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Situation Comedy won't start up

tommyktommyk
edited March 2007 in Game Support
When I try to start Situation Comedy, nothing happens. The process is active, but the launcher never comes up. I had no problems with Culture Shock, so this seems strange. I've tries to redownload--no change. Any help would be appreciated.

Comments

  • EmilyEmily Telltale Alumni
    edited January 2007
    Could you give us your system specs, and also tell us what virus protection you're using?
  • tommyktommyk
    edited January 2007
    Specs:
    Core 2 Duo e6700
    ASUS P5W DH
    2 GB G. Skill RAM
    ATI x1950XTX
    X-Fi Platinum
    AVG Free anti-virus
    Spyware Doctor


    I've tried disabling both the AV and spyware programs. Still no go. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.
  • EmilyEmily Telltale Alumni
    edited January 2007
    When you run the game and nothing happens, can you do ctrl-alt-del and see if a Sam & Max executable is running in the processes?
  • tommyktommyk
    edited January 2007
    Yes, at least one--sometimes two, without my trying to start the game a second time. When I kill one of the processes manually, they both stop, if two are present.
  • tommyktommyk
    edited February 2007
    Bump. Further help would really be appreciated.
  • EmilyEmily Telltale Alumni
    edited February 2007
    We think this is a problem with the activation software. I'm following up with the company that makes that software to see if they have a fix for this.
  • tommyktommyk
    edited February 2007
    Same problem with episode 3. Very frustrating. Please help.
  • tommyktommyk
    edited February 2007
    Please help. The lack of further response is very frustrating.
  • EmilyEmily Telltale Alumni
    edited February 2007
    Yeah, for me too, since I have been trying to get help from the people who make the software and they don't have an answer. ;)

    Could you please try running the game, then bring up the task manager and send me a list (or a screenshot) of all the tasks that are running? You can post it here or send it to me in a PM. I'll send it to them and see if it makes any lightbulbs go off.
  • tommyktommyk
    edited February 2007
    Here is the screenshot of the task manager. Hope it helps. Thanks.
  • EmilyEmily Telltale Alumni
    edited February 2007
    Thanks, I'll send it to them and see if anything rings any bells.

    I see Situation Comedy on there twice. Did you try running it twice before you took that?
  • tommyktommyk
    edited February 2007
    No, it shows up twice every time despite the fact that I've only started it once. Usually the second process shows up 10 seconds or so after the first.
  • EmilyEmily Telltale Alumni
    edited February 2007
    Okay, thanks. I'll let them know.
  • tommyktommyk
    edited March 2007
    Any word? Really would like to play.
  • EmilyEmily Telltale Alumni
    edited March 2007
    I'm afraid not. :(

    Did you try episode 4? It uses a different version of the activation system, so it's possible the problem you were experiencing has gone away. Please give it a try and let me know.
  • tommyktommyk
    edited March 2007
    No luck--same thing. Culture Shock still loads and plays normally. The other three have the same problem described above.
  • tanukitanuki
    edited March 2007
    I just started having the exact same problem, actually. Ep. 4 (and all the other episodes, for that matter) were working back when Ep. 4 was a fresh new download. Now none of them do, and they oftentimes have more than one process each running. I see a window pop up for each, but they are completely blank.

    System specs for my machine:
    Intel Core Duo @ 2.16 GHz.
    2 GB of RAM
    ATI Mobility Radeon X1600 w/ 256 MB. of VRAM
    Windows XP Pro w/ SP2

    ...and I have ClamAV installed as my anti-virus, but it hasn't given me trouble before and is never running when I run S&M.

    I've also tried uninstalling and reinstalling Ep. 4, but with no luck.
  • EmilyEmily Telltale Alumni
    edited March 2007
    Tanuki - so they were working fine before, and now they're not working at all?

    What's changed on your machine in the meantime? Any Windows updates? New software installed? Can you run a virus scan and an adware/spyware check on the machine? Also try defragging the hard drive.

    -Emily
  • tommyktommyk
    edited March 2007
    Sounds similar, although with episodes 2-4 I don't even see a blank window.
  • EmilyEmily Telltale Alumni
    edited March 2007
    Tommyk, I'd be happy to refund your money since we can't get this figured out. You've been very patient and I'm sorry we haven't been able to find a solution. :(
  • tanukitanuki
    edited March 2007
    What kinds of things does the authentication system look for? (does it look for certain pieces of hardware? Windows XP product key?) Is it altogether possible for us to simply receive a new authentication key if we supply our order numbers to you? I know this isn't the first time I've had issues with the authentication system...as a Season one customer, I had an issue with the first episode starting up, which resulted in me emailing Telltale my order number.
  • tanukitanuki
    edited March 2007
    Changes in my system between the time in which it did work and didn't work include a different install of XP with a different product key, any mandatory updates from Microsoft, and a non-mandatory update from Microsoft allowing for more efficient dual core processing. Since I'm in OS X now (I'm using a MacBook Pro), I will boot into XP, defrag my hard drive, and update this post to see if that changes anything.
  • tanukitanuki
    edited March 2007
    Problem solved. It must've been an issue with a change in Windows XP product keys.

    Tommyk, did the other episodes used to work for you? If so, what kind of changes have been made in your system between when they worked and when they didn't? Maybe your issue is similar to mine in this respect.
  • EmilyEmily Telltale Alumni
    edited March 2007
    Problem solved. It must've been an issue with a change in Windows XP product keys.

    How did you solve it? Just from the defrag?
  • tanukitanuki
    edited March 2007
    Nope, no defrag was necessary. I reverted to an older XP install, and the program began to work again.
This discussion has been closed.