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DarkBASIC Professional Discussion / DBPro Unuseable, Please Help!

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Kris
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Posted: 25th Sep 2002 00:27
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Okay, I have now tried at least five different examples, copied the code to the editor window via that nice little button and run each one. It is consistent in that each time it completely locks up the machine.

I installed the DirectX 8.1 update as included on the CD.
I then installed DarkBasic Pro.
Next, I tried the simple example of the spinning cube. That works!(only thing that has)
I have tried to execute the "Display Functionality" example. Screen goes black, graphic cursor appears. Completely locked up machine.
Same thing occurs with three other examples I tried. I tried running a 3D example and it wouldnt compile due to an error in the code. Now, shouldn't the product at least be shipped with simple things like this fixed?

So, I still cant load DBPro patch 1 because it locks up the machine. Is that why I am having all these problems?

HELP! This has got to be one of the worst experiences to date with new software I have had to date.

-Kris (frazzled)
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JimB
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Posted: 25th Sep 2002 00:33
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I had similar problems when I first tried Pro,it was my fault I pressed the COPY button instead of the orange
button.Other examples that did not run was because my graphic card did'nt support the features used by them.

JimB

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Kris
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Posted: 25th Sep 2002 00:38
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Well, I made sure that all the code was selected and after I pressed the button that all code was copied into the editor.

Oh well, it is probably because of not being able to load the patch. I guess I wait for a response on that first. I get the distinct feeling that I will have to shelf it for a couple months.



Thanks for the reply.

-Kris
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JimB
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Posted: 25th Sep 2002 00:42
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No you don't use select and COPY button,use the yellow with orange outlined button(open acommpanying file)it loads the example for you.

JimB

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Kris
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Posted: 25th Sep 2002 00:55
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Same difference with that button. I even tried the System Functionality example. I tried first reloading DirectX 8.1 from Microsoft webpage and then ran the example. Still same thing, black screen, stuck cursor, cant regain control of machine.

-Kris
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JimB
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Posted: 25th Sep 2002 00:57
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What graphic card you got?

JimB

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CD On CD
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Posted: 25th Sep 2002 01:17
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kris:

you say the "screen goes black"
could it be that the example IS loading, & starting & then finds a functionality problem with the hardware? i dont know.

anyways, have ya tried pressing ESC while the black screen appears? on some OTHER examples i've tried my screen went black so i hit ESC to bring up the DEBUGGER & then closed that portion & all was fine.

just a thought

ps
i dont remember any example of that sort (name) on MY cd. hmmmmmm. could also be that the example you're referring to DID have errors & was NOT burned on LATER CDs as i dont have THAT ONE.

United We (Still) Stand
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Kris
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Posted: 25th Sep 2002 01:48
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The video card on this machine is an ATI XPERT 98 RXL AGP 2X. Not a speed demon but has run other DirectX stuff before. I can run the simple cube spin example, but anything beyond that locks the PC up. The "Escape Key" does nto work. Neither does "Ctrl-Alt-Del" and the "CapsLock" key doesnt change state when "CapsLock" is pressed.

I will try to do a staged execution of the example, copy in sections at a time to see where it crashes.

Thanks,

~kris
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Kris
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Posted: 25th Sep 2002 02:09
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Okay, program when executed bombs when it hits the first "SYSTEM" command, such as:

print "Texture:";system tmem available()

So, in last hopes I try to uninstall the package. Here is the really bad part. I can not install it because when I go to remove the install via "Add/Remove Programs", I get this message:

"The process can not access the file bacause it is being used by another process."

What??? DBPro has really screwed things up on me here. I am going to have to try to delete it by hand.


~kristin
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Fireburst
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Posted: 25th Sep 2002 02:23
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I have a gut feeling that part of your problems will be hardware related.

Is DirectX installed properly? (you can test this by typing in dxdiag at the run prompt.

In theory, there is no difference between theory and practice. But in practice, there is.
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Kris
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Posted: 25th Sep 2002 02:39
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Well, DXDIAG went through all the tests and found no problems. I was able to run the Direct3D test and it ran fine.

I deleted the DarkBasic directory, deleted all references in the registry, and then re-installed.

Still same problem. Havent loaded patch yet because the patch also halts my machine.

I swear DarkBasic hates me. I am also at the end of my rope with this product.
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Richard Davey
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Posted: 25th Sep 2002 02:48
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Just a guess but I'd say your graphics card is running out of memory on anything more complicated than the spinning cube. According to ATIs site your card only has 8meg of memory and supports up to DirectX5.0 only. I know the minimum requirements of DBPro say an 8meg card though but I think that might be the trouble here (basically DBPro might not work with your card).

Although the examples crash - are you able to write something? Perhaps a very small program? Does that work?

Cheers,

Rich

"Gentlemen, we are about to short-circuit the Universe!"
DB Team / Atari ST / DarkForge / Retro Gaming
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Kris
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Posted: 25th Sep 2002 03:04
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The only simple programs that work just display text. There is an example project called "Text Functionality". That locks up the machine. It seemed that other examples would lock up when it hit a "SYSTEM" command. I have not been able to run any of the example projects.

It does not seem to be a graphical issue since I was able to display the spinning cube. I can display simple "Hello World" text.

I am out of answers. Thanks for your help.

~kris
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Richard Davey
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Posted: 25th Sep 2002 03:06
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I guess the only way we're going to find out if this is your machine or your video card is if someone else with the same card posts a message here (fingers crossed!).

Cheers,

Rich

"Gentlemen, we are about to short-circuit the Universe!"
DB Team / Atari ST / DarkForge / Retro Gaming
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Nemesis
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Posted: 25th Sep 2002 04:10
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Have you experienced issues with any games you have tried to run with this card? ATI cards are good nowadays, but they had a long line of shod 8MB cards.

I suggest you look for newer drivers for it, and if they don't exist or don't fix the problem, well I suggest you buy a new graphics card. You won't get too far with that thing nowadays anyway. If you want something resonable on a budget, then get either the TNT2 M64 or a Geforce 2MX whatever.

I know everything! At least I don't know anything I don't know.
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Nemesis
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Posted: 25th Sep 2002 04:16
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Quote: "Havent loaded patch yet because the patch also halts my machine.
"

You mean trying to install the patch itself halts your machine? If so you most likely have either damage to windows itself, or you have dead ram addresses. I suggest you get some good system diagnosis software such as norton utilities, and run a full windows integrity scan, and a thorough read/write scan of the memory. The bios level memory scan is nothing short of pathetic, so don't worry if it doesn't report any errors. It's only managed to detect anything wrong for me when a whole chip was dead.

Also, just to have the information, what OS are you using, and what are your full system specs?

I know everything! At least I don't know anything I don't know.
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Nemesis
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Posted: 25th Sep 2002 05:01
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On second thought, the patch installer is most likely written in DBpro. Gah, just fiddle.

I know everything! At least I don't know anything I don't know.
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Guillermo
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Posted: 25th Sep 2002 06:38
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I have a laptop that can barely handle running DBPro, in spite of its 512 Meg Ram, its 32 Meg Ram Video card, its 1.3 Ghz Athlon processor, and Windows XP. Then, my old IBM has only a 450 Mhz Pentium 2, a low 194 RAM, etc. and it runs DBPro. I would think that DBPro is very ram and resource intensive. So, your computer may not be able to handle DBPro. Try a full defragmentation of both, the registers and the hard drive. Ensure that the swap file is maximized. Clean the registers. And Ask Rich what the best size is for the cache. I often had to work with all those things in my old computers to run memory intensive applications. My guess is that not only your video card is too old, but you may not have enough ram. In my experience, RAM is the key to performance. You should see if you can add RAM to your computer if that is the problem. RAM tends to be cheap.

Good luck,


Guillermo

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Kris
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Posted: 25th Sep 2002 19:29
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Hmm, 640mg RAM, 20gb Hard Drive, Pentium3-800Mhz processor.

Will have to see about video card. This is my work machine and I dont like buying components myself for it. Getting a video card purchase req takes a journey through five layers of hell and a blood sacrifice.

~kris
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Richard Davey
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Posted: 25th Sep 2002 20:32
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The computer spec is fine but the video card is going to struggle with pretty much everything. You have more than enough memory and a P3-800 will be fine too (my test machine is a P3-450) but that 8meg ATI is a real bottleneck

Cheers,

rich

"Gentlemen, we are about to short-circuit the Universe!"
DB Team / Atari ST / DarkForge / Retro Gaming
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Kris
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Posted: 1st Oct 2002 00:22
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As I wrote elsewhere, I have ordered a GeForce4 MX420 card and hope that it has enough power to run DarkBasic Pro. Else, it is just a pretty box that either sits on the shelf or gets sold on Ebay.

~kris
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