CTDs with Vista

[BK6583]

Well shoot - bought a new computer last week and had been playing COTA without a hitch. Now nothing but constant CTDs. I thought I read somewhere that you need to load Direct X9 (Vista I understand comes with X10) to make Vista backwards compatible. Is this the case and if so how do I load it? I have the file - just don't know what to do with it. If that's not the case, what files do I need to attach for you to assist me? I'm a complete dunce so I will probably need a few instructions on how find, save, and attach said file(s). I looked over this support forum but didn't see any other posts about problems with Vista.

[GoodGuy]

Newer DirectX-versions use to be compatible with games meant for older versions, games - in turn- which have been programmed for the newest DX-version exclusively, won't run on an older DX. If you'd install DirectX 9 on Vista (I can't imagine that this would be possible without getting problems anyways) you'd take away some core parts Vista needs to display the desktop and parts of the new effects. See if you can find a compatibility mode, something like this is in VISTA, as MS did not dare to create a fully exclusive 64-Bit environment, which would require all new software.

EDIT: Also, some hardware manufacturers still have problems with their driver versions for VISTA. You might want to check if there are driver updates for your mainboard's chipset/HD controllers and/or video card drivers. Switching back to certified driver versions (WDM) may help too. Some games tend to crash because adware/spyware found their way to the puter, occupying memory or cpu. Getting tools like adaware or PestPatrol could help too.

[sterckxe]

ORIGINAL: GoodGuy
Newer DirectX-versions use to be compatible with games meant for older versions, games - in turn- which have been programmed for the newest DX-version exclusively, won't run on an older DX. If you'd install DirectX 9 on Vista (I can't imagine that this would be possible without getting problems anyways) you'd take away some core parts Vista needs to display the desktop and parts of the new effects. See if you can find a compatibility mode, something like this is in VISTA, as MS did not dare to create a fully exclusive 64-Bit environment, which would require all new software.

Hi, just to confirm : COTA out of the box runs just fine on Vista - no need for messing with compatibility modes etc. No need to revert back to previous versions of DirectX either.

If COTA worked for a week and now starts to CTD all the time, everything points to an ulterior cause. What I would suggest is to uninstall COTA completely and then re-install it and see if the problems remain.

Greetz,

Eddy Sterckx

[GoodGuy]

Make a little check-list :
What programs did you install right before COTA started crashing?
Did you update drivers? New (unreliable) drivers could cause these crashes too.
It's like loosing your key to your house during a walk around the frickin block. Now u gotta follow the path back to the point where you started. [:D].

[Arjuna]

I have checked out Bob's crash and the fact that it occurs at 1800 is enough for me to ascribe it to the known bug with the airfield SEPs and airborne bases drawing from them. As I mentioned to Bob, this has been fixed for Patch 3 but we're still trying to nail down some other bugs before releasing it. I thank everyone for their support and patience.

[FredSanford3]

I'm running into CTD's with my Vista machine. I've had random crashes since purchase ~10 days ago. Roughly 33% of my games crash. In the latest case, the game crashes at 2100 on Day 3 of the Thermopylae scenario. I can't discern what exactly is the trigger. It seems that once a game is corrupted, I can't go back to a previous save and reload. As I mentioned, my OS is Vista, and I have a Nvidia Geforce 8500 card, AMD 64X2 dual processor. I've seen the notice that Vista crashes are an "owner's risk" situation, as CotA isn't officially supported by Vista. That said, I'll bet Panther would like BftB to be Vista compatible, and so here's my dxdiag file for review. I can also provide the save game file.

[CriticalMass]

you could try these unadvertised compatibility patches: Microsoft Issues Vista Performance and Reliability Fixes

[FredSanford3]

ORIGINAL: CriticalMass

you could try these unadvertised compatibility patches: Microsoft Issues Vista Performance and Reliability Fixes

Thanks for the link. Is this something you've done personally?

[Repton]

Having problems loading COTA in Vista. When i try to load COTA using current screen resolution all i get is the COTA menu screen and the radio type sounds from the game menu but not the game menu. I am using a 22" widescreen monitor wth native resolution of 1680x1050. If i use one of the other screen options i can get to the game menu eventually. Any ideas what might be causing this problem or is it just quirky old Vista and a lack of compatibility. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[CriticalMass]

ORIGINAL: Franklin Nimitz

ORIGINAL: CriticalMass

you could try these unadvertised compatibility patches: Microsoft Issues Vista Performance and Reliability Fixes

Thanks for the link. Is this something you've done personally?

Yes, the second I came across it. I've never had any problems with Vista (only those introduced by slack third party device programmers; there were Vista SDKs around for along time before the original commercial release, and people still couldn't help blaming Microsoft - they're not completely blameless of course, but you got to feel for them...sometimes).

[FredSanford3]

ORIGINAL: Repton

Having problems loading COTA in Vista. When i try to load COTA using current screen resolution all i get is the COTA menu screen and the radio type sounds from the game menu but not the game menu. I am using a 22" widescreen monitor wth native resolution of 1680x1050. If i use one of the other screen options i can get to the game menu eventually. Any ideas what might be causing this problem or is it just quirky old Vista and a lack of compatibility. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Mine does that too. I can't "use current resolution", and with any other resolution, COTA starts minimized, and requires two clicks on the task bar.

[Repton]

Glad to hear i am not the only one suffering from this. Meant in the niceist way possible of course.

[Waffenamt]

I got around those type of problems by using compatibility mode with a right click and selecting WinXP SP2. That's on a notebook with a 17" screen though... but it loads up well-bahaved as desired.

Regards

[James Sterrett]

Nick's solution work for me as well, just now, on a widescreen laptop.  (Thanks Nick! [:)]  )

[Arjuna]

Thanks Nick.

[vvidas]

Yes, it works!
Thanks Nick, I've thought that I will not play it on my brand new laptop.
BTW great game.

[Lieste]

ORIGINAL: GoodGuy

Newer DirectX-versions use to be compatible with games meant for older versions, games - in turn- which have been programmed for the newest DX-version exclusively, won't run on an older DX. If you'd install DirectX 9 on Vista (I can't imagine that this would be possible without getting problems anyways) you'd take away some core parts Vista needs to display the desktop and parts of the new effects. See if you can find a compatibility mode, something like this is in VISTA, as MS did not dare to create a fully exclusive 64-Bit environment, which would require all new software.

EDIT: Also, some hardware manufacturers still have problems with their driver versions for VISTA. You might want to check if there are driver updates for your mainboard's chipset/HD controllers and/or video card drivers. Switching back to certified driver versions (WDM) may help too. Some games tend to crash because adware/spyware found their way to the puter, occupying memory or cpu. Getting tools like adaware or PestPatrol could help too.

I understood that Vista was designed to support multiple versions of DX simultaneously installed. This is most useful for DX10 (the default) and DX9.0c for compatibility with the legacy software, although I believe it supports more than one legacy DX version to be installed if required.

I cannot confirm the exact process, but I do know that DX9 and DX10 should be compatible with each other under Vista, and I wonder why MS opted not to install both during the Vista installation.

[TheWombat_matrixforum]

You can indeed have both DX9 and DX10 installed in Vista; in  fact, you really need to to run most games. I suspect that DX10 was the default and only pre-installed version because MS was pushing Vista/DX10 as the next big thing; including too much legacy support would undercut their efforts to push you to "the future" or whatever. Most games that need DX9 include the proper installer, and it certainly doesn't overwrite DX10. I run different games with different DX versions all the time.