Hello

[Von Roon]

OK, guys, I tried to gather all the info. Here's what I could find

I have PC Tools antivirus software, which I disabled before installing the CS program and the patch, and while running the CS game.

I installed the program downloaded from Matrix. It is

JohnTillerCampaignSeries-SetupRelease-V1DR.exe.

On advice of Matrix tech support, I installed that, then I installed the following patch (also downloaded from Matrix):

JohnTillerCampaignSeries-UpdateDR-v104.zip

I downloaded it, unzipped it using WinZip, then installed it.

As far as I can tell here are my computer settings/capabilities:

Windows XP, Home Edition, Version 2002, Service Pack 3

Intel Core2 CPU 4300 @ 1.8 Ghz
1.99 GB of RAM

As to video, Display Adapters lists

Intel® 82945G Express Chipset Family

I couldn't find any more information on my video card. I downloaded and ran WinAudit, and it gave the same information.

So far as I know, I haven't partitioned my hard drive. How could I tell if I had?

[Warhorse]

Anyone else have a chipset like his for the vidadapter?

Also, did you try East Front, and Rising Sun also, do they crash as well? How do you start the game, by dbl-clicking the West Front.exe, or by going through the JTCS menu? I alsways do the former, have never used the main screen to select the game I want to play.

As for partition, if you don't remember, you didn't!!;-) Go into Windows Explorer, and hit the x next to the My Computer to open the tree, you most likely have C:, and a D: maybe, which is for backup.

[Von Roon]

Also, did you try East Front, and Rising Sun also, do they crash as well? How do you start the game, by dbl-clicking the West Front.exe, or by going through the JTCS menu? I alsways do the former, have never used the main screen to select the game I want to play.

Yep, just a D (and the removeable F). I didn't try EF. I tried Rising Sun and the same thing happened. I used the menu.

Can I install the Matrix software even though I have Talonsoft on my computer? I uninstalled it when it kept crashing. Also, would there be any difference installing Matrix from the disc instead of the downloaded file?

[Warhorse]

Just for kicks, try dbl-clicking on the exe withing the game folder. Also, you're not getting a 486 error, and I assume the software(which evidently was installed from download?)installed to a Matrix Games/John Tillers Campaign Series/ structure?

Yes, you can install the Matrix version even with TS version on the harddrive, just obviously not in the same folders!!;-)

If the above method of dbl-clicking the West Front.exe, East Front.exe, and Rising sun.exe don't work, try uninstalling and install from the disk?

[Scud]

Go here and install current drivers: http://downloadcenter.intel.com/SearchRe...ofessional

Your computer is a lower-end model which doesn't use a dedicated graphics card, but instead "hardwires" the video display chip to the motherboard. A google search will inform you that this chipset doesn't always work too well with certain games, but I wouldn't think CS is that intensive. Hopefully a driver update will solve the problem.

An alternative is to see what slots are available for adding a separate card and bypassing the motherboard through the BIOS (might be automatic with the card software install). You can do this yourself, but it will take some learning. A repair shop can quote you a price. Depending on the card, probably for less than $100.

Did you look at your event log? Following the error link, if there is one, will probably take you to a windows page that, if I'm right, will tell you you have a driver conflict issue.

Did you try it in safe mode?

Dave

---

One more thing—yes, you can put the Talonsoft version on the same computer as the Matrix version, they won't conflict. However, the Talonsoft version will not work on operating systems that came after XP.

Dave

[Von Roon]

Scud,

I tried installing the updated driver. Windows encountered an "unknown error" and exited setup. I will try the other recommendations you made.

[Von Roon]

well, as noted I tried downloading the driver updates and the setup program encountered an unknown error and exited. When I rebooted my computer the next day, the display was very messed up. Resolution was strange -- video lines and flickers, all the fonts and icon sizes huge -- and worst of all I couldn't reset anything. Fortunately I made a restore point before running the driver update and got things back to the way they were.

[Von Roon]

I tried it in safe mode. Wouldn't even start. Tried it from the desktop shortcut and it went Matrix Games, TalonSoft, Campaign Legion, A John Tiller Design, wf.exe has encountered a problem. When I tried it directly from windows explorer by running wf. exe, it kicked out immediately. The error code is 0xc0000005. Searching for that, I found sites saying that I should roll back my video driver, but I've already done that (see above).

Maybe I should just save the Matrix Games disk until I get a new computer?

[Warhorse]

I always start from the West Front.exe, not the wf.exe, most likely won't make a difference, just saying?!

Sounds like it probably is your video causing the problem though. Unless you could put one in there, I would just wait until you get another?

[Scud]

Well the good news is you discovered the problem. That's huge. Next computer, make sure it comes with a dedicated video card if possible.

Your cheapest solution, buy a video card. First, you need to establish what kind of card slots your computer has. Go to the manufacturer's site and look up your model. Some sites might even tell you what cards you could upgrade to for that model, like Dell or Gateway. Older computers will have PCI slots and next came AGP. PCIe and PCI Express x16 came out around the same time as AGP, I believe, or soon after. It's important to know what kind of slots you have, since, if you buy a PCI card, it won't fit in an AGP slot.

If you have both PCI and AGP, opt for AGP. If you have a PCIe slot, get that.

Secondly, make a note of your computer's power supply output. Some cards require more juice than your computer most likely has, I'm guessing <400 watts.

The best news, is that lower end cards are pretty cheap and you're not doing 3D modeling or anything, so you don't need anything high-end. I'd opt for NVIDIA or ATI Radeon, or one of their licensed manufacturers (same cards—different brand names). When I say cheap, I mean under $50 dollars US, even half that.

Installing the card isn't as hard as you think. Figuring out how your computer opens is probably the hardest part. Unplug it. Have a vacuum cleaner handy, it will be filled with dust. Discharge any static electricity your body has built up by touching something metal. Try not to touch chips or capacitors. Unwrap the card from the antistatic container. There will only be a couple of slots where it can go, so you just match the male slots of the card to the matching female slot in the computer and push the card in place (there's often a little locking mechanism which clicks in when the card is fully inserted). Plug your monitor into the card and boot. XP should recognize the card and install a driver. Consider updating the driver to the latest via the card manufacturer's site.

One final note, make sure your monitor has a port on the card, VGA port for VGA monitors, DVI for older digital monitors, HDMI for newer ones. Some cards will have more than one choice.

This all sounds intimidating, but trust me, you can do this and it's kind of fun. Also, completely reversible if you mess up. Tons of how-to's online and even video tutorials on youtube. Check some out before you decide. I'll help you if I can.

Good luck,
Dave