Sounds like it's the Glidos server that is crashing. The "Read error" report is coming from the DOS side. You get that error from the DOS side if the server dies.

At the moment I can't think of anything to suggest. Your idea of uninstalling K-lite is right on track. That's exactly the sort of thing that could cause this. The codec pack does take over mp3. But then if that was the cause, I cannot thing why uninstalling wouldn't cure it. I don't think the graphics card could be involved.

I'll mull this over, see if I can think of something.

Glidos wrote:

...Your idea of uninstalling K-lite is right on track. That's exactly the sort of thing that could cause this. The codec pack does take over mp3. But then if that was the cause, I cannot thing why uninstalling wouldn't cure it. I don't think the graphics card could be involved...

First of all, I would like to thank you for responding (and so quickly!) I'm deeply impressed with your undying dedication to your customers. 😀

I used this situation as an opportunity to remove several rarely used multimedia programs from my computer today that may be causing the problem. I believe the key is lurking somewhere in my programs that have audio associations, since Glidos itself has always run perfectly on my computer.

(After removing each of the below programs, I rebooted the comp & tested both Glidos 1.39 & 1.47 with & without the audio packs):

1. K-Lite Codec Pack (v. 6.3) [removed last night]
2. Camtasia Studio (v 7.0)
3. Musicnotes Software Suite
4. Jing [Demo] (v 2.3.10110)
5. Magic Video Converter ( v. 8.0.2.18 )

(After removing MVC, I noticed when closing Glidos that the VDos32 window showed a warning):

"Warning: attempt to free unknown block 0x00d966f0".

I don't know if that warning was displayed before because I didn't read the text in the VDos window until that point. But the same warning displayed after I uninstalled the next 2 programs, except the 'unknown block' number was different each time.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
6. Audacity (v 1.2.6)
7. Boilsoft Video Splitter (v 5.16)
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
8. Total Video Converter (v. 3.5)

Now, here's a strange thing:
After uninstalling Total Video Converter, the game no longer crashes before loading the 1st level, but:

1. Using Glidos 1.39
a. I still don't hear any of the audio pack sounds.
b. The other in-game sounds (e.g., footsteps, gunfire, bats' wings, 'finding a secret', wolf snarls) are audible.

2. Using Glidos 1.47
a. The 'secret' sound no longer plays.
b. I don't hear any of the audio pack sounds.
c. The other in-game sounds (minus the 'secret' sound) mentioned above are audible.

I just realized that the results I received after removing TVC are inconclusive. I noticed that many multimedia programs share the same components, so uninstalling a particular program doesn't necessarily delete all its components if a later-installed program requires it. TVC could have simply been the last program in a chain of programs that needed [whatever file it was] that caused Glidos to crash when I enabled Glidos' mp3 preference.

Don't mind me, I'm just thinking out loud. 😜

Well, That's where I am so far.
I only have 2 more programs to uninstall ("Super", which is freeware), and Quicktime Pro (v. 7.5.5).

Thanks again for all your time and help! I truly appreciate it. 😀

Lux_Veritatis wrote:

Glidos wrote:

(After removing MVC, I noticed when closing Glidos that the VDos32 window showed a warning):

"Warning: attempt to free unknown block 0x00d966f0".

I don't know if that warning was displayed before because I didn't read the text in the VDos window until that point. But the same warning displayed after I uninstalled the next 2 programs, except the 'unknown block' number was different each time.

That's normal. That's VDos reporting a problem with Tomb.exe. Although Tomb.exe shouldn't do that, it doesn't seem to cause any harm.

Now, here's a strange thing: After uninstalling Total Video Converter, the game no longer crashes before loading the 1st level, […]
Show full quote

Now, here's a strange thing:
After uninstalling Total Video Converter, the game no longer crashes before loading the 1st level, but:

1. Using Glidos 1.39
a. I still don't hear any of the audio pack sounds.
b. The other in-game sounds (e.g., footsteps, gunfire, bats' wings, 'finding a secret', wolf snarls) are audible.

Strange. Can your system play mp3 files at all now?

Glidos wrote:

That's normal. That's VDos reporting a problem with Tomb.exe. Although Tomb.exe shouldn't do that, it doesn't seem to cause any harm.

Ah, that's good to know. Thanks. 😀

Glidos wrote:

Strange. Can your system play mp3 files at all now?

Yes, because Windows Media Player is still installed (version 9, which is rather old). I removed every other media program I could think of, but this may not be resolvable until the next time I reformat the comp & start from scratch.

Btw: I was wrong, Glidos 1.47 did let me hear the 'secret' sound, but only if I didn't check mp3 in the audio preferences. Sorry about that mistake. 😦
Thank you again so much for all your help! I truly appreciate it. 😉

Lux_Veritatis wrote:

Glidos wrote:

Btw: I was wrong, Glidos 1.47 did let me hear the 'secret' sound, but only if I didn't check mp3 in the audio preferences. Sorry about that mistake. 😦
Thank you again so much for all your help! I truly appreciate it. 😉

Oh, does that mean that it's all working now? The sounds for the secret locations work in the same way as the background sounds and the theme music, so if any one works they all should.

Glidos wrote:

Oh, does that mean that it's all working now? The sounds for the secret locations work in the same way as the background sounds and the theme music, so if any one works they all should.

Ohh, I'm sorry for being unclear. 😖
No, it's not resolved yet...

Either my computer is schizophrenic, or I am:
I'm 99% sure that when I reported last night that Glidos 1.47 let me hear the 'secret' sound, I had seen v 1.47 in the Glidos window. But today when I tested v 1.47, I didn't hear the 'secret' sound even with the below variations:

1. Play mp3 tracks
a. with the audio folder installed
b. without the audio folder installed

2. Control CD checked
a. with the audio folder installed
b. without the audio folder installed

NOTE: I do still hear the 'secret' sound in Glidos 1.39, (but only if I don't check the mp3 sound option).

One clue that convinces me that one (or more) of the multimedia programs I uninstalled may have left behind conflicting files is this: When I check the mp3 preference in Glidos 1.39 or 1.47, the game halts regularly for a second or so.

I thought that sound-triggering areas might be the key, so I tested that theory as best as I could: I had Lara run in a circle in a few different areas. The game still halted during her mid-run motions (after she had completed at least 3 running cycles in each area) -- which, in my mind, proved that the issue is unrelated to areas that present new textures, or sounds, or any other audio or video triggers, because those areas required nothing new to be loaded after she had run around in them like an idiot.

There seemed to be no discernable pattern in the areas in which the game halted; the only common factor in the halting behavior was that I had checked the mp3 sound. I gotta fix this. :\ Unfortunately, I think that won't happen until I reformat my comp. 🙁

It's clear that neither Glidos nor the audio mp3 tracks are the problem. (The tracks play fine in Windows Media Player, so it's not like my computer can't handle mp3's). I'm just not savvy enough to analyze & manually locate the files that are preventing the tracks from playing in the game. I bet those buggers are floating about somewhere in my system32 folder... 😒

All that having been said, I reiterate my gratitude for your kind help.
I'm not giving up, I'm going to continue trying to solve this.

Beat the Machine! L0L

I'm not giving up, I'm going to continue trying to solve this.

Hm... so have you found out the cause of that "schizophrenic situation" at last? 😉 As one of the few XP-Users out there this topic has caught my interest AND besides this it really sounds weird and implausible...

'secret' sound

Why not calling it just background sound? I guess that's what you mean or is there something else I've missed?
😮 😉

Just a humble hint: Empty the User temp folder which may also cause different kinds of troubles with older not used temporary files if not yet done.
(start>run>%tmp% or %temp%>ok>delete what you can)

andee1 wrote:

Hm... so have you found out the cause of that "schizophrenic situation" at last? 😉

Thanks for your concern, I really appreciate it! 😀
No, I didn't find a solution yet, but after my last post in this thread, I removed all other multimedia programs except for the old version of Windows Media Player. I also removed all codecs that weren't factory installations. (My computer came with a bunch of pre-installed programs).

One thing that surprised me was that I was able to duplicate the issue of the 'secret' sound several times -- namely, sometimes Glidos 1.47 plays it, other times, it doesn't. But I could see no pattern or determining factor in why that happens.

andee1 wrote:

As one of the few XP-Users out there this topic has caught my interest AND besides this it really sounds weird and implausible.. […]
Show full quote

As one of the few XP-Users out there this topic has caught my interest AND besides this it really sounds weird and implausible...

'secret' sound

Why not calling it just background sound? I guess that's what you mean or is there something else I've missed?
😮 😉

When I say 'secret sound,' I'm referring literally to the chimes you hear when Lara finds a secret. I pointed it out because it's the only sound (that's normally part of the PC version) that doesn't always play. 😖

andee1 wrote:

Just a humble hint: Empty the User temp folder which may also cause different kinds of troubles with older not used temporary files if not yet done.
(start>run>%tmp% or %temp%>ok>delete what you can)

Wow, I never thought of that! I'm going to do that during the next go-round. 😁 I put this issue aside for a while, but I still haven't given up hope. : )
Thanks again!

Lux_Veritatis wrote:

When I say 'secret sound,' I'm referring literally to the chimes you hear when Lara finds a secret. I pointed it out because it's the only sound (that's normally part of the PC version) that doesn't always play. 😖

Ah right. I hadn't understood what you meant by secret sound. Make sense to call it that, but - now understing what you refer to - this problem seems even stranger. The secret sound is played via the SoundBlaster emulation's DSP. The strange thing is that so are the footsteps and the gun shots. It is very strange that you see problems with one and not the other.