Combat
Mission: Barbarossa to Berlin Troubleshooting Guide
As with any issue, please be sure to review the
Troubleshooting Section of the game manual and the dedicated Combat
Mission Tech Support Forum (located here: http://www.battlefront.com/cgi-bin/bbs/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=forum;f=8)
as your particular issue may already be covered in there.
INDEX:
Install
Issues (PC)
Install Issues (Mac)
General Issues (PC)
General Issues (Mac)
Video Issues (Nvidia)
Video Issues (ATI)
Video Issues (SiS)
Video Issues (Kyro)
Problem: Setup
halts part way through the install process. May indicate a problem
reading a specific file or resource.
Cause/Solution
#1: Could be a dirty
or scratched CD. Use some rubbing alcohol and dilute it with
water (about a capful total) Dip a cotton swab or Q-tip into
the solution and then gently rub the soaked swab across the shiny
surface of the CD. Be sure to work any area that show smudges
or scratches. Let the CD air dry. Reinsert the CD and try to
reinstall. You can also use any aftermarket CD Cleaning kit or
cleaning system to do the above.
Cause/Solution
#2: Some DVD and
CD drives can have a problem reading a CD that is as full
as the
CMBB one
(almost 100% full). Try copying the entire "CMBB Installer.exe" (might
be called Setup.exe on older CMBB versions) file from the
CD to your hard drive first and then running the install
from the hard drive.
Cause/Solution
#3: Try and put the CMBB disc
in a different CD drive if your system has more than one and
then launch the installer
Problem: Computer or CD Drive seems to hang/freeze when trying to
launch the game installer.
Cause/Solution: Some
CD/DVD Drives can have problems reading and accessing a disc with
as much data (over 650 megs) as the CMBB disc. While it
may appear that your computer has frozen it may be that the CD/DVD
drive is trying to read the full CD's contents. This can sometimes
take upwards of 10 minutes (or more) for the drive to finish. If it
seems like your computer is frozen when the CD is accessed the first
time,
be
patient, give it about 10 minutes and see if the system does not unfreeze
and proceed as normal. After the CD/DVD drive finally completes scanning
the game disc you should be able to launch the installer. Be sure to
also turn off any virus checking programs as they can increase the
time it takes for a CD drive to scan the CD contents by a large amount.
Problem: Game
won't install and procedure in Troubleshooting guide to manually
install the game won't work as there are no seperate folders shown
on game disc.
Cause/Solution: The
installer for CMBB was changed after the manuals were printed. On
your CMBB disc you will see only a single 600meg+ file called "CMBB
Installer.exe" (might be called Setup.exe on older CMBB versions).
To manually install CMBB, copy that file to your computer and then
run it.
Install
Issues (Mac):
Problem: Install
doesn't give any completion message but seems to halt and when game
is launched a "OpenPlayLib wasn't found" error message
appears.
Cause/Solution
#1: CMBB requires at least 2 gigabytes of space on
the hard drive in order to be installed. The error message indicates
that the entire install did not complete properly. Ensure you
have at least 2 gigabytes of space free and then re-launch the
install.
Cause/Solution
#2: If you are sure you have adequate space and it
seems the full game did install but it is still reporting the
error above you can manually install the OpenPlay modules. From
the CD, double click the "Data4" icon (you may need
to scroll the CD window to locate this icon). This should install
the Openplay files.
Problem: Setup
halts part way through the install process. May indicate a problem
reading a specific file or resource.
Cause/Solution
#1: Could be a dirty
or scratched CD. Use some rubbing alcohol and dilute it with
water (about a capful total) Dip a cotton swab or Q-tip into
the solution and then gently rub the soaked swab across the shiny
surface of the CD. Be sure to work any area that show smudges
or scratches. Let the CD air dry. Reinsert the CD and try to
reinstall. You can also use any aftermarket CD Cleaning kit or
cleaning system to do the above.
Cause/Solution
#2: Try and put the CMBB disc
in a different CD drive if your system has more than one and
then launch the installer.
General
Issues (PC):
Problem: Game
reports that CD needs to be inserted in order to load the game.
Cause/Solution
1: The CD does have
to be inserted into the CD Drive in order to launch the game.
Once the game has loaded the CD can be removed.
Cause/Solution
2: Make sure that Windows is not
trying to launch the game in Compatibility Mode. Right click on
the shortcut used to launch the game, select the Compatibility
tab at the top, make sure no boxes are checked on the Compatibility
Properties page.
Problem: Game
reports that CD needs to be inserted in order to load the game but
CD is in the CD drive. I have Windows XP/2000.
Cause/Solution: Windows
may have enabled "Compatibility Mode" for CMBB. This can
occur if you upgrade to XP/2000 from an earlier OS of if you turned
it on manually. To check this, please right click on the shortcut
that points to CMBB. Select Properties and on the next page select
the Compatibility tab. Now make sure none of the boxes are
checked on that page. Click Apply or OK to close the window and then
re-launch the game.
Problem: When
game is launched it reports that a resolution of at least 800x600
is required in order to run but my desktop is set to 800x600 (or
higher) already.
Cause/Solution #1: Whatever
video card you have is not properly identifying itself and as
such the game does not know what video resolutions it can support.
You should reinstall the latest video drivers available for your
video card and also reinstall/upgrade your version of DirectX.
You
can download the newest version of DirectX (currently 9.0a) directly
from Microsoft here:
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=A19BED22-0B25-4E5D-A584-6389D8A3DAD0&displaylang=en
Problem: Sound
in game used to work but is now silent.
Cause/Solution: The
sound in the game can be toggled between ON, ON+Ambient and OFF.
These settings are toggled via the Shift-S keystroke.
Problem: When
mouse is moved across the screen it leaves a trail of corrupted graphics.
Cursor itself may also appear as a white block.
Cause/Solution: That
is usually caused by running with Custom Mouse cursors or having
a Windows Theme Packs installed. Make sure that you are only using
the Standard Windows Default Mouse cursor and disable or uninstall
any custom mouse animations and effects that may have been loaded
with a Theme pack. You may also want to upgrade your mouse drivers
as applicable. Check with the manufacturers website for updated mouse
drivers.
Problem: When
game is launched an Unhandled Exception: c0000005 at address: 0053d978 & 005419e5
(can also be some other addresses but they always start with c0000005)
error occurs.
Cause/Solution: At
some point a DirectX component file has become corrupted or is no
longer correctly functioning. In order to resolve this issue you
should re-install DirectX. Recommend the latest version, which is
now DirectX 9.0a and can be obtained directly from Microsoft at the
following URL:
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=A19BED22-0B25-4E5D-A584-6389D8A3DAD0&displaylang=en
Problem: When
viewing a turn in the Action Phase, the timer jumps to the end
of the turn or displays random numbers. Action on screen may or
may not be affected.
Cause/Solution
#1: Make sure you are not
running and Instant Messenger software in the background. Programs
like MS Messenger and AIM can cause this to occur.
Cause/Solution
#2: Someodler Dell computers
had a problem correctly computing their Windows "UPTIME".
This causes the game to loose its timing and corrupt the action
playback. Contact Dell for an updated Bios which should fix this
problem
General
Issues (Mac):
Problem: Game
reports that CD needs to be inserted in order to load the game.
Cause/Solution: The
CD does have to be inserted into the CD Drive in order to
launch the game. Once the game has loaded the CD can be removed.
Problem: I
have OS-X installed and CMBB won't run.
Cause/Solution: CMBB
does not support OS-X in either native or classic mode. In order
to play you will need to setup your Mac to dual boot with a dedicated
9.x bootable partition and play the game from there.
Problem: I
have a Mac with a Radeon video card installed (8500, Mobility 9000,
9000 Pro) and I am getting what looks like psychedelic graphics
displayed when playing the game.
Cause/Solution: ATI
has just released a Hotfix software update that resolves this issue.
The file can be found here: http://www.ati.com/support/infobase/4380.html
Problem: Sound
in game used to work but is now silent.
Cause/Solution: The
sound in the game can be toggled between ON, ON+Ambient and OFF.
These settings are toggled via the Shift-S keystroke.
Video
Issues- Nvidia cards
(Geforce-GeForce 4, FX series cards)
Problem: Game
seems to lock up or display a black screen immediately after game
is loaded, you may hear the intro music or sound still. Video card
is a Nvidia (GeForce, GeForce 2,3, 4 or newer FX card) and you have
newer drivers (41.09 or higher) installed for it.
Cause/Solution
#1: The problem is with the video drivers. They have
a problem properly initializing the screen graphics when Anti-Aliasing
is enabled. Turn off Full Screen Anti-aliasing for your video
card. This can be done via the video cards display properties
panel.
Cause/Solution
#2: Minimize CMBB by pressing Alt-Tab and then
re-maximize it by clicking on its icon on the Task bar. The display
should properly refresh and everything should be visible again.
If it does not, you can click the mouse buttons a few times,
your system may seem to freeze for a few seconds or it may even
beep one time (Windows Application error beep) but after about
20 seconds the screen may properly re-appear.
Cause/Solution
#3: Since those drivers will
not correctly work when Anti-Aliasing is enabled you maybe able
to install older video drivers which will work fine and allow
you to use Anti-Aliasing.
Cause/Solution
#4: See the Problem entry below
for another possible fix.
Problem: Game
seems to lock up or display a black screen immediately after game
is loaded, you may hear the intro music or sound still. Game may
also display a black screen when minimizing and maximizing back in.
Cause/Solution: This
issue on some Windows XP systems has also been traced to the installation
of a Microsoft Hotfix from their Windows Update service. If none
of the above solutions are working for you, you may want to try and
uninstall Windows Hotfix #328310 (also called MS02-071: Flaw in Windows
WM_TIMER Message Handling Can Enable Privilege Elevation).
Depending
on how your system has been configured you may or may not be able
to remove that hotfix. Check the Add/Remove Programs list accessed
via the Control Panel. If you see it listed,( it should be listed
under "Windows XP Hotfix (SP2) Q328310"), remove it and
see if the problem continues.
UPDATE: There
is a new Windows XP Update accessible from the Windows Update website
that apparently resolves the problem with the #328310 Hotfix. We
recommend you download that new update first before trying anything
else.
Problem: All
in game text and scenario list appears blank.
Cause/Solution
#1: The problem is with the video drivers. They
have a problem properly initializing the screen graphics when
Anti-Aliasing is enabled. Turn off Full Screen Anti-aliasing
for your video card. This can be done via the video cards display
properties panel.
Cause/Solution
#2: Minimize CMBB by pressing Alt-Tab and then
re-maximize it by clicking on its icon on the Task bar. The display
should properly refresh and everything should be visible again.
Problem: In
game text is corrupt or colored improperly. I have a GeForce FX5200
video card.
Cause/Solution: This
seems to be isolated to the FX5200 series cards and is a bug in the
Nvidia drivers. You can use Alt-Tab to minimize and then maximize
the game to get the text to appear normally but you can only use
the Alt-Tab solution once per game session. If you Alt-Tab out and
back in a second time the problem will reoccur and will persist until
you reboot. UPDATE: Recent Nvidia drivers seem to
have fixed this issue.
Problem: In
game textures/graphics seem to have a black or miscolored border
around them. Video card is a Nvidia FX series (5200, 5600, 5800,
5900).
Cause/Solution: This
seems to be a bug in the recent Nvidia drivers and occurs with the
Nvidia FX series video cards when you frequently task switch in and
out and of the game. You can use Alt-Tab to minimize and then maximize
the game to get the graphics to appear correct.
Problem: When
game launches the monitor goes black and reports a error message
that says "scan frequency out of range" or similar message.
Monitor may also display graphics which seem very distorted and duplicated
repeatedly across the screen.
Cause/Solution
#1: The game will launch in the same resolution
and refresh rate that your desktop is set to but Windows can
sometimes report those settings incorrectly. Check in Windows
Hardware/Device Manager that your monitor is not listed as "Default
Monitor". If it is, check with your monitor manufacturer
for specific drivers. Windows should list your monitor with the
correct make and model, if it does not, Windows will not be able
to access all the refresh rates and resolutions your monitor
supports.
Cause/Solution
#2: With
the later versions of Detonator Drivers you should be able
to manually assign a refresh rate
for any chosen desktop resolution. Click on Start>Settings>Control
Panel>Display, then click the Settings tab and press the
Advanced button. Now click on the "GeForce" or
similarly named tab. Find the "refresh Rate Overrides
Settings, and click the "Override refresh rates" bullet
point. Now scan the list for your chosen desktop screen resolution
and make sure a check is placed in the "16bit" column.
It can haves checks in the 8bit column and 32bit as well
if you choose. CM only runs in 16bit. In the refresh Rate
column, select the current entry (most likely it will say "Default")
and choose a low refresh rate, like 60Hz. Click OK twice
to close the control panel. Now try and relaunch the game.
You can go back and raise the refresh rate up a little at
a time until you reach your monitor maximum setting.
Cause/Solution
#3: If you have a GeForce video card download
and install the NVRefreshTool utility which will allow you
to customize the refresh rate for any resolution and bit depth
(Note:CMBB
always runs in 16 bit color mode). Try setting your desktop
resolution to 60Hz and then launch the game. You can experiment
with raising
the refresh rate higher until you reach the limit of your monitor.
In general, the higher the refresh rate the less the screen
will appear to "flicker". Check with your monitor
manufactures to locate the monitors highest support refresh
rate by resolution.
You can download
the NVRefreshTool utility from this webpage: http://www.guru3d.com
Problem: My
game is playing very slow and I have a Nvidia card (GeForce-GeForce
4 or FX) in my computer.
Cause/Solution: This
seems to be a bug introduced in some Nvidia drivers released after version
41.09. Nvidia has recently released a new driver version (52.16)
which fixes the slowdown issue.
Download the new
52.16 drivers from Nvidia's webpage located at www.nvidia.com
NVIDIA
DRIVERS (40.72 and newer) AND FULL SCREEN ANTI-ALIASING (FSAA)
With all Nvidia
drivers released after version 30.87 there has been a persistent
bug which has caused issues in the game when Anti-Aliasing was enabled.
The most common problem reported is invisible text in all 2D portions
of the game interface including all game menu's but you may also
encounter a issue where the entire screen is all black.
There are several
current workarounds for this problem.
A). If you wish
to use these new drivers (current version 52.16) AND also have FSAA
enabled you can minimize (alt-Tab) and then maximize the game. That
should make the hidden text reappear. If the screen started off completely
black and you alt-tabbed in and out and the screen was still black,
move the mouse around the screen and click it several times. Your
mouse may appear to freeze, when it does, click the mouse button
several more times, you may hear a Windows error beep at this point,
after about 15-20 more seconds the game screen should re-appear properly
(This work-around tested with a FX 5600 Ultra).
B). If you disable
FSAA with these drivers you should not have any problems with in-game
text.
C). The older driver
releases (30.82 and 30.87) were both stable, high performing and
did not have this FSAA bug. Those drivers can be found below. Note:
Those drivers will not work with the FX series of cards.
You should be able
to find those drivers listed above either at Nvidia's website at http://www.nvidia.com or
at Guru3d which is located here: http://www.guru3d.com
Video
Issues- ATI cards
(Radeon)
Problem: Game
seems to lock up or display a black screen immediately after game
is loaded, you may hear the intro music or sound still. Video card
is a Radeon card.
Cause/Solution
#1: The problem is with the video drivers. They
have a problem properly initializing the screen graphics when
Anti-Aliasing is enabled. Turn off Full Screen Anti-aliasing
for your video card. This can be done via the video cards display
properties panel.
Cause/Solution
#2: Minimize CMBB by pressing Alt-Tab and then
re-maximize it by clicking on its icon on the Task bar. The display
should properly refresh and everything should be visible again.
Cause/Solution
#3: See the Problem entry
below for another possible fix.
Problem: Game
seems to lock up or display a black screen immediately after game
is loaded, you may hear the intro music or sound still. Game may
also display a black screen when minimizing and maximizing back in.
Cause/Solution: This
issue on some Windows XP systems has also been traced to the installation
of a Microsoft Hotfix from their Windows Update service. If none
of the above solutions are working for you, you may want to try and
uninstall Windows Hotfix #328310 (also called MS02-071: Flaw in Windows
WM_TIMER Message Handling Can Enable Privilege Elevation).
Depending
on how your system has been configured you may or may not be able
to remove that hotfix. Check the Add/Remove Programs list accessed
via the Control Panel. If you see it listed,( it should be listed
under "Windows XP Hotfix (SP2) Q328310"), remove it and
see if the problem continues.
UPDATE: There
is a new Windows XP Update accessible from the Windows Update website
that apparently resolves the problem with the #328310 Hotfix. We
recommend you download that new update first before trying anything
else.
Problem: All
in game text and scenario list appears blank.
Cause/Solution
#1: The problem is with the video drivers. They
have a problem properly initializing the screen graphics when
Anti-Aliasing is enabled. Turn off Full Screen Anti-aliasing
for your video card. This can be done via the video cards display
properties panel.
Cause/Solution
#2: Minimize CMBB by pressing Alt-Tab and then
re-maximize it by clicking on its icon on the Task bar. The display
should properly refresh and everything should be visible again.
Problem: Text
in-game is unreadable (yellow on white) on a Radeon card when Anti-Aliasing
is turned on.
Cause/Solution
#1: This seems to be a persistent bug with the
ATI drivers and anti-aliasing and we usually advise to not use
AA while playing however a workaround has been provided by a
member of our forum which you may wish to try out.
Download this
file http://www.battlefront.com/misc/Radeon_text_fix.zip and
follow the directions in the readme.txt to replace 3 small files
in your CMBB\BMP folder which may resolve this problem.
Cause/Solution
#2: Disable Anti-Aliasing
in your drivers control panel. To do that, set the AA level to
x0 or select Application Preference which does the same thing.
Problem: I
have a ATI Radeon card but I can not see any fog graphics on my PC
with Windows installed.
Cause/Solution: This
is a problem with the drivers that ATI makes for Windows based systems.
For some reason they have decided to not support "fog table
emulation" which is needed to show the fog graphics in CMBB.
Problem: I
have a Radeon 9000 video card and while editing map elevations in
the scenario editor changed elevation numbers do not display.
Cause/Solution: Alt-Tab
out and back in to the game. The proper elevation numbers should
now be displayed.
Problem: When
game launches the monitor goes black and reports a error message
that says "scan frequency out of range" or similar message.
Monitor may also display graphics which seem very distorted and duplicated
repeatedly across the screen.
Cause/Solution
#1: The game will launch in the same resolution
and refresh rate that your desktop is set to but Windows can
sometimes report those settings incorrectly. Check in Windows
Hardware/Device Manager that your monitor is not listed as "Default
Monitor". If it is, check with your monitor manufacturer
for specific drivers. Windows should list your monitor with the
correct make and model, if it does not, Windows will not be able
to access all the refresh rates and resolutions your monitor
supports.
RADEON
VIDEO CARDS AND SLUGGISH GAME PERFORMANCE
If you have a Radeon
video card and are noticing sluggish or stuttering game performance
you may want to try and disable the Z-Mask setting on your card.
Many people have reported substantial performance improvements when
they disabled the Z-Mask. This is a setting that is accessible using
a Radeon Tweak Program which you can find here:
http://www.rage3d.com/r3dtweak/
Video
Issues- SiS Chipset's
SiS
VIDEO CARDS/CHIPSETS
The current drivers
available for your chipset/motherboard via the Microsoft Windows Updater
page should allow the 540, 650, 730 and 740 based SiS chipsets to
work.
Note: The drivers
currently hosted on the SiS page seem to be of an older build than
the Microsoft ones and as such may not work.
Since
many people were having difficulty locating these Microsoft drivers,
we are now hosting them on our website. You can locate the file from
the this link:
http://www.battlefront.com/misc/sis650_740.zip
Download
and extract that file to a temp folder on your computer and erad the
included "install.txt" file to see how to install them.
Please
note: Battlefront.com takes no responsibility for the use of those
video drivers.
Video
Issues- Kyro Chipset's
Problem: Video
Card uses the Kyro or Kyro II Chipset (ex: Hercules Prophet 4500)
and text and graphics in-game are blurry or corrupted.
Cause/Solution: You
will need to add a entry to the registry to clear up the corruption.
Launch the Regedit program and locate the following key:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\PowerVR\KYRO\Game
Settings\D3D
You will need to
add the following entry to that key.
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\PowerVR\KYRO\Game Settings\D3D\Barbarossa to Berlin.exe] "DisableCopyBlt3D"="1"
NOTE: You
must make sure that you enter that entry with the EXACT name of the
game executable. If you for some reason have renamed your game .exe
to be "CMBB.exe" for example that registry entry should
look like this:
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\PowerVR\KYRO\Game
Settings\D3D\CMBB.exe] "DisableCopyBlt3D"="1"
Note: If you are
unfamiliar or uncomfortable with manually editing entries in your
registry you can contact support@battlefront.com and
we will send you a .reg file which can automatically add that entry
to your registry for you.
Battlefront.com
takes no responsibility for any damage that may occur due to editing
your registry.
Problem: Video
Card uses the Kyro or Kyro II Chipset and some solid objects appear
transparent when viewed in front of other transparent objects.
Cause/Solution: You
can do the following at the expense of some performance loss. Go
to Control Panel then click Display Control Panel and then the Settings
tab. Click the Advanced button then click the 3D Optimization tab
then click the Direct3D tab (default). Under the Control Full-Scene
Anti-Aliasing make sure the setting 'Application specified anti-aliasing'
is selected. Check mark the 'Enable External Depth/Stencil Buffer'
and under that check the 'Enable External Depth/Stencil Buffer Storing'.
You may also need
to disable Full Screen Anti-Aliasing if graphic corruption persists.
You might want to view this thread from the Tech Support forum for
a discussion on this issue:
http://www.battlefront.com/cgi-bin/bbs/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=8;t=003746
If
none of the above resolves your problem or if your specific issue
it is not covered then please login to the Tech Support forum and
search through the extensive list of posts as you may very well find
info on it there. If you wish to post a message seeking assistance
to the Tech Support forum please be sure to include as much information
about the problem AND you system as you can so we can assist you
quickly and efficiently. Thank you.
