Myst IV Fails after Splash Screen - Topic Powered by Eve Community

Myst III: Exile and Myst IV: Revelation are very definitely not the same critter. Each puts its own unique demands on your system, so the fact that "Myst III runs just fine" means very little in regard to Revelation.

Suggestions, to do in the order shown, and:
-- Start Revelation after completing each suggestion to see if the problem has disappeared.
-- Do NOT use a "download accelerator" or "download helper" utility when downloading DirectX or any driver.
-- Be certain to always log into Windows with full Administrator privileges.
-- Never boot up with either Revelation DVD in the drive.

If you installed Revelation to a Power User or to a Limited User Account, start with suggestion 6.

1. Reset both the Initial size and Maximum size of your virtual memory paging file to 2048 MB as detailed in step 3 of Myst IV: Miscellaneous Fixes for Video Problems. Reboot, then start Revelation.

2. Close all unnecessary background processes and applications, then start Revelation *without* rebooting. See step 4 of of Myst IV: Miscellaneous Fixes for Video Problems for details.

3. Disconnect your camera, reboot, then start Revelation. Do not boot up with the Revelation DVD in the drive.

4. Download the setup file (dxwebsetup.exe) for the latest end-user runtime release of DirectX 9.0c, available here, to a folder on your hard disk. Then, install DirectX as follows:

First, clear your Internet Explorer caches.
-- a. Log into Windows with full Administrator privileges, and close any open applications.
-- b. Open a single Internet Explorer session.
-- c. Click on Tools > Internet Options.
-- d. Click on Delete Cookies > OK.
-- e. Click on the the 'Delete all offline content' box to check it, then click on Delete Files > OK.
-- f. Click on Clear History > Yes.
-- g. Click on OK to exit.

Second, use Windows Explorer (*not* Internet Explorer) to search your hard drives (C:, D:, J: ) for \temp, \tmp, and \temporary folders, and delete any files in these folders that aren't currently in use. If Windows complains when you try to delete a file, it's in use, so leave it alone!
-- a. Close all open applications, and open a Windows Explorer session. (Click on Start > All Programs > Accessories > Windows Explorer.)
-- b. Click on Tools > Find > Files or Folders.
-- c. Type temp in the Named: box.
-- d. Click on the arrow at the right end of the Look in: box and then click on the disk drive to be searched.
-- e. Click on Find Now to start the search.
-- f. Click on the temp folders found to open them.
-- g. Delete any files in these folders that aren't currently in use.
-- h. Repeat for tmp and temporary folders.
-- i. Repeat for the other hard drives.
-- j. Close Windows Explorer back to the Desktop.

Then install DirectX 9.0c.
-- a. Disable your anti-virus software.
-- b. Click on Start > Run.
-- c. Browse to dxwebsetup.exe, and double-click on it to put it in the Open box.
-- d. Click on OK to start the installation process.
-- e. Follow the installation Wizard's instructions. Accept the install defaults whenever possible.
-- f. Reboot, log into Windows with full Administrator privileges, and close any open applications.
-- g. Start Revelation.

5. Re-install NVIDIA's version 84.21 video driver as detailed under Installing NVIDIA Drivers in Myst IV: Installing Video Drivers With Win XP. If correctly re-installing version 84.21 doesn't help, note that:

"Some older video chipsets - the Geforce 4 MX/MX 400, for example - do not play nicely with the latest NVIDIA drivers. If you have a GeForce 2/3/4 chipset or a low-number FX (like 5200) and version 84.21 doesn't help, try version 45.23. Then, if 45.23 doesn't help, try version 52.16. Install using the procedure below. These drivers are both available here."

6. If none of the above help, re-install Revelation from a clean boot as detailed under Installing and Re-Installing Revelation, "7. Clean-boot Revelation Re-install, Previous Installation" in Myst IV: Clean Boot Install/Re-install With Win XP.
-- Be certain that you're logged into Windows with full Administrator privileges and are NOT installing Revelation to a Power User or to a Limited User Account.
-- Disable your anti-virus software before installing Revelation.
-- Depending on what the actual problems with Revelation are, you may not find a Program Files Revelation \save folder or a C:\My Documents\myst4-revelation savegames folder.
-- Install Revelation to your C: or D: drive, not to J:.
-- Do NOT boot up with either Revelation DVD in the drive.

Heimdall
Semper ubi sub ubi

Posts: 5566 | Registered: Wed June 04 2003

Ignored post by Heimdall G posted

Posted

Thanks for the response. I will follow it to the letter and let you know what happens.

Posts: 15 | Registered: Sat August 07 2004

Ignored post by Fred60 posted

Posted

I have a further question. My paging file is currently on C: Can I change it to the D: disk which is a 150 gig empty disk at the current time?

Posts: 15 | Registered: Sat August 07 2004

Ignored post by Fred60 posted

Heimdall G

Moderator &
Community
Assistant

Posted

Yes, you can have your paging file on your D: drive. Just don't put it on your J: (USB external) drive.

Heimdall
Semper ubi sub ubi

Posts: 5566 | Registered: Wed June 04 2003

Ignored post by Heimdall G posted

Posted

OK! Thanks for all the input.

After trying your suggestions I finally got it to come up with the screen. However when I selected Play it would go to a black screen for a while and then back to the Desk Top. I then decided to do the last "if all else fails

" step and reinstalled it on my D disk. Item 6 of the Installing and Reinstalling Revelation writeup prompted me to look for the myst4-revelation savegames subfolder on my C disk. It wasn't there, so I created it plus the journal subfolder. That has fixed the startup problem.

To sumerize what I did;
1. updated my Nvidia drivers to the latest version 84.26.
2. Clean-boot Revelation Re-install
3. Added subfolder \myst4-revelation savegames to C:\My Documents folder
4. Added subfolder \journal to the \myst4-Revelation savegames subfolder
5. Ran the game "sucessfully" but it crashed after about 15 minutes.

I am now adding the patches.

Posts: 15 | Registered: Sat August 07 2004

Ignored post by Fred60 posted

Posted

PS.

I also increased my paging from 336Meg to 2048 -4096 and changed the paging device to my virtually unused D: disk to save space on my some what bloated C: disk. Increasing the paging size was the one thing that fixed the windows error. (location had nothing to do with it as I originally had the increased space assigned to the C: disk)

Posts: 15 | Registered: Sat August 07 2004

Ignored post by Fred60 posted

Heimdall G

Moderator &
Community
Assistant

Posted

Please note that NVIDIA's version 84.26 video driver is intended for their Quadro chipset series *ONLY*. It is not an appropriate driver for your GeForce FX 5200 chipset.

You should install the proper driver for your chipset and Revelation as in suggestion 5, above.

Heimdall
Semper ubi sub ubi

Posts: 5566 | Registered: Wed June 04 2003

Ignored post by Heimdall G posted

Posted

Thanks, will do. I didn't see that84.26 was for Quatro, I just grabbed the latest version. thanks for all your help. Myst IV is now running fine without a hitch.

Posts: 15 | Registered: Sat August 07 2004

Ignored post by Fred60 posted