Silent Hunter on XP

[Sgian Dubh]

Is there a way to get this to work?

I've tried a few times with no success. The game won't launch. I've tried the obvious options in XP.


Thanks,

SMB

[Letum]

You need to find a good DOS emulator. :up:

[ReallyDedPoet]

Try here mate:up:


http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/showthread.php?t=95080&highlight=Silent+Hunter+Windows

[Smaragdadler]

in short: make a full install then delete copyr.smk,logo444.smk and skin.smk-files. That takes away the intro, but it should run fine from then...

[Hitman]

I'm making this post sticky and will try to add the other procedures mentioned in this forum (DOSBOX and others) when I can. Even though SH4 is around the corner, many people still seem willing to give this beautiful classic an opportunity on their HDDs :up:

[Sgian Dubh]

Up and running. 27,000 sunk on first try.

man this is one fun game.

[richoahu]

:-(

as i waited for SH4 to download i decided to try this game out again. i deleted the files posted above, and set the game for windows 95. goto start the game, the little DOS box pops up, then goes away, and then nothing. no error, nothing. any ideas? or should i now try that DOS box thing someone else posted?

thanks for any help ;-)

[Sailor Steve]

They say the new version of DOSBox works like a charm.
http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/showthread.php?t=107248

[rman214]

Did a full install of SH1 commander's edition and deleted the intro files so it would work on xp, game loads and is workable but the color is way overdone everything is psycadelic looking. Is there any way to tone down the color?

[Major Johnson]

in short: make a full install then delete copyr.smk,logo444.smk and skin.smk-files. That takes away the intro, but it should run fine from then...

I tried that and got the following error message when trying to start the game:
"C:\Silent\SH.EXE
C:\Progra~1\Symantec\S32EVNT1.DLL. An Installable Virtual Device Driver failed Dll initialization. Choose 'Close' to terminate the application."

The weird thing is that I don't have a Symantec directory under program files, or anywhere for that matter! Any ideas?? Thanks.

[Hitman]

Is your antivirus enabled when you start the game? It might consider an emulated DOS process a threat to the system and block it:hmm:

[Major Johnson]

Is your antivirus enabled when you start the game? It might consider an emulated DOS process a threat to the system and block it:hmm:

Yes but it's not Norton's. I use AVG. But I used to have Norton's Systemworks installed, but I uninstalled it. That was like a year and a half ago.

Anyway, I did a little research on Norton's and downloaded an uninstall program, which I ran. Rebooted, same error message. Then I went through the registry and did a search and deleted all the entries that had Symantec in it. Then when I tried to run SH I got a different error:
C:\Silent\SH.EXE
System\CurrentControlSet\Control\VirtualDeviceDriv ers. VDD. Virtual Device Driver format in the registry is invalid.

Maybe I should run a chkdsk from my XP cd to replace anything I should not have deleted. But unless my system becomes unstable, which right now the only problem I'm having is with SH1, I'm not gonna go that route.

[MaxT.dk]

Is it possible to run it windowed? :)

[Hitman]

In DOSBOX yes, which is quite handy for doing some stuff menawhile (E-mail reading, internet browsing and such) but you are limited to a 640x480 window (Original game resolution) which is very small in a modern screen. I think there are options to make it beigger, but I have not messed with them as I played in full screen:hmm:

[MaxT.dk]

Hmm yeh... I'm @ 22" flat widescreen panel and 640x480 will look way too smal :/

[jtm55]

Hi All,

Another option is to install Microsoft Virtual PC. Either 2004 or 2007. With this option you need either Windows 95 or 98 operating systems. I installed Microsoft Virtual PC & then Windows 98. Afterwards, I installed Silent Hunter Commanders Edition. The game runs perfectly. My operating system is XP Pro. So for those of you that either have Windows 95 or 98 laying around, I highly recommend that you go to the Microsoft site & download Microsoft Virtual PC, as it's a free download.

[QuillOmega0]

http://www.subsowespac.org/sh_xp/silent_hunterxp.shtml
(http://www.subsowespac.org/sh_xp/silent_hunterxp.shtml)
I'm surprised you guys don't know of this. This is guranteed to work.

(Yea I know the topic is old, but I just wanted to post this)

[MarkShot]

I had it running on my old system with VDMS very nicely, but I could not get it to run on my new system with VDMS. On the other hand, the new system has enough power to run SHCE under DOSBOX very smoothly.

So, I would not say guaranteed. However, it is definitely worth a try especially if you have a system with inadequate CPU cycles to run SHCE under DOSBOX well. Certainly, the overhead for the NTVM is much less than DOSBOX.

[Hitman]

I'm surprised you guys don't know of this. This is guranteed to work.


We knew it well:know: but the topic goes about DOSBOX as some people prefer it rather than the painful procedure described there. Also DOSBOX allows using other old games:yep:

[goldorak]

Hi All,

Another option is to install Microsoft Virtual PC. Either 2004 or 2007. With this option you need either Windows 95 or 98 operating systems. I installed Microsoft Virtual PC & then Windows 98. Afterwards, I installed Silent Hunter Commanders Edition. The game runs perfectly. My operating system is XP Pro. So for those of you that either have Windows 95 or 98 laying around, I highly recommend that you go to the Microsoft site & download Microsoft Virtual PC, as it's a free download.

Man this is just overkill to get silent hunter 1 working on windows xp.
Really, all you need to install is dosbox a meager 5MB program and then install SHI directly over it.
Job done, the game can run windowed or full screen at full speed.

[GreyBeard]

I just installed SH-CE on WIN/XP. Works fine simply by deleting the files mentioned by Smaragdadler in an earlier post above. The mouse was quite slow at first, but I've corrected that through the control panel. My Creative Audigy 2 ZS sound card used to be a problem. I guess updating the drivers corrected that, although the sound is a wee little bit scratchy, but all in all very usable. :up: I had SH-CE installed on the same computer already by using WIN/ME on a separate partition and utilizing the on-board sound. Guess I don't need that anymore. When installing the program I got a message that the Extended XMS Memory did not meet the requirements needed, whatever that means. I ignored it and installed the program anyway. Glad I did. Now if I could just get Panzer Commander to function properly on XP....................

[nikimcbee]

http://www.subsowespac.org/downloads.shtml

[jmanwell]

I've installed Silent Hunter Commanders Edition on a Compaq TC 1000 and a Compaq TC 1100 just recently using the instructions on subsowespac.org. Everything runs fine even the beginning clips. I'm trying to get SHCE to run on a Microsoft Virtual PC using the Microsoft Virtual PC 2004 edition. Currently, I have Windows 98 running on the VPC, and the game works fine; I just can't view the beginning clips. I hear them fine just can't see them. If I hit the spacebar a few times the main menu comes up and the game runs great!! Any suggestions on what might cause the beginning clips to not show. Also, I'm thinking of getting rid of the TC1000 that has SHCE on it. If any are interested, let me know.

[rodan54]

Been itching for some good ole SH1 moments as of late. I just recently recoverd my game cd, however I'm at a loss as to what exactly I need to get her up and running.

At the moment I've just installed the game from the cd, but when I click on the SH.exe the black command prompt loads for a split seconds then disappears. :-?

Also tried this after having deleted the 3 troublesome cinematic files, and setting the game to run in windows 95 compatibiliy mod but still no go.

Any ideas?

Oh, and this is on a windows xp system btw.

[GreyBeard]

@rodan54: Did you run setsound.exe in the games main folder?

[rodan54]

Thanks for the advice, I fiddled with the sound settings a bit. Now she's working like a charm. :up:

Never thought it'd be that easy.

[Yellowbeard]

Hi All,

Another option is to install Microsoft Virtual PC. Either 2004 or 2007. With this option you need either Windows 95 or 98 operating systems. I installed Microsoft Virtual PC & then Windows 98. Afterwards, I installed Silent Hunter Commanders Edition. The game runs perfectly. My operating system is XP Pro. So for those of you that either have Windows 95 or 98 laying around, I highly recommend that you go to the Microsoft site & download Microsoft Virtual PC, as it's a free download.

Man this is just overkill to get silent hunter 1 working on windows xp.
Really, all you need to install is dosbox a meager 5MB program and then install SHI directly over it.
Job done, the game can run windowed or full screen at full speed.
I have a delemma. I have WinXP, P3-767Mhz, 512MB RAM, SBLive soundcard and built-in video. I cannot run SHIII cause I get "no 3D" error msg. So, what about SHII? If I get the DOSBOX, it should work, right?:hmm:

[Hitman]

SH1 (Not 2) should work in DOSBOX and also using the tips at subsowespac.org :yep:

[Yellowbeard]

SH1 (Not 2) should work in DOSBOX and also using the tips at subsowespac.org :yep:
Only 1! Not 2!:damn:
Holy Mackeral, Amos! Let's see...:hmm: either I get a new PC with the bells/whistles or scrounge around for a 486 with win95/98...

[Sailor Steve]

You misunderstand, I think. SH2 runs fine on WinXP. It doesn't need DosBox.

[dannygjk]

btw, I tried, (against my better judgement, (25+ years experience)), the suggestion of full install of SH1 then delete the 3 cine files listed in the instructions. XP crashed, (XP Pro SP3). I had to restore to the previous day and reinstall the graphics driver to fix the system. As usual, a dos program screwed up the modern file system.


Hi All,

Another option is to install Microsoft Virtual PC. Either 2004 or 2007. With this option you need either Windows 95 or 98 operating systems. I installed Microsoft Virtual PC & then Windows 98. Afterwards, I installed Silent Hunter Commanders Edition. The game runs perfectly. My operating system is XP Pro. So for those of you that either have Windows 95 or 98 laying around, I highly recommend that you go to the Microsoft site & download Microsoft Virtual PC, as it's a free download.

Man this is just overkill to get silent hunter 1 working on windows xp.
Really, all you need to install is dosbox a meager 5MB program and then install SHI directly over it.
Job done, the game can run windowed or full screen at full speed.

[kweigel]

The answer is: don;t do it! I have tried eveything with NO success.

SO DON"T TRY IT. Here is what I did and it works perfectly.

I bought an old hard drive at the local PC Recycle. Cost me $10.00. It was a FAT32 system. (Be sure it is a FAT32 system, it will not work if it is NFTS) I then disconnected my primary HD, and connected it to the ribbon connector in the primary position. I then installed W98 on it, and I then installed SH.

SH installed with no problem and I played a number of games on it. It is still a GREAT GAME!

I disconnected the old hard drive from the primary position on the ribbon connector and re-connected it to the secondary position on the ribbon connector. I then re-connected my primary HD to the primary position onthe ribbon connector.

I then went into SETUP and "turned off" the secondary hard drive, so my computer will now boot from the primary HD. If I want to play SH, all I have to do is go into setup, and "turn off" the primary HD and boot from the "secondary" HD. I don't even have to open the case.

By the way, you can leave the secondary HD on, XP will recognize it as a secondary drive and you can save your important files to it.

After YEARS of trying to get SI to work under XP, I found this to be the solution.

I am sure Partition Magic would work too - I just did not have a copy, and it is far more expensive than the $10.00 I spent for this used HD.

[goldorak]

@ kweigel : obviously you did something wrong because my SH I is going great from within dosbox in windows xp. No need to buy obsolete hardware, just install the 5 MB dosbox program and then SH I on top of it. 15 minutes and you're ready to enjoy the pacific in svga glory. :cool:

[bishop]

After YEARS of trying to get SI to work under XP, I found this to be the solution.

I agree with Goldorak, I can't believe you have to go through all of that to get the game to run, something is wrong. I have SH (and a slew of old games) running under Dosbox on 2 different XP machines AND my new Vista laptop with no problems at all. I didn't even install SH on the Vista laptop, I just dragged the entire directory from one of my XP machines, fired up Dosbox and launched the game. Couldn't be easier...

[ABBAFAN]

in short: make a full install then delete copyr.smk,logo444.smk and skin.smk-files. That takes away the intro, but it should run fine from then...

where are these files found?

[paulco]

btw, I tried, (against my better judgement, (25+ years experience)), the suggestion of full install of SH1 then delete the 3 cine files listed in the instructions. XP crashed, (XP Pro SP3). I had to restore to the previous day and reinstall the graphics driver to fix the system. As usual, a dos program screwed up the modern file system.

Hi, noticed your Post while looking for something else:-

Man this is just overkill to get silent hunter 1 working on windows xp.
Really, all you need to install is dosbox a meager 5MB program and then install SHI directly over it.
Job done, the game can run windowed or full screen at full speed.

Not so good with computers as a lot of you out their, Can you please tell me what you mean by "install SHI directly over it".

I have installed SH1 with dosbox 0.73 programme is running fine apart from everything telling me it's in fullscreen mode when it's running in the middle of the screen in a large black border. Have beem trying to get this running for some weeks now. Also awaiting arrival of SHCE from the USA and hoping not to have same problem. Any help please.

Thanks

Paul

[CTarana]

Here's what I did... I went to the website below and downloaded his 30 meg FSHistory package, the DosBox based one. I installed it and everything works perfectly under WinXP Pro SP3. Once I got comfortable working with the FS files, I set up a folder for Silent Hunter under the FS/ subfolder. I added a new profile for Silent Hunter and everything worked great the first time! 10 out of 10! I can even see the opening videos that I couldn't see when it was installed on my Win98 machine.


http://www.volny.cz/havlikjosef/historyenglish.htm (http://www.volny.cz/havlikjosef/historyenglish.htm)

The DosBox based package uses "DFend" as a front end and it's very easy to use. I was able to add another 8 flightsims that were DOS only and a golf simulation that needed SB-16 support.

ChristopherT

[dannygjk]

Hi,

Ok, I am tired of messing around to get old programs to work on newer machines/OS's. For God's sake I've done a lot of technical work on computers, (Assembly language programming etc), when I want to play an old game I just want to install the thing and play it. I don't want to spend valuable time searching online and learning to use various solutions. I had a laptop that would run SHCE straight from a routine install. Unfortunately I no longer have that machine, (Compaq Presario 1255 running Win 98SE).
Some of the so-called solutions will not work because the graphics hardware in some machines does not support them. Emulators are the best general-purpose solution, but that requires me to figure out how to use it.
My preference is to always have an old machine running an old OS. Simple and easy. K.I.S.S. :)

[CTarana]

Hi,
hardware in some machines does not support them. Emulators are the best general-purpose solution, but that requires me to figure out how to use it.
My preference is to always have an old machine running an old OS. Simple and easy. K.I.S.S. :)

Actually 90% of the problem using an older DOS game under WinXP isn't running the game. I have a copy of Microsoft FS4.0b that runs right from WinXP Pro. It's getting the sound to work properly. If you are technically minded then going out and getting an old sound card that's Soundblaster compatible would work too. :)

ChristopherT

[CTarana]

@ kweigel : obviously you did something wrong because my SH I is going great from within dosbox in windows xp. No need to buy obsolete hardware, just install the 5 MB dosbox program and then SH I on top of it. 15 minutes and you're ready to enjoy the pacific in svga glory. :cool:

I found using DFend that I had to mount the C:\ drive instead of C:\Silent to get the simulation to run. Now DFend complains about that being a bad practice, but SH1 runs excellent now. SHCE runs great too, but it only needed the subfolder mounted.

ChristopherT