C4 won't start, nor C3 for that matter

[Hunterforce]

I have read through as many of the posts regarding installation of C4 and the C4 exe problem running in task manager, with no sign of game starting.
Just the problem I have too, it may be old ground to you , but I have not been able to play it on this pc.
I've got a 1.9ghz 512mb pentium 4 running XP pro, with a connect 3d ATIradeon 9250/256 i just got specifically to upgrade from a geforce2 mmx400, fitted it in, and Bingo! C4 wont run...

the C4 Lan.exe which they suggest you try, does work, video card is recognised by the video tester , but the single player option is not highlighted for selection.

I tried downloading the big update ,but not by using the C4 updater as suggested, and then ran it in the correct folder as suggested, but still no luck...
Game still just doesnt try to load, no disk accessing lights or noise either ....

Now, i have seen a mention of a Nova sniffer that messes up your game so it wont run, but I have bought the game, and put in the serial code, so what happened?

any ideas anyone?

by the way ..same problem with C3 believe it or not

you can mail me if you like with suggestions as to how to get it to run...
thanks Hunterforce...

[Reaper]

Humm if all your drivers are up to date. You may have a fire wall issue. Check the xp fire wall and any software fire wall you may be running. Make sure the C4 exe is enabled in the program settings. This would mean any time you update the game or changes exe files you would need to reset the setting again even if you just reinstal the same files again.

I have not found the sniffer ( the security update from Nova) to stop my game from running when I tested it with fixed exes and the nova start up by pass.

When the game will start ( the lan version in your case) but the games are not enabled to play that's a sign the cd file is directing the game to wrong drive letter.
You can use a fixed exe then it shouldn't matter. Or open the cd file with note pad and check the drive letter the file is using.

At this point if I were you I would do a clean reinstal of the game, make sure you delete the C4 folder from in side the Nova folder then reinstale, Run the update you can down load from CPD if you have game verion 1.5. If you have game version 2 don't update the game. Then change the exe files if you choose. Then start the game and see if it works.

[Hunterforce]

well, i tried checking that which you suggested, namely firewalls etc, none of that made a difference! why should drive letter make a difference too? Especially if you run a no cd exe!
Not that i tried that first i hasten to add; i bought the game, i've got the cd key..... and it still dont work

what was this i read about XP being NTFS file sytem too? Mines Xp and i' m running FAT32 !!

why would it affect Comanche3 too? I've took them both off again for now, while I wait and see what suggestions i get as to how to fix it....

looks like its back to Sofsquad and DFLW , go and top my highscores back up on the stats screen ,lol....Was getting so bored with that though (ABADGUYKILLER)
What a waste of money as well

[Reaper]

the C4 Lan.exe which they suggest you try, does work, video card is recognised by the video tester , but the single player option is not highlighted for selection.
Well the only time I have ever seen the games blocked out was when you put the game disk in to a drive you didn't instal to, Or the fixed exe is installed wrong, ( If you dragged the fixed exe into the folder or copied and pasted instead of unzipping it in) hince why I posted it.

I don't know that C3 will even run on xp I only ran it on Windows ME and 98. How ever it is a diff game engine and has nothing to do with C4.

Xp offers either file type. If your running Fat32 thats the older file type. You can have windows convert to NTFS, But I don't see why it would make any diff running the game.

You could have a bad instal of the game, Players that play C4 will do a reinstal every now and then because of problems.

You don't say what game version you have either.
If you have the original 1.50 you update it. How ever version 2 doesnt up date and updating the game could mess it up.

How long since you ran defrag? I know other players that had bad instales ran defrag after a clean uninstal and then installed the game to fix it.

But uninstalling the game and waiting for more info to be posted isn't going to get the running.

[Hunterforce]

i've got 3 drives c: hard disk
d: dvd rom
E: dvd/cd r/w 52*
i installed to my hard disk c: using the dvd drive E: and installed into program files, where they normally go...the C4 program, when run, doesnt even access dvd drive to check for disk either way i install, using no cd fix or not..
i will try the unzipping and running it in a different folder next time i use fix exe and see if that works ...
well, the version is the one previous to 1 15 , as the updater at nova updated it, so did the downloaded update file, on the next time i installed it, so tried both them ways
i'm 17% fragged, it suggests using defrag, but i need to move a few things off frst, so that why i took it off, as i will defrag first, before i try the next install...
the thing is i have seen the problems people have been having trying to install it , and of cuorse once i couldnt get it top run after 5-6 installs i gave up , and started looking again for further help...

i'm tempted to believe that Nova have done something to my PC to stop it running , because i've used the No cd fixes...

[Reaper]

I don't think so, I run fixed exe files, the nova log in by pass and have installed the security up date with no issues. I never use Nova to update the game tho.

After your defrag make sure the C4 folder is gone from your c drive before you instal again.

Instal the game. Then update with the down update from CPD.

If you are going to use either fixed exe:
deleat the exe in your c4 folder. Then unzip the fixed exe into replace it.

As a last resort if the game should fall to play and your willing to do another instal.
The next instal should go to another area on your hard drive, create a new folder, then instal c4 into it.

One last thought some players have problems with hyper threading. There is a thread here somewhere dealing with that should it be the issue.

[RAB]

One last thought some players have problems with hyper threading. There is a thread here somewhere dealing with that should it be the issue.

Hyper threading is only an issue once the game is running. Also with a P4 1.9 CPU HT isnt available. I think I'd go with the clean install and try useing the fixed exe and the login bypass. Nova didnt start checking those files untill BHD so running them shouldnt be a problem. And it saves time when getting into the game.

[nakulak]

I heard something about guys having problems with sysdumps and hyperthreading, but as far as I could tell it was only with clone mobos using the older p4's 3.2 and below. I had a couple of 3.0 intel boards and no problems ever with HT.

the message was kind of cryptic - wasn't there any error message from c4 at all ? does earlyerr.txt or novaftp.log in the c4 folder say anything ?
I've run this game on mmx, p4, k6, k7 processors of all speeds - its very forgiving generally speaking. might help if you post your system details and video card and any error messages that are relevent (for instance, if your graphics card doesnt meet spec sometimes you get error message, sometimes it crashes)

[JJG43]

Would net framework 1.1 updates have any bearing on this issue??? I know I have alot less sys dumps now

[W@tchtower*CFS*]

Unfortunatly C3 will not work on XP. A shame, it is more a true sim than C4, but with less graphics. Still fun to play on an older Win98 machine.
As always, updated drivers for sound and video are a must.
I would try a new install of C4, after cleansing your PC of any old C4 related files. Do not update the game untill after you have loaded it and got into single player. Make sure the CD is in the same drive you installed it from to read from to start the game. Afterwards you can install the no CD patch.. Hyperthreading, net framework 1.1 shouldnt have an effect on startup. MAke sure game resolution is not the same as desktop resolution, I have seen that fix many a "no start" condition.

Setup Comanche 4 instructions

[Hunterforce]

i'll keep all this in mind when i do get back to installing it in the next day or so, so thanks for the help for now..i do need to defrag first so i better do that first, but as usual i have to move some stuff first ..
i'll try that screen resolution thing too, as i keep my desktop at 1024*768 , whch is what i play my games at ...

[RAB]

Unfortunatly C3 will not work on XP. A shame, it is more a true sim than C4, but with less graphics. Still fun to play on an older Win98 machine.

I've had Comanche Gold play on an XP machine. I believe there both from the same game engine. Comanche 3 should work too. I know Armored Fist 3 has problems working on XP without updateing the game. Might be the same situation with Comanche 3.

[W@tchtower*CFS*]

Most of us (CFS'ers) play at 800x600 resolution. Give it a shot. Keep us updated and post the results for future forum surfers!

Hey RAB buddy! Been a long time! I could never get C3 to work on my XP, I know there is a way around it, just never dove deep enough.

[RAB]

Hey RAB buddy! Been a long time! I could never get C3 to work on my XP, I know there is a way around it, just never dove deep enough.

I got it to work but never played it much. It is more of a true flight simn then C4. C4 is alot easier to fly so I went back to that. But if you try running it again. I think iI just downloaded the update from the website and installed it. I just checked though and Nova doesnt offer it for download anymore. I might have a copy some where. Will search for it later. Might be able to find it on the Nova FTP page also. I'll let ya know what I find.