ilDuce's installation woes

[ilDuce68]

Vista sucks. FOUR times I have tried to download EB 1.1 to no avail. Uninstall, re-install x4. I kept it out of the "files" folder as recommended. I installed it in the following line:

(C:) > Users > ilDuce > RTW

EB loads music and all, I click on new campaign but then I hear an ominous "ping" and after 10 minutes or so my start screen re-appears with an EB icon in the toolbar at the bottom of my screen with "protection error" icon next to it. Clicking on either icon just makes them disappear.

When I check "all programs" (Windows icon, lower left hand corner) I notice that I have two folders one says Total War, it contains my vanilla copy. Another folder contains EB. Could this be the problem, shouldn't EB be contained within the Total War folder?

Previous installs in my program folders of course failed. Getting XP is not an option for me. Help...

[Tellos Athenaios]

Could you take a screenshot so I can see for myself what you mean? For now it sounds like RomeTW itself apparently thinks you're running some kind of software which should enable you to look into its bowels (and RomeTW is programmed not to reflect kindly upon that idea).

EDIT: About the location of EB

RTW
 |
 -- EB
 -- Data
 -- preferences
 -- RomeTW.exe

If your directory tree looks like that RTW being where-ever you installed RTW to, then there's nothing to worry about: that is how it is supposed to be. Now, if you can't shake off the feeling of nagging doubt; you can always attempt to run a validation. Be sure to have the latest Java Runtime Environment installed (download it from SUN's website).

[ilDuce68]

Please bear with me and understand that you are dealing with a computer simpleton.

Sun site tells me: Congratulations! You have the recommended Java installed (Version 6 Update 11). So far so good but when I try to validate I get the following prompt:

Cannot find the EBValidationResults.txt.file. Do you want to create a new file?

Clicking yes or no gets the same result: a blank Notepad page.

I have no idea how to take a screen shot. I can describe events as follows: I am able to load EB, choose a faction, hit the arrow to continue, listen to the cool intro intro music but the game stalls at that point. After like 10 minutes it reverts back to my desktop and in the toolbar at the bottom of the scree I get two icons both with a generic RTW icon. One says RTW the other says "protection error" next to it. Clicking on either makes both disappear.

RTW is indeed the name of the folder I created in which to install my vanilla version which works fine. But my directory tree doesn't look like yours, it has like 20 other things too:

data
EB
EB documentation
Extras
Miles
uninstall
shortcuts for single player, multi, etc
RomeTW (but no exe.)
etc

[Tellos Athenaios]

A screenshot can be taken by pressing the "PrintScreen" ('PrtSc' on my laptop) button. Then any image program will suffice for pasting the screenshot and saving it as PNG or JPG images.

Use an image sharing site like ImageShack for uploading your picture and obtaining the BBCode (the stuff which deals with the markup of your forum posts) which you must include in your post to make the image visibile from your post.

-------------

Now as for your (other) problems:
For odd reasons unknown to me the validation thing apparently fails to *work* correctly, the only possible cause I can remember as having come across is installing in Program Files. Surely you did not... ? Bovi will know more, he wrote the tool after all.

Don't worry: your directory tree _does_ look _like_ the example I posted; point is: your EB directory appears to be in the correct (relative) path to your RomeTW.exe. So that is, unless you _did_ install in Program Files, one possible cause down.

Protection error sounds, still, suspiciously much alike to the error messages about Debuggers running which other people have experienced for no good out-to-lunch reasons:
https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showt...light=Debugger

The error might also be caused by some video codecs. Try to run EB without movies (-nm switch).
In google you can find other common sources like Ulead's amdfix.sys and

For those of you who installed the driver/application software from Creative Labs Audigy 2 Platinum, you simply need to "uncheck" the box that lets that annoying Creative Introduction/Getting Started/Demo screen launch on startup, then reboot your system to see if A-the annoying startup graphic stops launching at startup and B-your game stops prompting you to "unload the debugger" when you try to run it.

Could the "Crazy Russian", iamphet be right again?

[bovi]

Is there any error message in the "black screen" where the validation runs? If not, I'm betting you have installed RTW and EB under Program Files.

Come to think of it, I'll change the validation for the next release, whenever that might be. I'm going to write the results to C:\temp instead of the EB directory. Should definitely work there, regardless of where people install. I'm also going to write a check against having installed under Program Files, for that matter.

By the way, Iamphet is usually right .

[ilDuce68]

Tellos - Everything you guys say seems to point to me being really stupid and loading the game/mod into program files. I will once again uninstall and reinstall. I'll let you know in a couple of hours...

Bovi - no error message in blank screen. Merda. You think I could have installed RTW in my program files? I hope not. When I check my hard drive I follow this path: Computer > Local Disk (C:) > and the following folders pop up:

Program Files
Program Files (x86)
Users > ilDuce > RTW (I created this new folder myself to kip the program files)

My RTW is located in the Users folder as above. This is the correct place no? Its not program files right? Maybe I screwed up within the RTW folder? The files in there are:

data
miles
gamespy
icon
RomeTW

Do I install EB to RTW or to the sub-folder located within called RomeTW?!?! This item is labeled application (15,000 KB) not a folder. Thank you guys so very much for trying to help.

[bovi]

No, somewhere under Users *should* work. You install into the RTW folder, not the RomeTW under it.

Have you tried to run with the -ne and -nm switches?

[ilDuce68]

Okay installed for fifth time. Its definitely NOT in my program files but the same error still occurs. The game loads, I choose a campaign, it freezes after the song finishes then reverts back to my desktop with "PROTECTION ERROR" in my lower toolbar yet again. Porca miseria!

I cannot figure out how to take a screen shot, I tired the "print screen" button to no avail, I'm sorry.

I tried looking for this -nm fix and can't find anything. I read the adjoining "debugger" link and my problem doesn't sound the same. I have not installed any new drivers, video cards, etc. Nonetheless I'll give anything a try. Can someone give me a link and some directions please? I searched the threads for -nm and got a lot of nonsense responses like a Carthage AAR etc.

Thanks for your patience guys.

[Tellos Athenaios]

Did you install the EB Trivial Script? If so use the Configure shortcut to bring up the GUI, tick the disable movies checkbox, and subsequently launch EB.

You didn't? Then find the shortcut you use to launch EB, right click it, select Properties, and at the very end of the Target line add:

-nm

Click apply, click OK, launch EB using that shortcut.

If all that fails: provide screenshots. I already explained how to in some previous post in this thread.

Useful things to take a screenshot of:
(*) An error message if there is one;
(*) Your desktop when RTW crashes (timing of PrtSc is everything!);
(*) A snapshot of your RTW folder in Windows Explorer;
(*) The target line of your shortcut if you use that to launch EB;
(*) The menu of the Trivial Script if you use the Configure shortcut to launch EB.

[ilDuce68]

Tellos - I disabled the movies and it works! You kick ass! We'll go get some souvlaki if ever you are in Astoria, my treat. I even promise one day to learn how to post a screenshot too. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

[ilDuce68]

I just downloaded 1.2 as well. Do I have to download those 3 fixes (sprites, recruitment, Sweboz)also? I'm unsure about the "unpack" thing. I need the .exe version of 7zip correct? Then the files will "unpack" themselves?

[bovi]

Yes, you need the fixes. You install 7-zip, then open the fixes with 7-zip and unpack them by dragging them into the EB/data folder. They don't "unpack themselves".

[ilDuce68]

Sorry if I'm being a pest but two more questions:

1) Do I download the exe or msi version of 7-zip?

2) Also, will downloading the 1.2 fixes screw up the Baktria campaign I already started?

[bovi]

1. Either works
2. No. They are savegame compatible, as it says in the fixes post.