Post-installation issues (Win 98 SE)
by David Chinitz · in Marble Blast · 02/20/2004 (9:04 am) · 4 replies
I recently installed Marble Blast Gold on my wife's computer (Dell XPS T450 running Windows 98 SE), resulting in two problems:
1. On-screen lettering in Marble Blast (e.g., "Best Times," "Press W to roll the marble forward") looks fuzzy or distorted and is almost impossible to read.
2. MS Word 2000 no longer starts up. At first it gave an error message saying to increase the setting of MinSPs in SYSTEM.INI or remove recently installed VxDs. I modified SYSTEM.INI, but attempting to start Word still results in the system hanging, or in a blue screen. Other components of Office 2000 run fine. I had to update the video driver to get Marble Blast to run (ATI 3D Rage Pro [atir 3] ver. 4.02); I wonder if that could be causing the problem?
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!!
Thanks,
David
1. On-screen lettering in Marble Blast (e.g., "Best Times," "Press W to roll the marble forward") looks fuzzy or distorted and is almost impossible to read.
2. MS Word 2000 no longer starts up. At first it gave an error message saying to increase the setting of MinSPs in SYSTEM.INI or remove recently installed VxDs. I modified SYSTEM.INI, but attempting to start Word still results in the system hanging, or in a blue screen. Other components of Office 2000 run fine. I had to update the video driver to get Marble Blast to run (ATI 3D Rage Pro [atir 3] ver. 4.02); I wonder if that could be causing the problem?
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!!
Thanks,
David
#2
I am not sure about the problems with MS Word. We have not had any such conflicts reported by other users, but I suppose it could be due to the driver update. Have you tried reinstalling Word, or checking Microsoft's site for updates to it?
02/26/2004 (2:52 pm)
This is the second report of a problem of this nature on a RAGE card using Win98 SE. First, make sure you are using OpenGL (in graphics preferences). Also, is the build of Marble Blast you are using from RealArcade, or from GarageGames? (Just curious, as the other person reporting this problem had the RA build)I am not sure about the problems with MS Word. We have not had any such conflicts reported by other users, but I suppose it could be due to the driver update. Have you tried reinstalling Word, or checking Microsoft's site for updates to it?
#3
The game came directly from GarageGames; no RA build here. I don't find a setting for anti-aliasing.
If the only solution is a new graphics card (as Ben G. suggested to Steve W.), I might try it. But will that necessary fix this problem?
As for the other issue, I haven't had a chance to reinstall MS Word yet but will give it a try.
02/29/2004 (9:31 am)
Thank you both for the suggestions. My problem with text sounds very much like Steve Wertz's. I can't use OpenGL because mouse and keyboard response times are so slow as to make the game unusable. And under Direct3D, all text after the opening screens is distorted.The game came directly from GarageGames; no RA build here. I don't find a setting for anti-aliasing.
If the only solution is a new graphics card (as Ben G. suggested to Steve W.), I might try it. But will that necessary fix this problem?
As for the other issue, I haven't had a chance to reinstall MS Word yet but will give it a try.
#4
Getting a new graphics card will greatly improve performance on all your graphical aps. Be careful to get one that matches the slots available on your motherboard, though. Many new graphics cards use the AGP port, which is much faster. Older computers from the Win98 days may not have an AGP port. If this is true of your computer, you will want to get a PCI card.
I would recommend looking at some of the recent Radeon and GeForce cards. The consumer level ones often come in PCI varieties, and should do just fine running MB.
03/02/2004 (12:21 pm)
@David: I can't guarantee that a new graphics card will fix the problem, but it is the most likely cause of the problem. The only other possibility that I can think of is that it has something to do with Win98 SE. There are a lot of Win98 users out there, though, and this is the first we've heard of this problem, so I suspect it to be a combination of that particular card with Win98.Getting a new graphics card will greatly improve performance on all your graphical aps. Be careful to get one that matches the slots available on your motherboard, though. Many new graphics cards use the AGP port, which is much faster. Older computers from the Win98 days may not have an AGP port. If this is true of your computer, you will want to get a PCI card.
I would recommend looking at some of the recent Radeon and GeForce cards. The consumer level ones often come in PCI varieties, and should do just fine running MB.
Solo Hans
I don't why MB would interfere with Word though.(?)
solo.