GerryCMBB Posted July 13, 2015 Share Posted July 13, 2015 (edited) Hello: Just trying the demo on my Surface Pro 3, Windows 8.1 machine. Black screens when I am asked to accept the resolution choices. Then the text menus show up but when I load the scenario I get an exception error. Any help appreciated. Gerry Edited July 13, 2015 by GerryCMBB 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schrullenhaft Posted July 13, 2015 Share Posted July 13, 2015 (edited) Is your copy of CMBB an eLicense protected version ? If so, then you may need to add an exception within DEP (Data Execution Prevention). However this error typically appears as soon as you try to run the game (and you do NOT see any menus before the error shows up). If your copy of CMBB is simply the 'disc-based protection' (where the CD has to be present in the optical drive to run the game), then the Data Execution Prevention setting is NOT needed and will not resolve the problem. It is also possible to get a 'c0000005' error when the resolution selection process has finished without a resolution being selected (an error originating from DirectX). In this particular case it may be an issue of an incorrect resolution being selected and the display/driver possibly having a problem showing it. If that is the case, then you may need to delete the "Prefs" file to perform the resolution selection process again. I'm not sure if a newer Intel video driver may help here or not (if the error appears to be a problem with resolution selection). The driver is the same for each CPU your Surface 3 has (all of them utilize video integrated into the CPU). There is the i3-4020Y (HD 4200), i5 -4300U (HD 4400) and the i7-4650U (HD 5000). However, I have no idea if this newer driver (if it is newer than what you currently have) will help with the issue or not. The Surface Pro 3 has a native resolution of 2160x1440. The largest common resolution the the CMx1 series supports is 1600 x 1200. There is a 2xxx x 14xx resolution that I've heard of once or twice, but I can't remember what it exactly is; it may be higher than the native resolution of the Surface Pro 3, in which case 1600 x 1200 will typically be the first attempted resolution. Remember, CMx1 games will try a resolution out at the highest vertical refresh rate that the driver may support. This could mean that you may initially see 1600 x 1200 at 120Hz or more. You will likely want to wait until you see 60 or 59Hz as the vertical refresh rate (which should hopefully be a legible box with the current resolution and vertical refresh rate written inside of it). Edited July 13, 2015 by Schrullenhaft 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GerryCMBB Posted July 14, 2015 Author Share Posted July 14, 2015 Thanks very much. I am travelling so I don't have the full game with me (I believe when I bought it I downloaded it so there was no CD). So just seeing will the game work for me by trying the demo. 1. What should I see when the system is walking me through the various resolution chopices? All I see is the textbox with the choices. Should something else show up to show the resolution is working? 2. I have searched but cannot find the Prefs file. Any help? 3. Highest resolution I see from the start is 1280 x 960 at 60Hz. I now notice too that every time I start the program it brings up the resolution choices again so looks like it's not saving the choices. 4. Lastly I have been getting more progress each time before the exception error kicks in. Now I just opened the tutorial scenario and saw the graphics for the first time but then teh error occured before I could do anything. Thanks again, Gerry 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schrullenhaft Posted July 27, 2015 Share Posted July 27, 2015 Sorry for not responding earlier (so you're probably not dependent on the Surface Pro 3 now). Answers: 1. What should I see when the system is walking me through the various resolution chopices? All I see is the textbox with the choices. Should something else show up to show the resolution is working? When you launch the game and there is no Prefs file found by the game, then it should go through the resolution selection process automatically (which seems to be what you're experiencing). The screen may go black for a short period and then it hopefully should show a compatible resolution (text info) listed in a small white or green box. This should mention the resolution and possibly the vertical refresh rate (usually 60 Hz for most laptop and LCD/LED displays). For most users with widescreen displays this may start out at the maximum resolution of 1600 x 1200 at whatever vertical refresh rate the display and video card/chip can handle. If one of the resolutions (vertical or horizontal) exceeds your display's capability to show it, then you may not be offered certain resolutions. It appears that your display is maxing out at 1280 x 960, though the Surface Pro 3 should be capable of up to 2160 x 1440 (which would seem to accommodate the 1600 x 1200 resolution). For some reason the 1600 x 1200 resolution isn't being offered (aspect ratio ?). When you see a resolution listed that you want to use, you can click the 'OK' button on screen or just hit any key on the keyboard to select it. Otherwise it will time out (5 - 10 seconds) and go on to the next lower refresh rate and/or resolution. If the resolution isn't compatible with your display, then it may either appear all black or it may appear scrambled (usually seen with analog displays). If nothing is selected by the time the resolution selection process reaches 800 x 600 at 60Hz, then you will get an error (similar to what you have see previously 'c0000005', but it is probably a bit different than the exact one you've reported earlier in the thread). This is normal and all you have to do is re-launch CMBB to start the game again to go through the resolution selection process again. 2. I have searched but cannot find the Prefs file. Any help? You may want to launch the game by right-clicking and selecting "Run as administrator" from the popup menu. You can also modify the shortcut that you launch CMBB with and have it 'Run as administrator' automatically (right-click > 'Properties' > 'Compatibility' > 'Settings' > 'Run this program as an administrator'). When the game is NOT run with the 'run as admin' setting, the Prefs file gets save to a 'VirtualStore' directory rather than its actual game directory (the same is true of saved games, etc.), which is normally hidden (with other system files) and you have to unhide it to see it. In File Manager go to the 'View' menu > towards the right side of this 'ribbon' check mark the boxes for 'File name extension' and 'Hidden items'. With these check you should hopefully be able to see previously hidden files and directories. To find the CMBB prefs file go to: Users\{your user name}\AppData\Local\VirtualStore\Program Files (x86)\Battlefront\Combat Mission Barbarossa to Berlin Demo\ Within this directory you should find the Prefs file ('Combat Mission BB Prefs'), if it has been written out. 3. Highest resolution I see from the start is 1280 x 960 at 60Hz. I now notice too that every time I start the program it brings up the resolution choices again so looks like it's not saving the choices. If the game is not able to exit successfully (you've been crashing every time you launch it), then the Prefs file is not getting written out. Depending on where you're locking up, if you are able to get to the main menu, then you may just want to exit the game there. The next time you start up it should have written out the Prefs file and you shouldn't have to select the resolution again on the next launch. 4. Lastly I have been getting more progress each time before the exception error kicks in. Now I just opened the tutorial scenario and saw the graphics for the first time but then teh error occured before I could do anything. I didn't play extensively with CMBB on the Radeon to see if there is any specific issue to CMBB 1.04 and Windows 8.1. It's possible that there may be an issue with the Intel drivers that you're using. I'm not sure if the latest Intel driver update will work with the Surface Pro 3 or if you have to use what Microsoft or Windows Update provides. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GerryCMBB Posted August 4, 2015 Author Share Posted August 4, 2015 Thanks very much. I am back on my regular machine now but may try some of this before the next trip. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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