Disk Not Recognised - Won't Load Game (UPDATED)
Weaver:
Quote from: Ancient Sim on 2006 September 20, 21:53:45
OK, we might just be getting somewhere here. I've done a lot of fiddling about and one of the things I did was download some Nero checker thing. When it tried to access the cd-drive, it came up with an error message that I'd seen before when all this trouble started. This is it:
C:\WINDOWS\system32\cmd.exe
C:\PROGRA~1\Symantec\S32EVNT1.dll. An installable Virtual Device Driver failed Dll initialization. Choose 'Close' to terminate the application
I hit ignore instead and discovered that the Nero checker thingy said there was no cd in Drive E (there was). Entered the above error in Google and found a Microsoft page which gave instructions to remove a key from the Registry. Did this and stopped getting the error. I then went into the Registry and did a search for Symantec entries and removed them all, except a group it refused to let me delete which ha to do with drivers. No change to my cd-drive, but the Game Jackal image no longer worked, it kept asking for the cd.
I have now gone back to yesterday with System Restore and Game Jackal is working again, so it seems that deleting either the key relating to the above error, or the other Symantec stuff, has affected it.
Did you follow this guide at the (ugly long link) Symantec support site?
Make sure to delete the value named VDD and not the actual key VirtualDeviceDrivers (emulated virtual drives / D-Tools & Game Jackal will use these)
Quote from: Ancient Sim on 2006 September 20, 21:53:45
Could this possibly have to do with the CD not working? It seems unlikely as I hadn't altered anything on the pc or downloaded anything, but it seems odd that I can't delete some of the keys, plus I have this Symantec program (Symantec Network Drivers Service) in services.msc that I have no way of removing and it will appear in start-up if I don't disable it ... the strange thing is, I removed Norton Anti-Virus & Firewall at least two months ago and have NO Symantec products on my pc now at all. Of course, it does come bundled with the pc and is no doubt hidden in the restore files somewhere, but that doesn't explain why it will put itself into my start-up folder if I enable it in services.msc. It's the word "drivers" that bothers me, because that's what the error was all about.
If you know that the Symantec products are present and not used in any capacity, there are a few guides and tools to completely remove all traces of lingering files. (I used to have boot issues with the older anti-viruses suites years back, arg!) I don't think any of the products produced by the company could be directly causing issues with the drive.
Quote from: Ancient Sim on 2006 September 20, 21:53:45
I've run a virus check and Ad-Aware, but nothing came up with those. The only thing I can't do is see if the cd-drive is working in Safe Mode because I can't get into it. Everytime I try, the splash screen disappears before I have chance to select anything and Windows just starts up.
There is an easier way I've found to get safe mode guaranteed to load:
Start Menu > Run > msconfig
Select the BOOT.INI tab at the top
Tick the /SAFEBOOT checkbox under Boot Options heading.
Make sure to uncheck the box while in safe mode to return to normal programming.
Quote from: Ancient Sim on 2006 September 21, 18:25:11
I just happened to log into my other account and the CD-drive worked with a CD containing image files. I took it out and put my OFB disk in, but it wouldn't recognise that and even after I rebooted and put it back in, it still showed the folder for the image files disk. This is what happened with the other account when it started going wrong. What is puzzling is that it worked to start with, so I am now leaning very much towards a software problem.
I'm wondering if the optical drives reading capability is impaired - either that or Windows decided to cache the contents of the disk.
IMHO, at the moment there is nothing to directly associate it with definitely being a hardware or software issue, both appear possible causes.
I would go forward with Avalikia's suggestions - check the drivers and update if applicable.
Do you know the manufacturer and model of the DVD drive?
You can pull the details from Device Manager (Start > Run > devmgmt.msc)
Ancient Sim:
The drive is a HL-DT-ST DVDRRW GWA-4164B. I tried your suggestion for getting into Safe Mode and it took 10 minutes to do so, the computer just hung after it had loaded a certain file the same as before (Googled it and thousands of people have the same problem). I was really panicking, thinking I'd never get back in, so I just left the pc and went into another room and it finally made it. All to no avail as the cd-rom won't work in Safe Mode either.
I do have a couple of questions. Is the CD-ROM meant to be shown as a removable drive? I swear it wasn't before, but it is now. I have 4 other removable drives shown as well, but I have no idea what they are. I could swear I had more before, but maybe I am just confused.
I also noticed that the location of the CD-ROM is shown as 0(0) in Device Manager - is that right? Sounds to me as if it might have come loose or something. It did work briefly when I uninstalled it, but then stopped again. I'm just wondering if Windows isn't detecting it properly because it's showing as removable when it isn't, but I don't understand all that technical stuff. Also, not sure if I mentioned it before, but the only option I have in the left-hand panel in My Computer, or if I right-click on the cd-rom, is to "Write these files to CD" - what files??? It's as if it's only seeing it as a writer and not as a player. It even says this for blank disks and it makes no difference whether it's a CD or a DVD.
Weaver:
Quote
I do have a couple of questions. Is the CD-ROM meant to be shown as a removable drive? I swear it wasn't before, but it is now. I have 4 other removable drives shown as well, but I have no idea what they are. I could swear I had more before, but maybe I am just confused.
Are you referring to listings in My Computer?
Your DVD-RW should be under "Devices with Removable Storage" in group detail view.
Quote
I also noticed that the location of the CD-ROM is shown as 0(0) in Device Manager - is that right? Sounds to me as if it might have come loose or something. It did work briefly when I uninstalled it, but then stopped again. I'm just wondering if Windows isn't detecting it properly because it's showing as removable when it isn't, but I don't understand all that technical stuff. Also, not sure if I mentioned it before, but the only option I have in the left-hand panel in My Computer, or if I right-click on the cd-rom, is to "Write these files to CD" - what files??? It's as if it's only seeing it as a writer and not as a player. It even says this for blank disks and it makes no difference whether it's a CD or a DVD.
The drive being listed as 0 is correct in that it is registered as the master (primary) device.
Are you referring to the drive in question or do you have another CD-ROM drive present on the system?
Quote
I tried your suggestion for getting into Safe Mode and it took 10 minutes to do so, the computer just hung after it had loaded a certain file the same as before (Googled it and thousands of people have the same problem). I was really panicking, thinking I'd never get back in, so I just left the pc and went into another room and it finally made it. All to no avail as the cd-rom won't work in Safe Mode either.
Oh well there goes that plan. :P
If Safe Mode was successful, it would have proven likely a software issue was present and loading on the core system essentials remedied the problem. There's still possibility on both defected hardware and clashing software (but not with third-party). On to 'Plan B!'
Quote
The drive is a HL-DT-ST DVDRRW GWA-4164B.
I did a little research digging and think I've found the original manufacturer (LG) and model (GWA-4164B).
The problem with firmware on this drive is that most suppliers customise the model and incorrect or generic firmware can cause more problems.
Did you originally purchase the computer system with the drive as a package and if so, which company (HP/Dell/etc)?
Ancient Sim:
The pc was made by Acer and the drive was included with it (it's not even 4 months old yet). Unfortunately, things have got worse insofar as I've been messing about so much in the Registry and so on that the Game Jackal image thing won't work anymore, despite several System Restores to times when previously it did. Don't know if it means anything, but I went into the BIOS and although it shows the drive, it has 0's everywhere (no volume, etc.), although Device Manager still continues to insist it's working properly. It did work briefly after I uninstalled it, but only very briefly and just for the one cd.
On a different note, I found quite a few Registry backups, but I can't install any of them because it's asking for a password. What password? I've entered all the passwords I've ever had on this system and none of them work. These must have been saved automatically and I have never been asked to set a password for anything like this.
If I can't get the Game Jackal thing to work I may as well bite the bullet and try restoring everything back to factory default. If that doesn't work, it'll have to be a phone call to Acer on Monday. I just need to find a virtual drive somewhere to store all my files, otherwise I will lose everything as obviously I can't put them onto cd, unless I can work out how to copy them onto the pc upstairs and then transfer them back (so far I've only worked out how to share and if I delete on one pc, it deletes it on the other, which would be a disaster). Not sure whether the Game Jackal thing would still work if I did that, though.
Chances are the drive has just packed in, it sounds as if it's a pretty crappy one. Seems a bit unlikely though, the ones on the other PC's are years old and they've never been any trouble at all.
Sleepycat:
Quote from: Ancient Sim on 2006 September 22, 22:22:58
unless I can work out how to copy them onto the pc upstairs and then transfer them back (so far I've only worked out how to share and if I delete on one pc, it deletes it on the other, which would be a disaster). Not sure whether the Game Jackal thing would still work if I did that, though.
when you are on the other computer, open the folders that contain all your stuff, drag and drop them onto the desktop or a folder that is located on (the harddrive of) your upstairs pc. You should then have copys of your stuff on the upstairs computer that won't get deleted if you delete the ones on your downstairs one. At the moment it sounds like you are just looking at the shared folders and not copying anything over to the upstairs computer. correct me if I am wrong
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