Lock ups

[MFS]

This is the first version of Harpoon I've installed on this computer.

I've had some issues getting the EC2003 sets to load - they generally freeze after selecting the scenario and the game won't start again afterward unless I reboot. I played an IOPG set this morning and that worked fine.

Additionally, when I start the scenario editor it gets to the Battleset selection screen and freezes there. Not even getting close to getting that to work. No error, nothing, I have to go into task manager to shut it down.

I'm running Vista in 1280x800 mode on a brand new Toshiba notebook with more than enough ram and power. I'm not sure what's going wrong, but I'd like to hear if there's a fix before I re-install.

help please!

[TonyE]

Hmm, nothing comes to mind as something that has been fixed or afflicted hordes of other players.
 
It is important that you were able to end the task from task manager, otherwise I'd suggest there might be a heat problem with the machine.
 
Since nothing much comes to mind, the old re-install suggestion might be where to start.  If you still have the problem, please upload the ge.log file created in your game directory or e-mail it to HC3@harpgamer.com
 
Thanks, hopefully we can get it figured out but this could be a toughie!

[MFS]

Tony,

Now I'm getting an actual error message:

"WOWEXEC caused an access violation in kernel32.dll at 0x7631b09e"

I'm going to try the ol' reinstall.

[TonyE]

That sounds like the scenario editor where you would get that, this is 32-bit Vista right?

[MFS]

ORIGINAL: TonyE

That sounds like the scenario editor where you would get that, this is 32-bit Vista right?

Correct.

I just reinstalled and it's still giving me that error, followed by "NTVDM.EXE has stopped working [blah, blah, blah]"

[TonyE]

Thanks for trying the reinstall, how about that GE.log file after you try running winharp32.exe?  HC3@harpgamer.com
 
I don't want to tell you to try turning your virus scanner off but perhaps you can share what make/model/version of virus scanner, antispyware, and firewall software you are using? 
 
The only common thread that strikes a chord here is your comment that EC2003 isn't working so hot but the other battlesets seem okay (at least in the game engine).  A tie that binds there is the database which is shared across EC2003/WestPac and is encased in commondb.res and commondb.rsr.  We'll pick on that once you send the log files and other information over.

[MFS]

Tony, I couldn't find a "ge.log", but I found an "se" file that seemed to be a log of the scenario editor (or something) building the battlesets from the commondb.res file.

Oh, and I tried runnin each battleset in the game and they all seem to work now. Maybe the reinstall helped that issue.

Could my changing of the installation folder ("c:\program files\harpoon" for me) be causing this?

[TonyE]

Yes, using Program Files in Vista for either Harpoon game is not a good idea, users don't have the proper permissions to change files in sub-folders of Program Files and HCE requires modifying files in the game directory.  You'll want to uninstall and reinstall into some place that isn't in C:\Users, C:\Windows, or C:\Program Files

[MFS]

No luck. I just re-installed twice, first to C:\games\harpoon, then to the default path specified by the installer. Same error each time.

After checking my install folder I noticed "hdsh.rsr, hdsi.rsr, hdsj.rsr, hdsk.rsr, and hdsl.rsr" are all 0kb compared to the other .rsr files which are significantly (some would say infinitely) larger. Is that normal?

[TonyE]

That is normal, any ge.log yet when you run winharp32.exe?

You could come chat at HarpGamer, www.harpgamer.com (IRC or PHP chat links there on left) if you'd like, though I'll be going to sleep soon.

[MFS]

No ge.log. I played all the way through a few scenarios earlier today (on my first install) and never saw that file in the main harpoon directory, nor on any of the reinstalls.
 
I have a desktop running WinXP SP2 - should I try installing the game there?

[TonyE]

I think you'll find it works on just about any computer you can find so that might save you some heartache (installing on the XP machine).  The se.log file would be handy after you try to run the scenario editor.
 
Thanks
 
 

[MFS]

Email sent [:)]

[TonyE]

My understanding is now that the GE (winharp32.exe) is working fine for all battlesets on the Vista machine.
 
The SE (wscenedt.exe) is still giving grief.
 
Since it is easy to verify (and totally inexplicable why you wouldn't have it); do you have a harpoon8.dll file in your C:\Matrix Games\HCE\ folder?  The beloved Herman Hum had this happen.

[MFS]

ORIGINAL: TonyE

My understanding is now that the GE (winharp32.exe) is working fine for all battlesets on the Vista machine.

The SE (wscenedt.exe) is still giving grief.

Since it is easy to verify (and totally inexplicable why you wouldn't have it); do you have a harpoon8.dll file in your C:\Matrix Games\HCE\ folder?  The beloved Herman Hum had this happen.

Correct on both accounts and I did read the other thread about the harpoon8.dll file, and yes, it does exist.

[TonyE]

Allrighty, my last post for the night,
 
First I'd suggest restarting the Vista machine before doing this next step, we want the 16-bit subsystem totally closed and restarting is an easy way to do that.
 
Then grab http://harpgamer.com/harpforum/index.php?automodule=downloads&showfile=228 it just deletes HCE registry entries, the one we really care about is HKCR\Software\Matrix Games\HCE\Options\BattlesetPath.  Running the program you download from the above link will reset all of your HCE window positions (sorry) and game settings.
 
After running that, no need to restart, give the SE a try (ideally by launching the program directly via Explorer, not by using the start menu shortcut).

[MFS]

Tony, thanks for the help. I restarted and ran your utility, but now instead of getting an error message, it's just freezing up when the battleset selection screen comes up. The mouse pointer turns to the text pointer, but won't select anything, text or otherwise. The program is completely locked up.

When I hit Alt-F4, it says "the system cannot end this program because it is waiting for a response from you. [blah, blah, blah]..." Then, when I hit "end now" I eventually get a system error message that says "the request to end the selected 16 bit task has timed out. The Win 16 Subsystem may be unstable..." And it finally closes.

This is what would happen when I initially ran the scenario editor last night, just after I originally downloaded and installed the program. The error message only started happening after I actually played a few scenarios in WINHARP32.exe

[edit] I'm going to install downstairs and I'll wager that it will work without a hitch. Either way, I'll be back on tomorrow night and we can talk again then.

Thanks again

[TonyE]

As Stalintc says, good to make sure the basics are operational in terms of the 16-bit subsystem...
 
http://www.matrixgames.com/forums/tm.asp?m=1633630

[MFS]

Tony, sorry it took longer to get back than I promised. I'm still having no luck with the editor on my laptop, but as I predicted it's working fine on my desktop machine. It seems I'm not the only one dealing with this - are you guys making any progress on this issue?

[TonyE]

Frankly not a bit of progress, we need people having editor problems to stick with the drudgery of trying ten million different things, so far nobody is keeping with it and I've yet to find a way to make it happen to me.  If you are up for some more extreme testing, PM me with some times you would be able to IRC or PHP chat (www.harpgamer.com) and work thru everything we can think of.