lock ups

[Saber Cherry]

Some questions...

1) What Version of Windows are you using?
2) Is it fully updated?
3) What motherboard are you using (chipset is enough)?
4) Does the motherboard have integrated sound, and if so, is it disabled in the BIOS?
5) Are you using the latest Direct X Version?
6) Have you tried updating your motherboard drivers? This can be crucial in resolving sound problems, especially for VIA motherBoards and Creative cards.

[ElfPhoenix]

Originally posted by Saber Cherry:
Some questions...

1) What Version of Windows are you using?
2) Is it fully updated?
3) What motherboard are you using (chipset is enough)?
4) Does the motherboard have integrated sound, and if so, is it disabled in the BIOS?
5) Are you using the latest Direct X Version?
6) Have you tried updating your motherboard drivers? This can be crucial in resolving sound problems, especially for VIA motherBoards and Creative cards.

1&2) WinXP Home Edition, and yes, fully updated.

3) Asus P3B-F mb, latest bios. Intel 440BX chipset.

4) No, and thus N/A

5) Yes. v 9.0b

6) To my knowledge, the computer's mb uses no drivers, only a bios.

Now some possibly unusual info regarding my computer:

1) I use a Promise Ultra66 PCI card (an EIDE control device) to control the HD. Yes, latest bios and Promise has no driver for WinXP. The only driver that I am aware is with WinXP.

2) Due to this, the Western Digital HD is listed in the device manager as a SCSI drive, which it is not. All due to how Win looks at PCI control cards. I examined the HD's listed properties and two that were listed were for actual SCSI drives, so I disabled them. The battle replay worked then, but only twice before another lock up.

Altho a PCI card controls this HD, a driver is listed for it. It is the default driver installed by WinXP. No updates found for this driver either.

I can test if this somewhat unconventional setup is the problem at the cost of an inconvenient hassle (altho, I know quite well how to "rewire" my computer-- hell, I built the damn thing ) and slowing the HD's speeds down (both its rotational and transfer speeds). Not my idea of a jolly good time, but likely if it continues to bother me more & more.

BTW, I am a fanatic about updates, just fyi.

Edit: I'm also fanatical about proper spellings in my Posts.

[ December 31, 2003, 19:31: Message edited by: ElfPhoenix ]

[ElfPhoenix]

Update: Well, I changed my computer's setup by running the HD from the mb and not the PCI control card. No change, it stll locks up at damn near every battle replay. So, I'm lost, I have no idea as to what might be the dilemna. I'm mere millimeters away from simply giving up on this game, sadly.

Of note, if memory serves, this is the very same reason I skipped over Dom1.

[PvK]

That's too bad. I don't know what to suggest, since I haven't had any lock-ups in either game, on the various computers I've tried them on.

PvK

[Daynarr]

Did you restart your game when you made sound changes in Dom II? They don't have any effect until you restart game (no need to reset PC unless it freezes completely).

Sound bLaster live cards are known to have issues and very often have both software and hardware conflicts so it may be the source of your problem. You could try installing OLDER drivers (maybe the ones you got with your card) for sound bLaster and see if it works.

[ElfPhoenix]

Originally posted by Daynarr:
Did you restart your game when you made sound changes in Dom II? They don't have any effect until you restart game (no need to reset PC unless it freezes completely).

Sound bLaster live cards are known to have issues and very often have both software and hardware conflicts so it may be the source of your problem. You could try installing OLDER drivers (maybe the ones you got with your card) for sound bLaster and see if it works.

Yes, I restart the game when I make sound changes to the game. Yes, I know SB cards can be problematic at times. To see if the sound card was the problem, I turned off all sound for the game. It still completely locked up in battle replay. That result suggested to me that sound was not the problem. And I bought that sound card long before WinXP was out, so the original driver would not work since the OS is WinXP. I've tried both Creative's driver and the driver I got at M$ update site. Creative's own driver is less problematic overall between the two.

I've tested these things as possible source(s) of problems with this game:

1) SB sound card by completely turning off sound.

2) EIDE PCI control card versus mb control of HD-- no difference, both lock up.

3) various video card drivers

4) various changes to battle view graphic setting(s)

5) eliminating all but absolutely essential startup items

Except for this one variant on an already tried theme, I've run out of ideas. This variant being: turning off all sound again, but disabling the SB card via device manager, too. I'll test this shortly, then edit this post listing the result.

Edit: Tested that variant and results were the same. It locked up during the very first battle replay.

[ January 06, 2004, 14:17: Message edited by: ElfPhoenix ]

[Arralen]

Would you mind running DxDiag and post the info here?

I'm running DOM2 on a BX board with SCSI controller just fine, albeit using W2k and a Gefore 2 Ti card.

Without getting to know much more of your machine, there's few chance I could give any more sensible advice.

A.