Demo stuffed :( | Forums

[Bozibozic]

When i download the demo i save it to my desktop and it comes up in a compressed folder. Everytime i click on the icon in the folder my PC goes to the etup and freezes is this just a prob with my PC or with the way that i am installing it?

[dandaman237]

I have the same problem. any help?

[andrewdodd13]

if windows isnt prompting you to extract all files you will need to do it manually by copying all the files to a folder somewhere, the desktop is fine. then run setup.exe from that directory...
if that doesnt work you might need to check that your zip file is ok, i'm not sure if windows compressed folder has CRC checking...

[digitaldan]

try re-downloading the file....

extract all the files... if it fails again you could have a duff memory module in your computer.

run memtest-86 (google search) to test if ur memory is working as it should.

a symptom of bad memory is frequent error messages regarding failed CRC's.

FYI A CRC is a check to see if the extracted files have been extracted as they were meant to be

[andrewdodd13]

and if you want to look really geeky you might want to know that CRC stands for cyclic redundancy check

[dandaman237]

OK i got it unzipped, but now when installation starts, it goes fine for a while, but then it can't find "data3.cab". I've tried several different downloads, but none work so far.

[digitaldan]

dodd -> if u want to look tremendously geeky whilst maintaining a good balance of understanding, you will know that a CRC is a non-cryptographic digest of the file contents that divides the long binary representation of the data using binary division. The remainder of it is used as the CRC and is usually a 32-bit value. Because it uses binary division on the whole representation, if the file has been altered in any way, then the remainder value will change when the same calculation is performed thus we know that the file integrity has been breached somehow....

but nobody really gives a poo about that as long as it works eh

dandaman - it looks like i may have been right in my deductions before. You need to test your memory is working using memtest-86

1. if you are using windows, use this tool: memtest-86 3.2 release
2. this will download a zip file which you need to extract somewhere.
3. find a blank floppy disk and put it in your floppy drive
4. if you havent got a blank one ull have to format it (i assume u know how to do this)
5. double click the "install.bat" from where u extracted the memtest-86 files.
6. follow the instructions to make the test disk.
7. when all is complete, reboot your computer with the floppy disk drive inside
8. when you reboot, the memory test will perfom 6 tests on your memory to check for errors
9. it will pass thru these tests infinitely until you restart your computer or press a button
10.i recommend u let it pass thru at least twice.
11.if it finds any errors at all, then this is your problem and ull need new ram.
12.try isolating the failing memory stick using tests

Notes:
The homepage for the test is here. It is worth reading so you know what you are doing. I assure you though it is a safe application and used frequently by myself and other Computer Scientists.

In order for the program to run after you reboot, you need to make sure that your Floppy drive is the first boot device. If it is not, you can use BIOS to change this. Pressing either F12 or F2 when the computer first beeps on startup lets most machines enter BIOS.

If you need to change BIOS, make sure you know what you are doing! I recommend following the manual or, if you give me the name of your mkotherboard, i can give you more detailed advice.

Another note: before messing with BIOS, try running the program after reboot anyway. If it doesnt load and it reboots to Windows again, you need to change your BIOS settings.

After the check, take out the disk and press any button or restart your computer. Windows will boot as normal and you can let us know if it found any errors!

Note to everyone: it might be worth yarall doin this test to see if ur ram is working! dodgy ram is a main cause for computer randomness!

[digitaldan]

oh yeah, and FYI, i deduced this cos of the following thoughts:

dodgy RAM means:
<UL TYPE=SQUARE><LI>data is stored inconsistently in your computer
<LI>computer may try looking in a memory address where it thinks something is suppsed to be (ie, data3.cab) but cant find it
<LI>therefore computer thinks data3.cab isnt there
<LI>CRCs use memory
<LI>if memory is dodgy, CRCs are going to be random
<LI>big files use lots of memory
<LI>lots of memory means lots of memory addresses
<LI>settlers 5 demo is a big compressed file
<LI>chances of dodgy memory address in big files increases
<LI>the fact that u have tried downloading several times and same error is a typical symptom.[/list]

other symptoms of bad memory:
<UL TYPE=SQUARE><LI>randomness with working with large files in general including:

• <LI>service pack 2 installation and download<LI>big files such as s4 and 3dmark 03

must go, have lecture... bye!!!!!!!!