Hi!

As for SW EI R, when it comes to the menu, I have sound... but no image !!!

Well it seems to me that you'll have to install a newer (or possibly older) driver for your video card...

Now, TC crashes just before getting in the menu, giving an error message.

I presume you're trying to run the windows version of the game. If that is the case you should try setting the compatibility mode back to Win 95. (Right click on the executable and on the compatibility tab choose compatibility for Win 95. You may have to do this to all executables, so not just the game's exe.)

Is Windows getting mad (again) ?

He's not that fast...
Give him some time, and he'll be mad as hell.

For SW Episode I Racer, my video card driver is exacltly the same as before I update XP...

And for Time Commando, the error message occurs even with compatibility with Win95...

Gargl !

Compatibility modes don't always work.
Also, DX9 has been known to, uh, kill systems.

Originally posted by Twinsen Now, TC crashes just before getting in the menu, giving an error message. Asfor SW EI R, when it c […]
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Originally posted by Twinsen Now, TC crashes just before getting in the menu, giving an error message.
Asfor SW EI R, when it comes to the menu, I have sound... but no image !!!

Notice that I updated XP with SP1 and the other stuff.

Like Snover said, we've noticed that while performance for newer titles may be better with DX9 and SP1, we've seen other people also say that some "old" titles fail when they used to run properly.

Hrmm... Do you have a restore point before installing DX9? (Presuming that it was part of the "other stuff").

If possible you should try running these games at their "minimum settings" to make sure they work before choosing more advanced options. BTW, when you re-installed XP, did you also re-install the games?

Before I reinitialized the PC, I already had DX9 and the games worked. But I had not SP1.

I think I must have a restore point, but I don't know how to reach it...

And I reinstalled the games, after I reinstalled XP and after I updated with SP1. (The two games did work BEFORE I had to reinitialize the PC).

I installed SP1, just to see if it could make Rayman 1 run under XP. But not. So I think I could go back to "before SP1" ...

Originally posted by Twinsen Before I reinitialized the PC, I already had DX9 and the games worked. But I had not SP1.

Well that's not good news. SP1 is considered a "critical update", so most people who can get it will have it.

I think I must have a restore point, but I don't know how to reach it...

Start --> Programs --> Accessories --> System Tools --> System Restore

I installed SP1, just to see if it could make Rayman 1 run under XP. But not. So I think I could go back to "before SP1" ...

So long as you have a restore point before installing SP1.

Okay. I'll try and report.

Just did it.
And well... it doesn't work.

I restored to a point before the updating with SP1 and the others XP patchs. Then I reinstalled the two games and it's still the same : TC crashes when it comes to the menu, and SW Racer doesn't "show" the menu while I can hear sound.

But I noticed something. Even with restoring, Direct X is still version 9. Is there a way to go back to DX8 ? It could be a solution...

There should be a restore point from when DirectX 9 was installed.

Nope. The earliest restore point I have is the one I used, and even by restoring, Direct X is still v9. I restored all I updated, but not DX8...

There must be another way to reinstall DX ?...

There must be another way to reinstall DX ?...

Well... There is, it's just kind of "messy"...

A program named dx9 uninstaller can be downloaded from here .

What it does is it copys your directX 8.1 files from your Win XP CD and overwrites the 9.0 version files with them.

Unzip the contents of "directx-dx9uninstaller.zip" into "DXTEMP!".

Then you will need to restart WIN XP in safe mode (press F8 at startup)

Run the program.

It will ask you of your WIN XP CD drive. Write "D:" or "E:" or whatever...

Then it will ask you of the i386 directory on the WIN XP CD. Write "D:\I386" or whatever drive your CD is in.

And that's about it...
It worked for me, I hope it works for you too, but be warned as I said before it is messy so only try it if you know what you are doing.

Good luck.

Well, now with DX8.1 I have SW Episode I Racer running, great !
But the same error message still occurs with Time Commando : a critical error with a lot of numbers, like :

"The program encountered an error in 0000818U729IN"

you know...

Originally posted by Twinsen Well, now with DX8.1 I have SW Episode I Racer running, great !

Ok, that's good. But it's bad that DX9 seems to be the source of the problem.

But the same error message still occurs with Time Commando : a critical error with a lot of numbers

*gah*
Will try to find my CD and test...

Originally posted by Nicht Sehr Gut *gah*
Will try to find my CD and test...

Thanks ! 😉

Originally posted by Nicht Sehr Gut Will try to find my CD and test...

Found, tested, results:

Time Commando
Windows version
Installed fine, but gave warning about installing to "Windows NT".
Make sure you do NOT let it install DirectX 2.

Turns out all the Windows version startup does is launch the "SPLASH" program on the CD, which is a "Launcher" utility that doesn't seem to work well. Dies with various errors.

Created shortcut to the TIMEWIN.EXE on the CD instead, as that's the actual game. Chose "Windows 95" and "Disable Visual Themes" compatibility modes. Seems to run fine in both 320x240 and 640x480 mode (320x480 mode wasn't available...no big loss).

DOS version

Installer immediately tries direct hard drive access (big no-no in 2000/XP), you can choose Ignore to continue. If you run it with VDMSound, it will claim there is no CD-ROM (because MSCDEX isn't loaded by default) so I would say run it without VDMSound and you can configure the audio later. SB16 doesn't seem to work for digital audio, but SBPro works fine.

None of this really matters, because the moment you try to start it up it generates this message

You are currently running under Windows.
Please either install the Windows 95 version of Time Commando or exit to DOS.

That's what I got anyway. XP-Pro, no SP1, DirectX8.1

Windows 9x had an option to mask the fact that it was running; why does NTVDM, a DOS VIRTUALIZER, still set that bit, and could someone write a TSR that kills it? (I know that, for example, Star Trek: A Final Unity will not run its setup program if it detects Windows.)

Well I did exactly as you did Nicht and it still crashes, just after the intro, when it gets the screen menu.

The error message I get is :

Application error : E:\TIMEWIN.EXE

The program encountered a problem at adress 004306f0 and cannot continue.
Click on OK to terminate the application.

It's weird, because if I remember well, before I reinitialized my computer, the game used to run...

Originally posted by Snover ...could someone write a TSR that kills it?

If wishes were fishes, my aquarium would be full...or something.

Originally posted by Twinsen The error message I get is : Application error : E:\TIMEWIN.EXE It's weird, because if I remember […]
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Originally posted by Twinsen The error message I get is :

Application error : E:\TIMEWIN.EXE

It's weird, because if I remember well, before I reinitialized my computer, the game used to run...

Don't know what to tell you. This may just be one of those "mystery" ailments. There are so many variables when it comes to PC's...

I'll see if I create a dual boot later. Maybe it'll work under win98...