annoying Bugs, mostly, in Temple.DLL on XP Pro SP2

I, recently, fixed my new computer (XP Pro with SP2) to actually be able to run ToEE. Imagine that? Grin. Amongst the joy of playing ToEE on XP, there have been some issues. Namely, the issues listed below. ToEE drops back to the desktop.

I installed ToEE as a test using the same installation procedure and setup files on a 2000 Pro computer with only half the RAM (512MB) and only half as powerful of a video card (FX 5500 OC) where I copied the modules folder from XP over to the 2000 Pro instance of ToEE [allowing me to continue the same game on the 2000 computer]. Well, guess what? It worked, no problems or glitches [none whatsoever - not the first issue]. I completed the game on the 2000 computer. Imagine that? Also, my 2000 Pro computer has 2000 SP4 and the Update Rollup 1 final package for Windows 2000.

Anyway, for the MODders coding the future revs of ToEE MODs and maybe Livonya, too, if interested, here are the errors I experienced running ToEE on XP Pro SP2. They took place on level 4 of the temple and in the elemental nodes.


Faulting application toee.exe, version 0.0.0.0, faulting module temple.dll, version 0.0.0.0, fault address 0x0009cdc5.
0000: 41 70 70 6c 69 63 61 74 Applicat
0008: 69 6f 6e 20 46 61 69 6c ion Fail
0010: 75 72 65 20 20 74 6f 65 ure toe
0018: 65 2e 65 78 65 20 30 2e e.exe 0.
0020: 30 2e 30 2e 30 20 69 6e 0.0.0 in
0028: 20 74 65 6d 70 6c 65 2e temple.
0030: 64 6c 6c 20 30 2e 30 2e dll 0.0.
0038: 30 2e 30 20 61 74 20 6f 0.0 at o
0040: 66 66 73 65 74 20 30 30 ffset 00
0048: 30 39 63 64 63 35 0d 0a 09cdc5..

one listed example is enough..

 

I'll even say the toee.exe process becomes very large, over 100MB, as it runs on XP Pro SP2 over time like it has a memory leak or similar problem. It is wierd that it runs perfectly fine on Windows 2000 Pro with SP4 and UR1, but has random, intermittent issues running on XP Pro SP2.

 

Final note, I did finish playing ToEE on XP. The problems I experienced playing ToEE on XP Pro SP2 were, mostly, in the Elemental Node of Fire and in the first two areas of the 4th level with the Giants/Ettins and Ogres/Bugbears and a noteable problem when facing Senshock. Otherwise, the rest of the game was ok. The Fire Node on XP was frustrating. Part of the problem was attacking with Scather in the Fire Node; I did not know that was a problem. I had my Dwarf Barbarian change from using Scather to using the Holy Greathammer +1 while in the Fire Node.

 

Additional thoughts..

I did some additional testing on XP Pro SP2.

1. I downloaded and installed the latest version of Bink [and Smacker]. (Reboot)
2. I downloaded and installed the latest version of Miles [Sound System]. (Reboot)
3. I uninstalled the ATI Catalyst using the ATI Uninstaller. (Reboot)
4. I downloaded and installed the previous ATI Catalyst version 4.9, the Display Driver download and the Control Panel download [both].
* Step 4 required two installations, install display driver; reboot; install control panel; reboot. And, with the ATI Catalyst Control Panel installed, I was able to downgrade the AGP speed from 8x down to 4x. (3 Reboots, total for step 4)
5. I reapplied (did not uninstall) the official Patch1 and 2, Co8 Fan Fixes 3.0.4, Livonya's MOD Beta 1.5.1. I also installed ShiningTEDs voices and reinstalled the addon BG series portraits. (Rebooted only once for step 5)

I have since played a party through a bunch of the quests in Hommlet, went through the entire Moathouse, Emridy Meadows - including the Hill Giant, killed everyone in the hostel and bar at Nulb, the Ruined Tower, the entire first level and part of the 2nd and part of the 3rd levels of the temple. I have not, yet, experienced any problems, not a single glitch or bug.

When I finish this test, I'll let you know how the rest of the game went. So far, the ATI Catalyst version 4.9 performance is excellent.

 

That is very interesting indeed! I wonder if using the newest drivers along with setting your BIOS to AGP 4x would result in the same performance "improvement"?

Something to think about if you have the inclination. Also, great job on the testing. Very impressive!

~daetar

 

Okay. I got to a certain point in the game, and I have detailed info I will post later. I will say this, now. I am buying a new motherboard for my XP Pro SP2 game computer.

 

Today, I bought a Abit AN7 motherboard for my XP computer. What's that mean [you wonder]?

A= Abit company, N= nVidia chipset, 7= K7 Socket A processor

This means I bought a motherboard with the nVidia nForce2 Ultra 400 chipset and translates to I will test ToEE running on XP Pro SP2 with a nVidia chipset. No more VIA chipset. I'll still use the high-end Radeon video card but use the latest Catalyst 5.7 driver.

I'll post the results this weekend.

 

okay any reason why on 98se i get a messed up vdeo if i go beyond 600X800 32bit and on xp pro sp2 i can no problem??
btw do i need to be worried if im using the via 4 in 1 hyperion.. with a nvida gforce 4 ti 4200 8agp

 

1a. It's probably video driver related and has to do with the capacity of the video drivers for the operating system.
* The last drivers for Win98 that were certified WHQL by Microsoft was years ago.
** Microsoft no longer certifies any drivers for WHQL status for WinME at this time.
Please understand that when new drivers are written by companies who make video cards, they are concerned about Windows XP and 2000, not so much or even at all for Win98/ME. As long as the drivers can minimally work for W98/ME, that is okay for all video card companies.

1b. Companies only write drivers for W98/ME because they have to. People still have old computers or real old computers. Microsoft will NOT test any of the new drivers companies make for old operating systems.

2a. That depends on the particular motherboard. You will have to run it and see.
* Atari told me VIA motherboard chipsets can be great or terrible for playing ToEE, even when the Windows drivers are patched to the latest current level. When I ran XP Pro SP2 on a VIA chipset motherboard, installing the latest Hyperion 4in1 drivers fixed many bad issues for playing ToEE. However, it was still buggy on the 4th level and Nodes of ToEE. To that end, I wanted a new motherboard with a nVidia chipset. That is why I removed it to replace it with a new nVidia motherboard; it's not the latest and greatest newest motherboard made, but it is definitely the best motherboard money can buy for a K7 Socket A processor.
** I hate the idea of going with a 64-bit motherboard and processor. People think it's going to be super fast, etc. HA-HA. Let them buy 64-bit Longhorn (now called Vista) when it goes live and see that they need 2 GigaBytes of the more expensive type of DDR RAM in their 64-bit computer to run games and high-end software where 3 GigaBytes of DDR400 RAM would actually be what they need. Have you recently quoted 3 modules each 1 GigaByte DDR400 RAM? HA.

2b. I think most problems are more of how the operating system runs on motherboards, and is not so much the video card, unless it is an old(-er) video card with current drivers that were not coded with alot of degugging and tests for the older operating systems.

 

fyi : The one big thing I worked on this weekend, among other things, was to fix an automatic shutdown and reboot issue on XP.

It has a new motherboard and a new internal dvd writer. So, no, it's not a virus issue, and considering about the only thing installed on it yet is ToEE, it was mostly doing this while I was testing and playing ToEE. Can you say annoying? I had already updated the motherboard chipset drivers.

The fix was to upgrade the firmware for the new dvd drive (nothing to do with the BIOS); also, it was not the Windows driver causing the automatic shutdown and reboot problem. (The same would apply for a new cd writer drive, too.) Plus, after upgrading the dvd drive firmware, I reapplied the motherboard chipset Windows drivers and also reaplied SP2 for XP [with reboots].

 

Oh yah, while I am thinking about it, here's a post about the official Microsoft word on Vista [the 64-bit operating system replacement for Windows XP].

for an addon video card to a 64-bit computer with a 64-bit CPU running 64-bit Vista operating system
- minimum video memory (just to boot the operating system) : 32 MB ram (on the card)
- recommended video memory (for average applications and games) : 128 MB ram (on the card)
- suggested video memory (for high-end applications and games) : 256 MB ram (on the card)

How many people want to spend 200+ dollars just for a quality addon video card for a new computer purchase? Well, guess what? Now, with Microsoft Vista, you have to spend that kind of money on an addon video card for any software that uses intensive video graphics.

 

And, in addition to the expensive video card, you will also need these for dual channel, 128-bit memory bandwidth on the motherboard.
- minimum motherboard memory (just to boot the operating system) : 2 modules of 256 MB DDR400 ram
- recommended motherboard memory (for average applications and games) : 2 modules of 512 MB DDR400 ram
- suggested motherboard memory (for high-end applications and games) : 2 modules of 1 GB DDR400 ram

Try pricing the cost of 184-pin DIMM Corsair brand DDR400 [PC3200] memory to have a look for yourself!..
- 250 to 300 dollars for a matched pair of 512 MB DDR400 RAM
- 400 to 600 dollars for a matched pair of 1 GB DDR400 RAM
* Yes, Corsair brand is thee good stuff. Remember, there is also DDR533 memory which is even faster and also more expensive. But, you can likewise go to SAMS Club and get 2 sticks of 512 MB of whatever brand was in the DDR400 cheap bin when it was packaged and is on the shelf at SAMS for about 65 dollars, each. If you would want to get these, buy three of 'em for just under 200 dollars and have 1.5 GB DDR400 memory.

 

So far, playing ToEE on XP Pro SP2 is running just fine on the new motherboard [AN7 model of Abit motherboard with the nVidia n2 version of motherboard chipset with its drivers updated to nForce_510 version of Windows drivers] and a Radeon 9800 Pro video card [ATI Catalyst 5.7 version Display Driver and Control Panel, none of the other Catalyst stuff was installed].

I should also mention that I bought 2 new modules of 512 MB of PC3200, 184-pin DIMM DDR400 [from SAMS Club as mentioned above, LOL - yes, I am in the same boat as most of you, too]. I made sure the small manufacturer label glued on the PC3200 DIMMs showed both being from the same company to get the same brand of unbuffered, non-ECC PC3200.

New motherboards that are 400 MHz or greater capable FSB (Front-Side Bus) should have 3 DIMM 184-pin slots. What is different when you run one of these boards is you can install the RAM to run as single channel [64-bit] or dual channel [128-bit]. (Dual channel handles more data in the same amount of time.)
* To run the memory as 64-bit in single channel mode, install two DIMMs in slots DIMM1 and DIMM2.
* To run the memory as 128-bit in dual channel mode, install two DIMMs in slots DIMM3 and DIMM2.
If you install three of the same types of DIMM to fill all three slots, it will run in dual channel mode.

Anyway, ToEE is running just fine, now. I am running a Chaotic Neutral party. I believe I have done all the quests in Hommlet, including the Desperate Housewives quest, except I did not do the one where a girl in your party pretends to date a shop owners son to improve his image and give him confidence. I also did the majority of the Nulb quests. The Moathouse is now empty and the undead and hill giant in Emridy Meadows are dead. And, at this time about half of the 1st level of the temple is completed. So far, no problems, except for the CTD when entering the Ah Fong Emporium, and ShiningTed is working to fix that issue.

 

I found this hardware compatibility report posted by ABIT for their AN7 n2 400FSB motherboard I am testing with ToEE running on XP Pro SP2.
- http://www2.abit.com.tw/test_report/AN7/

 

I am still playing ToEE, am in the Elemental Nodes. You have to love the Fire Node Boss. It summoned 2 herzou in the middle of my party keeping a safe distance from it, the balor, only to be paralyzed by the herzou secretion of toxins. No one might as well have been there, except for the wizard and meleny who were far enough away.

I tried running ToEE on the XP computer with the 2 DDR memory modules in slots DIMM1 and DIMM2 for the 64-bit single channel mode.
-=- ToEE ran very good most of the time, but had intermittent, sporadic problems - especially when the graphics got intensive while in the Elemental Nodes.

So, I tried running ToEE on the XP computer with the same 2 DDR memory modules in slots DIMM3 and DIMM2 for the 128-bit dual channel mode.
-=- ToEE ran better, much more often, but still had problems (glitches), especially when the graphics got intensive in the Elemental Nodes.

I was thinking about how it was working and how I could improve it, "Dadgummed!..isn't two sticks of DDR RAM enough memory? It sure is enough memory to have 768 MB, 1-512 stick and 1-256 stick, in my Windows 2000 Pro computer for ToEE to work properly. I am going to blame this imperfection on differences in the motherboard architectures. Laugh. I flashed the BIOS to the latest revision. This helped even more, but it was still not quite perfect.
* On an Abit AN7 motherboard, you can flash the BIOS while running inside of Windows; you just have to install the latest Windows version of Abit uGURU.

I grumbled and bought one PC3200 module of PNY Optima memory, a 1 GB DDR400 PC3200 memory module (unbuffered, non-ECC) from CompUSA, not a premium brand like Corsair or Kingston, but a quality brand. I used this one stick of DDR memory in slot DIMM3 with the other memory removed. Guess what? It now runs beautifully, not a single glitch.

Windows XP Pro with SP2 applied + DirectX 9c with ToEE and Patch1, Patch2, Co8 3.0.4, Livs 1.5.1 MOD, and ShiningTeds new voices + MOD on a
1. AMD AthlonXP 2500+ CPU and Abit AN7 nVidia n2 chipset board with the latest BIOS flash applied
2. plus one stick of 1 GB DDR400 [PC3200] memory used in slot DIMM3
3. with the latest nVidia nForce 5.10 Windows drivers downloaded and installed
4. and a Radeon 9800 Pro AGP video card using the Catalyst 5.7 Display Driver and Control Panel
all runs together just fine.

At some point, I will upgrade the CPU from a K7 AMD 2500+ to a K7 AMD 3200+ CPU just to beef it all up some more and make things in the game happen even faster than what it already is.

*****

Finally, The issue of the CTD caused by entering the Ah Fong Emporium has been resolved. Its fix will be released as a part of the future release of Co8 version 4 MOD.

No, I do not know when. Please don't ask. I am also sure Co8 does not know yet, either. Plus, I am sure, Co8 will let us know when it is time for them to let us know. Until then, we must wait.

*****