Resolved windows 7 issue!!!
 

I got this information from the ubisoft technical help forums.

1. Uninstall SH3
2. Run SFRemove
3. Reboot
4. Begin installation of SH3 as normal
5. When you get to Game Shadow cancel install
6. When you get to finish screen DO NOT press Finish. This seems crucial!
7. Install the 1.4 EU DVD patch with Run As Admin
8. ONLY after 7 has completed hit finish and the launcher screen runs to check system spec and reboot message appears. DO NOT reboot.
9. Exit spec check. DO NOT choose Launch.
10. Overwrite the files with the NO DVD rld-sh14.rar
11. Run the game. Should now work.

Thanks to TonyJF from the Ubisoft Forums for this guide, just follow exactly. I used the US version of the patch, and did not remove starforce as it wasnt there.
Hope this helped.

Hmm exept for one important thing
 

You cannot install the game in ProgramFiles , you must install it in another place :yep:

Someone else stated that but I did, and it worked, its probably safer to install somewhere else. Some people may have different outcomes.

As Neal posted here on SubSim

http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/showthread.php?t=160118 :salute:

StarLion45's suggestion is still valid. Using the default location in c:\Program Files is going to make you crazy if you want to mod files. This has nothing to do with StarForce, just Vista/Win7 security protocol.

Win 7 and crashing to Desktop
 

Did you load GWX3 Gold too? The above appears to apply only to SHIII (patched).

GWX3-Gold under Win7
 

I followed all the instructions above. I can now run SH3 with the various mods still available, but cannot get GWX to run at all.

With a clean install (everything deleted and files rolled back, etc.), and application of 1.04b patch, plus the no-DVD files and the GWX SH3 Commander .cfg files, GWX Gold appears to load ok. When I run it, I get the intro screen and movie, and the load screen appears to run to completion. However, at that point I get 2 warning messages:
1. "Warning: There is a new (not implemented) page <Page Ingame Options>!" with an "OK" button. This is followed by:
2. "Warning: Menu ID not found: 0x1a000008!", also with an "OK" button.
Windows then issues a message that Silent Hunter III has stopped working, and then its back to the desktop.

Naturally, this is frustrating. Has ANYONE encountered such a thing, and is there a fix?

Running SHIII without GWX is like kissing your sister - basic, but not satisfying. :cry::wah::damn:

My sister or your sister? I just want to clarify.

Win 7 Issues
 

Me kissing my own sister, thank you!

Now, can you help with the GWX-Win7 issue?:damn:

I had another issue with win7 yesterday. I wanted to install nHancer, but i needed to update my GFX drivers to use it. After the update to the most recent forceware drivers, SH3 would not start. I kept geting either, unable to initialise 3D engine, or a plain SH3 has stopped working. I tried with and without the d3d9.dll screen res fix but no joy. eventually I rolled back to the stock driver that ships with win7 and it worked again, only now I get every now and then a kind of false start, where it starts, but only appears as a process in task manager...

Hi all, been away from SHIII for a long time and recently got a new pc (Windows 7) and decided to try SHIII again, having similar problems to others. Getting a Starforce Protection popup saying Game Updated successfully but needs reboot to run. This happens continously regards of reboot, also getting a windows message saying File incompatibly (obviously Starforce) Did the removal tool, Uninstalled, re-installed, updated Starforce with the same result. Can someone refresh my aging memory and explain why SHIII should not go into Program Files?. And has anyone else sucessfully tried the OP's method?

Win 7 Issues - Program Files
 

I recall seeing a post earlier that said not to install in Program Files. I did it anyway, but now I think I understand why it isn't working. I believe that Win 7 tries to "protect" itself from unauthorized changes, especially to programs and files in that directory (either the 64 bit or 32 bit directories), by making most of them Read Only and preventing installation routines found on disks and/or run from downloads from having access to update.

One of the things I saw last night in attempting another clean install was that files could not be deleted by Patch 1.04b. It said "access denied", which was my clue that not all of the updates are being applied.

As an experiment, I'm going to remove everything (again!) and reinstall in the C:\Games\Ubisoft... directory instead of C:\Program Files (x86)\Ubisoft... I will post the results. BTW, have not encountered the two problems posted above, but I expect they are related to Win 7's desire to "protect" us.

It's called shadowing.

The Program Files is read only. When you make modifications they are stored inside something called "Virtual Store" that replicates, somewhere else, the exact same path and contents.

Ex. a Program inside :

c:\Program Files\example

Writing inside its folder would have the files send to :

c:\Users\<username>\Virtual Store\Program Files\example

(path may vary)

So it protects the programs. The only way to write something inside the Program Files folder is to have administrator privileges.

The cannot initialize 3D engine is most likely caused by your screen refresh rate being 59Mhz or some other stupid number that your 3D engine cannot use. You need to set your screen refresh rate using a custom resolution in nvidia control panel. If you set it to 60.001mhz it should then work as long as your turn off your AA.

No Joy! Experiment failed (sort of)
 

I was successful in loading the original and patch 1.04b to a non-Program Files folder, and applied the file changes for the no-DVD fix, but could not get the latter to work. I checked file sizes, etc. to be sure the copy to the base directory was successful, but after a reboot it would not start without the DVD check.

So, I gave up and went to the link provided earlier by Capt. Lehman from Subsim.com to Amazon.com and bought the later version. I also bought SH4, knowing there are issues with it, but what the heck, I have to give it a go and learn for myself.

Hopefully the new SHIII disk will at least eliminate the one problem. I'll post when I have a chance to try it.:salute: