Someone with computer knowledge, please help!!

[Guest]

[rns91294]

My husband bought me the PC game Zoo Empire.  We only had 128 MB memory, and it requires 256.  So I bought another 128MB card and now have 256.  However, it still is slow, some animals are actually invisible!!  And it keeps freezing, trees dissapear, etc.  I constantly have to save and reload the game.  I spoke to someone a while back who said I may need more memory, but they also told me:

I'm wondering if your AGP driver is installed correctly. Are you using Windows XP now? I want you to check something. On the desktop, do a right click and go to 'properties' then go to the 'settings' tab. Then click the 'advanced' button and go to the 'Geforce 3' tab. Under the section where it says 'adapter information', tell me what it says in the 'bus' section. Then we will go from there.  I do believe you may have a  driver issue causing the animals to be  invisible. > > Also....virtual memory  errors are caused by not enough system  memory.  The  game may actually be running out of memory which could also cause graphical issues.

So I checked, and the AGP is at 1X.  He said:

You should be seeing AGP 2X at least in that information box (bus drive). I suspect that your motherboard chipset drivers aren't installed correctly (these drivers are totally seperate from the Nvidia drivers used when installing the video card). I suspect that the default Windows  XP chipset driver for your motherboard is to blame. When I have a bit  more time, I will try and figure out which standalone driver you need to > > install to fix the issue. I think when we fix the AGP 1X issue, the rest of your problems should go away as well. Basically > > right now, your motherboard and video card aren't 'talking' to each  other properly. This  most likely explains why the game is giving you problems.


But he never got back to me when I asked how to fiz this problem.  Anyone know what I need to do?  Any other suggestions?  Thanks a bunch!!!!

[Tea_and_Fruit]

My brother play the game on a old PC with 128MB memory and a old graphic card.
I play the game with 1GB Memory and a brand new graphic card.

Fact is, that this game is SLOW. I had the same problems as you, then i use a newer Game Patch. And now the game runs a little bit faster.


Maybe you should try a new Game Patch 

[rns91294]

Thank you!!!

Fill me in, where can I get a new game patch?

so you definitely think I have enough memory?  I got a brand new graphic card too for it.

So you also had invisible animals (My giraffe;s are, and myu elephants ears, part of their ears anyway).  But the music will start to skip, tresses start flashing, and then, I can't do anything but reload.  Anything to make this run better would be great.  Where can I get the new game patch, and what is it?  I don't know much about this stuff, but at this point, I am willing to try anyting.  would also still like to change the GAP if anyone has any clues.  Thanks!

[Tea_and_Fruit]

Go to the Homepage from the Distributor (Game Box shows the URL)

I know the german page but wait a moment i search for the US site.

[Tea_and_Fruit]

I found it

http://www.enlight.com/ze/frame.htm

[Tea_and_Fruit]

BTW you can post the game problems in the Forum from the Enlight page.

When i have problems with PC Games i visit the Homepage from the Game Producers / Distributors.

[rns91294]

Crap, I think my husband already downloaded all these patches, so there has to be something else.  Thanks anyway.

I mean, I can not even play for 2 minutes before it needs to be completely shut down and reloaded.  and I still have invisible animals!!  I would really like to try and change the AGP, since that guy seemed to think the driver was set up wrong on my PC.  Does anyone have any clue how to change the 1X to 2 or 4X instead?  Please help!!!!!!

[rns91294]

BTW you can post the game problems in the Forum from the Enlight page.

When i have problems with PC Games i visit the Homepage from the Game Producers / Distributors.

And I just did this too.  Will see if they respond.

[MakTheYak]

I know it's a bit obvious but have you downloaded and installed the latest drivers for your GeForce card?
Does your computer meet all the recommended requirements on the games packaging?
Also, do you find that Windows runs slowly for you in general? If it does then maybe there are a lot of items running on startup that are hogging resources that the game needs...

[rns91294]

Yes, I downloaded all the necessary drivers and game patches.  If you remember, a while back I posted a question about memory and graphics cards.  When we got this game, we knew it required a minimum of 128MB Ram, so we went and got another 128 to total 256.  It required an Nvidia GeForce 2 graphics, so I got a GeForce 3 one!!!  We made sure all the requirements were indeed met so that I could play this game.

Do you think this AGP thing could be it?  I have a Hewlitt Packert XL768 (I think).

Sometimes, mid game, when it freezes and automatically closes out on me, a little icon appears on my tool bar and says "not enough virtual memory".   Now, it requires 128, but recommends 256, which is what I have.  So I should have plenty of memory, right? And I checked to make sure all my memory was running properly too.

I don't think windows runs slower in general (I have windows XP), but maybe it is.  After all, I think my whole computer runs slow to be honest with you.

I have (or had, I think I still have) a disc a co-worker gave me to Tweak Windows. Is this safe to do?  Will this free up the space at start up?  What do I need to do to get rid of all those items running on startup that hog the resources the game needs?

Mark, I really appreciate your trying to help me with this.  I am heading home from work now and logging off for the night.  Might not be back on until tomorrow, but I will be looking forward to your opinion on this one.

Thanks so much!!!!  I love the game, just wish I could play without getting all frustrated!!!!

[Geek Boy]

maybe there are a lot of items running on startup that are hogging resources that the game needs...

Good point.  If you do "CTRL ALT DEL" and then click on Task Manager, there's a tab called "Processes".  Have a look down the list and you can see which background processes are taking up the most system memory.  If you recognise any you think you don't need then highlight them by clicking on them and then click on "End process".  It's also worth pointing out that the 256MB RAM you have is running Windows XP itself.  Everytime you boot up the PC, windows loads into RAM but it optomises itself according to how much is available.  So having installed more memory, you may have given Windows the excuse it needs to run more processes!  In fact, ALL your programs load into RAM (including Office applications) so you may want to shut down other programs as well.  As you open each program, Windows shuts down it's own non-essential processes to allow the others more "room" as it were.  If you have loads of things going at once, it can really slow up!  Just running internet explorer alone can use up 7-8MB.

It's also worth checking in the bottom right hand corner of the screen to see which icons are active.  You may want to try shutting some of those down as well if you don't need them.  Just right click the icon and see if the little pop up has an option to end or close down.

Do you have anti virus?  This is probably one of the worst "background" programs for hogging memory.  Maybe you have it set to "live" or "active" scanning?  In which case, turn this option off and you may find things work better.  We use Sage Line 100 at work and we have F-Secure anti virus (it's a server based application).  With live scanning, Sage is almost impossible to use but if we turn off the active background scan it works just fine.  Just remember to re-activate it when you've finished playing, or just do manual scans every couple of days or so.  I don't have any anti virus at home because in the past, it always caused more problems than it solved.  I would install it and then end up taking it straight back off again!  Besides, most anti virus web sites have one off "patches" you can download for free if you know the type of virus you have.

That's about all I can think of at the moment.  I'm not a PC gamer so I don't have a lot of experience with games not playing properly.  Other than Space Invaders or Pac Man during lunch hour 

[rns91294]

I posted onthe game forum at their site, and they tell me this is a graphic card problem, and the game requires a 16M Nividia Geforce 2 or higher.  Well, I got the Nividia Geforce 3 (from eBay), but that should be even better than the Geforce 2, right?  I mean, if it was the Graphic card, would the game run at all?  And that wouldn't cause my virtual memory problem, bit maybe the invisible giraffe's?

Thanks GB for the tips.  I am at work now, but will definitely try doing those things (I do have the anti visus thing too).

Now what about the Tweak Windows program I have? 

Mark, any other ideas?  Should I buy a new PC?

[Sharon]

This probably won't be as helpful as the other bits you have but do you have a scanner?  I know this sounds weird but the scanner my brother had came with its own software which gobbled up every resourse on the PC.  Apparently it is a well known fact that scanner softeware can do this.  When I say well known it is only well known to people who know    Anyway just a thought.

As for a new PC.  I have given up on upgrades.  Unless you know what you are doing they are like painting the Golden Gate bridge; never ending.  You do one bit and another bit needs doing 

I have resigned myself to buying a new tower every 3-4 years and passing the old one to various members of the family 

[Tower]

I have resigned myself to buying a new tower every 3-4 years and passing the old one to various members of the family 

That's not very nice for us.   

[Sharon]

Whoops 

But I have a very nice family 

[rns91294]

About how much is a new Tower?  Is that all I need to get?  I mean, I don't need a new monitor or anything like that, right?  I wrote to HP to see what they said and I HATE their response.  Basically, it must be the graphic card, because I belive the GeForce 3 supports 4X (anyone know that for the AGP).  Here is their response to me:

Thank you for contacting HP Total Care.

I understand from your e-mail that you want to set the AGP slot
specification to 4X for installing the GeForce 3 video card.

Sara, in answer to your query, the motherboard shipped with your
computer has an AGP slot which supports only 1X and 2X specifications.
You will not be able to install the AGP 4X Video Cards on your computer
as it does not support AGP 4X video cards. You need to purchase the
video card which is an AGP 2X compliant.

I hope the above answers your query.  If you have any questions please
reply to this email and we will be glad to assist you further.

Once again I thank you for choosing HP Total Care. Assuring you of our
best service at all times.

[Sharon]

The price of tower varies wildly, depending what you have on it.  Do you have Aldi's where you are.  They are, I believe, a German shop that once or twice a do amazing deals on towers.

I no longer buy the package from places like PC world; if your monitor is OK and you don't need a printer why pay for these 'free' extras (which always cost you dearly).

Unfortunately the answer you got is similar to my experiences.  One thing always leads to another and nothing talks to each other, despite what it says on the box.

[rns91294]

Well, I just read that the graphic card supports 2x/4x, so I should be okay, but read somewhere else it doesn't support windows XP?  Does that sound right?  My windows wouldn't run if it didn't support it right?  I mean, my computer runs!!!

I really hate this, and my husband is refusing to buy a new tower for loads of money.  Yet, it is okay for him to insist we get him new back tires, whcih is close to $400 for the two tires because he wants certain ones!!!!  I am so angry right now.

So I still want to try to free up some of the memory and change to AGP 2 to see what happens.  If I still have invisible giraffe's, I am telling my husband to go *#@^ himself and I am buying a new tower.  He says it is stupid to do it just for a game, but since our PC is from 2000, it will be an upgrade for all games and everything else!!!!!

[MakTheYak]

Well if your PC is 5 years old it will certainly be showing its age by now. But it sounds like you have got everything the way it should be, so I don't understand why it doesn't work. It-a makes-a no sense! I've never actually come across games hiding parts of the graphics when they are having problems, but it sounds most likely to be a problem with the graphics cards interface with the machine, or not enough memory (normal or graphical). I can't imagine that if it'll run on a GeForce 2 then a 3 will not have enough memory, and so that leaves not enough memory on your computer, or not being compatible with your machine. You say you have 256Mb memory and so that should be OK unless you have a lot running on startup.

You said that you read it wasn't compatible with Windows XP. Now I would have thought that if it wasn't compatible you wouldn't be able to see Windows either but maybe it's just the 3D part of it that isn't compatible. The 2x/4x shouldn't be a problem as that's just the speed and I don't think games made for a GeForce 2 really bothered much about Graphics Bus speed - it was mostly inconsequential back then.

So I reckon you'd either have to have a good clean out of all running programs to free up memory, or worry whether you bought the wrong graphics card. Where did you read it wasn't compatible with XP? Was it a reputable source?

I know it's kind of a workaround, but can you get the game on the PS2 or anything??! I play most of my games on consoles now for exactly this reason!!!

[rns91294]

Thanks Mark.  I just loked up the graphic card specs online and found this site that didn't have it X'd off for Windows XP.  I don't think I can trust it though.  The game is not available on the PS2, or any other consule.  I asked for Zoo Tycoon 2 for Christmas, and my husband got me Zoo Empire instead because "the graphics looked better".  That was a great thought until I realized I wouldn't be able to see all the graphics.

I guess, if I want to play this game, I need to go out and buy a new tower, which I guess I need anyway.  Thing that sucks is that I just bought the 128MB memory and the graphic card (bought this on eBay, and the memory at Office Depot).  I would love to get a new PC that I can still use the memory in, and maybe even the graphic card, if it is an upgrade from what the new PC is, as I plan to buy the cheapest one available, which is still probably better than what I have.  Thanks.