Steve Schacher

If you are still tracking this, I had the exact same problem. After a while, when I tried to save a game, it would crash me back to the desktop after clicking on the save button or pressing enter (after entering the save game name). I finally tracked it down to my mouse driver (only once did I get an error message that referenced the mouse). I downloaded the most recent mouse drivers and then this problem went away forever.

Try using your extra time to clear your area of hostiles.

That's almost as funny as the story of a guy I once knew at work who, after changing offices, wanted to know if his email would know how to find him. This was 12 years ago and he was a programmer (but not for long).

For future reference to others who surf here before buying the game (and please correct me if I am wrong), the first edition of this game was released in a silver box. The second edition was released in a color box with a black background. Don't buy the silver box version.

The framerate will pick back up when you start killing the enemies.

Hey, are we supposed to be the Flagship of Galcom? Or are we a training vessel for recruits who promote out to better ships if their aptitudes are too high? I always wondered why we didn't get the best equipment and personnel...

This is very similar to my experiences documented in the thread "Game Crash With Errors" http://www.bc3000ad.com/ubb/Forum1/HTML/000369.html (I did not start the thread -- read down the list until you find my entries). Most people have been able to resolve this problem with memory tweaks. Perhaps your solution lies there.

quote:posted 01-02-2000 03:06 AM Get some sleep, dude! At least I have an excuse (I live in California).

In very simple terms, the problem is that the contours of the surface are such that sometimes the waypoint is actually above or below the true surface by just enough to make it impossible for the shuttle to reach it. It depends on how precise you are when you set the waypoint. If the waypoint is a little bit above the surface, the shuttle will not deploy an ATV while still in the air. If it is below the surface, the shuttle will never reach it.

quote:Gates Foundation gives $30 million to local United Way By Associated Press, 12/20/1999 18:30

I installed QEMM 8.03 because I didn't have enough DOS memory without it (I don't know why). I just installed QEMM 97 and the game has been running fine.

I removed an old version of QEMM 8.03 and reran with EMM386.SYS. Since then, I have had no problems at all. I've been playing for several hours without a crash. Now I have to figure out why my BC keeps firing on Pixan even after I capture it. I'm considering this problem closed for me.

I regret to say that I am still receiving this error. I am at my wit's end. It has occured in each version that I have run, including the preview 2.09E (unsupported). As I said earlier, it only happens after targeting an enemy in the FPD, and then putting the BC in Autopilot. It doesn't happen in the first enemy encounter -- it happens after several encounters. I just started a brand new game (2.09E), went to Navitron and ordered the BC to Lennin, and when I got there I order the BC to ATTACK the ODS (A/P AI mode). The BC fired the PTA until it disabled the ODS, circled a bit, then fired a missile. At this point, the game crashed. Very strange that it didn't happen right away. System Specs ------------- Gateway P3/550 128 meg ram Voodoo3 3000 Soundblaster AudioPCI 64D DOS memory is at 598k (612,338 bytes). My current save-games are for 2.09E, which is not supported. If you wish, I can restore back to 2.08 and recreate the error. [This message has been edited by Steve Schacher (edited 12-13-1999).]

When it rains, it pours... quote:Gates starts fund for children's vaccines $750 million grant could save lives in poor nations Wednesday, November 24, 1999 SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER STAFF and NEWS SERVICES

Recent headlines in the news: quote:Gates Foundation gives $26 million to UNICEF - By Associated Press, 11/21/99 12:39 quote: AP Monday November 8 11:48 PM ET - Gates Hosts Democrat Fund-Raiser [sung to the tune of New York, New York] Start spreading the wealth... I'm sharing today... I want to be a part of it, Bill Gates, Bill Gates...

For the record, I haven't had a chance to verify that I fixed this problem for me, since I had to go out of town for several weeks since posting to this thread, and I haven't had a chance to get back to it yet. Since the early conclusion was a bad install/patch/config, I found this thread (http://www.bc3000ad.com/ubb/Forum1/HTML/000379.html) that contains a list of critical files that I compared to my files. They all matched up in size and dates (except for the few that came from the v1.0 disk, which had earlier dates). From this, I concluded that I did not have a bad install, since there were no messages to the contrary and my files matched up to the critical file list. Since this thread is active again, I will have to make this a priority for me. I've been temporarily sidetracked by Red Baron 3D, but I see that it's time to park the Camel in the hangar and leave the holodeck for the real world. More on this later.

Some reports are speculating that Bill Gates will let the case drift until Bush is elected and hopefully, the Republicans will have a more favorable view of Microsoft. The thinking is that the Dems are unhappy with Gates because he hasn't been "spreading the wealth" like other rich people (i.e., lobbying, donating to causes, wining and dining and lining pockets, etc.).

quote:Well, it seems that our old coporate giant of a friend was found guilty. This wasn't a judgement, this was a finding of fact. It only states the Court's belief that Microsoft is a monopoly. Being a monopoly is not necessarily a bad thing -- it only violates anti-trust regulations if the company uses its monopoly power to unfairly stifle competition. The Court hasn't proved this yet, hence wishy-washy words like "could" and "might" in describing potential monopolistic behaviors that Microsoft might engage in.

Thanks for the tips. I will try reducing the buffers and increasing the files. quote:A minium config.sys is not what you want, you need the emm386.exe ram line. I have the emm86.exe line, as per the FAQ. My minimum config contains all the lines from the FAQ, and only the lines from the FAQ. quote:The trick is to play with the entries in the config.sys file, and to add the entry "LH" in front of those in the autoexec.bat, who load programs (like keyb). Certainly, you must recognize my uneasiness to tinker with ANY statement that is addressed in the FAQ, what with RTFM and all that. I would not, on my own, have done what you did because of all the admonishments that BC3K works as per the FAQ and all you have to do is follow the FAQ and all will be well. I don't mean this to be a flame or anything. I guess that I've just taken all the warnings not to tinker very seriously. If this turns out to be a conventional memory problem and not an install problem, then hopefully, your suggestions will work. Thanks again.

I lost count of how many times I've done what you said. Everything seems to be going fine in the early game. I start out by ordering the BC to defend Galcom HQ while my shuttles go off on trade routes until I get my bank account up to a couple hundred million or so. Then I upgrade everything, fill up the tanks, check the oil, save the game,and then I'm off to clear out the raiders and insurgents. This is when the problems start. The game doesn't seem to crash until I take an aggressive posture with the enemies. It usually happens after I set an enemy target in the FPD, but not until I switch to A/I Autopilot. That's when it crashes. For example, with the autopilot active, if I order the BC to attack the game will crash immediately. If Autopilot is deactivated when I order the BC to attack, it will crash once the autopilot is turned on. Sometimes it will hyperjump towards the enemy and then crash once it gets there. When this happens, I have to restart the computer (sometimes powering it off) to resume play from a savegame. If this gets me past the immediate crash (meaning I can now attack the enemy that was previously crashing), then sooner or later it will happen with another enemy. I really enjoy this game, but I am becoming an expert in early trading but not getting to try the more advanced features of combat because I can't play long enough to get there before having to delete, reinstall, and start over again. quote:1.Edited my config and autoexec to bare minimum. himem.sys, emm386 and dos=high,umb autoexec has set blaster, and windows loads a few drivers that my system requires.This took my low dos free mem to 613k from 609k,which should have been enough but wasn't. My memory is hovering around the 600k level. Does your config.sys also include the files=50 and buffers=40? My config.sys and autoexec.bat were both empty before I installed the game. They currently contain the statements from the FAQ and nothing else.

You know, I've been getting the same crash: DOS/4GW Professional error (2001): exception 0Dh (general protection fault) at 1 27:0000080F TSF32: prev_tsf32 6B18 SS 1FB DS 0 ES 0 FS 127 GS 0 EAX 85EA474A EBX 217 ECX 0 EDX 0 ESI 14F EDI 127 EBP 0 ESP F9C CS:IP 127:0000080F ID 0D COD 0 FLG 10206 CS= 127, USE16, byte granular, limit 5F8F, base 8340FC90, acc FB SS= 1FB, USE32, byte granular, limit FFF, base 8340FC90, acc 40F3 DS= 0, USE16, byte granular, limit 0, base 8340FC90, acc 0 ES= 0, USE16, byte granular, limit 0, base 8340FC90, acc 0 FS= 127, USE16, byte granular, limit 5F8F, base 8340FC90, acc FB GS= 0, USE16, byte granular, limit 0, base 8340FC90, acc 0 CR0: unavailable Crash address (unrelocated) = 5:0000080F I wondered if I had a bad install, too (having read many historical postings that invariably concluded in bad installs). However, I can't recall getting anything other than the Congratulations pop-up boxes during my installs. I am starting from the 2.0 CD, then I applied the 2.0 to 2.07 patch, then the 2.07 to 2.08 patch and then the map pack. Besides crashes, what else could I look at to verify a good install?