Have you tried running sndsetup by right-clicking on it and selecting Run with VDMS?

Yes - like I said above, this happens both with and without VDMSound.... of course I do get the VDMS loader message but that's it. The .exe itself (or any other DOS .exe in the game folder) just seems to do absolutely nothing - I might also add that the Task Manager does not report a new process either...

Try running them from a command prompt. At least then you can see if there is an error message.

Type:

1cd <path to SNDSETUP.EXE>
2DOSDRV
3SNDSETUP.EXE

Already have... again, see first post 😦 Same results with DOSDRV or without.

It's really inexplicable, as if all the DOS executables in the folder somehow became corrupted. For all intents and purposes it's like running a blank batch file... no error message, not a thing, not even a split second delay. I tried to reinstall the 3dfx patch to overwrite those executables, too - still nothing.

Here are some system specs, if that helps - XP Pro SP1; 2.4GHz Intel P4; 768MB RAM; Internal AC97 sound; old GeForce4 MX 440 (64MB).

Oh, and this doesn't seem to happen with any other DOS executables I have on my hd, either... strange.

You say "DOS" executables? Can you try any other DOS games? There are command line programs for 2000/XP but they are not "DOS" and running them does not verify if NTVDM is working properly since they do not use NTVDM.

You need to use actual MS-DOS programs or games to test NTVDM.

Yes - I said "DOS executables" since the Splat Pack version (which is what I'm trying to run) also has a set of Windows ones (carma95.exe, etc). I needed to differentiate here because the latter runs fine.

As for other MS-DOS programs and games, sure; everything from Alley Cat to Impulse Tracker - all runs fine on my machine, without VDMS or with it (when it's needed), so my own conclusion is that VDMS is not the issue, especially since I get the exact same problem with Carmageddon whether I run it with VDMS or not.

(Just to clear things up a little bit.... I've been a PC user for almost 20 years and happen to know my way around DOS, Windows, the differences between them, old games, and the general idea of running them on a new system. 😁 Not that I'm trying to belittle your attempts at help, anything's appreciated... just trying to steer this in the right direction. 😀 )

Impossible to tell what's going on. If DOS files are working, and those file do not work, then I guess those file are no longer valid DOS files. What's your reason for not just reinstalling?

Glidos wrote:

What's your reason for not just reinstalling?

A ridiculously old / beat up / scratched CD, heh.

I see that I'm gonna have to do that anyway, though, so I'll find a replacement and report back if the problem persists. Thanks for now.

Yeah, game wont run without the CD anyway, unless you've found a NOCD crack.