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Author Topic: DF 31.xx and Windows 7  (Read 1097 times)

Chaumel

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DF 31.xx and Windows 7
« on: September 27, 2011, 11:41:19 pm »
I'm sure this has been asked elsewhere, however, google, the search feature here, and skimming have turned up nothing that has been of any help yet.

I got into DF when djdrow made a tutorial for it over on youtube, and have slowly worked my understanding of the game up.  I was able to play without any trouble on my old computer.  It was a bit slow after 50 dwarves, but it played fine, no crashes or anything.

A few months back, I got a new awesome system, 64 bit Windows 7, 6 gigs of triple channel DD3 ram, and an i7 processor.

Ever since, I constantly have unexpected crashes resulting from many different things.  I have tried with true type on and off, and have reinstalled several different versions from a few different download links, and nothing seems to fix the problem.  Notable things being done that cause crashes that come to mind are, but not limited to...

Checking thoughts and preferences.  No noticeable pattern, it can crash on the first or the 100th.  True type had no effect on this.
Scanning over a corpse and it's dropped items.
Doing nothing except watching dwarves be dwarves, running around and doing stuff.  This happens mostly after I prepare a lot of work to be done, such as designate a lot of digging orders, or make a large stockpile.  It also happens when nothing much is going on though, completely at random seeming.

I've seen it crash under more conditions, but the specifics don't spring to mind, it is almost always those, with the third being the most common, and least avoidable.

Sometimes, I will be able to play for an in-game year or so before it crashes, others, not even the first season.  Generally, if I reboot a save, it'll happen again within a season or two.  I normally just stop playing at this point since I get frustrated losing so much work between seasonal auto saves.

I really enjoy this game, when I'm able to play it, but it seems like I can never get very far in it before these crashes just annoy me and make me want to stop playing after losing so much time, or repeating the same tasks over and over with repeated crashes.

Since I can not attach this, and the whole thing is too large to allow me to post in in thread, I'll post the highlights, and if more info is needed, I'll try and get it to whomever is able to assist me with this problem.

Partial DxDiag.txt info:

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

A final note, I never recall any kind of crash during world gen, site finding, or anything else about embarking, except if I view thoughts and preferences of the starting dwarves sometimes.

To sum up, things I've tried from reading elsewhere:
Reinstalling a clean copy of DF.
Trying with true type on, and off
Leaving the game window at the default size rather than maximizing it.
Trying to run it in fullscreen rather than windowed mode.
Checking and updating video drivers.


If there is any real fix to these issues, I am all ears.  If I am simply SOL, and because I have Windows 7 I am pretty much barred from effectively playing this game, then that would be nice to know as well.

Thank you in advance for any help with this.
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bucket

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Re: DF 31.xx and Windows 7
« Reply #1 on: September 28, 2011, 01:28:10 am »
The game normally runs fine on Windows 7. I would suspect the crashing is either because of software incompatibility or DirectX problems. Either manually install the latest version of DX from the Microsoft website, or uninstall the shitty free software you downloaded that one time.
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Nameless Archon

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Re: DF 31.xx and Windows 7
« Reply #2 on: September 28, 2011, 01:53:58 pm »
I'm running DF on a system much like yours, with 64-bit Win7, 8GB ram, and an i7. I do not crash.

A few things you can try:
1. XP (SP3) compatability mode. Open the properties of the EXE and force Windows 7 to try this mode.
2. Run as Administrator. It's possible you've put DF someplace (like the Program Files folder) that it doesn't like, and this may also fix the issue.
3. Ask someone more knowledgable.
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BigD145

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Re: DF 31.xx and Windows 7
« Reply #3 on: September 28, 2011, 07:36:24 pm »
Limit DF to a single core.
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Chaumel

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Re: DF 31.xx and Windows 7
« Reply #4 on: September 30, 2011, 04:22:48 pm »
I checked my direct x and it was up to date with no issues, thanks for the suggestion though.

I've been having some pretty good luck thus far with running it as admin in xp3 comp. mode, I've only had one issue thus far, and it was pretty weird and I believe it to of had an outside cause, so thanks for that advice.

I'm holding the single core limit in reserve to see how it plays out as admin and in xp3 comp mode.  If it gives me issues down the road like this, I'll try that.

Thanks for the replies guys, really helpful suggestions.  I hope my luck holds out, I haven't gotten to year three in a fort before without having to constantly restart due to crashes.
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Calathar

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Re: DF 31.xx and Windows 7
« Reply #5 on: September 30, 2011, 05:29:58 pm »
You kept mentioning installing the game.  Are you using a package (Lazy Newb Pack)?  Or just downloading the vanilla game from the website and playing it straight from the executable in the folder?  Vanilla works absolutely fine on my system with a similar setup that you have.
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Chaumel

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Re: DF 31.xx and Windows 7
« Reply #6 on: September 30, 2011, 05:38:07 pm »
I use the LNP as you said.  I am under the impression that the copy of the game is the same as you'd get from the website, with some additional options available.  I absolutely must have ironhand, it makes the game far less confusing, aside from that though, the only other program I run from it is therapist.

I hadn't found any complications with 7 listed in searches relating to the use of a graphic pack, are there any I simply missed?
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Ethnar

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Re: DF 31.xx and Windows 7
« Reply #7 on: October 01, 2011, 02:43:03 pm »
Did you make a fresh install of DF 31.25 with LNP or did you overwrite older installation? Did you tweak/copy absolutely any files over to your current DF installation? Older save?

if you answered "yes" to any of those answers, I suggest to DL fresh copy again, gen new world, start fortress and see if you crash then.
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Chaumel

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Re: DF 31.xx and Windows 7
« Reply #8 on: October 02, 2011, 08:17:49 am »
Nope, I was deleting all my saves and everything, in case something in them was an issue.

Thus far, xp3 compat and admin are working well, I've been playing a few hours a day the last few days and have had no further crashes.
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