using the dos32a.exe replacement file it appears as tho the game (settlers 2 not blood) will run without the need of dosbox.exe. is there a way to force the game into a specific refresh rate? or force it to not change refresh rate?

thanks in advance... if i cant then i'll just settle with dosbox.exe.

my monitor is a [21 inch Hitachi SuperScan 811]

And that monitor can't handle a high refreshrate...? I think this is being caused by settlers not recogizing your videocard properly. Or perhaps it's trying to do an interlaced mode or something.

When the monitor says the frequency is out of range, does it also say what the frequencies are? And perhaps which resolution?

There are registry entries somewhere in windows which specify the refreshrate for each mode (colordepth+resolution). I'm not sure where, so you'll have to do some searching. But I still doubt that your problem is a refreshrate problem, also because windows shouldn't set a refreshrate higher than the monitor can.

"invalid scan frequency" and i cant use the monitor settings to see what it attempts to set it to... also my monitor supports upto 100hz refresh rate at 1024x768 32bit.

i still think that the problem is to do with the refresh rate... not a high refresh rate but rather a odd one. (like 64hz instead of 60hz, 72hz instead of 70hz, 90hz instead of 85hz... you get the idea.)

Your monitor is a multisync (or is the term autosync?) monitor, so it should be able to handle every kind of refreshrate. But, interlaced modes could be a different story. That's the only oddness I can think of. Or pherhaps it's trying to set too low a refreshrate...

I can't think of any solution. I think you'll have to stick with dosbox.

BTW, not very important, but colordepth doesn't infuence a CRT's refreshrate capabilities. It doesn't matter if you're using 1 bit or a million, because the signal is sent a voltage between two fixed values to the monitor.

ok, and i used to have a [21 inch hitachi SuperScan 812] and that worked the game fine... but that monitor abdruptly died due to randomness... this also is the reason for why i think its refresh rate because the newer monitor just supported tons more refresh rate modes to manualy choose from.

any programs to suggest or is it just not possible? i still occasionaly look to see if i have gotten a reply...

dos box checks the refresh rate to make sure its valid.

either dos32a.exe or the ntvdm in windows xp doesnt detect resoloution, colour depth and/or refresh rate properly

i can see the main menu properly when run outside dosbox but when entering the gameplay area it screws up..

could someone who owns the game run it under windows xp using only the dos32a.exe replacement?

You can also enable e-mail notification...

Dos box checks the refresh rate? As far as I know, dosbox just sets a resolution and color depth, and lets the OS determine the refreshrate, and the OS in turn decides if the monitor can handle it. Apps don't need to do that manually, only dos apps do (and no, dosbox is not dos app...).

The same goes for ntvdm, I would think.

dos32a also doesn't have anything to do with the refreshrate. It's a protected mode memory manager.

If Settlers2 makes use of Vesa standards to display graphics, you might try univesa. It's a TSR (terminate and stay resident) program that helps when your videocard is not vesa compliant. But, this is a dos tool, and I don't think it has any use on Windows machines. It may not even start. If you can't find it, send me an e-mail and I'll reply back with the program.

Forgive me for continually doubting you, but I still think there is something different going on here. I'm also still not convinced it's a refreshrate problem, because your monitor says frequency out of range, and still displays garble. When it says that, the frequency in question is also not mentioned as menu title of the OSD menu that appears?

Could you give details about your computer hardware (video card most notably) and software BTW?

system specs:

pentium 4 3.00ghz with hyper threading (single core)
asus p5ld2 standard motherboard
1 gig ddr2 ram
200 gig sata2 hdd
cd rom (drive 1)
dvd burner (drive 2)
onboard sound
nvidia geforce 6600gt 128mb pcie (jetway i think)
windows xp home sp2 with latest patches and updates.
latest drivers for everything and the latest direct x 9.0c
monitor [21 inch hitachi superscan 811]

i have auto overclocked my video card.

main menu info: 31khz / 60hz

is this enough hardware/software info?

edit: also your 1st paragraph is what i meant... dosbox lets windows adjust accordingly while dosgames don't.

EDIT: im very glad that you havnt given up on me considering how doubtful you seem. (thanks for the support)

[last edit] im australian and its very late... cya tomorrow aussie time.

That's enough hardware info. Nothing unusual. I have about the same videocard (I have the slower version, LE), but I don't have Windows, so that doesn't mean anything.

But, 31 KHz 60Hz is just 640x480 VGA standard. I don't see any reason why your monitor wouldn't support that. Hooking up the most crappy old 386 VGA monitor should even give a picture. If you select 1024x768 in the options menu, what are the reported frequencies then?

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played outside of dosbox
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that setting doesnt affect the main menu... it only affects in-game graphics... which is where the problem lies.

i already set it to 1024x768 due to it greatly improves the amount of stuff you can see at anyone time during playing this game.

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playing via dosbox
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setting settlers 2 to 80,000 cpu cycles provides fastest gamplay but at 65,000 i notice a huge speed up with the midi music.

which do you think is best?

Oh, that's what you meant with main menu. I thought my suspicion about the title of the OSD menu of your monitor containining the frequency was true. The specified frequency is really nowhere to be found in the notice the menu? My old philips for example, also says "frequency out of range", and the frequency is shown in the titlebar of the OSD popup. It's easy to overlook. That's what I meant with in the title.

On 45000-50000 cycles, the game runs fine here (dynamic core, soundblaster). The midi lags only in the menu. During gameplay it's fine.

[quote=halfgaar]I thought my suspicion about the title of the OSD menu of your monitor containining the frequency was true.[/quote]

the quoted text made no sense...the OSD locks up when it say invalid frequency (because the error message is the OSD it doesnt allow you to use anything else)

Is "frequency out of range" the only thing mentioned on the screen? Because the OSD of my Philips monitor has menu titles, just like Windows has window titles (you know, "my compyter", "internet explorer", or "firefox"). And it is there that that Philips monitor puts the frequencies. And because it's placed in the title of the window, it's easy to overlook.

don't worry... i'll just use dosbox. (too much hassle)

thanks for your help tho... greatly appreciate it.

Are you any good at settlers 2 BTW? I'd like to discuss strategies 😀. If the moderators object, you can always PM/e-mail me with answers...

Do you know what the difference between "interiour" and "center of country" in the military setttings is? Through experimentation, it would seem "interiour" is your entire town (except near enemy borders perhaps), and "centre of country" the defense just behind the towers near the enemy border. Meaning that you can increase the "center of country" to have a larger supply of attackers, and buffer for when the enemy starts rolling you down. But I find this terminology very ambiguous.

Also, is there a way to replace privates with generals in your border defense without reducing and increasing the amount of soldiers in the military settings?

increase defensive strength, reduce then re-increase border security.

understand? and ummm... i beat the gold edition... campagn only... there was weird problems way back with world domination...

ask me anything and i'll see if i can answer anything, ok?

centre of country i think is a pre-defined area around your hq where as interior is the whole country minus the borders.

edit: the campaign becomes way to easy after they introduce catapults... have you managed to get 2 mice to work with this game? i only managed to get 2 mice moving the 1 curser... which doesnt help with multiplayer.

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i have my own forums... we can discuss it there if ya want... you will have to register to post.

http://studentwebzone.tc-online.info/forum2/v … wtopic.php?p=29

only a visual confirmation needed to sign up... don't need to confirm registration via validation email.

Probably Windows possessed your 2nd mouse.

have you managed to get 2 mice to work with this game? i only managed to get 2 mice moving the 1 curser... which doesnt help with multiplayer.

Have you tried plugging in the mouse after Windows has booted? Or perhaps disable the extra mouse in the control panel, to avoid letting windows take it over.

Also, Settlers 2 can't handle USB mouse, except if you enable USB mouse support in your BIOS, which maps it to a PS/2 port.

Does Settlers 2 support ps/2 for the second mouse BTW?

Only serial mice might work as 2nd mouse.