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Sam & Max - Season 1 All Episodes crash during opening sequence

4eyes4eyes
edited May 2008 in Game Support
I bought the season 1 dvd last summer and played from start to finish the first episode. And now, on the same computer, on exactly same configuration, each episode crashes during the opening demo, just after the second or third "cut" depending on the episode.

I have:
Windows XP Pro SP2
AMD Athlon XP 2400+
1GB of RAM
ATI Radeon 9550
DirectX up to date

Last month when I tried the episodes, they gave error dialogues that my graphic card drivers were old and needed updating. I updated. After that just the crashing. Since then I've re-installed my graphic card drivers (several times), and even my windows. No change. I tried the older drivers again and they gave the 'you need to update' -error.

Any suggestions?

Comments

  • WillWill Telltale Alumni
    edited March 2008
    You mention that your DirectX is up to date, but have you tried reinstalling it since the problem?

    Also, this is in the new version of the episodes, yes? Do you have any sort of CD burning/cloning program like Alcohol or Daemon Tools or some kind of debugging software? Any of these could be causing the copy protection to freak out and crash.
  • 4eyes4eyes
    edited March 2008
    The windows re-install pretty much forced a directx re-install. I'm not sure what you mean with the "newer" version but yes, this is the all-episode-on-one-dvd collection. I do have Daemon tools installed, but I tried once to run one episode after shutting down firewall, virus detection tools, daemon and everything else unnecessary with no difference. Should I uninstall it?
  • WillWill Telltale Alumni
    edited March 2008
    Oh right, dvd, not download. Daemon tools can be rather persnickety and act up even if it looks disabled. It might not hurt to try uninstalling it, but I can't guarantee that it will solve the problem. Is this the European retail version of the dvd or the one from our online store?
  • 4eyes4eyes
    edited March 2008
    I'll try uninstalling. The DVD is European.
  • 4eyes4eyes
    edited March 2008
    Nope, didn't work, still a crash. The sound hangs up, screen goes black and then the computer reboots. I thought that it was a overheating problem or something, but every other (3D) game I've tried works fine.
  • WillWill Telltale Alumni
    edited March 2008
    Hmm, would you mind downloading Episode 4 from our site and trying that? http://www.telltalegames.com/store/lincolnmustdie

    I'm curious to see if this has anything to do with the disc version.
  • 4eyes4eyes
    edited March 2008
    Tried that, guess it's not about the disc. Same kind of crash, this time before the opening sequence even begins. Saw the gametap logo and heard some sounds, but it's not the ordinary saxophone intro.
  • WillWill Telltale Alumni
    edited March 2008
    Hmm, well the system reboot leads me to think that it is driver related, so have you tried updating your soundcard drivers?
  • 4eyes4eyes
    edited March 2008
    Thanks for reminding, hadn't done that :) Didn't help though :(
  • 4eyes4eyes
    edited March 2008
    Any more suggestions? Has anyone else had problems with ATI Radeon cards? Because the when I first tried the games they didn't crash. Only thing I've done since is updated maybe directX, graphic card drivers... and I doubt nothing else... (= no hardware on my computer has changed).
  • WillWill Telltale Alumni
    edited March 2008
    Hmm, load up your control panel and go to Sounds and Audio devices, then click on the Advanced button down in Speaker settings. Now go over to the performance tab and try turning off hardware acceleration. See if that makes a difference.

    Oh, also. You said that Windows forced a DirectX reinstall. Did this pull it from online or was the install from the Windows cd?
  • 4eyes4eyes
    edited March 2008
    Turning the hardware acceleration off didn't remove the creashing, but it might be the game ran for a but longer than otherwise, I'll test that again when I have more time.

    DirectX has been updated from the web.
  • 4eyes4eyes
    edited March 2008
    Yes, problem solved!

    I uninstalled ATI's own device drivers and installed Radeon Omega Drivers. Worked like a charm!

    Thanks to you Will for your help! Hopefully this will also be of help to someone else.

    PS. You can find the drivers at http://www.omegadrivers.net/omega_drivers.php
  • WillWill Telltale Alumni
    edited March 2008
    Sweet. I'm always hesitant to suggest third party drivers, but I may have to start doing it more.
  • 4eyes4eyes
    edited March 2008
    My trust towards them was just made hundredfold :P

    Feel free to remove this thread, or lock with "solved" added to title or anything.
  • K9 of WarK9 of War
    edited May 2008
    4eyes wrote: »
    Yes, problem solved!

    I uninstalled ATI's own device drivers and installed Radeon Omega Drivers. Worked like a charm!

    Thanks to you Will for your help! Hopefully this will also be of help to someone else.

    PS. You can find the drivers at http://www.omegadrivers.net/omega_drivers.php

    Thanks for the link. I also have a 2600 AMD Barton processor and an ATI Radeon 9600. Same kind of crashes.
    I am reluctant to install the Omega drivers just for one game, cuz the new Radeon drivers and catalyst have been working so well with new 3d games, and I (whoops, I meant "My dog...) has been playing S&M on my wifes old computer with an NVIDIA card.
    Might try it anyway, cuz hers only works on low graphics and 800 x 600.
    I need to transfer the dog's saved-games to my computer and let him back at it, I guess.

    P.S.: Did you install and use the driver detective program on that site or just the Omega drivers?
    If you used the driver detective and it ALSO installed soundcard drivers, then it could have been a problem with your soundcard, rather than video.
    Still curious as to whether I should try it.
  • WillWill Telltale Alumni
    edited May 2008
    Well you could always install it and then check your performance on the other games. Worst case scenario you just have to uninstall it again. Omega drivers have a good enough reputation that they shouldn't wreck your computer or anything.
  • K9 of WarK9 of War
    edited May 2008
    Will wrote: »
    Well you could always install it and then check your performance on the other games. Worst case scenario you just have to uninstall it again. Omega drivers have a good enough reputation that they shouldn't wreck your computer or anything.

    I may try that, but I have noticed lately that most games are designed with NVIDIA in mind, whereas ATI Radeon is somewhat left in the lurch.
    Radeon's are great AGP cards, but too many NVIDIA proprietary games are out there for PC, that only claim to support ATI (bought out by AMD), and likewise cleverly neglected through the behest of Intel. Now they are chiefly concerned with PCI express NVIDIA cards, and dual-core Intel processor formats.
    We AMD PC users (oops, I meant the dog) are the Jurassic's of the gaming crowd.
  • TelltaleToolTelltaleTool
    edited May 2008
    I think you're confusing support with marketing deals. All those games that say 'designed for nVidia' or whatever are basically just selling ad space. They're not actually nVidia exclusive.
  • K9 of WarK9 of War
    edited May 2008
    tabacco wrote: »
    I think you're confusing support with marketing deals. All those games that say 'designed for nVidia' or whatever are basically just selling ad space. They're not actually nVidia exclusive.

    Okay, thanks. I will have to tell that to my buddies with Radeon's. They have had more problems with driver incompatability than one can shake a stick at. Usually we have to go backward in our driver base just to get a newer game to work, and I'm talking about games like the Call of Duty series(CoD4 doesn't work at all with my 9600), Battlefield, and other very popular 3d games.
    So what's up with that?
    Personally I think that game developers are dropping the ball on compatability issues, and centering their attention on the most marketed hardware of the day.
    Too much Chinese hardware to choose from, I guess.
  • TelltaleToolTelltaleTool
    edited May 2008
    One issue is that IT departments often order lots of the same system. That means a homogenous IT environment, which is great for us IT types, but the big downside is that stuff is way better tested on one hardware spec than others, because people all use the same thing for day to day development.
  • K9 of WarK9 of War
    edited May 2008
    tabacco wrote: »
    One issue is that IT departments often order lots of the same system. That means a homogenous IT environment, which is great for us IT types, but the big downside is that stuff is way better tested on one hardware spec than others, because people all use the same thing for day to day development.

    That explains a lot. I wonder if computer and video card/chipset companies have anything to do with the systems that your companies supply for you guys. If so, it would be a smart move on their part to try and make sure the games are proprietary to their stuff.
    Anyway, I put the Omega drivers and control panel on my AMD system with my Radeon 9600, and sure to my suspicions, Omega supplied several old ATI drivers to overwrite my new ones in the "system 32" folder, even after I had totally uninstalled all ATI components. Therefore, it apparently took me back from the DirectX 9.0c files installed by Miscrosoft to some older DirectX versions.
    Seems like a step backward, but S&M works great now( or so the dog told me). Of course, I am still suspicious of neglect toward ATI/AMD Radeon game development, since I(oops, I meant the dog) have had to go back on my drivers in the past in order to play several games.
    We used to have to experiment with the new 3d cards in the 1990's and BETA drivers due to new hardware development, and it seems we are back to those days on PC's again. But at least we arenh't dialing BBS numbers anymore to download new drivers ! LOL!
    I still had to bump up the 3d gamma and brightness about 25%, which is common of Radeon cards anyway, since the presets are consistently much darker than NVIDIA's by default.
  • WillWill Telltale Alumni
    edited May 2008
    For larger companies, you very frequently find a video card/chipset manufacturer supplying systems for the entire company. Usually this is tied in with advertising deals and the "Made for nVidia" type stuff. For us... not so much. We have to buy all of our own computers.
  • K9 of WarK9 of War
    edited May 2008
    Thanks for the replies.
    The Omega Drivers worked great for the S&M game, and what a treat!
    I'm so glad Steve Purcell had a hand in it too. Congrats to you all.
    Although the gameplay was simpler it brought back old memories from the "Hit the Road" premiere game, and I enjoyed it very much. (Oopps, I meant the dog enjoyed it, the dog... the dog...!)
    Oh well. I give in! It was me all along, and I'm 42 years old! The shame of it all!
    I'll never be able to show my face in public...
    ...that is without a Sam and Max tee-shirt and a cap!

    I had to reinstall my ATI drivers and Catalyst control center, cuz my Omega drivers were ruined after a power outage. (Vertical lines creating double-vision anomalies)
    Or maybe it was Max messin' with me and wanting me to come back and play some more.

    (DXDIAG doesn't recognize the Omega drivers as WHQL certified, so the Battlefield 2142 game called my Radeon 9600 an "emulation device" that was incapable of running the game, or some sort of Snuckies crap.)
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