Resante’s Fix For Mass Effect 3′s Black Hole Glitch
Have you started up your Xbox and are loading your copy of Mass Effect 3 and then suddenly find a black screen instead of the start menu? This is the dreaded Mass Effect 3 Black Hole glitch.
Reports of this happening began the week that Mass Effect 3 was launched and to date all Bioware will say on the issue is “We are still looking into it!”. Well as one who actually got hit with this bug recently I was really annoyed to find that Bioware are really dragging their feet on this subject.
Step in, Resante.
Resante discovered that the problem lay not in the save game (as a lot of people thought) but in the hidden save file located in your gamer profile. By deleting the 3 corrupted files and letting the game rebuild them it let you into the game once again. He passed the information to Bioware but two weeks later when asked how they were getting on with the fix they replied with… yes, you guessed it… “We are looking into it.”
So Resante passed the fix onto the rest of the community and we got back into the game. The good news is that the fix doesn’t delete saves or lose any of your multiplayer items or credits. The downside is all your progress towards achievements like “Veteran” (needing 5000 kills) is reset to zero. Losing those over not being able to play either single or multiplayer is a small loss in comparison.
The fix can be downloaded at Mass Effect 3 Black Hole Fix (2369) and includes the programs needed and a text file that explains the steps you need to take to fix your game. Please scan the programs with both virus and malware checkers before use… I scanned them and they came up clean but it is best to be safer than sorry.
Take back Mass Effect 3 TODAY!
NeoMorph.
Loading ...
Thanks for creating the site NeoMorph. We need a proper fix soon, otherwise I can see this becoming a public relations nightmare for Bioware (hopefully) and they are pressured into working overtime on it. I have never seen a glitch of this magnitude on a console game and how it gets handled will determine if I purchase any more Bioware products in the future.
Thankyou to all who contributed in making this website you are legends. I’m very down syndromed when it comes to tech savvy but you made it easy to turn lump of pretty plastic into a working game again. I was very frustrated with Biowares laziness and thought hope was lost so cheers.
I’ve set up a counter in the top right of this website that will count the days that Bioware have left players unable to play the game (if they don’t do your fix that is). It’s currently 27 days and counting.
Having to hack your gamercard just to launch the game is totally unacceptable in my mind. Bioware used to be awesome at fixing bugs (after all their stuff is pretty complicated and bugs do happen to the best programmers). But since the train wreck of Dragon Age II and now Messed Up Effect 3 I’m wondering what is going on. Is EA pressuring them to release too soon?
This whole thread is about a year old, and I’m having this problem NOW..
I tried this fix, and it didn’t work.. If you guys still check this site.. HELP ME.
I FIXED IT! IT WORKED!
I screwed up because I had no idea what I was doing, then I actually paid attention to the directions.. haha.. Thanks for this! I’m so happy.
If they don’t fix it buy this weekend, i will def give this a try. I don’t like being sold a broken product, and do you know what triggers the problem i’ll make sure not to do it??
again!
Ethical Gamer has been keeping track of the issue for some time and offers links to help gamers fix the glitch that prevents them from playing Mass Effect 3. Essentially, the game boots up and then locks up when you press start. It turns out that there’s an issue with the profile and since the game’s saves are attached to profiles it’s impossible to play the game without an active profile (it’s EA’s way of using console-based DRM, but good luck
trying to play Mass Effect 3 ten years from now after EA shuts down the servers).
World News
ahh dont worry. before they take down the servers they release an update that no longer requires it to be online to play.
You bet. They probably will sh*t on the gamers as soon as they shut down the servers…
Well, the patch has released this morning At 6 est nothing been fixed still gettig the the black screen of death
all thanks to ea and it’s dreaded origin service.
I just got this bug today.
I have to admit I am very hesitant to do this fix as I am not to tech savvy. I don’t understand the directions to well as I am not familiar with any of that stuff. I just want to play my damn game that I spent my hard earned, scarce “me money”. I filed a complaint with the FTC and sent emails to everyone I could think of and I get no response. I played for maybe 10 minutes after successfully uploading my Shepard, saved, went to restart and now all this.
If you follow the tutorial it’s pretty easy to do and you don’t need to be tech savvy. All you are doing is deleting the broken part of the Mass Effect 3 profile file.
If you are worried just read what the others have put in the “Thanks to Resante” thread…
http://social.bioware.com/group/7127/discussion/21011/
[...] Source: Ethical Gamer [...]
Has anyone had the issue of getting the Black Screen of Death for the second time? I got it again after using the fix. I tried using the fix again but this time it didn’t work titlespecific wasn’t in the rebuild version of the file. I’m assume something else is causing the problem besides titlespecific?
Please disregard the last post. I’ve found the problem.
I tried to do the fix title didnt work went back title specific werent there after I tried and did the rebuild I still couldnt play how do you get the original title stuff back? This is insane since 04/11
OMG!!! I Did the resante fix as proper directions using XBDF and horizon and did all the fix (total newbie tech) it fixed and im BACK!!!!!! im soooo happy had all counters normal but not reset with all my characters and equipment intact also my credits too. but only for ME3 id u modify ur gamertag it might result a ban…(NOT REQUIRED TO MOD UR GAMERTAG. Just got tired playing battlefield 3…
Had no choice to fiz it myself cant wait too long for this patch hope doesnt BSOD again…
THANKS RESANTE!!!! BIOWARE…..FIX THIS BUG ASAP!!!!
Just followed the steps he gave and was able to get back into ME3 after being shut out last night (always had some odd things going on with freezing and being kicked off of servers though). I was so frustrated. At first I thought it was a bad disc and was worried about getting a new one because I had the special edition which isn’t carried in retailers to much. I came to the internet and found this was a corruption issue (thank goodness because I don’t think changing discs would have helped, but did have to go buy a USB stick). Anyways followed the steps and presto back on with no freezing at the Press Start screen. I still have all my achievements intacked also. Hopefully I won’t have to do this again and everything runs fine as soon as I start really playing it again but we’ll see. Thanks so much.
This worked and was easy to use! If u follow the instructions provided it is as easy as breathing
thank you for allowing me and 3 of my friends to get back on mass effect again! 
plz i want a proper fix for dis problem……:(
Masss Effect 3 is such a …….headache for me now….:@
Didn’t work for me, guess i’m stuck till Bioware fix it themselves, 35hrs into the the game and can’t finish it
Thankyou so much for this. I put this off for a while as I don’t have much technical knowledge, but it was easy to follow and fixed the problem. Its so great to be able to play it again!
I was reluctant at first to try this fix as I’m pretty bad at the technical stuff when it comes to computers but this fix and the step by step guide are so easy to follow it made fixing the game so simple I thank you so much for creating this fix I think I speak for everyone when I say we owe you one, you are a blessing to the community.
I keep getting a “Parse error” when I try to open Horizon- the program wont start, how do I fix this? Was totally excited to be playing again today, but I keep getting this “Parse error.” I have no idea what it means, can anyone help?
will this cause me to get booted from xbox live as it may been seen as tampering???
Just want to say thanks for this fix – much appreciated. All worked fine, and once again I can go back to the job of dying horribly in multi-player.
Just an update – as you know, this issue has still not been resolved. I got hit with it for the 3rd time a few nights ago, and haven’t bothered to fix it again. BioWare and EA will not get another cent from me, ever.
Hey Resante,
I cant thank you enuf for the fix.
And I am as pissed about this as you are if not more. I dont know how long you have been playing video games, but I have been for over 35 years, and EA has been there almost the whole time. I seriously doubt that you ( or any one) will be able to go on without ever bying an EA game or one where EA is somehow involved… but I wish you luck with trying.
I do know, that I will think twice about bying one at its release. I will wait till the game has dropped drastically in price. I think if we all set this as our goal and also carry it thru, that EA will notice a drop in revenue.
And we should never let EA forget that that they screwed up massivly.
- for it is the doom of man that they forget
I have been suffering the BlackHole since March 2012. And was so glad to find this fix. However I read somewhere on this site about a guy that fixed it by recovering his profile… so I tried that first and it worked!
Just wanted to let everyone know, that “recovering” my profile actually fixed the problem for me. In other words, I moved my profile to a usb, removed the usb, then used the XBox recovery function to restore my profile. After that I could play ME3. And without loosing any progress or saved games.
I suggest always trying this approach before editing the profile data. Recovering doesnt work for all, but it does for some. It is at least worth trying.
This would work if the corrupt ME3 .GPD had not yet been uploaded to MS as part of the profile sync process. I tried it back when I first began having the problem and recovering the tag didn’t work, but then again I didn’t try it right away after encountering the bug. It seems to work for some people though, so hopefully you don’t experience it again.
Hey Resante, i have a weird thing going on. I am not a noob by any means and i would consider myself pretty tech savy but my problem is the black screen bug happens right after i finish the main story line.
***Somewhat of a spoiler***
After you choose to destroy, control, or synthesis it comes up with another vid after the credits. “stargazer is talking to a boy about shepard and says something about one more story” After this the datapad pops up and say “Shepard is a hero for….etc etc” And it tells you to push A to continue. I push the A button and i get on a black screen. It stays there forever. I can disconnect my controller and the game (not system) will tell me to plug it back in. I can also push the Big X button on the remote (xbox guide button), and i can choose to go to dashboard etc… know i have did your fix but the issue of the black screen at the end still remains the same. Does this fix suppose to help with that black screen as well? Have you ever heard of this black screen at the end of the game? Please let me know what you think as your knowledge on such things are probably more than i have. Thanks in advance for your help Resante.
John, the fix is for the black screen at the start of the game (before it even loads properly). The black screen glitch at the end of the game is a separate bug unfortunately and this fix does nothing for it.
Sorry for the bad news mate. I’m really sick that Bioware still haven’t sorted these glitches out SIX MONTHS LATER. Bioware was one of my favourite devs… now though, I just don’t know. They are all going to to pot, one after the other it seems.
Finally conceded and used Resante’s Fix, seems to be working. Thank you SO MUCH!!!
Hey this was one of the best articles I have seen. Have you heard that the new xbox 720 is in the beta program? I heard about it when I was playing Black Ops 2, so I googled xbox 720 beta and there it was. Wonder how many they are going to be selecting?
thank you so much!!!!
Hi guys,
Props for finding this an making this… however, it doesn’t work for me!!! I’m still frozen before the ‘press start’ screen…
I’m sure I followed all the right steps but is just won’t work.. Please help because I really want to play my game…
Regards,
AmunRa 326 (gamertag on XBL)