Running Grandia 2 PC

[ultimablade]

I have a problem running Grandia 2 PC on windows xp, yes I know it is buggy on xp but it has been played flawlessly(by others) before on xp my problem is that now it is not the case.
I've instaled the game and when trying to run it I get the usual "windows encoutered error and has to close application" I do get a picture of what I think is Ryudo, Elena, Roan before the message. I have done some research and this is what I've tried or haven't:

1: Latest directx- already have that.

2: Get codec for fmv's- can watch them already with windows media player and have sound.

3: Put files on cd into their folders on hard drive- didn't work

4: According tothis guy ubisoft said it would only work on an xp computer with FAT32 hard drive partition- about to try(seems dubious)

5: Re-install game- didn't work

If I remember what else I tried I'll post but pls, if you have any info at all how to run this game since ubisoft is really unhelpful pls tell me, this includes how you made it work, a possible link to a patch e.t.c
Thanks.

[runawayprisoner]

Try updating your current graphics card's drivers, your sound card's drivers, your... whatever drivers. I know it sounds silly but sometimes, even an illegal printer drivers set would interfere with a game... or at least it happened to me.

[ultimablade]

All my drivers are up to date. I mean I can play Halo on this computer(should be good enough) without any slowdowns or glitches so I think it's solid. Thanks anyway.

[refraction]

i know this is of no help at all but, i have XP on an NTFS partition, Grandia 2 runs to perfection.

are you running any NOCD patches or anything non-standard? cos it should work flawlessly.

[Yeloazndevil]

was fine for me on winxp on a NTFS partition and with a nocd patch try changing compatibility to win98.

[ultimablade]

refraction:
I'm not running any no cd but thanks for replying

Yeloazndevil
I have done that comptability mode thing and it didn't work.

Now I have a question for both of you, my desktop pc has two harddrives a 160GIG split into two. I think it's partitioned but how do I check which type?
Thanks

[ChankastRules]

It ran flawless on my XP NTFS setup too! has to be something else that has gone wrong. Maybe your CD got damaged?

[jonc2006]

this is a forum i found for people having problems running the game under winXP, you might have already come across it though. i dont have the game myself so thats about all i can give you, but read through that forum and see if you can find a way to fix whatever it is that is creating problems for the game. there is a good 12+ pages of that thread so your bound to find someone who has the same problem you do.

[ultimablade]

ChankastRules
My cd is great cause during installation there were no errors or slowdowns or that sound that is associated with damaged cd's.

jonc2006
I've already been there and I read the whole 12 pages. The last person tortured wind on pg 12 had some strategy that I didn't try, cause it had steps that had been tried and failed(for me), also my codecs are up to date.
Thanks guys but could anyone answer my hard drive partition question, post 6 I beleive, cause it semms to be the answer or a close one.

[StriderVM]

Whats your system configuration? RAM? Processor? Video card?

[runawayprisoner]

Still sounds a lot like a driver failure to me. And by the way, the most up-to-date drivers are not always the best. It's true in nVidia's case, at least...

[jonc2006]

what O/S is this game designed for, win98? have you tried disabling the compatibility mode? it might be causing problems if you already have it on, some of my games wont work if that feature is enabled. i dont know why that is but its something to look into. you may not be able to do this but do you have access to another pc with winxp? you could try installing it on another pc and if it works it would rule out the cd being damaged and would show that whatever is causing the problem is stemming from your main pc, either from the hardware or the O/S.

do me a favor, go to start>run>dxdiag (type in) and post the text file that it creates. that will show us detailed info about your drivers and whatnot.

[ultimablade]

Sorry it took so long. Here you go:

[Vanit]

I know this isn't the intention of the thread, but I thought it would be the appropriate place to ask if anyone else found the characters' tredding sound effects on the ground earbreakingly loud?

[ultimablade]

Yeah I heard them on youtube, sounded quite loud and the person was playing music.

[Coolsvilleman]

This could be a problem but I haven't played this game for ages.

Memory: 504MB RAM
Page File: 463MB used, 764MB available

It is possible that the system is just totally running out of memory when the game tries to load. Can anyone confirm how much the game requires to play.

Oh and the fact that it says this:

AGP Status: Not Available
DDraw Test Result: Not run
D3D7 Test Result: Not run
D3D8 Test Result: Not run
D3D9 Test Result: Not run

Maybe you should run some tests.

[jonc2006]

wouldnt the page file be used once the RAM is filled? i think that would cause slowdown or stuttering since its being read from the harddrive rather than actual RAM but i dont think it would cause a game to not work. im not 100% sure on that though, my page file is rarely used due to the amount of RAM i have. he could try increasing the total page file amount in the event that the page file amount he has now is used up as well, but that is more of a last resort solution. even the slowest of slow RAM types move data faster than moving data from a harddrive.

[Coolsvilleman]

Originally Posted by jonc2006

wouldnt the page file be used once the RAM is filled? i think if that would cause slowdown or stuttering since its being read from the harddrive rather than actual RAM but i dont think it would cause a game to not work.

Memory: 504MB RAM
Page File: 463MB used, 764MB available

Your paging file is already half-used up. Say the game needs 300mbs to run. Therefore like you said happened your game began to load, flashed some graphics then while it was still loading it ran out of memory and crashed. A possible scenario.

[ultimablade]

Thanks guys although increasing ram will be quite hard.

[Kazuya Mishima]

Originally Posted by jonc2006

wouldnt the page file be used once the RAM is filled? i think that would cause slowdown or stuttering since its being read from the harddrive rather than actual RAM but i dont think it would cause a game to not work. im not 100% sure on that though, my page file is rarely used due to the amount of RAM i have. he could try increasing the total page file amount in the event that the page file amount he has now is used up as well, but that is more of a last resort solution. even the slowest of slow RAM types move data faster than moving data from a harddrive.

It depends on the way the game was programmed. Soul Reaver 2 Pc won't even start and will give you a warning similar to the one mentioned in this thread if your page file was no set exactly to 3xx (i don't remember well) even if the required real ram is available.

Maybe it's someting similar in this case.