gaggle44
New Member
retired Foreign Service Officer
Posts: 9
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Post by gaggle44 on Feb 5, 2016 18:07:41 GMT -6
On 1/31/16 I purchased a new copy of WC:NAW in CD ROM form (order #yhst-12000246778232-46794). I first purchased this game back in 2009, replaced it in 2011, and wanted to play it again on my current machine. The CD arrived today (2/5/16) and I have attempted to install and run it on my desktop PC without success thus far. It seemed to install properly on my hard drive but, when I attempted to open it (in v.1.2 without the updates) Windows demanded that I install DirectPlay to run the program. DirectPlay installed finally but only after I'd updated WC:NAW to v1.31. However, the game program itself now will not open at all. When I click on the game icon on my desktop or the exe file in the WC:NAW folder via File Explorer, a small program window flickers on the screen for a fraction of a second and then vanishes. I've resorted to the Windows compatibility troubleshooter and followed its recommendation to run the game program with compatibility settings for Windows 8. Also tried it under Windows 7 compatibility settings. That changed nothing as far as running the game is concerned - all I get is the same brief glimpse of a small window and then nothing at all. I've uninstalled and reinstalled the game program and updated it again to v1.31. Same behavior, no joy. Attached b elow is a screen capture with the basic information regarding my computer system. I'd be grateful for any advice you can offer as to how I can get the game program to run on this machine.
Regards, George Gowen ggowen@austin.rr.com
Attachment Deleted
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Post by williammiller on Feb 6, 2016 1:31:08 GMT -6
George,
I have brought you above post to the attention of Christopher Dean (primary creator of the WC-NAW game), so he should reply within a reasonable time frame concerning your reported issue.
It sounds like you have already done some of the basic steps to resolve such issues. It is odd that your PC says that it needs direct-play to run the game, as I have not personally seen that reported before.
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Post by William Miller on Feb 6, 2016 2:25:57 GMT -6
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Post by oldpop2000 on Feb 6, 2016 12:05:04 GMT -6
On 1/31/16 I purchased a new copy of WC:NAW in CD ROM form (order #yhst-12000246778232-46794). I first purchased this game back in 2009, replaced it in 2011, and wanted to play it again on my current machine. The CD arrived today (2/5/16) and I have attempted to install and run it on my desktop PC without success thus far. It seemed to install properly on my hard drive but, when I attempted to open it (in v.1.2 without the updates) Windows demanded that I install DirectPlay to run the program. DirectPlay installed finally but only after I'd updated WC:NAW to v1.31. However, the game program itself now will not open at all. When I click on the game icon on my desktop or the exe file in the WC:NAW folder via File Explorer, a small program window flickers on the screen for a fraction of a second and then vanishes. I've resorted to the Windows compatibility troubleshooter and followed its recommendation to run the game program with compatibility settings for Windows 8. Also tried it under Windows 7 compatibility settings. That changed nothing as far as running the game is concerned - all I get is the same brief glimpse of a small window and then nothing at all. I've uninstalled and reinstalled the game program and updated it again to v1.31. Same behavior, no joy. Attached b elow is a screen capture with the basic information regarding my computer system. I'd be grateful for any advice you can offer as to how I can get the game program to run on this machine.
Regards, George Gowen ggowen@austin.rr.com
Under control panel, programs and features, turn Windows features on or off, look for legacy Components then see if a tick is in that box and the direct play within that Legacy Components. This will turn on direct play. You might have to reboot but see if that has been ticked. If it hasn't, do so then try the game again.
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gaggle44
New Member
retired Foreign Service Officer
Posts: 9
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Post by gaggle44 on Feb 6, 2016 15:33:07 GMT -6
My thanks to all of your for your responses and suggestions. I've followed up on all of them and am still stuck, unable to get the WCNAW program to open at all.
I'm running a fairly new HP Envy 7640 desktop with an AMD Radeon HD 7450 video card. The chip type is an AMD Radeon Graphics Processor (0x677B). For what it's worth I've attached below a current copy of my dxdiag file with those and other details. Today I've uninstalled and reinstalled the basic game program and both the update files. Did this after disabling both my Avast internet security program and the Windows firewall program. By the way, even with these firewalls off I got the warning shown in the screen cap below when I downloaded each of the updates, as in "WC-NAW v1.30 is not commonly downloaded and could be dangerous." I went ahead anyway, of course. Both updates installed without any evident glitch.
Then I attempted to open the program with both internet security programs turned off and my Internet/ethernet connection unplugged. There did not seem to be any other Windows programs running in background that should have been interfering. I did this with the screen mode in WINDOW mode and in the SCALED setting. Made no difference. Same with the compatibility settings: Windows 7 and Windows 8 make no difference.
For oldpop2000: thanks for your advice about DirectPlay. I did find the "legacy" folder via the Control Panel when I looked for it today. The box for DirectPlay was already checked. Seems I managed to turn it on during my first fumbling efforts to get the program to run yesterday. Perhaps I'll try it again with DirectPlay turned off.
Other points: I'm running (or trying to run) the exe file as Administrator. In addition, I've had SAI on this machine for nearly 3 years and it runs normally with no problems. That's the original version of the game. We'll see what happens when I update it later.
And that's where I am. When I click on the desktop game icon or the exe file in File Explorer Windows first asks if I want this program by an unknown publisher to make changes on my computer. I click "yes" and then there's the briefest flicker of a small game window in the center of my screen (for a fraction of a second) and then nothing happens. In brief, no joy.
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gaggle44
New Member
retired Foreign Service Officer
Posts: 9
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Post by gaggle44 on Feb 6, 2016 15:37:25 GMT -6
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Post by oldpop2000 on Feb 6, 2016 15:50:35 GMT -6
My thanks to all of your for your responses and suggestions. I've followed up on all of them and am still stuck, unable to get the WCNAW program to open at all. I'm running a fairly new HP Envy 7640 desktop with an AMD Radeon HD 7450 video card. The chip type is an AMD Radeon Graphics Processor (0x677B). For what it's worth I've attached below a current copy of my dxdiag file with those and other details. Today I've uninstalled and reinstalled the basic game program and both the update files. Did this after disabling both my Avast internet security program and the Windows firewall program. By the way, even with these firewalls off I got the warning shown in the screen cap below when I downloaded each of the updates, as in "WC-NAW v1.30 is not commonly downloaded and could be dangerous." I went ahead anyway, of course. Both updates installed without any evident glitch. Then I attempted to open the program with both internet security programs turned off and my Internet/ethernet connection unplugged. There did not seem to be any other Windows programs running in background that should have been interfering. I did this with the screen mode in WINDOW mode and in the SCALED setting. Made no difference. Same with the compatibility settings: Windows 7 and Windows 8 make no difference. For oldpop2000: thanks for your advice about DirectPlay. I did find the "legacy" folder via the Control Panel when I looked for it today. The box for DirectPlay was already checked. Seems I managed to turn it on during my first fumbling efforts to get the program to run yesterday. Perhaps I'll try it again with DirectPlay turned off. Other points: I'm running (or trying to run) the exe file as Administrator. In addition, I've had SAI on this machine for nearly 3 years and it runs normally with no problems. That's the original version of the game. We'll see what happens when I update it later. And that's where I am. When I click on the desktop game icon or the exe file in File Explorer Windows first asks if I want this program by an unknown publisher to make changes on my computer. I click "yes" and then there's the briefest flicker of a small game window in the center of my screen (for a fraction of a second) and then nothing happens. In brief, no joy. One last suggestion, because I don't have the game so I can't attempt to duplicate your issues. Go to the HP website and find your computer. Check the dates on your drivers especially the video drivers and compare them with the dates on the website. When MS Windows 10 was put into beta, the manufacturers generally will update their drivers to accommodate the new software. Your problem might be due to old drivers that were issued with Windows 7, not Windows 10. Anyway, good luck.
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Post by William Miller on Feb 6, 2016 16:06:16 GMT -6
Just to try it.. set the game engine for "FULL" screen mode in the display options, just in case your monitor drivers are outdated or don't allow for "scaling".
I agree with Dennis however, make sure your video card drivers are up to date and WQHL certified. Something is butting heads with the game engine and the code engine its designed on has VERY low system requirements. I run an ATI card and LCD monitor on Win7 with fully updated DX drivers and it runs fine. Other members of the NWS team have tested it on Win8 and Win10 with no problems reported.
I believe it is likely an outdated video or monitor driver. Go to both manufacturer websites (not the HP website) and make sure you have the latest certified drivers for both, and possibly even the onboard sound chip. If your using HP original driver CDS they are often outdated right out of the box due to being either proprietary or semi-generic driver sets. The vast majority of the time when a game will not display in 3D/2D modes the drivers and/or DX were conflicting based on what I have seen in the past as a PC tech. I also used to help customers with HP PCs and their PCs can have very odd non-standardized configurations or background applications (what we used to call "bloatware") running that can cause all sorts of weird things to happen.
If need be contact me by email ( nws-online@nws-online.net ) with a phone number and time I can reach you at.
Thanks
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Post by oldpop2000 on Feb 6, 2016 16:58:07 GMT -6
I'm running a fairly new HP Envy 7640 desktop with an AMD Radeon HD 7450 video card. The chip type is an AMD Radeon Graphics Processor (0x677B). For what it's worth I've attached below a current copy of my dxdiag file with those and other details.... Are you sure about the number on your desktop, HP Envy 7640 is an All-In-One printer according to HP. store.hp.com/us/en/pdp/hp-envy-7640-e-all-in-one-printer
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Post by William Miller on Feb 6, 2016 17:17:32 GMT -6
Hi Dennis, this is the system he has, h20564.www2.hp.com/hpsc/doc/public/display?docId=emr_na-c03517389H8-1414. Onboard IDT sound chip, according to his DX log the sound drivers are from 2013. The video drivers are from mid 2015. Chances are though he is using HP/ATI semi-generic video drivers and generic monitor drivers. To George.. lets start here, www.idt.com/products/audio-products < sound chip drivers support.amd.com/en-us/download < video drivers www.viewsonic.com/downloads_section/ < monitor drivers Another option for anyone to try is driver booster, note I am not trying to push any software apps but so far I have used it with good results.. www.iobit.com/en/driver-booster.php .. checks all your drivers and updates them for you. Update all of those driver sets with manufacturer drivers and try the game again with all video options to see which work. Many times when a game that utilizes any 3D calls fails to start its a conflict with the video, monitor, and/or DX drivers.. however, sound drivers that are outdated can also cause problems. If nothing else.. this entire exercise will help you, and others reading this thread, to keep your computer tuned up which can help a lot with all sorts of gaming applications. Let me know how that works out.
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Post by oldpop2000 on Feb 6, 2016 17:31:39 GMT -6
Hi Dennis, this is the system he has, h20564.www2.hp.com/hpsc/doc/public/display?docId=emr_na-c03517389H8-1414. Onboard IDT sound chip, according to his DX log the sound drivers are from 2013. The video drivers are from mid 2015. Chances are though he is using HP/ATI semi-generic video drivers and generic monitor drivers. To George.. lets start here, www.idt.com/products/audio-products < sound chip drivers support.amd.com/en-us/download < video drivers www.viewsonic.com/downloads_section/ < monitor drivers Another option for anyone to try is driver booster, note I am not trying to push any software apps but so far I have used it with good results.. www.iobit.com/en/driver-booster.php .. checks all your drivers and updates them for you. Update all of those driver sets with manufacturer drivers and try the game again with all video options to see which work. If nothing else.. this entire exercise will help you, and others reading this thread, to keep your computer tuned up which can help a lot with all sorts of gaming applications. Many times when a game that utilizes any 3D calls fails to start its a conflict with the video, monitor, and/or DX drivers.. however, sound drivers that are outdated can also cause problems. Let me know how that works out. OK, that makes much better sense. That system is a pretty moderate system, performance wise. It isn't much of a high end gamer, from what I can tell. The real problem area for me, is the upgrade from Windows 8 to Windows 10, if that is what he did. Upgrades can always cause some problems, sometimes you just have to blow it all away, and start from scratch. But I agree, update all the drivers and then try it again.
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Post by William Miller on Feb 6, 2016 17:33:49 GMT -6
I will be very clear on this part to everyone.. it does not matter if you bought the PC yesterday or last year.. update your drivers anyways. Many times - especially for proprietary systems like HP or other pre-built name brand computers - the drivers installed are already several to many months old and use semi-generic reduced feature driver sets. Its always better to get the updated drivers direct from the manufacturer. Many name brand PCs also have buckets of bloatware installed which can cause system failures, reduced performance, extremely overzealous anti-virus/security software, etc..etc..etc.. just like is done with many smart phones. One of the most common requests I had when I was a PC tech was to wipe a PC completely and give it a clean Windows install with only manufacture driver sets and then select specific AV/security apps that I felt had the best performance with minimum intrusion with other applications. Going that route often made a massive difference in performance. There is good reason why most PC techs build their own PCs - they know what is in it from the start. However, start simple and see what works first.
Thanks
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Post by William Miller on Feb 6, 2016 17:36:11 GMT -6
The video card is pretty good, and least its not mounted on the motherboard.
I agree though.. "the upgrade" road might have caused some driver confusion also - better to get it all straightened out.
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Post by William Miller on Feb 6, 2016 17:47:08 GMT -6
On another note.. firewalls, especially Windows firewall, should not mess with WCNAW whatsoever as it does not use any online access. I never turn mine off. Now, overzealous anti-virus/security applications that have lazy coding structures are another matter. I have no use for many of the highly pushed AVs that are jammed on name brand PCs as anytime they don't understand a file they get totally paranoid and ask questions later which can cause all sorts of application compatibility and performance problems. I have seen this happen with Mcafee, Norton, Avast, AVG, etc.. Lately I have been using Shield Deluxe with good results.. no paranoid panic attacks. Another one I like is TrendMicro which I used for several years. pcsecurityshield.com/products/shield-deluxe/shop.trendmicro.com/Again not trying to push software applications.. just going on past experience as a PC tech. No AV/security application is 100% perfect (its always best to learn about what it does) but many, especially if the user does not know what its doing, can be almost as harmful to the PC performance then what it is trying to protect the PC from. Sometimes software application companies are just out for the "paranoid sales".. and blame any problems that their lazy coders created on the unknowing public user. Thanks
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Post by oldpop2000 on Feb 6, 2016 18:20:54 GMT -6
On another note.. firewalls, especially Windows firewall, should not mess with WCNAW whatsoever as it does not use any online access. I never turn mine off. Now, overzealous anti-virus/security applications that have lazy coding structures are another matter. I have no use for many of the highly pushed AVs that are jammed on name brand PCs as anytime they don't understand a file they get totally paranoid and ask questions later which can cause all sorts of application compatibility and performance problems. I have seen this happen with Mcafee, Norton, Avast, AVG, etc.. Lately I have been using Shield Deluxe with good results.. no paranoid panic attacks. Another one I like is TrendMicro which I used for several years. pcsecurityshield.com/products/shield-deluxe/shop.trendmicro.com/Again not trying to push software applications.. just going on past experience as a PC tech. No AV/security application is 100% perfect (its always best to learn about what it does) but many, especially if the user does not know what its doing, can be almost as harmful to the PC performance then what it is trying to protect the PC from. Sometimes software application companies are just out for the "paranoid sales".. and blame any problems that their lazy coders created on the unknowing public user. Thanks From everything he's told us, it appears that the executable cannot find a file that it needs to run to start up, without the game and code I don't know what that might be. I've had to move a file to the startup directory for it to find it. Anyone know a key file that might be missing or misplaced during uninstalling and reinstalling? Video issues on IGOUGO are usually poor resolution or something visual, but a flicker is usually a missing or an incorrect file.
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