Problem after patching

[eam71]

Hi all! I recently bought COTN :o but better late than never (after about 2 years, I finally found out that the TM team are from Impressions :D ), and after a week playing unpatched with no problems, I patched the game. After patching, I rebooted and the game loaded alright.

My problems after patching are twofold:-
1) the game reboots my pc (sometimes after 5 or 20 minutes' play, other times after 1 or 2 hours) - this happens more often than not;
2) loading problems in 2 different instances:-


(a) after 2 to 3 hours, I would stop COTN and play a different game or run Microsoft Word. After stopping that other game or stopping Word, I would try to play COTN again but it wouldn't load;


(b) even if the only game or application I run for that day is COTN, the game won't load the next day even if it's the first application I run the next day after switching on my pc.

It has been close to a week now and I'm tired of having to uninstall and reinstall COTN every time I want to play, which is every day.

Please help a noob :). I did do a search in case my problems have been addressed before but I didn't find any solution that addresses my problems specifically (it may also be because I'm pc illiterate :D ). If it helps, PC is only about a month old.

[mouse]

A couple of questions:
1. when you install the game do you turn off your anti-virus software?
2. when you try to play do you turn off your anti-virus software?
Virus scanners can cause problems with games. Do you have any disk monitoring software running in the background such as any Norton programs? Those too can cause problems with games. What type of interent connection do you have is it's a high speed connection that is always on? If so do you have any auto update software running in the background.
An off the cuff guess is something running in the background is the cause of your problems with CotN.

[eam71]

Sorry guys, should have said that my gaming pc is a stand-alone and not internet enabled. I downloaded the patch on another pc, copied that and ran it on my gaming pc (patch installation was not a problem).

Phil,


- the only error message I get is from Windows saying an error has occurred and it has to report the problem, which of course I don't send. I get that error message when my pc reboots and when the game won’t load.


-I'm quite sure that my problems only happen when I install the patch. When I played it unpatched for hours, I had no problems. Every time I reinstall COTN, I reinstall the patch.


-I didn't buy a separate sound card so, I assume it's a chipset (hope I'm right in thinking "chipset" is "onboard"). I’m lost now – I think I’m beginning to understand graphics cards but sound cards are greek to me. If I were to get a separate sound card, what are the things I should look for that’s ok for COTN?


-I don't have Daemon Tools or anything similar installed (had to check wikipaedia to find out what Daemon Tools are - lol).

Mouse, when I call up the task manager, it shows that no other tasks are running.

Probably a stupid question but this pc illiterate needs confirmation - I downloaded the patch on another pc that has anti-virus software (Kaspersky) and is real-time protection enabled. Although I've installed and reinstalled the patch with no problems, is there a possibility it might have corrupted the patch when my anti-virus scanned the patch, thus affecting the game?

Getting worried about C4 – been following CB games from C3 and I don’t want to lose out on C4 and COTN, and it’ll be too pricey to get a new pc so soon.

[Marius]

Norton can cause problems with games ,,, and general systems operability... I used to swear by the products... but now i swear at them and won't use them at all... Essentially since Peter Norton severed his ties with Symantec (the company owning Norton AV and Utilities.)

No, i do not disable AV when instaling or playing a game.

No an antiVirus tool should not corrupt a patch for a game.

Did you buy the game as a physical package? (CD in a box) or download. The legal download version does NOT work with the usually available patches last that i heard.

If physical version ... i don't know whats happened but good luck with it.

[eam71]

I remember swearing at antivirus programmes :D . Was on Norton (and McAffee before that) but that didn't fix a really bad virus attack. Swtiched to Kaspersky and that fixed it. Anyway, I bought the physical CD box (like to read the booklets that come with CB games).

All help is most appreciated. I didn't play COTN last night (tired of reinstalling) and am already suffering withdrawal symptoms.

[Manni]

Hello eam71,

you really have a problem there............

Could it be, that you use the "wrong" patch? From what I know....there is an US and an UK-one ??!!
-----------------------
All seems to happen on your ONE partition C, what does Drive: E: Model: Maxtor mean then?

As you said yourself you`ve been in and un-installing the game plus patch a dozen times now..........

How about unistalling it ONCE more
use a registry-cleaner like RegSupreme
do a defragg on C
reboot
and install the game once more.
----------------------
Another thing...........do you normally use a driver-cleaner when you change graph-driver?

Regards

[eam71]

Manni, I used the right patch - UK patch for UK game version (publisher : Sega). So, no problems there.

All I know is that Maxtor's the hard drive manufacturer's name. I've got 2 hard disks (40gigs each, same manufacturer) although why the manufacturer's name appears in that way next to "Drive E" is beyond me. Got another pc also with 2 hard disks but the manufacturer's name doesn't appear at all next to Drive E in that pc.

I've never changed the graphics card driver - my pc is only about a month old and I've never had any graphics card related problems with other games (if it's of help, the most graphics taxing game I'm playing now is Fahrenheit). As the pc's still new, would a registry cleaner make a difference before I defrag :confused: ?

[Keith]

It sounds like a those are critical error message after the game crashes. Usually these are caused by problems with a driver for the video or auido cards.

Your Realtek sound system is more than likely a chipset. You may do better with a seperate soundcard and the chipset sound disabled....last option if all else fails.

You may want to try a older Nvidia driver for your video card. Make sure you uninstall the present driver first then install the next one.

As Manni suggested a registry cleaner could help if you have had your system for a time and have installed many different programs during that time. I posted about a free and easy to use one in the the following thread just recently: http://www.tiltedmill.com/forums/showthread.php?t=8078

Doing a hard drive cleanup and defrag if you haven't done one in a few months is worth doing. Uninstall the game and use the cleanup and defrag utilities.

Before you reinstall do a Safe Mode reboot. This is done while the comptuer is booting up. Just after the computer restarts and beeps, you should hold down the F2 key (it could be the F8 or F5 key) right after the computer beeps during the startup. You should get a menu on a black DOS style window with an option to continue the bootup in the SAFE MODE.

Once at the desktop in the Safe Mode, install the game. Try running the game. If it doesn't crash on you then it is something that installs on your system during the normal bootup that is causing the crash. If it does crash again on you while in the Safe Mode it is probably a hardware or driver problem with the game.

Play the game for a while to be sure it doesn't crash on you. Then you can reboot to the normal mode like always and try again. If it crashes on you there but not in the safe mode it is something that is loaded on your system while starting up causing your problems.

Make sure you install the game to a non-compressed partition on the hard drive, if you have a partition using compression.

[eam71]

Keith, I understand what you said except for

Make sure you install the game to a non-compressed partition on the hard drive, if you have a partition using compression

Non-compressed partition? Partition using compression? That's all greek to me :confused:. Did an internet search on those terms but the sites I visited were full of technical jargon that I don't understand. Hope you don't mind but could you explain that in layman terms? Also, how can I tell if I have a partition using compression?

[Manni]

Manni, I used the right patch - UK patch for UK game version (publisher : Sega). So, no problems there.
Perfect! (why not cut out the patch in all?) :)


I've got 2 hard disks (40gigs each, same manufacturer) although why the manufacturer's name appears in that way next to "Drive E" is beyond me. Funny.....................E seems to be completely empty...............regarding your dxdiag.


I've never changed the graphics card driver - my pc is only about a month old and I've never had any graphics card related problems with other games I understand. There is a chance that your installation of first graph-driver is corrupted.
There is really not much to it to download another driver, uninstall the present via software, reboot and use a driver-cleaner in safe mode, and to install the fresh driver. It would make sure cutting out eventual graph-install problems.

As the pc's still new, would a registry cleaner make a difference before I defrag :confused: ? In my opinion: YES.
Even a new pc is full of muck in registry after plenty has been installed.

I`personally recommend RegSupreme from macecraft.com, which I`ve been using for several years now and NEVER had to replay any backup.
You can use it free for 30 days. (it is cheaper than a game)
Otherwise use CCleaner (free) which also does a nice job. Both do clean-backups.

CCleaner from here: http://www.ccleaner.com/

Regards

[Manni]

Have a look at http://www.drivercleaner.net/

Choose the free DriverClenaerPro-version and have a read first.
The tool can manage nearly all known graph-drivers.

You are using Nvidia-graph. Nvidia does not supply a driver-cleaner for the customers like ATI does.
Myself I run an ATI-card and ALWAYS use DC-Pro when changing drivers.

[Keith]

XP has the ability to compress files on the hard drive to create more space. You can create a hard drive partition (one physical hard drive that is divided into seperate logical hard drive images, each with its own drive letter) and these partitions can be compressed if that option is chosen. Often a drive with compressed partitions will have at least one uncompressed partition used for system files, etc.

At any rate, compressed partition drives can cause problems with applications that are installed on it.

You can turn drive compression on and off. Left click on My Computer on your desktop. This brings up the drive menu. Right click on the drive letter you want to check on, C:, D:, or E:, etc. and select Properties from the popup menu. The control to turn it on and off is found at the bottom of the General properties menu (See image below.)

Then click apply and OK on the menu to apply the change. It may or may not require that you reboot your system.

You'll find other useful drive utilties under the other tabs of the Properties menu too.

[eam71]

Manni, you're right :) thought the same thing myself - I could save myself the trouble and just play unpatched but the thing is, I'd really like to play the user created scenarios, and I think I read somewhere in this forum that you've got to patch before those scenarios can be installed properly/played. I've already downloaded 2 custom scenarios. I also want to avoid the problems that the patch is meant to address. About the registry cleaner - noted. Will download one. Anyway, thanks for highlighting that seemingly empty Drive E - will look into that later.

Keith, thanks for the explanation!

I'll do the clean up and defrag first. If that doesn't work, I'll change the graphics card driver (last option if all else fails : sound card change). I'll post the outcome - hopefully, if any one else suffers the same problems as I do, this thread could help them. Thanks guys.

[Keith]

One other simple thing you can try is to lower the video settings in the game to minumums and turn the sound options OFF. See if the game crashes on you then.

You can also try the 16-bit color mode instead of the 32-bit color mode options from the video panel on the Settings menu.

[Manni]

Hello eam71,

befor you rush to the shops for a soundCARD..........try this sounddriver for your soundCHIP:

http://www.realtek.com.tw/downloads/dlhd-2.aspx?lineid=2004052&famid=2004052&series=2004061&Software=True&title=HD%20Audio%20CODECs

see the sreenie

----------------after install of newer sounddriver let us see the new dxdiag to see if the bloke has installed properly

[Manni]

I could save myself the trouble and just play unpatched but the thing is, I'd really like to play the user created scenarios

Did you try UsCr-scenarios without patch yet?
Any results?

[eam71]

Manni, I haven't tried the custom scenarios without the patch 'cos I was quite sure that I read you needed to patch before playing them but I'll give it a try now that you've raised it - no harm trying I suppose. Sorry for the late reply, been really bogged down with work - no time even for a half hour gaming session :( but I'll let you know how I get on, which would probably be next week at the earliest.

[eam71]

Happiness! I can play the game patched!

I first tried to install the custom scenarios to the unpatched game but no go, all the user-created scenarios I downloaded needed at least patch v1.1 installed. Anyway, cleaned up my registry and defragged - pc only a month old and already there were about 350 redundant files (Manni, now I see what you mean about how much registry muck there are even with a new pc).

The only weird thing that happened was that I couldn't install the game in Safe Mode (pop-up said something about pc not having installshield scripting runtime). Figuring I had nothing to lose, I installed the game in Normal Mode, patched game and rebooted. Other than the Safe Mode thingy, I followed what Keith said to the letter, even did a pre-cleanup registry backup.

I played for about 3 hours last night with no problems despite exiting the game, running other applications and resumed playing after exiting those applications. This morning, I loaded the game and it played fine. Tonight, I plan to install the custom scenarios.

Both my graphics card and sound card drivers are still intact and I didn't fiddle with the settings (thought I would change settings and drivers only if the registry cleaning didn't do the trick).

So guys, very many thanks from me. You've been a great help :) I can now play the patched game and wait with extreme anticipation for C4.

[Keith]

I am glad to hear you got it going. :)

[Manni]

Happiness! I can play the game patched!

Very good!
Just for interest`s sake.............which regCleaner did you use?

pc only a month old and already there were about 350 redundant files (Manni, now I see what you mean about how much registry muck there are even with a new pc).
Yes! XP is a very busy "muck-maker". If one does not clean regulary it suffocates..........

I`d say you better don`t ignore the sound-driver as recommended, it might not be available in some months time. What you have you have! :)

Have fun! ;)

[eam71]

Just for interest`s sake.............which regCleaner did you use?

I used RegSeeker but I'll be trying the other reg-cleaners for my office pc, which has gone through loads more abuse (downloads, apps installations and uninstallations etc.). Both you and Keith have opened up a whole new world for me ;)

I`d say you better don`t ignore the sound-driver as recommended, it might not be available in some months time

lol! I'm with you there - better be safe than sorry, and have a backup plan ready. I've already dowloaded the driver and am keeping it even though I might not need it now. Downloaded the graph-cleaner you recommended and some archived NVidia drivers (followed the stickied NVidia thread).