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Author Topic:   SMAC & NT 4.0 SP 4

parnanen posted 04-16-99 10:05 AM ET

I'm having trouble running SMAC in my Compaq Armada 1700 laptop. I've tried everything in readme.txt. I have NT 4.0 & SP 4.0.
README.txt says it is possible to run SMAC in NT. It certainly doesn't appear so!
When I start SMAC it returns to the desktop. I can't see any processes in the Task manager
either.
Could anyone help, please? Has anyone successfully ran SMAC in NT 4.0?
Antti
Fusker posted 04-16-99 03:48 PM ET
I had to remove the movies to get it to work on NT.......do you have the latest NT direct X drivers? I was hoping they would allow for movies. I haven't updated my network to service pack 4 yet, as the primary purpose of my network (work) hasn't approved it to date. So I'm curious if movies are possible with the new service pack....
axe posted 04-16-99 06:07 PM ET
It doesn't give you any errors or nothing? What kinda hardware is in your system?
LarsHanson posted 04-18-99 02:56 AM ET
SMAC should run fine under NT4 SP4 except for the sound stuttering, which is a DirectX problem that probably will not be fixed by Microsoft until Win2K (NT5). You don't say that it displays the splash screen, so I assume you get nothing when you execute. (Many have reported a black screen after the Firaxis logo displays - these have always been problems with the movies - usually display settings. Run 256 colors at 800x600 - which is probably best for your LT display anyway. Reapply SP4 after your SMAC install - be sure to apply at least patch 2, if not patch 3, then the SP4. That way, you will know the DirectX was loaded last - so all the files should be correct for the software accessing your hardware directly.
Compaq Armadas are good machines and as long as you use the latest drivers for all the hardware, I can't see another issue stopping SMAC from running. If you have any funky network or modem cards (especially a 'combo' card that has both a modem and NIC in one PCMCIA slot0, there may be an address conflict of some sort. Pop the card and then try running SMAC. If it works without PCMCIA cards, look for an address or IRQ conflict.
I've run SMAC under NT4 on IBM Thinkpad 560Es and Dell Latitude CPs without difficulty, - but we have had chronic problems with the NT OS, particularly with dial-up access to my company's servers. My experience tells me that any PC running less than 64 megs or RAM or less than a P166 is going to run into performance problems under NT4.
Good luck with your troubleshooting - I'll check back here in a few days.
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Author	Topic: SMAC & NT 4.0 SP 4
parnanen	posted 04-16-99 10:05 AM ET I'm having trouble running SMAC in my Compaq Armada 1700 laptop. I've tried everything in readme.txt. I have NT 4.0 & SP 4.0. README.txt says it is possible to run SMAC in NT. It certainly doesn't appear so! When I start SMAC it returns to the desktop. I can't see any processes in the Task manager either. Could anyone help, please? Has anyone successfully ran SMAC in NT 4.0? Antti
Fusker	posted 04-16-99 03:48 PM ET I had to remove the movies to get it to work on NT.......do you have the latest NT direct X drivers? I was hoping they would allow for movies. I haven't updated my network to service pack 4 yet, as the primary purpose of my network (work) hasn't approved it to date. So I'm curious if movies are possible with the new service pack....
axe	posted 04-16-99 06:07 PM ET It doesn't give you any errors or nothing? What kinda hardware is in your system?
LarsHanson	posted 04-18-99 02:56 AM ET SMAC should run fine under NT4 SP4 except for the sound stuttering, which is a DirectX problem that probably will not be fixed by Microsoft until Win2K (NT5). You don't say that it displays the splash screen, so I assume you get nothing when you execute. (Many have reported a black screen after the Firaxis logo displays - these have always been problems with the movies - usually display settings. Run 256 colors at 800x600 - which is probably best for your LT display anyway. Reapply SP4 after your SMAC install - be sure to apply at least patch 2, if not patch 3, then the SP4. That way, you will know the DirectX was loaded last - so all the files should be correct for the software accessing your hardware directly. Compaq Armadas are good machines and as long as you use the latest drivers for all the hardware, I can't see another issue stopping SMAC from running. If you have any funky network or modem cards (especially a 'combo' card that has both a modem and NIC in one PCMCIA slot0, there may be an address conflict of some sort. Pop the card and then try running SMAC. If it works without PCMCIA cards, look for an address or IRQ conflict. I've run SMAC under NT4 on IBM Thinkpad 560Es and Dell Latitude CPs without difficulty, - but we have had chronic problems with the NT OS, particularly with dial-up access to my company's servers. My experience tells me that any PC running less than 64 megs or RAM or less than a P166 is going to run into performance problems under NT4. Good luck with your troubleshooting - I'll check back here in a few days.