rec.autos.simulators

I have been having some other strange problems with GPL.  Last week you
mentioned that I should remove some RAM to improve performance.  That worked
and I now get 12-22 frames in GPL, which is great.  I still have some major
problems running the game however and I am unsure how to proceed as far as
troubleshooting. Some of the symptoms are distressing. Here is what is
happening:

I can run GPL but ofttimes (about 90%) it will crash with a Kernel32.dll
error.  This happens most often in Race mode or Replay mode but it has
started to happen often in Training mode while just driving around.

A few nights ago, however, I tried to play a replay from Kyalami and it
locked solid with the Replay frozen on the screen. It happened after hitting
the rewind button.  This is often what causes it to die.  I had to reboot
the machine.  When it started to reboot, I got an error from Win98 stating
that there was a serious error on the drive and that I may have bad sectors.
I started Scandisk but quit it because I wanted to enter 98 and use Nuts and
Bolts to better diagnose the problem.   It reported that there were two FAT
errors on the drive containing GPL.  It fixed them fine and all was hunky
dory but now I am nervous...

My usual exit from the games is uneventful and just pops up the Kernel32.dll
error and when I click OK, it closes GPL.  I can restart it or whatever but
it just crashes constantly. Very frustrating...

Here is my setup and other system info:
P166
64mb RAM
Win98
Monster 3D 1
SB AWE64 Value
tons of free space on all drives
I installed the Diamond Monster1 1.10 drivers, but I have also tried the
default Win98 drivers, and the newest 3dfx reference drivers (which I am
running currently).  Neither appear to work.

After removing the RAM I experienced this Kernel32 error.  I swapped RAM,
swapped RAM bays on the MB etc but it still happened.

If you need any more stats or if there is some way to create a post mortem,
let me know.  This happens several times a night (the Kernel32 error, not th
e FAT error) so I can reproduce it almost at will.  In fact in the last day
or so, it has gotten worse.  My usual exit from GPL is not from the
interface but from the Fatal Error screen from 98.

I basically can't play GPL now, and I am getting quite frustrated.  I
realize it is something stupid with my machine but I have run out of ideas
as to what it could be.  Is it drivers or hardware? DirectX 5.0?  At this
point, I don't even know.

Any ideas?  I posted this here first.  If there aren't any takers, I will
crosspost it to the Papyrus Tech MsgBoard.

Thanks,

Jeff

I'm assuming this is a Win95 machine upgraded to Win98?  If you have the
time, I would HIGHLY suggest a complete fresh reinstall of Win98 to
clean things up.  You'd be amazed how much better a clean system runs.

- Eric

: I'm assuming this is a Win95 machine upgraded to Win98?  If you have the
: time, I would HIGHLY suggest a complete fresh reinstall of Win98 to
: clean things up.  You'd be amazed how much better a clean system runs.

: - Eric

Unfortunately, no.  It IS a clean install.  

Any other ideas?  Does it sound like drivers or hardware?

-J.

:>
:>Here is my setup and other system info:
:>P166
:>64mb RAM
:>Win98
:>Monster 3D 1
:>SB AWE64 Value
:>tons of free space on all drives
:>I installed the Diamond Monster1 1.10 drivers, but I have also tried
: the
:>default Win98 drivers, and the newest 3dfx reference drivers (which I
: am
:>running currently).  Neither appear to work.

: On Fri, 9 Oct 1998 07:39:35 -0400,

: Win98 will ALWAYS make that check, on reboot, after Win98
: terminates abnormally.

:>I started Scandisk but quit it

: Win98 automatically ran Scandisk, you didn't start it.

Yeah, that's what I meant.

: Do NOT interrupt Scandisk........
: One more time... Do not end Scandisk...

: :)

Well, the first time this happened, I let scandisk do its thing.  It found
a "bad sector" which it turns out was NOT bad but rather a FAT error.  I
almost always let scandisk run through but I was getting a little pissed
off at this point in the evening. This was about the 10th time I had
rebooted.

I will let Scandisk finish from now on, but I am wary of its results...

:>because I wanted to enter 98 and use Nuts and
:>Bolts to better diagnose the problem.  

: Use Nuts and Bolts afterward, but don't end Scandisk ....

:>My usual exit from the games is uneventful and just pops up the Kernel32.dll
:>error and when I click OK, it closes GPL.

: Make sure you have a large, fixed length Win98 swapfile.
: Here is how to create one:

: Step (1) defragment your hard drive:

:  start menu | programs | accessories | system tools | disk defragmenter.

: *No matter* what the percentage of fragmentation shows, allow
: the program to defragment.

: Step (2) set a fixed length swapfile

:  my computer| control panel | system | performance | virtual memory

: Check the box that lets you specify your own setting. Change the
: upper and lower limit to the same size. A good size would probably
: be about 200MB upper limit  and 200MB lower limit.

I did this in 95 a while back and had some problems with it but I will set
it up again in 98.  It is a whole different kettle of fish...

Thanks,

J.

One thing to check is go to DEVICE MANAGER, PORTS, get the properties on one
of your comm ports. Go to the driver section is the VCOMM.VXD in
parenthesis? If so, not all of you VXD's for WIN 98 are loaded.
You will need to check all of these, write down all of the VXD's that are
missing.
Next you will have to extract the VXD's from cab file 47 & 48.
Once all the missing VXD's are extracted in the WINDOWS\SYSTEM directory,
reboot and check it again.

This should help.

Regards

Dave