Windows 7 *GUARANTEED* fix
 

Do you hate having to maintain an older XP machine just to play your favorite SP game?

Tired of not being able to enjoy the game full-screen in hi-resolution on Windows 7?

If you answered 'Yes' to either of these questions then this fix is for you! After further research, the culprit which screws up the 256-color palette in Windows 7 is explorer.exe. Grab the attached file, win7fix.zip, and unzip it to your WinSPMBT folder, typically "C:\Program Files\Shrapnel Games\The Camo Workshop\WinSPMBT", and you're all set! You can now use the file win7fix.cmd to start the game rather than the shortcut which comes with the game.

Note: you will still need to use the shortcut installed with the game to set your resolution and windowed/full screen. Just remember to exit this utility after setting it up the way you want.



NC

Re: Windows 7 *GUARANTEED* fix
 

As a side note, I've also modified my GameOptions.exe to automatically spawn this .cmd file instead of WinSPMBT.exe and can show anyone how to do it themselves so that they can retain the single shortcut for starting the game. That is, if the developers give their blessings since it is their intellectual property I have modified... :)



NC

I was running Vista but remember tracking down to the same file before getting fed up with the whole thing & junking it.

I would strongly suggest if running Vista or Win 7 try this & report back if it solves the issue.
I just tried it on a mates machine & it works fine so NCrawler may well have cracked it.

Going to post a link at the Blitz for feed back to as dont think you will object.

Re: Windows 7 *GUARANTEED* fix
 

Yeah, you can go ahead and re-post it anywhere you like. I'm using Windows 7 Ultimate 32-bit here, on my work desktop, and this fix works perfectly. I think that the main issue with explorer.exe is all of the new, fancy bull*hit that MS added (like dragging a window to the top of the screen maximizes it, etc).

It's nice not having to maintain an XP machine just to play one or two games and this one looks great at hi-res full screen...



NC

Re: Windows 7 *GUARANTEED* fix
 

Have now tested on 2 Vista machines which now work as they should.
Looking good:up: which is great as looks like CD owners will get widescreen to.
Ohhhhh I have come over all warm & fuzzy.

Re: Windows 7 *GUARANTEED* fix
 

OK, I've stuck this thread. I would ask anyone running windows 7 who tries this to report back to the forum whether it's successfull for them or not. The more feedback we get the better but so far this is very encouraging

Don

Re: Windows 7 *GUARANTEED* fix
 

NCrawler,
Where exactly are you installing this? I installed it directly into spmbt AND STILL can't get full screen. I get this same funky error msg: SetDisplayMode0failed,code 80004001.I followed your instructions with no success....:(

Re: Windows 7 *GUARANTEED* fix
 

That error occurs if you try to play the game in a resolution higher than what your system can handle. Example: my laptop max resolution is 1440x900 so I can only use the game setting of 1152x864, anything higher and I get that error also.



NC

Re: Windows 7 *GUARANTEED* fix
 

I've applied the win7fix and now I can run Winsmbt in full screen under Win 7 (although I did not get a win7fix.cmd file). Thank you for that fix.

My problem now is corrupt graphics. The map is ok and playable with the exception of weird smoke coloring. The problem comes with the text screens such as the encyclopedia, or menus. The are almost completely unreadable. The color is mottled and the graphics are corrupt. I've tried changing the compatability mode to run in 256 colors and under winxp, with no luck.

Edit:I have Win 7 64 bit btw and I'm using the downloaded version of the game.

Re: Windows 7 *GUARANTEED* fix
 

What do you mean by "you didn't get a win7fix.cmd file"? That is the only file included in the attachment. If you unzipped it to your winspmbt install folder, double-click it to spawn the game. I have Win7 Ultimate x86 and it runs perfectly. Unless there is something specific that Win7 is doing differently in the x64 version, I would think that you would get the same results...



NC

Re: Windows 7 *GUARANTEED* fix
 

I unzipped to my mbt folder and all I got was a winfx.dll, unless I had that already. After reading your reply I unzipped your file to a desktop folder, then copyed and pasted the win7fix.cmd into my spmbt folder. Now all works as it should. Thanks.

Re: Windows 7 *GUARANTEED* fix
 

NCrawler,
My 17 in Toshiba has a 1600x900 max resolution. I've tried ALL the lower resolution settings and still the graphics/colors are distorted OR the game simply WON'T play. Obviously this "guaranteed" fix isn't guaranteed for everybody.

Re: Windows 7 *GUARANTEED* fix
 

What video card/onboard graphics do you have in your laptop? Try this, go to start menu and from the search box type dxdiag.exe. When the diagnostic comes up, go to the Display tab and run both tests. This should let you know whether your system will support full screen direct draw...



NC

Re: Windows 7 *GUARANTEED* fix
 

NCrawler,
Here's a screen shot of my graphics card on my laptop. Let me know what else I can do to get the fix to work.

Re: Windows 7 *GUARANTEED* fix
 

Can report 2 more fixed machines, one may have been coincidental or just a bad launch but the game locked solid first time used.
Since then he has knocked out a scenerio with no problems.

Re: Windows 7 *GUARANTEED* fix
 

Your dxdiag screen doesn't have half of the tabs/options that I normally see when messing around with computers. If I were you I would download the latest redistributable from here: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/d...7-5ab8109cb4f5 and try again...



NC

Re: Windows 7 *GUARANTEED* fix
 

NCrawler,
I'm NOT computer savy as you. Can you tell me where to install these files from that link?

Re: Windows 7 *GUARANTEED* fix
 

EJ: if you're talking about the redistributable link that I posted, just download the file to your desktop (about 104MB) and when it's finished downloading, just double-click it and it will install the latest DirectX files + all older releases needed to play older games. The error message you are getting makes me think that either:

1. You don't have the required DX files on your system

2. You need to update your Radeon drivers (I would try the reference drivers from AMD rather than the OEM ones from Toshiba)

or

3. Your graphics adapter does not support older versions of DX (not very likely)

I would guess that it is either #1 or #2 but without actually seeing your laptop or one like it I'm just guessing. We have some Toshiba Satellite laptops at work so I'll have a look at one on Monday if you don't get it resolved by then...



NC

Re: Windows 7 *GUARANTEED* fix
 

NCrawler,
I downloaded the file to my desktop. I double clicked it and IT ASKS WHERE TO INSTALL(small box pops up). I proceeded to say desktop and all these damn icons were all over my desktop. Once this was done it did not enable the game to run full screen. I then deleted all those nuisance icons. My Toshiba is a Satelite L555D-S7930,graphics card is an ati 4100. I've given all the info I can. Obviously ALL win 7 programs are NOT the same since mine won't play the game full screen no matter what I try.

Re: Windows 7 *GUARANTEED* fix
 

Oh, ok, I see what you were asking now. Sorry about that. The file is a self-extracting archive then. Just choose a temporary place to extract it, when the small box pops up, just type in: C:\temp

When it is finished you can click on My Computer, browse to the C: drive and open the Temp folder. Double-click on dxsetup.exe and let it install.



NC

Re: Windows 7 *GUARANTEED* fix
 

NC,
SAME results after following your latest instructions; now what?

Re: Windows 7 *GUARANTEED* fix
 

Will this work with WW2 as well?

Re: Windows 7 *GUARANTEED* fix
 

It should absolutly although actually gettihg feedback from everyone with Win7 whos tried it appears to be impossible

Don

Re: Windows 7 *GUARANTEED* fix
 

Seems to work on Vista 64. Got to find time to give it an extended test.:D

Re: Windows 7 *GUARANTEED* fix
 

Well, unfortunately, it's looking more and more like your shared-memory radeon is the culprit. One last thing I would try, if it were me, would be to change to the ATI reference drivers for your card. AMD will tell you that is not a good idea, especially for Toshiba's, since they modify the OEM drivers for their laptops. You can give it a shot but you might want to consult a friend that is more computer savvy to give you a hand in case you have to revert back to the OEM drivers. If that does not allow the game to run, you will have to blame ATI and not Windows...



NC

Re: Windows 7 *GUARANTEED* fix
 

All I can say is it certainly seems to fix Vista for both games, cant speak for Win7

Re: Windows 7 *GUARANTEED* fix
 

Just an update it appears though not enough people to confirm if you are willing to pay Microsoft will fix the problem, they need the money after all.
Win 7 is backwards compatible if you get the Pro Version, for all of you with Home tough you got shafted give us some money & upgrade.

Re: Windows 7 *GUARANTEED* fix
 

Tried it under WinPro7 64-bit for both WinSPWW2 & WinSPMBT and it works as fix for Full Screen (if machine specs are interesting for you let me know).
Thanks to NCrawler for the idea & file :up:

RAlfons

Re: Windows 7 *GUARANTEED* fix
 

Win7Pro 64-bit quad core 2.66 CPU 4gig RAM 8800Ultra GPU

The fix cured the funky paletes. But the game itself runs very slow and choppy (full screen). Moving around the map is slow and tedious. AI movement and Artillery animations are also slow and choppy. If it was an FPS I might be tempted to say laaaaaag.

Getting there, keep at it. I'd love to pull my old XPpro machine off of the desk, I need the space.

FROM
DAY
ONE,
R

Re: Windows 7 *GUARANTEED* fix
 

Whoops forgot to mention. Runs like a champ in windowed mode just megasmall.

Looks like I'm finally forking over the dough. Well worth it for all the years of stress relief.

Don, Andy, thank you.

JUST,
R

Re: Windows 7 *GUARANTEED* fix
 

Just found this file and thought I'd try it out. It works fine in full screen except scrolling and unit movement are messed up. Movement is in spurts, maybe 5 or so hexes, then a pause etc.

win7 x64 ultimate
P4 duo 2.8 gig
4 gig ram
geforce 9800gt

Re: Windows 7 *GUARANTEED* fix
 

After reading the previous two posts I also tried it in a window and it worked fine. But it does anyway and very small. So it looks like this fix really doesn't do anything unless I want to play with very choppy graphics. I'd get the real version but just can't afford it.

Re: Windows 7 *GUARANTEED* fix
 

Guys I tested Ncrawlers fix extensively on Windows 7, both WinSPWW2 and WinMBT place the Win7fix.cmd file in the game folder(for WinSPWW2 you'll need edit the file Win7fix.cmd and change the .exe from WinMBT.exe to WinSPWW2.exe, make a shortcut to the modified Win7fix.cmd, change the name and icon if you like and that's it) works like a charm. Play in full screen mode, no color palette distortions. I would recommend this be implemented in a future patch.

One small side effect. I have a program that changes the Windows 7 Start button function to mimic Windows XP. Using this file converts it back to the Windows 7 appearance until the PC is re-started (as one would expect when switching the explorer.exe characteristics). It's a small price to pay and unmodified Windows 7 users will never experience it to begin with. Just thought I'd mention it.

Re: Windows 7 *GUARANTEED* fix
 

Oh note: I was using Windows 7 Home Premium 32 bit. AMD single core (laptop) 3.5 GB memory shared video ATI 3400. Longest test run stretch was approx. 8 hours about 40 hours total testing time done (both games). Hope this helps.

Re: Windows 7 *GUARANTEED* fix
 

NC - Did you get the lag effects from full screen?

JUST
CHECKIN,
R

Re: Windows 7 *GUARANTEED* fix
 

Guessing here but the solution might be to buy the game, if I remember the free version is 640x480 which is ancient my graphic card does not support anything that low so running at full screen in it would cause problems.
As I said this solution has worked every time so far though all have been bought copies not freebies.

Re: Windows 7 *GUARANTEED* fix
 

The free version is 640x480 AND 800x600 and has anyone who has had lag issue tried adjusting the delay rates to see if that helps ??

Don

Re: Windows 7 *GUARANTEED* fix
 

I've always run the free DL version at 800x600 full screen. I'm an old Squad Leader player (with really bad eyes) and I like maximum size DYO maps with the maximum number of units on both sides.

I've tried and tried to play in windowed mode and cannot handle it for very long, it's physically painful for me.

===

So, does the paid for version not have the lag effects at full screen in Win 7? Do the higher resolutions fix that lag? And would they be easier for me to see without leaving nose prints on the monitor?

I'm still holding off on buying because I have very little money and I don't want to buy if it's still going to lag as badly as it does on full screen in the free DL version with the palette fix in place.

===

Don - Changing the message delay rate doesn't change the lag that I can see.

BRB,
R

Re: Windows 7 *GUARANTEED* fix
 

ok I'm back...

Don - I'm guessing you meant the message delay and/or animation rates? Neither fixed or changed the lag, in either direction. With or without the palette fix in place.

Also the palette fix seems to be crashing sections of Win 7's Explorer (or the whole thing). No toolbars, no icons, no desktop, only the backround remains, no way out after game exit except to hard reboot. And it doesn't shut down the DOS window on start up.

===

I'm using a Samsung 906BW 20-inch, its primary resolution is listed as 1440x900. But for some odd reason BF2BC multiplayer runs better on this rig in 1024x768. I'm not even going to try and troubleshoot that buggy game...

This is the same monitor that was on my old XP rig, which is another reason why I'm wondering if the higher resolutions are going to be a fix.

I'm more then willing to keep testing...

Especially since my old XP rig just died (multiple hard drive self-immolation). Over 500 saved games lost forever...

DESPERATION
IMPENDS,
R

Re: Windows 7 *GUARANTEED* fix
 

Hard to tell whats going on but as you mention bad eyes why not buy it & play in windowed mode.
Nice crisp screen & you can set to fill the screen or leave a strip down one side about one icon wide so you can still launch other stuff.
Solves your lag problems & I think full screen would be stretched as thats a widescreen monitor.

Re: Windows 7 *GUARANTEED* fix
 

Render, I have had some lag, during the AI's turn prior to them finishing. I must confess I've been playing a campaign with lots of units and build (this was in WinSPWW2 not MBT). I attribute this to the AI moving a ton of infantry (1939). I have not had this issue during my phase. What is your computer spec's?

you can try:

dialing down the animation (preferences)
close any un-needed processes running in the back ground
manually give the game application more of your CPU resources (properties)

See if any of that helps. Also does it seem to worsen as you play?

Re: Windows 7 *GUARANTEED* fix
 

Guess I should of read down a bit more....

I have noted the issue with the icon-less screen once that you mention above. I bumped my "Windows key" (on the keyboard), the game was minimized to the task bar (still running). To fix, you can double click on the game tab in the task manager or open task manager and double click on the game there. If you quit the game and your Desktop Icons don't appear do this:

Open Task Manager (Ctrl+ALT+Del)
Click on the "Processes" Tab
Under "File" select and click (New Task (Run)
Type in "explorer.exe" hit return or click OK
This should bring up your Icons again for you.

If the problem is occurring often it could be other issues with your PC.
Make sure you defrag occasionally and clean up your system. I recommend the Free version of "Glary Utilities". This is also a good utility to easily "turn off" those nuisance start up programs!

As far as your crashed hard drive, there is a software cure. It's called Selkie Rescue. It's pricey ($100) but it works. You'll need the dead PC (the crashed hard drive must be in a PC that has a CD ROM drive), a crossover (network cable), and another working laptop or PC with the software installed. I've used it, it's magic! Recovered a HD that quit (grinded to a crash) in its entirety. Of course the information on the crashed drive needs to be worth the cost (I went halves with the person that crashed their drive, provided I could keep the software). Always backup!! :)

I use the Free versions of SPWW2 and MBT too, retired military pay just don't allow for luxuries such as the upgrade lol. Probably should have purchased it when it was cheaper a few years ago. Anyway, I do try to support Don and Andy's work by word of mouth.

Re: Windows 7 *GUARANTEED* fix
 

I am not refering to message delay or any of the in game Preferences . I am refering to the adjustments that can be made under the MISC tab of game options

Don

Re: Windows 7 *GUARANTEED* fix
 

Processor : Intel Core 2 Quad QX6700 @ 2.66GHz
Mobo: Nvidia Nforce 680i SLI
RAM: 4 GB
GPU: Single Nvidia GeForce 8800 Ultra (786GB)(DirectX 10)
Total Disk Space: 1.5 GB (5x250GB RAID config)
OpSys: Win 7 x64 (new install a couple of weeks ago)
PSU: Enermax Galaxy 1000watt (yeah the office lights dim when I turn it on)
Monitor: Samsung 906BW 20-inch

Rig bought used to replace the dead XP rig. No overclocking. Handles COD 4, COD/WAW, and Steam/BF2BC quite well, (or as well as the terminally buggy BF2BC will run on anything).

===

NC: That icon-less crashing on this rig, it won't even ctr-alt-del, just nothing.

oh man I so wish there was some way to save what was on those drives from the old rig, but they've gone to hard drive heaven along with the mobo, cpu, ram, and DVD. Burned silicone smell, scorch marks on the mobo and ram, DVD door jammed by melted plastic (except via the paper clip trick) and non-spinning (never seen that happen before). I saved as much as I could of the important stuff to thumb drives (MyMoney, docs, photos, vids) while it was still cooking itself. And then it was gone with a couple of last beeps...RIP old friend.

I think you misunderstood what I meant by lag. I'm used to the AI taking a bit of time with the extreme size scenarios I like to play (in both SPWW2 and SPMBT). The AI turns in SPWW2 are (were) sometimes a good time to go out for a smoke break...

What I'm talking about is happening when moving my own units, or just watching the air/artillery and AI phases. Units will move several hexes and then freeze, before moving a few more hexes and freezing again etcetc.

I tend to run defrag and clean-up once a week whether or not it needs it (486 days habit) and I generally turn off all processes not needed prior to gaming (P4/Day of Defeat habit).

===

Don: I set up the Misc tab settings the same way as they were on the old rig. I'll try fiddling with them again tomorrow AM and let you know what happens.

===

NEVER
SAY
DIE,
R

Re: Windows 7 *GUARANTEED* fix
 

Render my bad in Windows 7 the command to bring up the task manager is CTRL + SHIFT + ESC , give that a try.

Your right, I didn't realize the extent of your lag problem!!! I have to say I haven't experienced your issue at all. I'll go out on a limb and suggest that it might be a process, something new to Win 7, that is running on your PC. Does it happen every turn you take? Your computer seems quite capable.

Another issue to look at (this is where our PC are different)and probably more to the problem, are the duel cores. The SP games AFAIK are not designed to have their functions shared between the cores (which is basically two computers). The software just doesn't know how to handle it. The only thing I can recommend is check with your PC's manufacturer and see if you can manually assign the game .exe to use only one of the cores excursively. It sounds like this may be the problem. My laptop is one of the last of the single cores, I picked it up because it was cheap.

Also make sure your Intel Core 2 Quad QX6700 drivers are current. These often ship with outdated drivers, even in relatively new rigs. An update can improve capability. I would check Intel's website directly as Windows update probably won't have it.

I don't know what else to recommend you try. Good luck

Re: Windows 7 *GUARANTEED* fix
 

Win 7 allows you to set up applications to "emulate" one of the earlier versions of windows. In this case you need to ensure the GAME exe is the one running emulation NOT game options.

Has this been tried ??

Don

Re: Windows 7 *GUARANTEED* fix
 

Ayup NC, all drivers were updated when this rig was re-built for me three weeks ago. I bought it used, cuz it was cheap and the payment plan was easy.

The dead rig was a single hyper-threaded 3.2GHz CPU with 1.75GHz of RAM and a 7600GT video card running XPPro SP3. Built to play Day of Defeat.

===

First settings (taken from previous XP rig):
Scroll speed: 200
Graphics Delay: 10
Unit Move Delay: 50

Final Settings (long weekend):
Scroll Speed: 125
Graphics Delay: 1000
Unit Move Delay: 25

Ground and air units still hesitate every three hexes on long moves. Direct fire and indirect fire animations are very slow (read the serial numbers on the shells as they go by slow). Reducing the unit move delay below 25 made moving units a little nuts and didn't seem to effect the three hex hesitation. There is also a brief hesitation when clicking on each unit and when hitting spacebar on each unit, sometimes I have to hit the spacebar twice to bring up the unit window.

What's the maximum available graphics delay? That does seem to have helped a bit, but I'm not sure how far to push it...is 99999 a viable number?

I'll try it with the animations turned off tomorrow.

===

The fix file skips the settings screen and goes right to the pre-game splash screen (wasn't that kind of a no-no?). This means loading the game without the fix, changing settings, and then exiting, before loading the game with the fix file for each test run.

===

Don: I had previously tried emulating XP and Win98 without the fix file. I'll add that to tomorrows list. I normally run without any game sounds. Could that hesitation be related to the sound files? (something else for tomorrows list - I'll try it with the sounds on.)

===

Small miracles department: I found a back-up of almost all of my saved game files on a thumb drive, 400 or so out of 500+. I'll take it, it's more then I expected...

CARRYING
ON,
R

Re: Windows 7 *GUARANTEED* fix
 

For the record, as I posted earlier, I get the same lag. Somewhat different system but same os. I tried emulating other os in the shortcut with no luck.

Re: Windows 7 *GUARANTEED* fix
 

The shortcut to what ???.... the game EXE or the gameoptions EXE?

Don

Re: Windows 7 *GUARANTEED* fix
 

Don - I think Rich is referring to the fix file when he says shortcut. It skips the gameoptions exe and goes into the pre-game splash every time.

The lag effect is only on full screen, in windowed mode the game runs very smooth. But in 800x600 it's painfully small, even on a wide screen.

Does the full blown version allow one to change the size of the window in windowed mode?

UNBEATEN
PATHES,
R