smithpd on 17/6/2014 at 05:14
I am not sure where to post this. This forum, Thief General contains Tafferpatcher information. Is the Technical & Trouble Shooting forum preferred? Should I double post?
Thief 2 (TMA) 1.21 NewDark works perfectly on my 8-year old 32-bit XP machine, core 2 duo processor. I have a problem with Windows 7 64-bit and an I7 processor.
I just built a Windows 7 64-bit machine with a core I7 processor (4 cores + hyperthreading = 8 logical cores). Thief 2 1.21 runs OK, saves and loads games, but when I exit to desktop using the Pause / Break key (that works) and then resume Thief by clicking on the task bar icon, Thief crashes, and the task must be killed manually.
Thief 2 is installed on a hard drive {F:} rather than my SSD {C:}, which is intended to contain only OS-related files.
As a comparison, Thief Gold installed on the same F: drive using TFix_1.19i works just fine in pause / resume with the Win 7 computer, as does Thief 2 on my XP machine.
Here is what I have tried that did not work:
1. Copied the working folder from my XP machine to my Win 7 machine. This is where I first found the problem.
2. Fresh install from original CDs in F:\Thief2 using TafferPatcher_TMA_212_beta, deleting registry keys (in my experience registry keys are unnecessary for Thief2, but I could be wrong). First I installed C++ and DirectX redistributable as instructed.
3. Changed affinity of the Thief2 process to one core, Core 0. Should not be necessary with NewDark, but you never know if 8-cores has been tested.
The main differences between computers are:
a. Windows 7 64 bit vs. XP 32 bit
b. number of processor cores, 8 vs. 2.
c. newer video card, Geforce GTX760 with 300 series driver vs. Geforce 8800 GT with 200 series driver.
d. different sound card.
I suppose there could be a setting in cam_ext.cfg, but I have no idea where to look.
Any ideas? Are you aware of any threads / posts that cover this? I can't make the search function work properly here....
nickie on 17/6/2014 at 07:30
You should get replies whichever forum but I'm going to move it to Tech and Troubleshooting so non-Thief players who might have the answer will see it.
Bonusbartus on 17/6/2014 at 09:26
Quote Posted by smithpd
I am not sure where to post this. This forum, Thief General contains Tafferpatcher information. Is the Technical & Trouble Shooting forum preferred? Should I double post?
Thief 2 (TMA) 1.21 NewDark works perfectly on my 8-year old 32-bit XP machine, core 2 duo processor. I have a problem with Windows 7 64-bit and an I7 processor.
I just built a Windows 7 64-bit machine with a core I7 processor (4 cores + hyperthreading = 8 logical cores). Thief 2 1.21 runs OK, saves and loads games, but when I exit to desktop using the Pause / Break key (that works) and then resume Thief by clicking on the task bar icon, Thief crashes, and the task must be killed manually.
Thief 2 is installed on a hard drive {F:} rather than my SSD {C:}, which is intended to contain only OS-related files.
As a comparison, Thief Gold installed on the same F: drive using TFix_1.19i works just fine in pause / resume with the Win 7 computer, as does Thief 2 on my XP machine.
Here is what I have tried that did not work:
1. Copied the working folder from my XP machine to my Win 7 machine. This is where I first found the problem.
2. Fresh install from original CDs in F:\Thief2 using TafferPatcher_TMA_212_beta, deleting registry keys (in my experience registry keys are unnecessary for Thief2, but I could be wrong). First I installed C++ and DirectX redistributable as instructed.
3. Changed affinity of the Thief2 process to one core, Core 0. Should not be necessary with NewDark, but you never know if 8-cores has been tested.
The main differences between computers are:
a. Windows 7 64 bit vs. XP 32 bit
b. number of processor cores, 8 vs. 2.
c. newer video card, Geforce GTX760 with 300 series driver vs. Geforce 8800 GT with 200 series driver.
d. different sound card.
I suppose there could be a setting in cam_ext.cfg, but I have no idea where to look.
Any ideas? Are you aware of any threads / posts that cover this? I can't make the search function work properly here....
what sound card are you using?
CPU affinity shouldn't be necessary, I haven't touched it on my pc/laptop and thief is working great (one AMD FX8320 8-core, one i7 8 threads)
I'm currently running an AMD 6870 system and quadro 1000M, both work without any problem
I've tested with both Windows 7 x64 as well as Windows 8.1 x64... so that shouldn't be the problem.
Did you install the latest DirectX runtimes? OpenAL installer?
why Pause/Break to switch? have you tried Alt+Tab?
ffox on 17/6/2014 at 09:39
Some more thoughts. TFix is using NewDark 1.19 and runs OK. You get the problem with NewDark 1.21.
The only thing I can find in the 1.21 release notes that might possibly be relevant is:
Quote:
Note to anyone with multiple GPUs or display devices:
Due to a bug fix the game may now end up using the "wrong" device (again), or rather the correct
device because it previously used the wrong one. Go to the Video options menu and change the device
under "Hardware Driver". Alternatively edit "cam.cfg" and remove the line "d3d_driver_index"
to restore default device usage.
Bonusbartus on 17/6/2014 at 09:40
Quote Posted by ffox
Some more thoughts. TFix is using NewDark 1.19 and runs OK. It's NewDark 1.21 with the problem.
The only thing I can find in the 1.21 release notes that might be relevant is:
I would say that this causes the game to not work at all... but it won't be hard to try ;)
voodoo47 on 17/6/2014 at 09:57
TFix is using 1.21, and has been using it from the moment it became available.
ffox on 17/6/2014 at 10:24
Oh, sorry. I was confused by the numbering (1.19i v 1.21) and the fact that thief.exe is a different size in my TFix and NewDark 1.21 folders.
smithpd on 17/6/2014 at 17:17
Thanks for the responses guys. :)
I think that the sound card was at fault. It is working now with onboard sound. Further investigation is needed -- see below.
Quote Posted by Bonusbartus
what sound card are you using?
I was using the Creative Soundblaster Z. It has a bad headphone amp, so I am about to RMA it. I was taking sound out of the speaker jack, which works. That said, the above question gave me a clue, so I pulled the sound card, reactivated the on-board sound, and now it is working! I would still like to get past this and use a similar sound card, for the sake of the headphone amp (if it works) and headphone switching. The current question is, can I do it with this model?
Did you install the latest DirectX runtimes? OpenAL installer?
I installed the June 2010 version of DirectX runtimes as instructed in the TafferPatcher instructions. They are located here:
(
http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=8109)
Should I install the latest DirectX runtime instead? 32 bit or 64 bit?
(
http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=36805)
I did not install OpenAL because I have no information that my system requires it. I am guessing that the sound card drivers and the on-board realtec sound drivers are self-contained.
why Pause/Break to switch? have you tried Alt+Tab?
It is the most convenient way, I think. I tried Alt + Tab, task manager, and Object Dock. The method of switching made no difference.
My main question now is, will a new Creative Z work, or will it get into the same problem? What do I have to do to make it work other than install the latest drivers? Is the latest DirectX the answer? I hesitate to overwrite my DirectX unless you think it is a good idea (64 bit?).
BTW, I think that TFix has nothing to do with it. That is for Thief 1 as far as I know, and my problem is only with Thief 2. Thief 1 version 1.2.1 (newdark) works with the Soundblaster Z, which is the strange part.
smithpd on 17/6/2014 at 22:33
I did some more fiddling around with my Soundblaster Z, not changing anything really, and it is working correctly now with Pause / Resume.:eek: Not only that, the headphone amp is working and sounding great. I have no explanation for it other than "tired bits," as I will describe later. Following is what I did (or didn't do).
1. I put the SB Z back in, leaving the on-board sound enabled in the BIOS. I thought, what the heck, maybe that on-board chip is doing something useful. It worked.
2. I disabled the Realtec on board sound driver in the Hardware Manager. Still worked.
3. I rebooted, disabling the Realtec on board sound in the BIOS. Still worked.
4. Thinking that maybe the Creative control panel had messed things up, I started the Creative control panel and switched things around, including the headphone / speaker switch. Now the headphones were much louder, as they should have been, and sounding great. It is a really good amp. Still worked.
So now my system sound configuration is the same as it was when i made the original post, only the two problems with the sound card have gone away mysteriously - headphone amp and Thief pause / resume.
I still haven't touched the DirectX redistributable. It remains the June 2010 version.
Tired Bits is a theory of computer malfunction. Bits can be blamed when something fails, you have have tested everything, and you have no idea what could have caused it.
Sorry if I wasted your time! At least you encouraged me to pull the sound card and fiddle some more, even though I have no idea what really fixed it.
I'll let you know if the problem comes back, in which case it would appear to be an intermittent hardware problem.
Bonusbartus on 18/6/2014 at 13:17
Well If you can find a recent game with DirectX installer you can always run it, as it will just update and add files, not remove old versions :)
I asked specifically for you soundcard because I had similar problems with my Asus Xonar DG, but ONLY with GX mode enabled (some kind of EAX emulation) as you are using a creative card you might be facing similar problems ;) I might be just a setting which reverted after pulling the card:)
