Two of the catch-all solutions to try are Compatibility Mode and DirectX 9 Mode. To create a shortcut with Compatibility Mode follow these instructions:
Create a shortcut to Bioshock.exe by right-clicking on a blank spot on your desktop and choosing New then Shortcut. Browse to
"C:\Program Files\2K Games\Bioshock\Builds\Release"
and choose Bioshock.exe. Say ok/finish. Then on the newly created shortcut, right-click and choose Properties. Then under the Compatibility tab, check the "Run this program in compatibility" box and choose to run it as "Windows XP SP2". Another user has stated that "Windows 2000" Compatibility may work: better than XP. Apply and click ok then use that shortcut to start Bioshock.
And the shortcut can be modified to run in DirectX 9 Mode:
With the shortcut as created above, right-click on it and choose properties then in the target box add '-dx9' without the quotes and with a space before it so the target looks like this:
"C:\Program Files\2K Games\Bioshock\Builds\Release\Bioshock.exe" -dx9
Then apply and click ok and use that shortcut to start Bioshock. You can turn off the Compatibility Mode if you just want to force DirectX 9 Mode.
For Bioshock to function properly, the Tablet service should be disabled as per these instructions:
To disable the Tablet service, open the control panel in the classic view and choose "Programs and Features." In the sub-categories listed, click on "Turn Windows Features on or off" (it should have a little windows 'shield' icon next to it). A window should pop up with various services and features listed. The one you're looking for is: "Tablet PC Optional Components." Make sure this feature is UNCHECKED (disabled). You will have to reboot your machine as well for this setting to take root.
If you have no sound and are using an onboard solution from Realtek then the following instructions may restore the sound:
Enable Stereo mixing, to do this: open the control panel in classic view and choose Sound. Once there switch to the Recording tab which will show the currently active inputs on your system (e.g. Line in, Microphone). Right click in the clear space below these devices and select the option for Show disabled devices. This should show an additional device called Stereo mixing, right click on this device and select Enable.
If you have no sound and a different onboard audio chipset then success in fixing audio has been reported by running Bioshock in compatibility mode as detailed above.
If your machines audio hardware supports EAX but the option cannot be selected in Bioshock (especially after updating Bioshock to V1.1) then download and install the latest OpenAL from: Here. The specific file on that page to get is "oalinst". Unzip it and run the file inside.
If you are having an issue where the game will not run with sound (you are using the -nosound command line option) without crashing and have a video card which has an onboard audio solution (e.g. all Ati cards 2000 series and up) for its HDMI audio support then try to disable the HDMI audio (high definition audio device) in the device manager.
* This only applies if you are using and have a different audio device as your main sound producer: e.g. another card separate from your video card or audio on your mainboard.
This post is based on the: Vista Specific Troubleshooting thread but the instructions here also apply directly to Windows 7.
