To all: Thanks for all of the help with 'Dark Side Of The Moon.' I want to let you know that I bailed on the deal. I gave up on the fu***in' thing. I'll just have to sit and slap my rat until another good adventure game comes along. Meanwhile, I am open to suggestions from the gang. Thanks again for all of the help. As a recent member, I'm impressed with the site and the folks that run it. Great stuff!!! Keep up the good work, God knows, we novices need you!!!! .......Snover,Stiletto, and Nicht...thanks for your time!!! Later, dud716

Nicht Sehr Gut wrote:

The SearchMeister never heard of it? Phbtt!
http://www.schizm.com/game.html

I didn't say I couldn't find it, I said I'd never HEARD of it. Two different things. 😀

Snover wrote:

Like I said, neither the CD-ROM nor the DVD-ROM versions of the game work. I've got both, and I've tested both.

What happens? Do the install programs work? Do you receive error messages? If you use a program that eats CPU cycles (like Nicht suggests), does it work?

SNOVER, I'm back! I installed realMYST, it's installed but won't load. When I click to open, I receive a message that reads, " NO SUITABLE RENDERING DEVICES FOUND." Uh, What can you tell me? Thanks, dud716

I'm not Snover BUT:
That is weird.

Try reinstalling your video drivers for your Voodoo3 (are you using unofficial ones? or the official ones?) and then reinstalling DirectX. Then reinstall the demo.

That's my advice. I have a similar setup as you, but I run Win98SE at the moment. Colin?

I don't think realMYST will work with a video card that old. It needs a TNT2 at minimum I think... time to upgrade! (well, as soon as NV30 comes out *drools*)

DSoM will install fine, will play the intro movie fine, but when you try to control anything in it, nothing will happen. You have to three-finger out of it.

Stiletto wrote:

I didn't say I couldn't find it, I said I'd never HEARD of it. Two different things.

Hrmm. Need to check with my lawyer on that one.

Originally posted by dud716 " NO SUITABLE RENDERING DEVICES FOUND."

Yeah, that's the game telling you that your video card isn't good enough. Although I believe that it will also give you that if your version of Direct-X isn't up-to-date enough.

Actually, I was able to trick it once into using a Voodoo 1. I was using it in tandem with a GeForce card. It defaulted to the GeForce of course, but I was able to switch. Funny thing, it worked just so long as you didn't look at anything too complex. Crashed horribly if you did (IOW, the only thing you could do safely was stare straight down at the ground).

Stiletto et al, I pretty sure that the Voodoo drivers are most likely the drivers from WIN XP. I don't recall installing any others. Where do I go to get the latest drivers and the latest version of direct X. The reason that I'm asking is because I never had to do any tweaking for any of my games, not even MYST III or SCHIZM DVD-ROM. Anything??? thanks, dud716

dud716 wrote:

Stiletto et al, I pretty sure that the Voodoo drivers are most likely the drivers from WIN XP.

Technically speaking, there are no drivers for the 3D portion of your Voodoo card. The 2000 drivers were the last.

However, there are hacked versions of those drivers designed to work with XP. Just remember that these are basically "hacks" done by fans with some hacking skills, not the original 3dfx programmers.

Try under the "drivers" button at:
http://www.x3dfx.com/

Or the files at "Voodoo Files":
http://www.voodoofiles.com/type.asp?cat_id=1

Where do I go to get the latest drivers and the latest version of direct X.

If you have XP, you already have the latest. There is a beta Direct-X 9, stay away from it (not an official release yet...). I was just mentioning the Direct-X thing as a side-note.

The reason that I'm asking is because I never had to do any tweaking for any of my games, not even MYST III or SCHIZM DVD-ROM.

That's because those games aren't "truly 3D", they are pre-rendered graphics that only use the 2D portion of your video card.

Thanks Nicht, just wondering....should I look into getting a new graphics card? My system is about 5-6 years old. It's a QUANTEX with a 450 Mhz Pentium III, at the time that I bought it, it had the latest stuff. It came loaded with WIN 98-SE, DVD-ROM,etc. About a year ago, I replaced my hard drive with an IBM Deskstar 60GIG 7200 rpm, and WIN XP. I'm not a fan of XP, at least not yet. I only use my computer for surfin'n the net, OFFICE 2000 stuff, and games. I really don't have an interest in all of the new digital photography/ audio stuff. How much trouble is it to upgrade my cards motherboard, etc. Is it worth it? I'm quite the novice with this stuff, and I really can't afford to screw things up.

Oh, sure, ask him. 😉
Seriously though. Wait for the NV30 (GeForce FX). Then buy it. It'll rock your world. 😀 [shameless plug not endorsed by nVidia]

oh, BTW, it's DirectX, not Direct-X. It was never Direct-X. Just unlike how nVidia is now NVIDIA but used to be nVidia, so I do it old school like. And ATI used to be ATi so I do it old school like that, too. Mwah. I'm just an old school kinda guy, I guess.

dud716 wrote:

Thanks Nicht, just wondering....should I look into getting a new graphics card?

That's a judgement call for you to make. My instinct is to recommend getting a GeForce 3 Ti200.

It's has the best overall price/performance/availability. (IOW, it's good, cheap, and readily available.) But it depends on how badly you want modern 3D rendering (and your cashflow, of course).

It came loaded with WIN 98-SE, DVD-ROM,etc. About a year ago, I replaced my hard drive with an IBM Deskstar 60GIG 7200 rpm, and WIN XP. I'm not a fan of XP, at least not yet.

The best bet for overall compatibility is a Dual-Boot with Win98 and XP. Having both allows you to use just about any x86 program out there. Both OS's have their up and down-sides.

Setting up a dual boot with Win98 installed is easy. XP will actually give you the option of a separate install and create a dual-boot menu for you.

Setting it up with XP already installed is a major pain-in-the-butt.

I really don't have an interest in all of the new digital photography/ audio stuff. How much trouble is it to upgrade my cards motherboard, etc. Is it worth it?

It's like the video card, depends on how badly you want the "new stuff". Sounds like you're Ok right now. XP will be kind of slow with a P3-450, but it's much more stable than any of the DOS based OS's. Make sure you turn off all of the graphic frivolities (including the stuff like the near-invisible "mouse shadow").

Snover, Nicht....Thanks for the info....You know....I always hear about folks having problems with WIN 98, funny thing though, when I used it, I never had any problems. I'm always hearing rumors of crashes, lost files, etc. all of the time. Thats the reason that I went to XP.
I'll tell you, after I installed the IBM-HD, I had a bitch of a time installing XP. I had to remove the IBM drive, replace it with my old one, go to microsoft, download 6 floppys, reinstall the IBM, and start all over. All those F'n startup floppys.
So far, I haven't had any problems. (knock wood) If I go with a new card, I hope that I don't have to put up with all kinds of crap getting everything back in working order. Any good web sites on the subject? thanks, dud

I too recommend the Ti200 it's the best card for price/performance ratio for such an ancient machine.

dud716 wrote:

I always hear about folks having problems with WIN 98, funny thing though, when I used it, I never had any problems.

Probably because you were using the right combination of hardware and software.

I'll tell you, after I installed the IBM-HD, I had a bitch of a time installing XP. I had to remove the IBM drive, replace it with my old one, go to microsoft, download 6 floppys, reinstall the IBM, and start all over.

Can your motherboard's BIOS allow booting from the CD-ROM?

If I go with a new card, I hope that I don't have to put up with all kinds of crap getting everything back in working order.

If you're just replacing the video card, it shouldn't be an issue. XP will install it's generic drivers (GeForce, if that's what you got). You want to replace those with official drivers ASAP though, as the Microsoft drivers are rather poor performers.

Just make sure your PC is actually unplugged when you remove and install a new card. Most of the newer PC's have power applied at some level, even if you turn it off.

Snover wrote:

I don't think realMYST will work with a video card that old. It needs a TNT2 at minimum I think... time to upgrade! (well, as soon as NV30 comes out *drools*)

DSoM will install fine, will play the intro movie fine, but when you try to control anything in it, nothing will happen. You have to three-finger out of it.

I have realMYST Test (Different from the demo?) and it will happily play on my shit-ass computer (see profile) using Glide under Win98SE. Sure, it's at 800x600@16bit, but it works - at maybe 30 fps. 😉

I even have a screenshot around here to prove it. I forget where... on my hard drive at home, I think... I'll get it later...

So I think his drivers/DirectX are hosed, unless Glide is giving XP conniptions (which it can...). Reinstall with one of those custom unsupported driver sets (with one of those custom Glide drivers) and try again.

Stiletto wrote:

So I think his drivers/DirectX are hosed, ...

Already covered this, there is no (official) 3D support for Voodoo cards in XP. XP will install 2D drivers for Voodoo cards, but not the 3D side. Win2K was the last Win OS for Voodoo cards.

...If I swap cards, do I run the risk of cooking anything once the card is installed? What should I avoid? ....I see that there are several GE Force Ti200 cards out there, how do I determine which card to buy? Can you give me specifics for my system? Thanks, dud

Remember: GeForce3 Ti200. Nothing else. It doesn't matter who the manufacturer is, really. nVidia outsources everything to other companies' fabrication plants. (Smart: they don't have to deal with the consumer demand and they don't need to buy an expensive plant to do it.) You get the same chipset from anyone. There are some manufacturers (like Hercules, who I bought my GeForce3 Ti500 from, though they don't have any nVidia cards on the market now) that provide extra nifty goodies, like bundled software, tweaking utilities, and stuff like that.

The dangers of static electricity are HIGHLY overrated. Just be sure to touch your power supply (while it's still plugged in, but TURNED OFF) to ground yourself to prevent shock. Other than that, as long as you don't have all rugs (rug != carpet -- rugs tend to conduct static much more than carpets, unless the carpet is really deep), there really, REALLY isn't anything to be worried about. Just be sure to keep pets out of the room, if you've got any. You might also want to vacuum out your case while you're in there to improve airflow a bit. Just a suggestion, and not something I recommend you do if you're uneasy about frying components.

And remember, if a board isn't going in, DON'T FORCE IT. Try re-seating it. They take some pressure to put in, but it shouldn't be really excessive (unless it happens to be an ISA extension card, but that's an entirely different story..ugh..). If you can't get it in after re-seating a few times, try varying pressure on the front and back of the card to "ease" it into place. The only part that is a really Bad Idea to ease in is RAM.

Hopefully this helps. 😀