SMAC v4 hangs on NT Workstation after saving

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Author Topic:   SMAC v4 hangs on NT Workstation after saving

avi posted 08-10-99 03:37 AM ET
I just upgraded to a new machine and am now running Win NT 4 Workstation (though a somewhat weird installation, it's part English and part German - ask our admin why!).
I installed the German patches v2 to v4, and the game works just fine - with the exception that it hangs up every time I try to save. Luckily, this happens only _after_ the game is saved.
Does anybody have a clue how to solve this problem?
Oh, before I got the new computer, I ran SMAC v4 under Win NT 4 Server (pure German installation) and had no problems (except of course the remove-CD-before-movie-starts bug and the chopped-sound-bug )
Jeffrey Morris FIRAXIS posted 08-10-99 10:07 AM ET
I haven't heard of this problem before. I think the OS is the likely candidate though...
jkm
firaxis games
LarsHanson posted 08-14-99 07:31 PM ET
Check your Task Manager when this happens. When Explorer (and DOS) run, WinNT runs a program called ntvdm.exe and a companion executable called wowexec.exe. This is the famous Virtual DOS machine, where a chunk of memory is carved out and treated like a separate virtual PC. Sometimes starting processes like Save kicks off ntvdm.exe without wowexec - and the system hangs waiting for something to happen. Ending the ntvdm.exe task lets the system finish what it was doing - and doesn't kill the application. i just tested this - and saving under SMAC does NOT start ntvdm.exe. This is good for you - because if it is running, it shouldn't be. Kill it and the save process should complete.
Also make sure that there aren't two different sessions of terran.exe running. Sometimes closing the game does not remove the executable from memory. Two terran.exe sessions could cause the same symptom.
Good luck
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Author	Topic: SMAC v4 hangs on NT Workstation after saving
avi	posted 08-10-99 03:37 AM ET I just upgraded to a new machine and am now running Win NT 4 Workstation (though a somewhat weird installation, it's part English and part German - ask our admin why!). I installed the German patches v2 to v4, and the game works just fine - with the exception that it hangs up every time I try to save. Luckily, this happens only _after_ the game is saved. Does anybody have a clue how to solve this problem? Oh, before I got the new computer, I ran SMAC v4 under Win NT 4 Server (pure German installation) and had no problems (except of course the remove-CD-before-movie-starts bug and the chopped-sound-bug )
Jeffrey Morris FIRAXIS	posted 08-10-99 10:07 AM ET I haven't heard of this problem before. I think the OS is the likely candidate though... jkm firaxis games
LarsHanson	posted 08-14-99 07:31 PM ET Check your Task Manager when this happens. When Explorer (and DOS) run, WinNT runs a program called ntvdm.exe and a companion executable called wowexec.exe. This is the famous Virtual DOS machine, where a chunk of memory is carved out and treated like a separate virtual PC. Sometimes starting processes like Save kicks off ntvdm.exe without wowexec - and the system hangs waiting for something to happen. Ending the ntvdm.exe task lets the system finish what it was doing - and doesn't kill the application. i just tested this - and saving under SMAC does NOT start ntvdm.exe. This is good for you - because if it is running, it shouldn't be. Kill it and the save process should complete. Also make sure that there aren't two different sessions of terran.exe running. Sometimes closing the game does not remove the executable from memory. Two terran.exe sessions could cause the same symptom. Good luck