Age Old Problem: Menus work followed by a black screen/no warnings or sounds - by Specter
bikerdude on 7/7/2008 at 08:21
Hi Specter
What Windows version and service pack are you running.
What graphics driver are you running.
What are the hardware specs of your pc.
biker
Specter on 7/7/2008 at 15:41
Hi guys.
I have not had a chance to do anything new this morning. I'll be able to try recommendations tonight. One question I had from last night: absentblue said I should download the DEF and install it. What is the DEF?
The install.cfg was never modified by me. In the off chance something else did, I did a totally new install to a new folder. No luck. After the fresh install, I didnt add the line to cam.cfg. I will do that next.
The DDfix I tried a couple of times. It did not help, unfortunately. I will try that after editing the cam.cfg again.
The Regindeo.bat trick is what started me down this path. My Thief Gold install had nothing done to it prior. I had been playing the game normally when after a few days the videos stopped playing. In an effort to solve that problem, I did the regindeo.bat trick and it was at THAT point that the game itself stopped working. The conversation has gotten to a point where I don't know enough about these things to do anything beyond follow directions. I wish I knew more about this stuff, however to me it seems that regindeo is what changed something, since its the only thing I changed. However, earlier in the thread, someone told me how to undo it, and that didn't fix anything. So I don't know.
My specs
XP Home (At the start of this thread, it was SP2, but in an attempt to upgrade things, I am now at SP3. Version 5.1)
AMD Athlon 64 X2 3800+
2 GB RAM
GeForce 8800GTX with most current drivers from Nvidia's site (6.14.0014.7516) <-- Thats the driver version, right?
PhysX
Sound Blaster Audigy Platinum eX with most current drivers from Creative's site
Direct X 9.0c
I haven't given my specs to anyone in a while, and I feel like I'm forgetting something. Let me know if you guys need something more.
Again, I really appreciate you taking the time to help me out. Do you guys think it would be beneficial to wipe my hard drive and start everything on a fresh slate?
Thanks again.
sNeaksieGarrett on 7/7/2008 at 16:17
Ok ok, I get it. You don't have to keep reminding us that it started when you were messing with regindeo. I get it.:) And in my last post, I was referring to the trick to undo the regindeo.bat thing but was just trying to confirm that it didn't work. Now I see that you said it "didn't fix anything." Does that means the undo trick actually worked, but you just didn't see any notable difference after doing it?:confused:
Man I'm bad... All troubleshooters should know the person's system specs who is needing help. Thanks for the reminder biker.;) Hmmm, I don't have an 8800 on this PC, so I'm not sure about it, but I read that the thief games have problem with this graphics card + the newest nvidia drivers. So you may want to fall back to a previous driver version. I'm sure biker could help you with this step.:)
poroshin on 7/7/2008 at 16:39
Quote Posted by sNeaksieGarrett
Hmmm, I don't have an 8800 on this PC, so I'm not sure about it, but I read that the thief games have problem with this graphics card + the newest nvidia drivers. So you may want to fall back to a previous driver version.
Not true. I have an 8800 GTX with the latest official drivers on Vista SP1. No problem at all running with DDFix and widescreen. Running better than back in the day even :)
sNeaksieGarrett on 7/7/2008 at 18:22
Well if my memory serves me, Vista may be fine, but it's different in XP.:o
Unless nvidia fixed their drivers, which i wouldn't know cuz i haven't updated drivers in a looong time. I still use 93.71
Narunik on 7/7/2008 at 21:12
Hi,
Like many of you I am trying to replay SS2. I have played it on my XP last year without a problem. I had a Nvidia 4200 and just put in an FX 5200. Now, after patching I get the menu, but after I press 'New Game' the video plays fine. Then the loading icon comes on (spinning lock?) and almost loads then there is a click and the screen goes blank.
I've tried all the suggestions I could find. I cannot substitute Sshock.exe fix as it gives me an error message saying I can't change the CD contents. The SS2 tool did nothing. I downloaded the latest drivers - nothing. I tried to add 'safe_texture_manager' to the cam.cfg file but the file said I could not change this after I added it.
It seems the only change in my computer has been the graphics card. Any other suggestions? I'm not very computer savy. I'm 66 and need you younger guys to help me play this great game.
Thanks
sNeaksieGarrett on 7/7/2008 at 21:20
Quote:
I tried to add 'safe_texture_manager' to the cam.cfg file but the file said I could not change this after I added it.
This means that cam.cfg is read only. Right click on cam.cfg and uncheck read-only. Hit apply, then ok. Then try adding safe_texture_manager again.
You could try skip_starting_checks too... I don't know if shock 2 has the same commands as thief though.
Specter on 7/7/2008 at 21:26
Sorry sNeaksieGarrett, Im bad at keep track of who said what. Ive just been reading the posts as they come in. When I saw you ask about regindeo, I didnt look to see if you had been with us from the beginning, or were new to the conversation, so I misunderstood what you were asking.
My plan now is to try an older driver for the graphics card, set up the DDfix, and add the line to cam.cfg. I'll let you guys know how it goes.
Thanks again.
bikerdude on 8/7/2008 at 12:24
Quote Posted by Specter
XpHomeSp3
Athlon 64 X2 3800+
2 GB RAM
GeForce 8800GTX 175.16
PhysX
Audigy Platinum eX
Direct X 9.0c
Can you also list what programes/services you currently have running, you can do this by typing "msconfig"
Also can I ask, am I correct in assuming you havent reinstalled windows as of yet..?
biker
Specter on 8/7/2008 at 15:10
That is correct. I wasnt able to do anything last night as I got called out to work again. I am hesitant to reinstall windows just for fear of screwing something else up. (Although it certainly isnt the first time I would have reinstalled it, it would be the first time with this desktop) Im not at home, but I will make sure to list the other running programs when I get home later today (Probably night time for you). Is there something particular you are watching for?
