BioEd Installation and COW.Reg Issue

[ralphtricky]

If you don't have TOAW COW installed and want to use BioEd...

The COW Reg file inserts that value into the registry to point the graphics directory for BioEd to the TOAW III directory.

The COW.REG file should be created with Notepad and will create a registry entry

It should actually read...

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\TalonSoft\The Operational Art of War, CW]
"game_path"="C:\\Matrix Games\\The Operational Art of War III"

Apologies,
Ralph

[hueglin]

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\TalonSoft\The Operational Art of War, CW]
"game_path"="C:\\Matrix Games\\The Operational Art of War III"

A Note: I could only get it to work properly if you added \graphics (as suggested by Ralph) so that the reg file reads:

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\TalonSoft\The Operational Art of War, CW]
"game_path"="C:\\Matrix Games\\The Operational Art of War III\graphics"

[Jeff Norton]

Hi Ralph and hueglin,

I've tried to get BioEd to work with these changes, but when I load the v104acow.exe, I get a set of 20+ small 20+ windows saying

..\Graphics\xxxxxxx.bmp inside a small window labled File Not Found

Any ideas?

[ralphtricky]

ORIGINAL: Jeff Norton

Hi Ralph and hueglin,

I've tried to get BioEd to work with these changes, but when I load the v104acow.exe, I get a set of 20+ small 20+ windows saying

..\Graphics\xxxxxxx.bmp inside a small window labled File Not Found

Any ideas?

The value in the registry for the directory doens't match the directory it's looking for.

RUn regedit and make sure that the following registry key is installed, and that's where TOAW III is installed..

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\TalonSoft\The Operational Art of War, CW]
"game_path"="C:\Matrix Games\The Operational Art of War III"

EDITED:Removed the double-slashes, they're only required when creating at the export file.

[Jeff Norton]

Hi Ralph,

Yep, its there. Is the double-slashes needed, seeing its not the normal format for MS networking references?

I checked the format, and, checked the location path - it mirrors what the registry link installed. Still, no dice.

Ideas?

-Jeff

PS - we can take this to the Hotmail email, if you like....

[ralphtricky]

ORIGINAL: Jeff Norton

Hi Ralph,

Yep, its there. Is the double-slashes needed, seeing its not the normal format for MS networking references?

I checked the format, and, checked the location path - it mirrors what the registry link installed. Still, no dice.

Ideas?

-Jeff

PS - we can take this to the Hotmail email, if you like....

Let's leave it here for now, it may help other people.

The double-slashes are actually a 'C' thing. The \ is a special character in C, so you need two to create one. Looking at this again, they're created when I use regedit to export the file. When using regedit to view the key, you should only see one \.

Can you either go into regedit and make sure there's only one slash, or open the zip file, and double-click on the .reg file inside to import it?

Let me know if that fixes it.

Thanks,
Ralph

[Jeff Norton]

Hi Ralph,

Fixed the problem - seems I had a registry problem. After a 'scrub', I did get it to work.

I used your ZIP file, after deleting my earlier attempt, and a cleaning, and, its now working.

Thank you very much for the attention. Beers around!

-J

[willboy]

Hi Guys
Am experiencing similar problems to Jeff, I have done everything up to the last post...what is scrubbing, and cleaning, afraid you lost me here. Would appreciate any help with this.
Thanks

[Jeff Norton]

Used a tool called 'regcleaner' that scrubbed out my registry for bad keys, Dwords, and somesuch. Like all databases, the registry can get cluttered with junk/crud, and cause it to slow down.

After a cleaning, it actually worked better, and, allowed BioED to function.

http://www.majorgeeks.com/RegCleaner_d460.html

there are countless others, but, this one I'm familuar with, since I use it at work...

-J

[Maxx_slith]

Thank you!

[vahauser]

Okay, I'm having the exact same problem as reported by Jeff Norton above.  I've tried uninstalling and reinstalling TOAW III. 
 
I've tried using the Registry Cleaner that Jeff Norton recommended (even though I didn't know what I was doing and I'm not sure if I even did anything at all).
 
I've tried three versions of COW.REG
 
1st try:
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\TalonSoft\The Operational Art of War, CW]
"game_path"="C:\\Matrix Games\\The Operational Art of War III"
(this is per Bob Cross in the 'How to Edit the Equipment Database" manual)
 
2nd try:
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\TalonSoft\The Operational Art of War, CW]
"game_path"="C:\\Matrix Games\\The Operational Art of War III\graphics" 
(note that I added the graphics folder to the path)
 
3rd try:
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\TalonSoft\The Operational Art of War, CW]
"game_path"="C:\Matrix Games\The Operational Art of War III\Graphics" 
(note that I deleted the double slashes and capitalized the spelling of the Graphics folder)
 
Anyway, none of the above tries succeeded in getting BioEdit to run properly (still getting the multiple \Graphics 'File Not Found' errors).  I don't know if each succeeding try overwrote the preceeding try in the registry (I'm assuming it did).  But if each succeeding try did NOT overwrite the preceeding try in the registry, then I now have three registry entries and I don't know how to get rid of them and start clean (short of re-formatting my hard drive).
 
Any assistance will be much appreciated.
 
 
 

[vahauser]

Well, I managed to get BioEd to run properly:
 
Step 1, uninstall TOAW and delete the TOAW folder
Step 2, reinstall TOAW
Step 3, do NOT apply the 3.22.9.27 upgrade
Step 4, install the BioEd
Step 5, use the REG.COW supplied by Bob Cross in the 'How to Edit the Equipment Database' manual
Step 6, test the BioEd and now it works properly
Step 7, apply the 3.22.9.27 upgrade
 
And now everything works fine

[IronDuke_slith]

Just a note for new users who might want to try this. The fiule not found issue that Vahauser and others got is caused (I believe) by their installation of TOAW not being in

"C:\Matrix Games\The Operational Art of War III"

Mine was in "A:\TOAW3"

I was getting the file not found message windows until I edited the relevant registry entry line from

C:\Matrix Games\The Operational Art of War III\Graphics

to

A\TOAW3

Ralph,
does this sound plausible, or have I not really fixed it? The next time I tried Bioed and loaded the COW300 file, it loaded up without any complaint.

Regards,
IronDuke

[wmorris]

Two problems in attempting to run BioEd; I have latest TOAW version, and I do not have ACOW.

The registry accepts the registry key suggested in the moderator's posts. In the registry the path it made an entry named TOAW, CW. However, in the details of the registry key, the data shows "(value not set)".

When I attempt to run BioEd and load the ACOW 300 file, I get a number of "file not found" prompts, followed by messages stating "reading units, reading counters, building tree" etc. Then when I click units and select a unit type, nothing is there but more "file not found" prompts.

Also, I do not see any file with an .eqp extension in the main graphics file.

The game itself and the editor runs without problems.

???

[sPzAbt653]

I have COW, so I don't know about your registry problem. It sounds similar to some of the above posts, but I guess you read those already.

In the main graphics file, sometimes the file extensions are hidden. If you click on the individual scenario (as in this screen shot), you should see the .eqp file. Not all scenarios have a specific .eqp file, most use the standard 'equipment.eqp' file, so there will be no .eqp file seen here.

[wmorris]

The same thing happens when trying to open any scenario.eqp file.

And even when set to show hidden files, Equipment.eqp is not in the graphics file (nor does a search turn up any equipment.eqp file except in scenarios).

Ugh.

[sPzAbt653]

Don't worry about the Equipment.eqp file not being seen. I can't find the post explaining why that is, but it's normal. But you have to make sure that the registry file you added is exactly correct, by following the directions above and/or in the other thread titled 'BioEd Problems'. Sorry I can't better help, but like I said, I've got COW so I don't have any experience with the reg.edit.

[wmorris]

Thanks, sPz. Im still hacking at it.

After over a dozen registry entries, the workaround may involve getting COW.

EDITED:
Ive also directly edited the registry data string without success. arrrgh.

Came back to this. deleted Bioedit, etc. and cleaned the registry entry I made. Started over to no avail.

What's really got me freaked is that I cannot find the original .eqp file anywhere using search function or Explorer, even with hidden files visible and search set to include hidden files.

[wmorris]

I had TOAW loaded on two 'puters and looked back at the first one I was using. On this one, Equipment.eqp was visible to search, and I had BioEd installed and working in a couple of minutes.

Now wonder where the heck Equipment.eqp is on my other computer. Weirdness Abounds...

[ColinWright]

ORIGINAL: wmorris

I had TOAW loaded on two 'puters and looked back at the first one I was using. On this one, Equipment.eqp was visible to search, and I had BioEd installed and working in a couple of minutes.

Now wonder where the heck Equipment.eqp is on my other computer. Weirdness Abounds...

I wonder...

With two computers, could you make a copy of each PBEM turn you receive, play both, and send back the one you liked most?

How about ten computers? One gets visions of some ladder fanatic buying up ten obsolescent machines and hooking them all up in his closet...