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Tech Help PLEASE!!!

This is a free discussion forum on Starlancer. This is the place to discuss general issues concerning StarLancer.

Post Wed Dec 21, 2005 6:00 am

Tech Help PLEASE!!!

Sorry about the caps but I need some help.

I used to run Starlancer on a Win98 P3 450Mhz, 256MB Ram, 16MB video...and it worked flawlessly. I never had issues.

Now I have a WinXp P4 2.8Ghz, 1GB Ram, ATI RADEON 128 PRO...and it won't run. It installs just fine but then it gives me one of those windows errors that apologozes but advises that the program (starlancer) must close. It asks me if I want to send an error report, which I did.

I tried different compatability modes (Win98,Win2000 etc)...I tried to insert disc 2 instead of disc 1 and run it from there...nothing works.

I also keep all my drivers up to date.

As far as other games go, I haven't had any problems with old or new games on this system. It isn't a powerhouse, but it ran FEAR very well, and it runs my old library perfectly...except for Starlancer!

Any ideas? I haven't heard back about my error report yet and I don't know how long that takes.

Sorry to bug you guys but there aren't any Starlancer resources on the net. It's bothersome that Microsoft has their name on one of the best Sci-Fi games ever made and they don't support it.

Thanks!

Post Wed Dec 21, 2005 12:55 pm

Hmmmmm........
Give me some time on this, I'll post back.....

OK, an idea. Been a long time since I troubleshooted SL. Do you have it "fully" installed or "minimally" installed. (only difference is the movies...) If it's "fully", uninstalled then uninstall and install minimally. I remember this being an issue originally. Let me know if this works.
Bos

Edited by - Boscoe on 12/21/2005 1:01:16 PM

Edited by - Boscoe on 12/21/2005 2:44:33 PM

Post Wed Dec 21, 2005 1:08 pm

Wow I never thought of that. I am at work now so when I get home I will uninstall the FULL installation and then install all minimal like.

If this works I owe you huge. I am still at work for another 4 hours though so I will post later tonight.

Just so you know, the error would occur after I chose "play game" from the autorun menu that pops up after you first place the disc in the drive. It would show the loading window that said "Starlancer" with the picture of the cap ship exploding...the drive would make some noise with the cd...and then the window would vanish, I'd still be at the desktop and then the little apology and error report from Bill Gates and team would appear.

Thanks for the reply!!!

Post Wed Dec 21, 2005 2:43 pm

No problem amigo
Also, try disabling any audio hardware settings. Run audio on software emulation only. This also causes problems.
Cheers, Bos

Edited by - Boscoe on 12/21/2005 2:43:25 PM

Post Wed Dec 21, 2005 7:04 pm

Ok...I uninstalled the FULL install and installed the "typical" (only other choice) and...it didn't work.

I disabled the Realtek Audio and it didn't work. I turned the Realtek Audio to emulation only and still nothing.

I just don't get it. I still get the exact same error. It's at address 0cx0000000000004d1211 or something. We'll see if Microsoft get back to me.

Thanks for the help. If you have any other suggestions please let me hear them! : )

Post Wed Dec 21, 2005 11:15 pm

ok couple of quesitons,

1. Do you have SP2?
2. Latest Drivers?
3. What DirectX do you have?

ive got the following specs:
2.8ghz Northwood
1024mb pc3200
Sapphire R9800xt

I can run the game, (saddly i cant get my Saitek X52 throttle to work right, any suggestions would help)

if you can post the detaliled info of that error, you might be able to see whats faulting.

"the only thing thats going to beat your ass to the infirmery, is the ambulance driving your ass there"

Post Thu Dec 22, 2005 5:29 am

Service Pack 2. Check.
All drivers updated. Check.
Direct x version 9.0c. Check.

I use my PC for gaming first and foremost. I have always had a computer just for games ever since the original X-Wing was released...so I always make sure to keep up with drivers and such.

The error appears to be a fatal exception, although it doesn't say and it's vague as hell. How long does it take Microsoft to get back once you send an error report?

This was the last game I expected to have problems with, seeing as it ran so well on a much lesser computer of mine.

The main reason I want to play it on my WinXP system is because it's got a 20 inch monitor. The Win98 system I still have but it's got a 15 inch monitor. I go for size...I'm a whore.

Post Thu Dec 22, 2005 5:38 pm

Von, really not sure about what's happening. I have almost identical specs as Sylent, and as I got involved again here, I played the first few missions both modded and unmodded and it ran with no problems.
Do you have SLEdit or SLtool running? Mainly, what I'm looking for is to see if you have installed or placed either program into Starlancer's directory. If so, that would cause the error. The editing programs have to run independently from Starlancer. Just a stab in the dark, but that's all I can think of at the moment.
As for MS getting back to you....don't count on it. The game's been out for 5 years now and isn't exactly supported at this point. Even if they did, they'd most likely say it's driver errors.
When you get a chance, post the specs of your rig here, that may help.
Bos

Post Thu Dec 22, 2005 7:30 pm

The game is totally unmodded. No editing tools at all either...never had 'em at all.

I have installed and uninstalled about 5 times now, trying both the full and typical installation sizes.

I have the very latest catalyst drivers for my card.

The game I am trying to run is almost 4 years older than the machine I am trying to run it on. Wierd that it won't work.

Also, before I play a game, I reboot the PC and then disable all virus and spyware programs, so there is barely anything running when I try and load the game.

I am really baffled. And it works on the older machine. I'm going crazy. lol

Thanks so much for trying to help me though! I will check back soon to see if by some miracle someone has posted a solution. : )

Post Thu Dec 22, 2005 7:47 pm

Whats your video resolution set on? The readme files talks of 1024´768 causing problems.


The above if from the Microsoft site, reason for the differnt name of game.

Edited by - Finalday on 12/22/2005 7:57:01 PM

Post Thu Dec 22, 2005 8:39 pm

I tried it on 800x600...no go. I tried 640x480...no go. I tried both of those with 16 bit color and with 32 bit color, and with sound on hardware and on full emulation...no go. I reinstalled again and tried it all with typical install and full install and tried all of the above options...no go. I tried the different compatability settings for Win95, Win98, NT, and 2000 with the previous combinations...no go.

This is killing me. One of the things that always impressed me about Starlancer was the fact that I never seemed to have encountered any bugs in the past...lol

It looks like I might have to relegate myself to playing it on the old P3 450.

CRAP!!!

Again, thanks for all the help people. It's good to see that some people (no matter how few) still have good taste as far as games are concerned.

Post Thu Dec 22, 2005 8:49 pm

There's a guy in Off Topic that has an older machine so he can play the old games, like Starlancer and wing commander and so forth. Sorry about the problems. Yep, I still have Starlancer. Haven't played in a while.

Post Fri Dec 23, 2005 7:05 am

So I re-install the game on my ancient machine. This thing has a 12 MB Voodoo2 and a 16 MB Graphics Blaster Riva TNT...and Starlancer runs fantastic. Of course it's on the 15 inch monitor...so that sucks...but damn it runs great.

Again the world of computers baffles me.

Post Fri Dec 23, 2005 8:38 pm

I run SL on WinXP just fine, although with much more conservative specs than yours. The game is a bit unstable, however, and crashes randomly periodically, but seeing as how the game is ancient and I paid $2.99US for it I'd say I'm pretty fortunate.

Post Sun Dec 25, 2005 7:45 am

At first i have had troubles with Starlancer crashing on my system.

Pentium 4 @ 3Ghz
512 MB
ATI Radeon 9800XL
Windows XP, ServicePack 2
SL, German Version, full installation, 1280 x 1024 Pixel via SLResEdit
3D Audio out

Defrag tells me what some .hog files have been a little bit chunky, and after the defragmentation process no crashes have been happen.

CYNIC, n.
A blackguard whose faulty vision sees things as they are, not as they ought to be.
Hence the custom among the Scythians of plucking out a cynic’s eyes to improve his vision.
Ambrose Bierce

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