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Game crashes: menu disappears - 7/10/2001 12:18:00 AM   
Christian Blex

 

Posts: 77
Joined: 9/10/2000
From: Muenster, Germany
Status: offline 		I finally got the MC Cd. After installing the game(ver. 5.01) and playing for a short while the map became a little bit more grey and all the buttons, apart from the "preferences" and "help" buttons, disappeared!!!! I can move the mouse and move vehicles with ist, I still can use some keys but the graphics are not correct. Opening the submenus(unit information, preferences etc.)I can read the writing, but the background is still the original map!!! More strange the sound has disappeared, too! I have upgraded the game to ver.6.1, but the problem remains: After a short while all this s*** happens again and again and again. The map gets some graphics errors (black fields), too!! I've deleted the steel.prf file for no succes! I didn't have any problems with ver.4.5 . My computer is a Duron 650Mhz with a Gigybyte board, an Elsar ErasorIIi with the newest driver. In addition I'm running directx 8.0a. Did anyone experience the same problem. Any advice/help/solution for me? :( :confused: :( :confused: :(

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Post #: 1
- 7/10/2001 12:33:00 AM   
David Heath


Posts: 3274
Joined: 3/29/2000
From: Staten Island NY
Status: offline 		How much memory do you have on your machine and what size scenario are you playing

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Post #: 2
- 7/10/2001 12:49:00 AM   
Christian Blex

 

Posts: 77
Joined: 9/10/2000
From: Muenster, Germany
Status: offline 		196 MB. I've played the tutorial scenario "using a tiger" for fun and the game crashes. Then I started the MC with the ambush on the train. BTW sometimes the game has some errors in the MC menu to after clicking through the submenus for a while: The sounds and some texts disappear.

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Post #: 3
- 7/10/2001 1:06:00 AM   
Warrior


Posts: 1808
Joined: 11/2/2000
From: West Palm Beach, FL USA
Status: offline 		Did you install this over another SPWaW?

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Post #: 4
- 7/10/2001 8:35:00 PM   
Christian Blex

 

Posts: 77
Joined: 9/10/2000
From: Muenster, Germany
Status: offline 		At first I installed it over ver4.5. After some crashes, I deleted the whole program and reinstalled it completely (ver5.01 and upgrades). The crashes still happen. :(

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Post #: 5
- 7/10/2001 8:44:00 PM   
Christian Blex

 

Posts: 77
Joined: 9/10/2000
From: Muenster, Germany
Status: offline 		Forgot to mention. I'm running Windows98SE (for quite a long time, since the last reinstall).

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Post #: 6
- 7/10/2001 10:58:00 PM   
Larry Holt

 

Posts: 1969
Joined: 3/31/2000
From: Atlanta, GA 30068
Status: offline
quote:

Originally posted by Christian: 196 MB.
196? Not to seem rude but RAM comes in multiples of 8, usually 32, 64, 128 then 256.

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Post #: 7
- 7/11/2001 12:19:00 AM   
David Heath


Posts: 3274
Joined: 3/29/2000
From: Staten Island NY
Status: offline 		OK how much free hard drive space do you have.

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Post #: 8
- 7/11/2001 12:39:00 AM   
11Bravo


Posts: 2082
Joined: 4/5/2001
Status: offline
quote:

Originally posted by Larry Holt: 196? Not to seem rude but RAM comes in multiples of 8, usually 32, 64, 128 then 256.
He probably means 192. In other words 128 + 64. Some computers let you mix the size of the RAM chips on the board. Others don't.

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Post #: 9
- 7/12/2001 1:43:00 AM   
Christian Blex

 

Posts: 77
Joined: 9/10/2000
From: Muenster, Germany
Status: offline 		Oops! Indeed, I have 192 MB (128+64=192) (Well, hard to believe, but I'm on the last steps to my diplomata in mathematics at the monent.) At the moment there are around 250MB left on my hard drive. I the game on another drive in the same computer (again around 250 MB left), no effect, the game still crashes after some minutes! Any advices??? :( :confused: :confused: :confused: :confused: :(

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Post #: 10
- 7/13/2001 8:44:00 AM   
swami12

 

Posts: 4
Joined: 7/12/2001
From: Seattle
Status: offline 		I have begun to have the exact same problems with the 6.1 version. I have not had any previous problems. any fixes yet?

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Post #: 11
- 7/13/2001 9:03:00 AM   
tracer


Posts: 1865
Joined: 11/22/2000
From: New Smyrna Beach, FL USA
Status: offline 		What chip is the ErasorIIi based on?

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Post #: 12
- 7/13/2001 9:53:00 AM   
tracer


Posts: 1865
Joined: 11/22/2000
From: New Smyrna Beach, FL USA
Status: offline
quote:

Originally posted by Christian: My computer is a Duron 650Mhz with a Gigybyte board, an Elsar ErasorIIi with the newest driver.
I checked the Elsa site; is your vid card an Erasor III? If so, its based on the TNT2 chip. If so, you may want to try using the driver from nVidia; I have a Creative 3D Blaster (also TNT2) card and I've been using nVidia's driver since I bought it and find its better than the driver supplied by the card manufacturer. Check out www.nvidia.com Worth a try.

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Post #: 13
- 7/15/2001 12:24:00 AM   
Christian Blex

 

Posts: 77
Joined: 9/10/2000
From: Muenster, Germany
Status: offline 		I have an Erasor III with an TNT2 chip on it. (Typing error). I'm using the latest nvidia dirver (4.13 or something like that. Releade date was in early June I think). Nevertheless, thanks for your advice tracer. Yesterday, I've installed the game on my old PC (K6-266, 8 MB video card, 64 MB memory) at my parents house. The game run fine!! No crashes! Although I like visiting my parents, I would prefer playing Steel Panthers on my new computer in my appartment! Any advice, or do I have do try reinstalling Windows.

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Post #: 14
- 7/15/2001 12:40:00 AM   
Supervisor

 

Posts: 5166
Joined: 3/2/2004
Status: offline 		Didn't catch what OS your using, but try disabling everything except necessary programs. Hit ctrl alt del and from the task manager end task everything except Explorer and Systray before starting SPWAW this will help see if you have a program conflict. Disable antivirus if you running too. Also you can try running the program just from the mech.exe file.

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Post #: 15
- 7/15/2001 2:13:00 AM   
tracer


Posts: 1865
Joined: 11/22/2000
From: New Smyrna Beach, FL USA
Status: offline 		I think the TNT2 chip *may* have some problems with SPWAW, but haven't been able to nail it down exactly. When my TNT2 was in my old system (P2-400), and now that its in this new one I built in March (P3-1g) I occaisionally get one little annoying glitch with SPWAW: when I launch the game and the SSI logo comes up I hit 'enter', and about 1 time in 10 I get a black screen. At first it looks like a crash, but when I move the mouse it 'wipes' the black away (best way to put it); I do this until I can see enough of the underlying screen to click on a button (solitaire, etc)and then the game runs flawlessly. I searched for a solution for a while, but since its not a 'fatal' bug I just live with it now.

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Jim NSB

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Post #: 16
- 7/15/2001 2:22:00 AM   
tracer


Posts: 1865
Joined: 11/22/2000
From: New Smyrna Beach, FL USA
Status: offline 		Just re-read your original post and remembered a similar problem I had back in 97 or so. I was playing alot of Quake back then and using a VooDoo add-on card; after a while the screen would begin to 'degrade'...first I couldn't read text, then it would crash. Turned out to be inadequate cooling of the video card; bought a little 12v squirrel cage fan at Radio Shack and had it blow across the VooDoo card; did the trick. What made me think it may be related to your problem was that you mentioned it occurred after you 'played a while'. Try running the computer with the case-cover off...if this eliminates the problem consider adding a fan.

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Post #: 17
- 7/18/2001 11:53:00 AM   
swami12

 

Posts: 4
Joined: 7/12/2001
From: Seattle
Status: offline 		Tried all of the suggestions!! Still crashes or menu disappears Dave :( :( :(

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Post #: 18
- 7/18/2001 9:04:00 PM   
Paul Vebber


Posts: 11430
Joined: 3/29/2000
From: Portsmouth RI
Status: offline 		A couple other things to check is to make sure your CPU is no overclocked, similar to Vid card overheating, CPU overheating can cause that sort of thing and Mom and Pop vendors often do that to sell a 550 as a 650, with the heat sinks on some you can't tell what the chip is. Degradation like that is generally a problem with either CPU of vid card. Straight memory erors cause crashes - though your 250MB of HD space is geting low - you should have 256MB of swap file space (though many recommend at least 2 times RAM - and don't windows manae it as it gets snakey when you get low. Another possible problem is unstable power to the computer. Do you have an UPS? You seem to indicate this only happens with SP:WaW - do you have problem with other apps?

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Post #: 19
- 7/18/2001 9:24:00 PM   
parusski


Posts: 4804
Joined: 5/8/2000
From: Jackson Tn
Status: offline 		Hello Christian. There are a couple of things no one has suggested. First, do you have a System Utility program such as Norton System Works? If so you should do a couple of things: one-you should scan your hard drive for errors, with Norton you would use "Disk Doctor", allowing "Disk Doctor" to automatically repair any errors on your disk. Two-You need to have "Norton" or some other program do a system check, this normaly looks for corrupted files, ie: DLL files. A corrupted file could be causing your problem. Also, are you using "Win 95", "Win 98" or "Win ME"? "Win ME" is the most unstable. You should look into updating all your drivers, not just the one for your video card. Another idea: update your Bios for your system. If you do not have a program to do this or need help with the other suggestions, email at parusski@aol.com with further questions and I will be glad to help you.

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Post #: 20
- 7/18/2001 9:30:00 PM   
parusski


Posts: 4804
Joined: 5/8/2000
From: Jackson Tn
Status: offline 		Christian, I forgot to tell you something. I also had this happen on my sons computer. When you have blacked out areas just right click(NO LEFT CLICK) any area on the screen and the whole thing should clear up. I never actually discovered the problem on his computer because I purchased a new one for him a few days later and the problem has not occured again. Good luck.

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"I hate newspapermen. They come into camp and pick up their camp rumors and print them as facts. I regard them as spies, which, in truth, they are. If I killed them all there would be news from Hell before breakfast."- W.T. Sherman

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Post #: 21
- 7/18/2001 11:23:00 PM   
Christian Blex

 

Posts: 77
Joined: 9/10/2000
From: Muenster, Germany
Status: offline 		I'm running Windows 98 SE. I do not have any overheating problem, neither with my video card nor with the CPU. I do not have any problems with other games or with SPWaW before ver.5.01 . The crash appears in the starting menu of MC too, while reading the (very interesting) documents for a while and clicking the "next" button the text does not appear. Going back to the starting menu and trying to start the MC an messages like "game cannot be loaded" appears. Then the game start with a black map, no units and no menu on the right! I first thought the crash has something to do with how often I'm clicking with the mouse, but even if I just start the game and just wait for some time, the crash (in the starting menu and in the game) appears after clicking with the mouse for the first time! To swami12: What system (CPU, video card, OS, memory) do you have? To Paul: I will try to get more HD space. To parusski: No, I do not have Norton. Is there any other way to look for corrupted .dll-files?? To all: Thanks a lot for your efforts!!! :) :)

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Post #: 22
- 7/19/2001 3:54:00 AM   
parusski


Posts: 4804
Joined: 5/8/2000
From: Jackson Tn
Status: offline 		Christian, I use a program called "Anti-Crash". It is a freeware program. Go to www.nonags.com, then from the left menu choose freeware, then from the middle menu choose powertools. Scroll down until you come to the program-then download it. It is great at monitoring all the "behind the scenes" activity of your computer. Including DLL files beign used and corrupted(DLL=dynamic link libraries). It does much more. Give it a try, even if it does not solve this particular problem it is a nice piece of free software to add stability to your system.

_____________________________

"I hate newspapermen. They come into camp and pick up their camp rumors and print them as facts. I regard them as spies, which, in truth, they are. If I killed them all there would be news from Hell before breakfast."- W.T. Sherman

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Post #: 23
- 7/19/2001 7:29:00 AM   
swami12

 

Posts: 4
Joined: 7/12/2001
From: Seattle
Status: offline 		Christian, I have a 500 Mhz Pentium 3 ATI Rage 128 Vid Card 128 MB RAM

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Post #: 24
- 7/19/2001 8:49:00 AM   
Bing

 

Posts: 1366
Joined: 5/20/2000
From: Gaylord, MI, USA
Status: offline 		Christian - Definitely make some more free space on your HD. You probably ought to have minimum of 500 Megs, more if you can manage it. Windows wants a lot of room to fiddle with the swap file and other system files, these days anything less than about a Gig of free space can be asking for trouble. This might not fix your problem, it certainly won't cure fallen arches or dandruff, but it is the first area I would go to. Bing

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Post #: 25
- 7/20/2001 1:02:00 AM   
Christian Blex

 

Posts: 77
Joined: 9/10/2000
From: Muenster, Germany
Status: offline 		Thanks parusski, I will try it. I have two HD in my computer, one with Windows 98 SE on it (around 160MB free) and one with SPWaW on it (around 250 MB free). One which one shall I try to free some space? Swami 12, as you do not have the same hardware than I, are you at least short an HD space like I am?

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Post #: 26
- 7/20/2001 1:05:00 AM   
Christian Blex

 

Posts: 77
Joined: 9/10/2000
From: Muenster, Germany
Status: offline 		Oh parusski, are you sure about the link? Just tried it, the page was not found. I will try it later.

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Post #: 27
- 7/20/2001 6:05:00 AM   
swami12

 

Posts: 4
Joined: 7/12/2001
From: Seattle
Status: offline 		No I have at least 6.5 gig og free Hard Drive space!

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Post #: 28
- 7/20/2001 8:01:00 AM   
parusski


Posts: 4804
Joined: 5/8/2000
From: Jackson Tn
Status: offline 		Christian the link is nonags.com. I belong to nonagplus.com(pay site) but nonags.com is free-with fewer features-but still great. I just now tried the site and nonags.com worked for me. try again, they get so many hits per day that sometimes their website will not open. Good luck

_____________________________

"I hate newspapermen. They come into camp and pick up their camp rumors and print them as facts. I regard them as spies, which, in truth, they are. If I killed them all there would be news from Hell before breakfast."- W.T. Sherman

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Post #: 29
- 7/20/2001 8:41:00 AM   
Bing

 

Posts: 1366
Joined: 5/20/2000
From: Gaylord, MI, USA
Status: offline
quote:

Originally posted by parusski: Christian the link is nonags.com. I belong to nonagplus.com(pay site) but nonags.com is free-with fewer features-but still great. I just now tried the site and nonags.com worked for me. try again, they get so many hits per day that sometimes their website will not open. Good luck
Same here, it took me a few tries to get in during peak period. Good site, thank you for the rec. I have AntiCrash and it looks good. May I ask a question? Whast would membership in NoNags do for me? Thanks, Bing

_____________________________

"For Those That Fought For It, Freedom Has a Taste And A Meaning The Protected Will Never Know. " -
From the 101st Airborne Division Association Website

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Post #: 30
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