hardware recommendations for ToEE

native USB Flash RAM drivers for Windows 98

-> native USB Flash RAM drivers for Windows 98

Note: Scroll to the bottom of the new web page, look on the right for a column marked FREE and click the FREE button at its bottom. Scroll to the bottom of the next new web page and wait for the countdown to complete. Once the countdown has completed, type the multi-colored text you see in the text field and click the Start Download button. Save a copy to your computer.

 

Updated the problematic drivers post
-> updated post # 32 <---click there

1: Updated and simplified the VIA alternate drivers section.

2: Added a nVidia ForceWare drivers section, specifically, to include some updated nVidia drivers for nVidia SLI and PCI Express video.

Note: updated and added information -=- 02/17/2006

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Updated the Windows XP security information post
-> updated post # 93 <---click there

Note: updated and added information -=- 02/14/2006

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Updated the improve hard drive access post
-> updated post # 60 <---click there

Note: updated and added information -=- 02/22/2006

 

ToEE game CTD or computer crash notes

!!! If a proper installation of Atari ToEE is done and, still, the ToEE game will not start or the game or computer always crashes, expect something else to be causing the problem. The bottom line, if everyone using the same operating system does not all have the same no start or crashing problem, you can expect the problem is not the game, patch2, or Co8 MOD and you should look elsewhere for the source of the problem.

things external to the game that can cause problems
1. a bad copy of files - from a CD disk, a downloaded patch, or the MOD
2. a dirty or a messed up [bad or ruined] CD disk
3. a problematic CD drive or a bad RAM memory module
4. a badly fragmented or a physically bad hard drive
5. a "standard Windows cleanup" has never been done in Windows
6. a computer with viruses or spyware [or, likely, much of both]
7. a poor or badly written Windows device driver (maybe no driver update fixes its problem)
8. a BIOS setting is wrong (overclocking, optimized, or memory caching)
9. a poor installation of Windows (Windows needs to be reinstalled from scratch)

[EDIT] organized steps to troubleshoot ToEE and computer crashes coming soon - read post # 111

 

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Updated the some places to buy good stuff cheap post
-> updated post # 9 <---click there

Note: added links to more hardware and made it more tidy -=- 03/02/2006

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ToEE game CTD or computer crash notes (more)

feeling overwhelmed and scratching your head?..then, read these steps.

Try these steps one at a time to attempt to fix your woes.

> 1. clean any dirty CD disks and reinstall the ToEE game (and ToEEFE if used) - do a complete game uninstall; delete all remaining game folders; reboot the computer; after deletions and reboot, do a game install from scratch
> 2. clean your Windows (reboot only as needed)
(2.1.) delete temp/cache files in Windows and Internet Explorer;
(2.2.) remove viruses and spyware [low on cash?..get a free version and update after installing - see *, **, *** below];
(2.3.) defragment Windows files
* (free version of antispyware): [use both] "Ad-Aware SE Personal" and "Spybot - Search & Destroy"
** (free version of antivirus): [use just one] "Antivir" or "AVG" or "Avast!" [note1: I list 3 here from the least to the most consuming of resources; note2: I personally dont care for avast as it is a total resource hog; note3: they make it so you have to purposefully dig and look around a lot on their site for their avast free version]
*** (which free antivirus?) my suggested opinions are "Antivir" = PC under 1 GigaHertz with any RAM; "AVG" = PC over 1 GigaHertz with 256 MB RAM (minimum); "Avast!" = PC over 2 GigaHertz with 512 MB RAM (minimum) [note: these suggestions consider other software being installed and used, not just the CPU and RAM in the PC to run an antivirus program]
> 3. update your Windows drivers for your hardware [use windowsupdate.microsoft.com for their certified drivers and, then, try the manufacturer websites for their certified drivers]
> 4. undo any overclocking or optimized settings you made in the BIOS and also turn off [disable] memory BIOS caching and video BIOS caching (when done, save changes and exit)
> 5. run free hardware testing programs you can download and install to run extended tests to report any bad or "flakey" problematic hardware [you can uninstall any trial versions when done]
> 6. save data and files you want to keep to CD or DVD disks or an external USB drive [dont forget My Documents and your personal folders; dont forget any outlook PST files or outlook express IDX files you use; and dont forget Internet Explorer favorites when saving data]; reinstall Windows from scratch [select "NEW INSTALLATION" and have it delete everything when reinstalling Windows...select reformat if the option is given]

Finally, you can browse this entire thread (hardware recommendations for ToEE) and read for further information and more detail, but very little concerning step 6.

In addition to installing an antivirus program, I also refer to antivirus scanning executables [just run executable files]. Read this post.

Good luck!..