Can't seem to get SH4 to run.

[peteuplink]

Hi all. Sorry if this is in the wrong forum, but I couldn't see anywhere else to post it. I've just bought SH4 and it installed with no problem, but I have had trouble getting it to run.

1st problem) the Ubisoft intro video doesn't play and just shows a green screen with the music. Then hangs the PC. I was told this could be a codec issue, but I've reinstalled codecs and updated graphics drivers and nothing I've done seems to have fixed it. In the end I deleted the Intro and Logo vids from the Movies/Intro folder.

2nd problem) So now I can get to the main menu, set game options, graphics settings and so on no problem. However when I try to start a mission, the progress bar goes all the way to the top, I get the "Please Wait" message and then the screen goes black and the PC spontaniously resets.

Anyone else come across anyhting like this? I'm running Windows XP SP3, with 2GB RAM, a 256mb Nvidia Geforce 7600 GS graphics card, and a Creative Soundblaster Audigy.

the rest of your system looks decent enough but you have the bare minimum video card to run sh4 or maybe its not enough to with only 256mb card. you really are struggling there so you have to take every step you can to not run anything but the game and you might get it running untill you come to AI activity in the game at which point im pretty sure you'll get a CTD so even if you find a way to get it running it wont run very well and you will constantly be getting herky jerky slow motion displays.

i wish you luck but i think you need a better card to be able to run sh4.

when i had your card it was a 512mb version and mine would do that to me sometimes unless i defragged everything, cleaned out all temp internet files, made sure nothing else was running, and even then the event cam would turn everything into super slow motion.

you can try setting all your game video options to minimum and it should run but turn OFF the event cam for sure because it will give you a CTD.

the ad-on ubm v1.5 will help some because it loads faster and is a less demanding game but not by a lot.

you will not be able to use most mods unless they are ver basic and small in size, for sure you wont be able to use any of the big mods like TMO or RFB

here are some 9800gt 512mb cards to look at: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...ue&Order=PRICE

if you can afford it a 1gb card would be a better choice the way games are nowadays.

another suggestion is since your system is still good enough to get a good resale price so give serious thought to selling it and putting the money into a new system.

if you have even modest knowledge of how computer components are connected then building your own very nice medium high end system can be done for under $1000 or you can just buy a prebuilt thats more up to date and able to handle the games they are making today.

[peteuplink]

Thanks for the reply. Guess I'll have to shelve it for now and stick to SHIII. I have noticed that the intro video on SHIII and IL2 is doing the same corrupted thing as SHIV, though. So it's looking likely that I have some kind of system glitch, but it only seems to be affecting games with a .wmv intro.

However I can play the .wmv videos on WMP. I'm not sure what the problem is.

[irish1958]

Originally Posted by peteuplink

Thanks for the reply. Guess I'll have to shelve it for now and stick to SHIII. I have noticed that the intro video on SHIII and IL2 is doing the same corrupted thing as SHIV, though. So it's looking likely that I have some kind of system glitch, but it only seems to be affecting games with a .wmv intro.

However I can play the .wmv videos on WMP. I'm not sure what the problem is.

A reinstall of a codex pack wouldn't hurt.

yea before you give up try installing the latest video drivers for your card OR it is possible if you recently updated your video driver you may have used the wrong one for your card since its so old.

then as "irish1958" said the game has its own codecs for the game that are extra from directx 9 and they should get installed with the game unless you tell it not to.

so i would reinstall directx 9.0c then reinstall sh4 and make sure you say yes to install the extra codecs for the game. (you dont need game shadow BTW)

if it still wont work then an upgraded video card is needed to run it. if it does work you will still have issues running it but it might at least run.

and the last thought i had is that your video card is crapping out on you and is about to fail altogether which is very possible.

[Knox]

Hey there,

I had pretty much the same issue with the intro's when I was on my old video card(GeForce 6200 256mb).

The intro and logo video's would show up as green/pinkish redish pixelated puke. They would swirl and stuff. However the sound played fine. I would just hit space bar to get past them.

I figured it was my video card drivers and I tried to update them, however they were not installing properly. I'd say make sure your driver's(video and sound) are up to date. or go get yourself a newer faster card.

Good luck!

[peteuplink]

To be honest, I'm not into PC gaming as much as I used to be. It's things like this that put me off it, the fact that even if your computer does meet the recommended specs the game still isn't guaranteed to work 100% because of bugs or the multiple different configurations of PC, conflicts with anti-virus software, some plug-in you've installed for some random piece of software that you've forgotten about that's just sitting in the background and using that little bit more RAM than the game needs to run and so on. I've actually become a console convert in that last 4 years... Okay the graphics aren't as good, and FPS's and RTS's are a bit clunky on them (and there's no sub sims), but at least when you buy a game it's guaranteed to work.

I only picked SH4 up because I liked SH3 and the specs on the rear of the case say that a 256mb graphics card with pixel shader 2.0 is recommended and my card meets that no problem. Heck I can run Dragon Age: Origins, Oblivion, Flight SImulator X and a lot of other modern games. They run a little slow, but they do run. So even if my graphics card isn't fast enough to play SH4, surely the game should still run, but at a slower rate? I'm not actually that bothered about frame rates because I came to PC gaming from the Amiga and 7fps was considered good.

Anyways back to the problem at hand. On my 2nd attempt to run the game this morning, I noticed that the graphics do start to draw, (I actually got to see the interior of the sub this time), but as soon as someone spoke it reset the PC again.

Going back to graphics cards for a moment. My motherboard only has an AGP slot. Is it possible to still get a good AGP card? (everything is PCI-Exress now right?) I'm a little out of the loop concerning PC hardware because I'd pretty much turned my back on PC gaming.

[peteuplink]

Could a power issue be the problem and cause some games to run and not others?

This morning I left mky PC downloading some updates while I sat here and read a book. There were no other sounds except the PC's fan, and I noticed that it was making a noises like it was speeding up and slowing down. Now this case used to be one of those modded ones with the neon lights and stuff in it, and I noticed a while back that sometimes the lights would dim and then the PC would either freeze or reset. I found that the cause of the problem was the connector that comes from the power supply to the motherboard was working loose. In the end i removed all the fancy lights and fixed the connector, and I'venot had a reset of the PC until I tried SH4.

I'm now wondering whether the problem has come back since the cooler fan doesn't seem to be running smoothly. Perhaps the GFX card is taking just that little bit too much power when the game starts and tipping the PC over? Any thoughts?

[Seaman_Hornsby]

You might also try re-seating your cards. I've had problems in the past with bizarre behavior and spontaneous resets due to poorly seated graphics cards, modems, etc. Disconnect power, unseat the card, blow out the slot and re-seat the card firmly. Might help, and shouldn't hurt.

[AVGWarhawk]

Anyways back to the problem at hand. On my 2nd attempt to run the game this morning, I noticed that the graphics do start to draw, (I actually got to see the interior of the sub this time), but as soon as someone spoke it reset the PC again.

Your sound card is probably the issue. Somewhere on the sound control panel should be sound acceleration I think it is called. Do not have the sound accelerated.

[peteuplink]

Okay, the plot thickens... The first few times I've tried to play the game, I've chosen the naval school missions. As soon as the interior of the sub loads the PC resets as you all know.

Last time, out of curiosity, I selected the Museum and it loaded fine 100%, no slowdown, nice and smooth, no crashes or resets.

So I went back to the main menu and selected Career. Sat through the video (for some reason my PC seems fine with the in-game Bink videos, but not the WMV intro), I got to the office with the map on the wall and was given my first mission. I accepted and after a little while the game loaded with me inside the sub, at dawn, in the dock.

I was able to move from station to station, it was a reasonably smooth 22fps (heck, that's smooth for me. It's a sub sim afterall, not expecting warp drive.) I came out of the harbour into the open sea, had no issues setting a course. But when I pressed escape to goto the menu, the PC reset again.

So it's obvious my PC will run SH4, I just need to figure out why it keeps resetting. I'm starting to wonder if I maybe have something installed (that aformentioned random piece of software) that's causing it? I did run End It All before starting the game, but there are things that refuse to close. Perhaps something is causing a conflict with the game?

Any other ideas?

[peteuplink]

Well it's got me... It does look like it's something hardware related going on (possibly a dying graphics card as was mentioned) because I've just formatted the PC and reinstalled everything fresh including all drivers (making sure the newest drivers are still supported by my card and Nvidia say they are) and direct X and the runtime files that came with SH4 and it STILL refuses to run properly. Still getting the green screen and crash on the Ubi intro, still resetting when I start the game proper.

The thing that is odd is if it is a graphics card issue, why are other games, including new ones, working?

[Captainchaos]

Get a can of air and blow all the dust out of your computer and video card to start with.
Delete all the game files and re-install fresh.
Check firewalls to allow anything to do with the game (worth a shot).

See if that works.

[peteuplink]

Just bought a can of air and spent the last hour and a half taking the PC apart, cleaning everything, reseating cards and memory sticks...

Steps I've taken so far.

1) formatted the PC and reinstalled from scratch.
2) taken the PC apart and cleaned everything.
3) downloaded new sound and graphics drivers.

What happened last time I tried the game is it ran (last night after my format, without the intro and logo videos because I renamed the folder so it would skip then). I was able to attempt the first training mission and complete it no problem. I'll try it again after making this post.

*edit*

It gets weirder!

Well the game runs if I bypass the .wmv vids at the start, but only if I plug my monitor into the 2nd port on the graphics card (I forgot to mention that point last time I posted) Don't know what the 2nd port is called it's called. Not the small one, the longer thinner one with the aid of an adaptor.

.wmv files will run in windows media player 11 (all other video formats are fine), but lock the computer up if I use them in windows movie maker or if they're used as an intro to a game.

Anyone know of anything else I can try?

Originally Posted by peteuplink

Could a power issue be the problem and cause some games to run and not others?

This morning I left mky PC downloading some updates while I sat here and read a book. There were no other sounds except the PC's fan, and I noticed that it was making a noises like it was speeding up and slowing down. Now this case used to be one of those modded ones with the neon lights and stuff in it, and I noticed a while back that sometimes the lights would dim and then the PC would either freeze or reset. I found that the cause of the problem was the connector that comes from the power supply to the motherboard was working loose. In the end i removed all the fancy lights and fixed the connector, and I'venot had a reset of the PC until I tried SH4.

I'm now wondering whether the problem has come back since the cooler fan doesn't seem to be running smoothly. Perhaps the GFX card is taking just that little bit too much power when the game starts and tipping the PC over? Any thoughts?

what you describe definately sounds like your power supply (psu) is the problem

make sure the plug isnt overheating and melting or turning green (loose connections grow green slime, its very weird but true)

if the psu is failing its not very easy to test because it can come and go but i think you are getting voltage drops which will cause all sorts of weird issues.

insufficient power to your motherboard will cause your video to act up because an AGP system feeds power to the video card through the motherboard power supply so at this point if its not a loose plug then you should look into replacing the psu (they arent very expensive nowadays)

normally i would recommend getting a good quality psu but in your case a psu of average quality is fine since your whole computer is so old it has no resale value so investing money in it isnt smart. an average psu will cost you around $20 so why spend money on a good quality psu and pay $50 or more when the whole computers only worth $100

an old system like yours needs a 300-400watt psu so have a look at this one, it should fix your issues

350 watt psu: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817822007