!

[ST]

Thank you very much. It solved the problem!

[Nick]

I couldn't find Stereo Mix under the Recording tab. I tried the Compatibility setting, but the game still doesn't run.

[Neil]

Thank you very much kind sir! Tried loads of stuff before this, but this sorted the problem on the first try!

Yay! :D

[Pat]

Mine was compatibility mode for vista
And i had to disable one of my playback devices, so that the only 1 left was my speakers

Now it work

Thanks alot

[Dean]

Man, it worked! And it was so easy! Thanks!

I see a lot of others with this problem. You should post a link to this page in the Windows 7 forum for Bioshock and others:

http://www.sevenforums.com/gaming/3139-bioshock-finally-working.html

[Gef]

For me it was all about the "Compatibility mode for Vista". Thanks for the great troubleshooting.

[Dan Sauter]

Right on, fixed my problem!