I tried to install GPL - bought from Game - and the installation gets as far
as when you select a full or typical install, and then its springs up the
message - 'this is not a valid cd - please contact your vendor'.
Is this a common problem or have I just got a dodgy cd - I know I could
return it but guess what I haven't the
receipt anymore!!
The cd is in the sierra originals (budget) box (red and white). The cd is
dated 1998.
Help!!!
Alistair
% I tried to install GPL - bought from Game - and the installation gets as far
% as when you select a full or typical install, and then its springs up the
% message - 'this is not a valid cd - please contact your vendor'.
Sounds as if you are a victim of the copy protection scheme used on this
CD.... A few folks seem to have problems with their CD-ROM drives and
this scheme....
Here is a possible solution from an old post to r.a.s.:
I traced it to Win98 using DMA access to my CD, which in
the setup of GPL (and in nothing else) caused exactly the same
behaviour. Possibly the hard drive swaps have caused Win98 to
re-allocate your CD driver and re-initialise it to the default
setup?
Under "CP: System: CD Drive" try toggling DMA access and
rebooting before installing. The GPL installer seems be be picky
about working with DMA access on my drive.
Every other app has had no problem with the drive in this
mode for the last 6-9 months ...
Craig Morgan Sun Microsystems Ltd
Training Instructor Enterprise Services
European Systems Training Centre (ESTC) Citygate
Cross Street
--------- but that didn't work for Pete and he sent this reply ----
Hi Craig
Thanks for the suggestion, unfortunately it didn't work. But it did
start me thinking and I eventually found the answer. I have recently
added a scsi cd writer and to get windows to recognise it I had to
disable IRQ steering in control panel/system/device manager/system
devices. Enabling it to load GPL then turning it back off afterwards
did the trick....
Thanks for starting off the train of thought...
Cheers
Pete
-------- Here's another possibility (again from an old post) ----
Do you by any chance have more than 1 CD ROM in your machine? If so that
could be the problem.
When my old 6x gave up the ghost, I bought an HP CDRW to replace it
(6x2x2 which was good at the time!) Then along came GPL, and the CDRW
wouldn't read it. Don't know why, but to this day if I put the GPL CD in
that drive, windows Blue-Screens. So I bought a Panasonic 32x CD-ROM as
a reader, keeping the HP as a writer. This new drive reads the CD fine,
but gives me the unofficial CD message (which is ***y annoying when
you've paid for a game!) when I try to install. (But finds the CD
perfectly OK to play the game!).
I finally tracked it down to the way my drives are set up. For reliable
CD writing the CD Writer should be the master on one of your IDE
channels, and the reader the slave. The GPL install seems to ignore the
drive letter of the CD-ROM it was installed from and just check the
master CD-ROM.
The simplest solution I have found for this is to: (1) Switch off my PC.
(2) Unplug the CD-writer IDE ribbon from the back. (3) Reboot PC. It
then thinks it only has the one CD. (4) Install GPL (it only has one
CD-ROM to look at, so it works) (5) Switch PC off again. (6) Re-insert
IDE ribbon. (7) Reboot. Windows seems to manage this without asking for
any drivers, so apart from the obvious pain in the arse of fiddling
around with your case and cables etc, it's relatively hassle free.
The strange thing is that one of my housemates also has a CD-Writer and
CD-ROM (different models, but set up the same way), and he doesn't have
the problem, even when installing from the Slave drive. All a bit odd
really.
Anyway, if you've got more than 1 CD, give it a whirl.
-----------
If these don't work try contacting Sierra Support as a last resort....
% Is this a common problem or have I just got a dodgy cd - I know I could
% return it but guess what I haven't the
% receipt anymore!!
% The cd is in the sierra originals (budget) box (red and white). The cd is
% dated 1998.
% Help!!!
% Alistair
--
**************************** Michael E. Carver *************************
Upside out, or inside down...False alarm the only game in town.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=<[ /./. [- < ]>=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
> Hi
> I tried to install GPL - bought from Game - and the installation gets as far
> as when you select a full or typical install, and then its springs up the
> message - 'this is not a valid cd - please contact your vendor'.
> Is this a common problem or have I just got a dodgy cd - I know I could
> return it but guess what I haven't the
> receipt anymore!!
> The cd is in the sierra originals (budget) box (red and white). The cd is
> dated 1998.
There is one file that needs to be copied to your Windows/System
directory though, I think it's a "joy...something.dll", could be wrong
Beers and cheers
(uncle) Goy
"Team Mirage" http://www.teammirage.com/
"The Pits" http://www.theuspits.com/
* Spam is for losers who can't get business any other way *
"Spamkiller" http://www.spamkiller.com
Mine does this if I try to install from my DVD drive. It installs fine
from a CD drive on the same PC. Weird. Perhaps Sierra uses some weird
copy protection mechanism?
--
Russell Whitworth
- If you need my email address, you'll have to visit my website (sorry) -
- Home ==> http://www.anchorag.demon.co.uk/ -
- Work ==> http://www.questus.co.uk/ -
