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EVE-Online Patch Makes XP Unbootable
Nobo writes "CCP's latest major patch to the EVE-Online client, Trinity, comes with an optional DX9-enhanced graphics patch that dramatically improves the visual quality of the in-game graphics through remade models, textures, and HDR. It also has an unfortunate bug: the incredibly stupid choice of boot.ini as a game configuration file, coupled with an errant extra backslash in the installer configuration. The result is that anyone who installs the enhanced graphics patch overwrites the windows XP c:\boot.ini file with the EVE client configuration file, bricking the machine on the next boot. Discussion in a couple of forums threads is becoming understandably heated."
Isn't this something should have been found in, oh, I dunno....beta testing?
My blog
What sort of test plan fails to catch BRICKING THE PC?
Dominant Meme
The deletion of the Boot.ini file will not cause any data loss. If you format your system to fix the issue then you will lose data. Anyone with the Windows XP CD can boot off of it and repair the OS. It is a simple procedure for the tech savvy folks and for those that are not tech savvy, most of them have friends that are.
This issue is going to leave CCP with a lot of egg on their face but realistically extended downtime would have been worse since the player base would have been screaming a 100x louder. This issue will peak higher in the media since it is a highly unusual problem but will die quicker then if the servers were down for 2-5 days.
The concern that I have is how did this get past the QA testers at CCP and into a production build?
Sad that so many games require Administrator access to run.
--AC
Things like this can easily happen when your patch doesn't have any CHANGE CONTROL. Imagine this - the patch is ready to go, everyone agrees on it, and then a small group of developers (or maybe even a single developer) decides to make a modification...and implements it badly. It doesn't even go through QA because QA isn't invoked ("oh, that would just delay the release, I'm sure I have it right anyway"). And now you have this.
I know it drives us crazy, I know not every organization implements change control that's sane and logical. But there's a reason it exists!
---don't make me break out my red pen.
It certainly is sad that some apps and games need admin privs to run, but this is an installation bug. Of course people are going to install programs as administrator...
People with one machine and w/o a Linux live CD (probably 90% of windows users) would have a bricked machine barring any outside assistance. No, they wouldn't. The term "bricked" has very specific connotations. Specifically, that it is not repairable without professional intervention which will probably cost more than the unit itself, thus turning it into a "very expensive brick."
A crashed OS is not a bricking, unless that OS is on firmware or something. If popping in a CD can fix your computer, whether or not you are too stupid to do it yourself, then it's not bricked.
You and I are probably both competent technical people. For my part, I'm an IT director and have done this type of work for 22 years.
Let us assume the two of us, you and I, know more about the Windows registry, bash shell, or using gcc that 98% of the geeks out there. Just for argument's sake.
However, there's a 95% chance that any EVE online player will have the following qualities:
1. Own only one computer.
2. Not be technical.
3. Not read the forums where the information is posted.
4. Be unable to digest and properly utilize the fix information.
So let us re-asses:
It took us, you and I, about 15 seconds to re-write that boot.ini file and *poof* no problem.
That's 5% of the EVE userbase. Add another 20% of the userbase that figures out how to solve the problem. 25% of the people have the fix.
The rest of those poor schlubs are driving to Best Buy to have some incompetent charge them $100 (or whatever)- and that is NOT FUD!!
That my friend is a screwup of massive scope, with huge consequences, because for people who are not geeks- that computer is a "brick".
Another consultant who stuck it out.
"We are the Priests, of the Temples of Syrinx..."
Don't these dumbasses actually test this shit before they shovel it out to you? It seems that a patch that would brick XP would be a bug that the first goddamned time it was tried would be discovered. I'm going to have to google to see what company makes Final Fantasy so I can be sure never to buy a game from them!
The love of money is the root of all bad software.
-mcgrew
mcgrew's razor: Never attribute to stupidity that which can be explained by greedy self-interest
It's not, because the summary is wrong.
The patch actually deleted the system boot.ini, it doesn't over-write it or replace it with a game config file.
I don't know where that "fact" came from.
Trust me, I was one of the people who had their boot.ini deleted by the patch, followed by (on next boot) my machine displaying some warning about boot.ini being missing, and then proceeding to boot anyway.