Help please - error with game

fredgorch · #1 October 20th, 2001, 12:19 AM

Oops sorry, I meant first uninstall, then shut down using "shutdown", then reinstall, and subsequently shut down your system using "hibernate".

LLB · #2 October 20th, 2001, 02:02 AM

quote:
Originally posted by fredgorch:
Oops sorry, I meant first uninstall, then shut down using "shutdown", then reinstall, and subsequently shut down your system using "hibernate".

I tried the uninstall/reinstall dance with no joy. I got the impression from Jason2's Posts that he had too. (I don't see what the hibernate shut-down would contribute to a potential solution, so I'm a bit dubious about that step.)

Maybe we don't have quite the same problem, or maybe I'm just missing something.

L.

fredgorch · #3 October 20th, 2001, 07:41 PM

We very well may not have had the same problem. But......I uninstalled and reinstalled at least 10 times, with all different variation of no patch, 1.35 patch, 1.41 patch, TDM Modpack 1.71, 1.80. What I noted was that if I uninstalled, then shut down, then reinstalled, the game ran fine, for hours, until I shut down. Then I got the range check errors when I loaded a save game, or when I started a new game. So I thought maybe I just had to leave the computer on forever in order to play. It also made me think that possibly there was some setting stored when I shut down that was causing the range check error. In fact, Win ME has a hidden file on the C drive (forget the name right now, its not backup but its something like that, maybe restore?) that isn't present on Win 98. In any event, I can play now so long as I shut down with hibernate.

LLB · #4 October 23rd, 2001, 01:04 AM

quote:
Originally posted by fredgorch:
We very well may not have had the same problem. But......I uninstalled and reinstalled at least 10 times, with all different variation of no patch, 1.35 patch, 1.41 patch, TDM Modpack 1.71, 1.80. What I noted was that if I uninstalled, then shut down, then reinstalled, the game ran fine, for hours, until I shut down. Then I got the range check errors when I loaded a save game, or when I started a new game. So I thought maybe I just had to leave the computer on forever in order to play. It also made me think that possibly there was some setting stored when I shut down that was causing the range check error. In fact, Win ME has a hidden file on the C drive (forget the name right now, its not backup but its something like that, maybe restore?) that isn't present on Win 98. In any event, I can play now so long as I shut down with hibernate.

Fred,

That's interesting. I don't think we can entirely blame the OS though. I've got two WinME machines: The desktop is a Dell Dimension 4100 1 GHz PIII with 512 MB RAM and a 32MB nVidia GeForce2 GTS graphics card, and SEIV 1.41 (no mods) has run flawlessly on it from day 1; the laptop is a Dell Inspiron 4000 900 MHz PIII with 256 MB RAM and an ATI Rage Mobility 128, and SEIV 1.41 (no mods) has crashed flawlessly from day 1.

Maybe it's something about WinME *and* laptops, and/or (in my case at least) the ATI card that's causing the problem. I don't know, but it sure would be nice to get it fixed.

L.

davetox1 · #5 October 23rd, 2001, 08:15 PM

I've had the same RANGE CHECK error reported while using Win ME and a Dell P4 1.3 GHz using v.1.41 w/no mods. No SEIV saved games will play and new games crash as soon as I try to move a ship. Reloading SEIV does nothing. Other software works fine.

I did find a work-around. If the computer is used for other purposes for 30 min, the range check error disappears completely. This suggests that some flag is set while the computer is operating. When it is shut off, the flag resets. It may be that putting the PC into hibernation mode fails to clear that flag, and hence the Range Check error doesn't occur.

Since I use my PC sporadically, this is a serious problem and often prevents me from playing SEIV. Please solve the Range Check Error problem with the new patch!

Aub · #6 October 23rd, 2001, 08:30 PM

Redently I have been fighting a lot of "Range Check" errors myself. In my case, they did not disappear with time. But, using the other computer on the LAN I was able to process the same game files that had given me errors without a hint of a problem!

I suspect that there are some temporary files somewhere that may not get cleaned up properly. That would explain why using the computer for other purposes gets rid of the error - the temp folder may get flushed periodically, especially if there is not too much spare space on the hard disk.

I'll need to check those, e.g. wait for the next error and search for all recently updated files. Sounds like fun

jpowell · #7 October 23rd, 2001, 10:36 PM

I've noticed a thread with most of these problems on this site and for other games on other sites- Windows ME. This is a really problematic OS for game playing and unfortunately I understand that XP may be even worse. It looks like gamers will be having a tough time upgrading their systems if the upgrade includes one of the newer OS's. I strongly suggest gamers locate a copy of Win98SE and keep it on their hard drive, just in case...