Major Instalation problem

[Pocus]

Hi Pocus

Wilhammer suggestion didn´t solve problem, unfortunately (thank you anyway Wilhammer).

However, AgeSettings launches successfully on both computers when nothing but the systems is up. Does that imply that the solution to my installation problems is to identify which of the other programmes interferes with the launch AACW.exe by closing each programme down sequentially and ckecking whether AACW.exe runs or not ?

Nap

This would be the idea yes... a program is blocking AACW from running, find the offender

anti virus or something like that.

[wwoodard8]

I've found the problem on my machine - cyberpatrol was apparently causing AACW some difficulties. If I used EndItAll to stop the parts of cyberpatrol I was allowed to stop, AACW runs fine...

[Wilhammer]

Sorry I did not think of that before - it is a common occurrence in software installs and certain running programs that are new - anti-malware software can stop you cold.

Cyberpatrol is one of them - any software that does 'heuristic' methods can result in false positives and stop legitimate software.

Might want to put that in a Technical FAQ, my good man Pocus.

These softwares might also result in slowdowns as they both suck up CPU cycles and analyze exes and processes as they load and run - might be a consideration for anyone getting performance issues.

[Wilhammer]

Now, let's move onto a question/solution - what do I use to protect my home PC?

Anti-Virus - Symantec Corporate Edition - AV portion only. Not free, but excellent.

Anti-Spyware;

Prevention and removal; Spy Bot Search and Destroy. Free

Removal only: Ad-Aware. Free

Firewall - Windows Firewall is good enough for me.

However, I use a Linksysy WRT54G LAN/WLAN router with security turned on - port forwarding, MAC address limits, only 4 IPs given out and more.

---------------

If you are cheap and want to go free on everything;

AntiVir Personal or Clamwin for your AV, Spybot Search and Destroy for your anti-malware.

If you want to spend money;

Symantec/Nortons AV ONLY (I find their antispyware and personal firewall to be poor performers and resource hogs). Norton gets bad press for its security bundle, and should. The bundle really sucks - but the AV is rock solid.

WebRoot Spy Sweeper. That is the best AS out there.

Buy a router and learn to configure it.

[Nap]

Hello all

Is the unhappy end approaching......................

No remedy seems to work on my 2 computers. After updating sound drivers and what have you I installed Enditall2 as the last resort on both computers, however, with discouraging results so far.

Laptop:
On my laptop I was able to close/kill all programmes and processes except the following:
smss.exe
explorer.exe
svchost.exe
lsass.exe
winlogon.exe
With the above programmes and processes active I am still unable to run AACW... sigh


Stationary Computer
Identical experience here as with the laptop, however, with a slight alteration.

When I run AACW it also triggers another exe - wuauclt.exe - which is a type of automatic updating process, part of the windows/system32 files.
Could wuauclt.exe be the culprit process hindering the launch of AACW? Based on the findings from my Laptop investigation the apparent answer is no, but I am not the expert.

Nap

[tc237]

I don't use any kind of anti-virus or firewall.
Only time there is a problem is if I do something wrong or visit non-friendly websites, which almost never happens.

[Pocus]

You don't have to close all process one by one, perhaps you can first check in the boot.ini section of your system what are the programs, and uncheck them:

execute, type MsConfig, in the boot tab, uncheck a maximum of items and then reboot, then if AGESettings works, check one by one (each time rebooting, gasp!) the programs.

The last service we will offer you is to refund the game. Not satisfying but honest at least.

[Nap]

Hi all

Thank for your replies.

Well, at long last I am actually able to play the game on my 2 computers !!!! However, only in Safe boot dsrepair mode with all background systems, services, win ini, and start settings activated.

In normal windows XP mode AACW still stalls, but that matters less now that I am actually able to play the damn game.

In others words I have still not succeeded in identifying the sources of my computers' inability to run AACW in normal windows XP mode. Any suggestions are still most welcome and deeply appreciated.

Nap

[tc237]

I have had the same problem with installation. ....the registration screen is appearing off the screen... I was running with two monitors ....
I'd be willing to be that if you look up the registry entry for that registration screen there will be large or wierd numbers for the x and y position entries...

Nap,
Even if you don't have dual monitors, this may be happening. My Settings window appears half off the right side of my screen.
I have the same video card as you (ATI x800 GTO) Although I am running dual monitors.

When Agesettings hangs, do you see it on the taskbar?
If so, are you able to, right click - Minimize/Restore? You may be able to see the Settings window "fly" on/off your screen.

You might be able to right-click the taskbar and select "Cascade Windows" or one of the other options, to get the Settings window to appear.

Just trying to think of anything that might help.

[Wilhammer]

Nap;

Too add to tc's suggestions;

- Increase your resolution to the highest setting - your missing dialog box might show up then.
- In addition to Task Manager, see if you can 'Alt+Tab' and see it.

-----------------

Its very significant you can play in Safe Mode.

I might could help you further, if needed, but I would need to see some info on what is running on your PC.

Google for the following two apps;

autoruns (likely at MicroSoft; its a classic Mike Russovich Sysinternals diagnostic tool)

hijackthis

Save the logs/reports for each one, and email them to me at billopad@gmail.com.

Also, did you update your video drivers?

[Frank E]

Hi all

Well, at long last I am actually able to play the game on my 2 computers !!!! However, only in Safe boot dsrepair mode with all background systems, services, win ini, and start settings activated.

In normal windows XP mode AACW still stalls, but that matters less now that I am actually able to play the damn game.

In others words I have still not succeeded in identifying the sources of my computers' inability to run AACW in normal windows XP mode. Any suggestions are still most welcome and deeply appreciated.

Nap

I'd try a couple of things since you can get it to run in safe mode.

Boot up XP normally and disable your sound card, see if it will run. Note: Never tried this with ACW, I don't know if Pocus checks for sound drivers.

Change your desktop to the lowest resolution that ACW will run at and make sure ACW is also set to that resolution.

Try disabling any control panels that are in the startup for your video card.

I can almost always get a program running (that boots in safe mode) with one of the above.

[Pocus]

remember Frank that he can't get AGESettings to run too, and this app is a very simple win32 utility without DirectX or sound...

Nap: I'm very happy that you found at last a work around, even if not perfect!

Wilhammer: you are providing an astonishing service to AGEOD, and I'm taking notes about the suggestions you do

[Wilhammer]

Pocus;

You guys make an astonishing product line, and I want everyone to enjoy it. Ageod needs to thrive, and I will help. Fantastic games.

In case you haven't figured it out, I am a Windows Sys Admin/Analyst for a living.

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If I could remote into Naps PC, I am certain I could clear all this up...

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When a PC is acting weird and software won't load, here is my checklist;

1. Admin Rights?
2. Anti-Malware software interference?
3. Task Manager check for errant running processes.
4. Device Manager check to make sure everything is correctly installed.
5. Windows Update; are we beyond SP1 and getting updated?

----------

More work needed?

MS Tools

Check Disk with Repair option - it will then run at reboot. If a file system corruption has taken place, a file may be errantly opened.

Disk Defrag may help too.

OEM tools or other Hard Drive tools such as those on Hiren's Boot CD (google for it) - if a file resides on a bad sector of the HD, all manners of weirdness can happen. I also have great luck with the Western Digital Diagnostic Tool, which you can use from a Windows Boot CD built using PE Builder; I have my own, called, with great modesty, 'Bill's Boot CD'. It's got all kinds of data recovery, disk repair, malware removal, etc. tools on it, and it can also reset the Admin Passwords on the local OS, in case its long forgotten. The beauty of using a boot CD is that the Disk OS is not running, and thus none of the files are locked. This is sometimes the only way you can remove some nasty viruses or cleanup the registry.

Recently, I've gone onto using a USB thumb drive with portable applications on it in conjunction with a Windows Boot CD. Google for 'portableapps' to get started.

I also have another USB thumb drive that boots up Linux Knoppix on it, sometimes it beats out the Windows boot CD in data recovery, and its a good way to take control of a PC you don't normally have control of.

Sysinternals tools;

1. TCPView, especially for networking issues.
2. Autoruns - what is the PC loading up at boot?
3. Process Explorer - reveal the hidden hooks and connections between processes.

These all write log files, so I can analyze remotely without a connection and hunt nasty things down.

Hijackthis - browser hijackings by spyware and user mistaken installs of 'free' software. Internet Explorer can get messed up and interfere with the OS.
Firefox is a good way to avoid that.

---------

If all else fails;

Slick and Restore. Shorthand for backup data, and reinstall OS on a freshly full formated HardDrive. Its easier to do than you think - Google for 'Windows Reinstall' for some great directions out there.

[Pocus]

very cool set of advices, thanks much! As you can guess we are running out of time everyday, so I will have to take courses on how to fix a PC at night very soon

[Wilhammer]

Another possibility - Data Execution Protection might have a 'bad' setting.

Do this;

Yes;

Start ---> Control Panel

Open 'System'

Select the 'Advanced' Tab.

Under 'Performance' hit 'Settings'

Select the ' Data Execution Prevention' tab.

Make sure that the radio check circle for 'Turn on DEP for essential Windows programs and services only' is the one selected.

[Pocus]

This ring a bell in me. Battlefront is using the E-license system protection scheme, and they sometime have this problem with some games. But I disgress.

[Nap]

Willhammer, sound like a useful (and appriciated) offer, but how are we to arrange it ?

Nap

[Wilhammer]

We'll schedule it.

Send me an email; billopad@gmail.com

We'll need to discuss a time and a method.

[Pocus]

wow, great move Wilhammer!

[dinsdale]

Maybe it might help someone else: I found the executable which prevented ACW from loading.

System: Vista, Media Player 11+Urge plugin.

ACW appears to start wmpsnfg.exe, which is listed in process viewer as Windows Media Player Network service sharing configuration application

If that file is running before starting ACW it hangs until I shut down that process.

After starting ACW, I can start and use media player normally.

[Pocus]

perhaps because AACW use DirectMusic and not DirectSound, so the program is triggered by windows automatically. weird anyway.

thanks for the report.

[Oddball]

Bonjour,

Je viens d'acquérir le jeu "en boite", et je rencontre le même probleme que Nap. J'ai installé le jeu sur 2 pc différents (un ordi de bureau et un portable) et à chaque fois l'installation se figeait à la fin, lors de la finalisation.

Dans les deux cas, apres avoir attendu un bail, j'ai voulu eteindre le pc, et c'est là que, oh miracle, la clé me fut demandée. Je l'ai inscrite, sans pb cette fois *se rappelle de la bourde de Nobilis sur la clé de BoA*, et on m'a indiqué qu'elle a bien été sauvée. Super. Le jeu se lance ensuite, mais 3 fois, voire plus (peut etre parce que je me suis un peu excité sur le double clic ). J'en ferme 2, et là, c'est bon, je peux jouer (note : bug d'affichage de certaines provinces du centre de la carte sur un des pc.. à voir aussi, plus tard - hachures horizontales visibles).

L'heure de se coucher arrive, j'eteind le pc.

Et là, le drame : je n'arrive plus à lancer le jeu... lorsque j'essaie de le lancer, il ne se passe tout simplement rien. (de memoire, j'ai essayé de lancer AgeSettings, et... rien non plus).

Voilà, une petite aide ne serait pas de refus (j'ai survolé votre discussion en anglais, mais ... voilà quoi)

Merci d'avance


PS : mes possibilités de connexion à internet sont très reduites

[PhilThib]

Il faudrait en premier lieu nous indiquer les caractéristiques de votre machine. Envoyez votre dxdiag à support@ageod.com

[Oddball]

OK, je vous envoi ca dès que possible.

[Oddball]

En fait, plus la peine, j'ai trouvé la source du pb : un processus appelé Lime.exe qui tournait et qui empechait le jeu de se lancer. En le desactivant le jeu se lance correctement.

Apres qq recherches, j'ai trouvé qu'il s'agissait d'un logiciel de Philipps, surement qq chose qui tourne avec le logiciel fournit avec mon lecteur MP3 (le seul produit Philipps que je possède).

Voili, en esperant que cette decouverte pourra aider qq1 d'autre.


Sinon, pour le bug graphique vu la premiere fois que j'ai lancé le jeu, il n'est plus apparu depuis, génial.


PS : félicitations pour le jeu, j'ai pas décroché de la journée, hier ! vous avez mérité les belles critiques des différents magazines (Cyber, PC4War, VaeVictis), et je vous conseille partout où j'en ai l'occasion

[Pocus]

Merci pour les encouragements, on aime bien ca dans l'équipe!

Pour le processus, c'est noté en effet.