Another user trying to use FS with Vista

[chastaincl]

I am a user who bought FS back in 1999 and transitioned to XP with no trouble, and then used FS upgrades up to v10.43. But I recently bought a new HP home PC with (1) Vista Home Premium 64 bit Svc Pack 1 (2) an NVDIA GeForce 9100 Graphics card [at the NVDIA control panel I see that it has Total Graphics 2048 MB, Dedicated Video memory 256 MB, and it is "ForceWare version 175.74"].

When I installed the original FS v8.0 I got a msg (after clicking "Play") that it could not find d3drm.dll. I did not make any attempt to install v10.43 after that.

WHAT I HAVE DONE SO FAR TO CORRECT
I carefully read the other thread on Vista from user Watson and so far I have:
1. copied the "D3DRM.DLL" file from my old Dell XP home PC to my new HP Vista home
PC. I placed this file in the two places it was at on the old Dell:
a) c:\Windows\system32
b) c:\I386 [Note: I had to create folder "I386" on the new HP with Vista]
2. I went to the Windows download site and selected "directx_9c_redist.exe"
which I then ran. But it asked me where I wanted to install the files so
I just guessed and said "c:\I386". Several files totalling 33.4 MB were
placed there.

QUESTION: I have looked at the old Dell and I see that indeed some of these files were
in "c:\I386", with "BAA" as an example. But this same file also appears to have
been on the old Dell in "C:\Windows\INF", "C:\Windows\ServicePackFiles\i386",
etc.

So did I err in telling MS Downloads to install "directx_9c_redist.exe"
into"c:\I386"?

Before I un-install FS and re-install I want to be as sure as possible that I
have the downloads in place correctly.

Thanks,

Clark Chastain

[William Miller]

Clark,

There is a newer DX 9.0 (the March 2009 version) that would be better to install:

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=0CF368E5-5CE1-4032-A207-C693D210F616&displaylang=en

IIRC normally the above installer will not ask for a location to install, it should automatically install into the proper location(s), but I will run it on one of my Vista machines to check when I get back home.

EDIT: The above installer will ask for a folder to extract its files to -- you will then need to browse to that folder and run the "DXSETUP.exe" file located there in order to actually install the DX update into Windows. It will not ask you for another location, it should install the files exactly where they are needed at that point.

[chastaincl]

Mr. Miller:

Thanks for the good help. I did this:
1. deleted the files I had downloaded (but never executed) from "the MS download "directx_9c_redist.exe"
2. used your link to download 92.4 MB of files associated with "directx_mar2009_redist.exe"
3. went to the folder I downloaded to and double-clicked on "DXSETUP" to execute it
4. This ran quickly and I got the message "The components are now ready for use"
5. I did not re-start the HP Vista home computer but instead un-installed both
FS 8.0 and FS Scenario Editor
6. I then installed FS and Scenario Editor as before. It was completely identical to
the earlier installation attempt with only these four things again appearing
that seemed noteworthy:
(a) at end of installation of Scenario Editor it said there was an error to
register "c:\Progran Files(x86)\common files\Microsoft Shared\
DAO\dao350.dll"; as before I clicked to "Ignore" and got a message
that the Scenario Editor installation
was completed successfully.
(b) using the Intel Indeo installation shortcut (that had appeared from step 6)
I was told that I had newer versions of Indeo video codec already and
the older ones would not be installed
(c) same as (b) for "video 4 code"
(d) using the "Install Direct X Media" shortcut (that had appeared from step 6)
it again said that the pgm was blocked "due to compatibility issues; this
version of Windows Media Technology has been superseded by the current
version of Windows"
7. At the Control Panel I saw both FS and FS Scenario Editor now listed again
as installed programs
8. I logged off of Vista and completely shut-down

SAME OLD PROBLEM
9. When I restarted the HP Vista PC I inserted my FS 8.0 disk and tried to "Play" but, exactly as before I got the same message "application has failed to start because d3drm.dll was not found. Re-installing the application may fix the problem"

Now as I stated earlier I most definitely have a 342 KB "D3DRM.DLL" file
in "c:\Windows\System32" that I copied from the old Dell XP PC (via a writeable CD
disk) a few days ago.

NEW QUESTION
Did I make some foolish mistake, like not restarting my new Vista PC after executing
"DXSETUP" before I tried to re-install FS 8.0? Or does this likely now mean that
I will need to consider getting a new PC with XP if I really want to go on with
FS?

Thanks,

Clark Chastain

[William Miller]

Clark,

There are a few things you can try that may fix the error you are receiving:

1) Try copying the "D3DRM.DLL" file into the same folder that you installed Fignting Steel to -- if this is a permission issue that may be a vaiable workaround.

2) Right-click on the D3DRM.DLL file in your "C:/Windows/System32" folder, select "Properties" from the menu and make sure the file in not being blocked by the OS...click the "Unblock" button to unblock it.

3) If you have a 64-bit version of Vista this may be a 64-bit space issue -- try copying the D3DRM.DLL file into "C:\Windows\SysWOW64" and see if that works (you may also need to unblock the file as per #2 above).

[chastaincl]

Mr. Miller:

I checked and the "D3DRM.DLL" file I had in "c:\Windows\System32" and the Security tab
indicated that "permissions for system" had "Allow" checked for all options (full control, modify, read & execute, read, write) except for the option named 'special permissions'; that option had no check on any kind.

I did copy this same D3DRM.DLL" to the two paths you suggested:
1) c:\Progarm Files(x86)\SSI\Fighting Steel (where FS was installed)
2) c:\Windows\SysWOW64
I then un-installed both FS 8.0 ans FS Scenario Editor and did a shut-down.

I then re-installed FS 8.0 ans FS Scenario Editor exactly as before. I again then did a shut-down.

When I started up I was able to make FS "Play" and the handsome introductory graphics for the original scenarios play with the same video and audio as they always have.

But after that I get a badly distorted screen (fuzzy or blinking in lower-right corner, depends on scenario) and am unable to actually play (it will freeze immediately or soon). I know the other Vista user (Watson) with an NVDIA card recently had similar problems in his thread.

WRAP_UP (?)
1. If there is anything I can try that is reasonable I will. But would getting an XP system with some video card [that you might recommend?] probably now the safest way to ensure continuing a few more years with FS? I say that assuming that Windows 7 will be troublesome too when it debuts.

2. Are any of these other games (Warship Combat, Fleet Command, Battleship Zenith)
at all like FS in terms of offering ship-to-ship combat?

Thanks,

Clark Chastain

[William Miller]

Hello Clark,

At this point I am sorry to say there is little else I can suggest for you: if you have tried running it in compatibility mode for Windows 98 and the other posted/FAQ suggestions, then along with my above suggestions that is about the limit of our 'bag of tricks'. It is likely that what you are now seeing is video-related, i.e the issue of the games' no-longer-supported real-mode code not working under newer DirectX and video hardware combinations.

With DirectX 9 under Windows XP OS the game should be much more workable inside most hardware environments, although I cannot guarantee your video card will run the game without issues even under XP. Basically, you are considerably more likely to be able to get it to run properly under DX9/XP than under DX10/Vista, but even under DX9/XP some newer video hardware may not allow the game to function as designed.

On our other games you mentioned:

Warship Combat is a 2D WWI-WW2 tactical combat simulation (and will feature a full 2D tactical map integrated in the next update instead of the present range-band system) which is both quick/fun to play and still provides a high degree of realism and combat immersion. It is similar to our FSP in detail level, but is not 3D.

Fleet Command is indeed a 3D simulation, but I should note that it is modern (1990s/2000s) era tactical naval combat. With the NWP project file it gets a good boost in realism and detail level.

Battleships Zenith/Dreadnought Rising are one of our WW2 and WW1 era detailed tactical naval wargames (the kind you play with counters/miniatures and/or paper maps or other surfaces), and feature combat assistance software that helps handle and keep track of combat for the players.

[chastaincl]

Thanks again. I will check the "FAQ" after I get back from a trip and look for anything elser to try.

Clark Chastain

[chastaincl]

I will look at FAQ as you suggest when I get back from a trip.


Chastain

[deatone]

I'm one of those poor souls with vista and a Geforce 9400 Gt 1 GB card. Interestinly enough......When I turn off the sky and sea textures the game runs perfectly except for one small detail. In 3D the ships aren't there but their wakes and the smoke from the funnels are. Gunfire displays and the sound is great. Just no ships. It's sure makes for a weird game. I have downloaded Direct X 9c but it's pathetic the amount of time I've spent trying to get it to run properly. I'm giving up at this point and moving on.