Silly SMACX Load Crash

[emjaycue]

My copy of SMACX seems to only want to run once for every windows reboot. If I boot up windows, SMACX runs fine. If I exit the game and try to run SMACX again, the game doesn't load (I just get the "alien base loading image" floating over my desktop forever and the CD keeps reading. Otherwise nothing happens and I can't kill the process OR reboot using the start menu... Hard reboot is the only option). This is fixed by rebooting, after which I can run the game once . This doesn't happen if I run vanilla SMAC, which requires no reboot, ever. Hmmmm. Anyone else have this problem?

--M

[emjaycue]

I thought the problem might be because of a damaged CD, but when I tried copying my CD the CD software said the disk was damaged, could not burn, and when I tried copying the contents of the CD to my HD then burning that the resulting disk worked, but the SMAC loader recognized it as a copy (?? how I wonder) and refused to run it.

So even if it is a damaged CD I can't fix it that way...

--M

[vee4473]

Interesting...

I have never tried to play the game more than once in a row while my computer has been turned on.

If I boot up my computer and play AC, I play it for a while, and if I decide to quit, it's for the night....I shut down my computer and go again the next day.

I may try to plpay twice in one windows session... i'll let you know what happens.

The only reason I responded to this post is because I have noticed that SmacX takes considerably longer to load than Smac does.

but, who knows

[Mongoose]

Do you play with a different CD (music, perhaps?) in the CD-ROM Drive?

On two occasions, when I finished playing the MSC file I got from Korn469, I could not load SMAC/SMAX again afterwards. Furthermore, windows explorer was showing a music CD in my CD-ROM drive, although I had not removed the SMAX CD in longer than I care to admit.

I concluded that Korn must have been playuing with some other music playing, and that had somehow affected the game file and/or my settings.

Of course, I could be completely wrong about this, too.

[Red Archer]

I found that the game crashes alot less since I disabled the mouse wheel and also upgraded to the latest version of DirectX (7.1?).

I have actually had problems reading from my SMACX CD on several different computers when trying to install for LAN games. For some reason, some computers won't read it, and others just can't find it during the CD check. Luckily, its possible to find a v2.0 CD crack now, so I can get around those. My personal PC works fine, now that I have removed just about everything from start-up, including WheelMouse, and also including hidden items not in the start menu startup folder.

If you don't know how to see what your PC is booting for the startup, and want to check it out/edit it in Win98:

use System Information (in the startmenu under programs\accesories\system tools). Select Tools on the menu bar, then System Configuration untility. Then select the Startup tab, and unclick any boxes you don't want to startup next time you boot. You can always turn them back on later, provided you don't disable anything vital to your windows environment. BE CAREFUL if you don't know what your doing.

I've used that to disable stuff viruses have inserted into my startup several times (I have to stop accepting files from unknown people on the web ).

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Yours Truly

[Alinestra Covelia]

I get that too, but it manifests itself in a disruption of sound effects. If I close then restart SMAX, throughout the game I'll have sound effect skeletons playing every time the map changes location, a popup window opens, a base window opens, etc.

Maybe this might be related?

And, Yours Truly, I tried following your steps, but got only as far as finding Startup/Programs/Accessories/System Tools.

Are you sure the path names are correct?

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"In all creation, there can be no task more onerous or tedious than that of playing God." - Stephen Fry, 'The Liar'.

Homepage http://www.enixine.dabsol.co.uk (Shared)

[emjaycue]

Fixed my problem by using the crack that allows play w/o the CD in the drive... no more rebooting! ;-)

--M

Ali: yes, I'm sure, but you may not have loaded the tool on, or you may be using Win95 (which doesn't have it). It's really helpful, especially if you download junk from the web a lot, most of which adds itself to your startup.

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Yours Truly