Help
Hi, I have a problem with my game. I can install it without any problems but when I try to start it i get this error:
"Runtime error!
program: ..am files\Firaxis games\Sid Meier's Pirates!\Pirates.exe
Abnormal program termination"
I have windows vista and i have tried to start it as an admin and run it in XP-compability but I still just get the error message. Any of you know what to do?
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Pirates! Doesn't Start..
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#2
CaptainPatch 
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Posted 19 December 2009 - 08:06 PM
Vista, NOT being Windows XP means that sometimes the imitation isn't quite perfect. In this case, it's flubbing up the usual "Start program" command. (That's the .exe file.)
First workaround: Instead of clicking on the Pirates! icon to start the game
1) Click on My Computer
2) Right-click on the drive letter of the CD (or DVD) drive that has the game disc.
3) That opens a drop down menu. Click on Explore or Open (not sure which is used in Vista).
4) Look for the Pirates.exe file (which is described as an application).
Sometimes it's a simple matter of the PC getting lost going from the icon to the file the icon represents.
Second thing to try:
Turn off any anti-virus or anti-spyware/malware/adware programs that may be active. (Sometimes Windows perceives SMP as being some kind of invasion because it actually alters the files registry.)
Third thing to try:
1)Thoroughly uninstall the game.
2) Turn off any anti-AV or anti-spyware/etc. programs.
3)THOROUGHLY clean the disks and the drive you use to install the game.
4) Re-install the game.
Let me know if none of these work.
First workaround: Instead of clicking on the Pirates! icon to start the game
1) Click on My Computer
2) Right-click on the drive letter of the CD (or DVD) drive that has the game disc.
3) That opens a drop down menu. Click on Explore or Open (not sure which is used in Vista).
4) Look for the Pirates.exe file (which is described as an application).
Sometimes it's a simple matter of the PC getting lost going from the icon to the file the icon represents.
Second thing to try:
Turn off any anti-virus or anti-spyware/malware/adware programs that may be active. (Sometimes Windows perceives SMP as being some kind of invasion because it actually alters the files registry.)
Third thing to try:
1)Thoroughly uninstall the game.
2) Turn off any anti-AV or anti-spyware/etc. programs.
3)THOROUGHLY clean the disks and the drive you use to install the game.
4) Re-install the game.
Let me know if none of these work.
#4
CaptainPatch
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Posted 20 December 2009 - 07:13 PM
Bleah. (Which means something like, "Harrumph"; which is a minor expression of annoyance.)
There's something in your hardware/software configuration that simply doesn't like SMP. For one, Vista simply does NOT like to be forced to run as XP. What's happening between your initial complaint and what just happened was Vista simply looking for an excuse to NOT run the program. It basically starts to process the commands and at the earliest opportunity, it wails, "I can't do this!" We bypassed the Pirates.exe file problem so it chugged onward and then complained about the .dll file. If we fix that one, it would most likely chug a little bit further and then complain about some other file further down the list. It's sort of like trying to make a little kid go someplace he doesn't want to go.
(How's all that for creating an image? :) )
Okay, then. Next we have to recognize that in computer-ese, SMP is an _old_ program, which you're try to run using a newer Operating System and (I'm guessing) newer hardware. In that newer hardware there are several devices that had to receive some updates so they would be backward compatible with older programs.
You need to run a program called DXdiag which, in XP would be initiated from the PC's Start menu. I'm not sure how you get it started in Vista. What DXdiag does is it generates a report about your PC's equipment and operating system. It's a quick way to discover which specific
processor (listed on the first tab of the report, System)
video card (under Display)
Both of those things use files called "drivers", which are frequently updated by the manufacturers as various conflicts between programs and hardware are revealed. The manufacturers have Support departments that will list those files that are available for download by owners of their hardware. You need to go to the manufacturers' websites and get those current drivers for your specific hardware devices. Once those are installed and active, try starting SMP normally. If you still get a runtime error, you most likely would need to follow my earlier advice about uninstall/reinstalling SMP.
[BTW, probably 90% of the runtime errors go away once the current hardware drivers get installed. Hopefully you're not one of the special 10%. ;) ]
There's something in your hardware/software configuration that simply doesn't like SMP. For one, Vista simply does NOT like to be forced to run as XP. What's happening between your initial complaint and what just happened was Vista simply looking for an excuse to NOT run the program. It basically starts to process the commands and at the earliest opportunity, it wails, "I can't do this!" We bypassed the Pirates.exe file problem so it chugged onward and then complained about the .dll file. If we fix that one, it would most likely chug a little bit further and then complain about some other file further down the list. It's sort of like trying to make a little kid go someplace he doesn't want to go.
(How's all that for creating an image? :) )
Okay, then. Next we have to recognize that in computer-ese, SMP is an _old_ program, which you're try to run using a newer Operating System and (I'm guessing) newer hardware. In that newer hardware there are several devices that had to receive some updates so they would be backward compatible with older programs.
You need to run a program called DXdiag which, in XP would be initiated from the PC's Start menu. I'm not sure how you get it started in Vista. What DXdiag does is it generates a report about your PC's equipment and operating system. It's a quick way to discover which specific
processor (listed on the first tab of the report, System)
video card (under Display)
Both of those things use files called "drivers", which are frequently updated by the manufacturers as various conflicts between programs and hardware are revealed. The manufacturers have Support departments that will list those files that are available for download by owners of their hardware. You need to go to the manufacturers' websites and get those current drivers for your specific hardware devices. Once those are installed and active, try starting SMP normally. If you still get a runtime error, you most likely would need to follow my earlier advice about uninstall/reinstalling SMP.
[BTW, probably 90% of the runtime errors go away once the current hardware drivers get installed. Hopefully you're not one of the special 10%. ;) ]
#7
CaptainPatch
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Posted 02 February 2010 - 06:55 PM
Did a little homework and discovered a couple things.
1) This problem _usually_ is not with the specific program you are trying to run (in this case, SMP). It's usually some other program that has ongoing monitoring elements running in the background. The background program is using a similarly named file and is being selfish about sharing. "You can't use it for that! It's mine!" And since it was already active in the background, it has first dibs, even though you haven't actually activated that background program, it still preempts SMP.
Somewhere in the error message there _should_ be mention of the specific file SMP is not being allowed to use. Do a Search of the hard drive that has SMP (usually C:) and see what other programs may have that exact same file name. That will show you what **actually** needs to be fixed, and where it can be found.
2) A host of adware, spyware, malware, and viruses are lurking back in the shadows and interfering with the SMP startup the same way. Since you do NOT want any of those anyway, the best thing to do is just eradicate them.
Ad/spy/malware can be disposed of cheaply with any of a myriad of cheap and free zapper programs that you can find on the internet. A couple that I use are
Malwarebytes -- http://download.cnet...4-10804572.html
Ad-Aware -- http://www.lavasoft.com/
The only downside to using these are their sales pitches: "You _really_ want to buy the upgraded version!" Just ignore those and stick with the Free version, as it takes care of more than 90% of what's "out there". What's not covered are usually business-oriented malware assailants that usually don't bother with we Little People.
My preferred FREE anti-virus is Avast!
http://download.cnet...4-10019223.html
Like the malware zappers, the makers really want you to buy the Pro version. BUT the free Avast! actually zaps more like 95% of what's "out there", and it updates every time you start up the PC and have an Internet connection. It also requires you to register the free software after 60 days, just so they have some kind of record for communication purposes. (There's an option for you to report scan results back to Avast! which helps them to more clearly identify and track newer viruses, which in turn contributes to the daily updates. If you're paranoid, just decline to report scan results.) And they don't abuse the registration list. For me, after two years of use, they've never sent me any advertising emails.
***********
I'd suggest getting the zappers and running those first while keeping your fingers crossed. If afterward, you still can't get SMP to start, I'll need to see the ENTIRE error message to ID what other program is hijacking a SMP file.
1) This problem _usually_ is not with the specific program you are trying to run (in this case, SMP). It's usually some other program that has ongoing monitoring elements running in the background. The background program is using a similarly named file and is being selfish about sharing. "You can't use it for that! It's mine!" And since it was already active in the background, it has first dibs, even though you haven't actually activated that background program, it still preempts SMP.
Somewhere in the error message there _should_ be mention of the specific file SMP is not being allowed to use. Do a Search of the hard drive that has SMP (usually C:) and see what other programs may have that exact same file name. That will show you what **actually** needs to be fixed, and where it can be found.
2) A host of adware, spyware, malware, and viruses are lurking back in the shadows and interfering with the SMP startup the same way. Since you do NOT want any of those anyway, the best thing to do is just eradicate them.
Ad/spy/malware can be disposed of cheaply with any of a myriad of cheap and free zapper programs that you can find on the internet. A couple that I use are
Malwarebytes -- http://download.cnet...4-10804572.html
Ad-Aware -- http://www.lavasoft.com/
The only downside to using these are their sales pitches: "You _really_ want to buy the upgraded version!" Just ignore those and stick with the Free version, as it takes care of more than 90% of what's "out there". What's not covered are usually business-oriented malware assailants that usually don't bother with we Little People.
My preferred FREE anti-virus is Avast!
http://download.cnet...4-10019223.html
Like the malware zappers, the makers really want you to buy the Pro version. BUT the free Avast! actually zaps more like 95% of what's "out there", and it updates every time you start up the PC and have an Internet connection. It also requires you to register the free software after 60 days, just so they have some kind of record for communication purposes. (There's an option for you to report scan results back to Avast! which helps them to more clearly identify and track newer viruses, which in turn contributes to the daily updates. If you're paranoid, just decline to report scan results.) And they don't abuse the registration list. For me, after two years of use, they've never sent me any advertising emails.
***********
I'd suggest getting the zappers and running those first while keeping your fingers crossed. If afterward, you still can't get SMP to start, I'll need to see the ENTIRE error message to ID what other program is hijacking a SMP file.
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