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M.A.X. Can't get it to run

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First post, by Sludge

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Hi there, this is my first time using Dosbox, and they don't get any "Newbier" than me. I am trying to get a game I like to run, and I was hoping that Dosbox might be the answer, but it is tricky because I don't understand much about computers.
I installed Dosbox v-6.3, and then I tried to install M.A.X. The first problem that I ran into was that the MAX installation told me that I didn't have enough space for the full install (about 400 M), but I do have lot's of space. I managed to get a medium size install to work. (I did the install in Dosbox because it wouldn't install in Windows XP)
Now when I try to run the game in Dosbox, I get the following in one box:

DOS/4GW Professional Protected Mode Run-time Version 1.97
Copyright (c) Rational Systems, Inc. 1990-1994
DOS/4GW Professional Error (2504): can't create swap file "c:\OLDGAMES\MAX\DOS4GVM.SWP"
DOS/4GW Professional fatal error (1011): VMM initialization error (1)
C:\MAX>DOS4GW.EXE

In the other Dosbox window I get this:

Warning: file creation failed: C:\Oldgames\OLDGAMES\MAX\DOS4GVM.SWP

Does any of this make sense to anyone out there, and are there words of wisdom (very simple words) that can help me?

Reply 1 of 5, by HunterZ

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Is there already a file named dos4gvm.swp in that folder? Is it read-only? Try deleting it.

You may also want to try searching the forum for DOS32A and using that in place of DOS4GW.

Reply 3 of 5, by `Moe`

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M.A.X. runs fine, but needs a lot of dough to run enjoyable. You need a CVS build, since it contains a workaround for a bug it triggers in dynamic core. With 0.63, you must use normal core. Regarding your specific bug, remove the "read-only" setting from your game directory (that file is a temporary file created by MAX), or use DOS32a (search forum for details).

Reply 4 of 5, by Sludge

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I have already turned off the "Read Only" setting on the directories, and I have downloaded DOS32a, but to be honest I can't quite understand how to use it. I have copied the dos32a.exe and the sb.exe files into the MAX folder, but it still comes up with the same error as before.
I read somewhere that I could rename the dos32a.exe to DOS4GW.exe and that would work, but everytime I try to change the name of either of these files, I am told that they are in use and I cannot, even if I try it immediately after a reboot??
Hopefully this will illustrate exactly how computer illiterate I am, and maybe someone could give me a little more detailed (and simple to follow) instructions of what to try? I don't even know what Moe meant when he told me that I would need a CVS Build (just greek to me?).
Anyone got the urge to help a dummy in need?

P.S. - My computer is a Pentium 4, 2.8 GHz with 512 MB of ram, and running Windows XP, Media Centre Edition, Service pack 2. My video card is a RADEON 9200.

Reply 5 of 5, by HunterZ

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Yeah you can't really use Windows to rename some EXE files, especially if they're on your desktop. Sometimes you have to open a command prompt (or DOSBox) and kill explorer.exe and then rename it using DOS ren (rename) commands.

Note that the renaming trick will only work if there's already a DOS4GW.EXE in the game directory. Some games embed DOS4GW.EXE into the game EXE, and you'll have to do something like:
DOS32A GAME.EXE
to have DOS32A run instead of DOS4GW.

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