Red Alert crashes on Vista och Windows 7

[mostek]

Now I have tried FullRA+ on two different computers and it crashes, both vista and win 7.

If I install the computers with Win XP, there are no crashes.

 

I run RA95.exe in 98 mode and with administrator rights, 640x480, 256 colors, set the affinity to just one proc

And I delete the RA95.LCF and the rename _RA95.LCF to RA95.LCF.

U  allow Back buffer on Video Memory and hardware flled bits, 640x480

 

I make a skirmish game, hjk 3vs3, with 4 computer players.

Sooner or later the computer hard freezes. I have to reset and reboot.

 

Can you play that intensive game without freezes?

I cannot. It is always crash on vista and win7.

Do I do anything wrong?

plz help

thanx

 

the hardware is:

 

system 1:

p4 hyperthreaded 3 GHz, 4GB, Nvida 7600 GT

 

system 2:

c2d e7500, 3GHz, 4GB, Nvidia 7600 GS

 

[Tore]

Freezing happens when the computer tries to run the game with more than one core. When the game starts open task manager, go to processes right click on ra95.dat click on affity and make sure only one CPU is selected.

[mostek]

Freezing happens when the computer tries to run the game with more than one core. When the game starts open task manager, go to processes right click on ra95.dat click on affity and make sure only one CPU is selected.

 

I have done that, it does not matter

[Tore]

Then it's weird that this happens. I use Windows 7 64-bit and RA works just fine...

 

Edit: Have you tried updating DirectX, and other drivers? It could be a driver issue.

[mostek]

But do you guys stress the game hard?

I do that and then it freezes sooner or later. It is inevitable.

(hjk wuth several domputer players)

 

And now I have confirmed the freezing on two different computers with different operating systsems, Vista and Win7. When loaded with winxp. It works.

 

Well, both systems have nvidia 7600 graphics cards  - but with fresh drivers.

It could be that there is something strange with those card.

But I doubt that, indeed.

 

The freexing is very, very hard and deep. There is nothing you can do but reset the system.

Whatever is happening, it is no trivial thing in the system. It is a fundamental fuckup in the system.

 

Merged post

 

Then it's weird that this happens. I use Windows 7 64-bit and RA works just fine...

 

Edit: Have you tried updating DirectX, and other drivers? It could be a driver issue.

 

Hmm. Thanx. I have now updated the dirext package from microsoft. I will try a new game now...

I will report before long here

 

Merged post

 

Incredible! Thanx!!!

I managed to finish a heavy skirmish game. Finally I beat the computers. For the first time on a win 7 system.

 

The directx update from here:

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/en/details.aspx?FamilyID=2da43d38-db71-4c1b-bc6a-9b6652cd92a3&displaylang=en

 

might just I have done trick!

Tomorrow I will test a real LAN game here with win 7 systems.

Thanx!

It is 01.23 here in gothenburg, sweden

good night

 

will report tomorrow

[Tore]

Merged three of your posts. Triple posting is in violation of the rules! This is a forum, not a chat room the edit button is there for a reason!

 

But do you guys stress the game hard?

 

Is 8 "players" on full speed hard enough for ya?

 

 

[mostek]

 

Sorry to say, it is not stable. It crushed again when trying today.

I think there is nothing more to do?

 

I will try later on 3 other machines with vista and win7. Than I know for sure.

Those machines does not have nvidia cards.

[mostek]

The crashes come only when playing network games. Seemingöy cannot reproduce them in single games. For the moment.

So the crashes seems to have to with the network layer.

 

Any ideas?

[Tore]

It might be the map you are playing on.

[mostek]

The map?

 

That seems unlogical for me. How come? It cannot be a bug in a map?

 

It is the hjk map.

The symptoms are that it often gets slower and slower and suddenly everything freezes, the sound too.

The situations are always complicated with massive troops engaged in fighting and/or moving.

 

 

It cannot be this file wsock32.dll which mess things up?

 

 

[Tore]

wsock32.dll is the file that allows you to play LAN. There are a few buggy maps out there try a default map.

[mostek]

wsock32.dll is the file that allows you to play LAN. There are a few buggy maps out there try a default map.

 

It cannot be. I have tried networked game with winxp machine and vista/win7 and the winxp system have never, never crashed regardless of map. Only vista and win7 systems.

And I am pretty sure it has to do with the network layer in some way.

 

[Nyerguds]

well, without that dll, LAN play in Vista or Win7 simply DOESN'T work, since these Windows versions no longer support the IPX protocol that RA uses, and that's exactly what that dll fixes.

 

So if you played LAN between XP and Win7/Vista, and it never crashed there, then you MUST have been using the wsock32.dll on all machines for that, including the XP one. It simply doesn't work without it.

[mostek]

well, without that dll, LAN play in Vista or Win7 simply DOESN'T work, since these Windows versions no longer support the IPX protocol that RA uses, and that's exactly what that dll fixes.

 

So if you played LAN between XP and Win7/Vista, and it never crashed there, then you MUST have been using the wsock32.dll on all machines for that, including the XP one. It simply doesn't work without it.

 

What I am trying to say is that wsock32.dll is what is not working well on Vista/Win7. That is what I suspect. Because the crashes only comes in network games. Seemingly. We have never had any WinXp systems crashing when running RA.

[Tore]

I just tried hjkt on LAN with two human and 6 AI players XP vs Win7. It worked just fine. It would be weird that wsock32.dll could be the cause of your issues as it was created with Vista/Win7 in mind, but you may never be 100% certain that something is 100% fool proof either...

[Revolutionary]

I have experience similar problems however I put it down to my wireless network (and/or my wired network conflicting however i rules that out by simply unplugging the connection between my two vista PCs)

I can play games with 3 computers however not 4 computers (1 XP, 2 Vista, 1 '7'),

I guess what I'm trying to say is can you guarantee its not your network

[mostek]

I just tried hjkt on LAN with two human and 6 AI players XP vs Win7. It worked just fine. It would be weird that wsock32.dll could be the cause of your issues as it was created with Vista/Win7 in mind, but you may never be 100% certain that something is 100% fool proof either...

 

The map we have only played is hjk6. Maybe is something wrong with that map? Well, I have another win7 system here (laptop). We shall try here again.

[Ferret]

Try a default map like A Path Beyond.

[pichorra]

well, without that dll, LAN play in Vista or Win7 simply DOESN'T work, since these Windows versions no longer support the IPX protocol that RA uses, and that's exactly what that dll fixes.

 

So if you played LAN between XP and Win7/Vista, and it never crashed there, then you MUST have been using the wsock32.dll on all machines for that, including the XP one. It simply doesn't work without it.

 

there IS A WAY to install IPX in Windows vista/7 (32bits only)

 

http://www.starbase01.com/site/index.php?id=22,87,0,0,1,0

 

here says it not works in Win7, but i does not see any problems with it.

 

 

about the 7600 cards: My coisin comp. have a GeForce 7800 and does not have any problems (runs Win7)

[mostek]

Well, I now have other two other systems with win7, and it works fine on them (laptops).

On those other two win7 systems, I have found that if I restart the system after every game it works always. If I don't it hangs, works, hangs, works...

I think it is those old nvidia 7600 cards. It gotta be.

Thanx for your help guys. I now know that RA is indeed quite stable on vista/win7.