crashes under Win7 x64

[campb2922010]

I have installed and reinstalled Links 1.05 and patched to 1.07. Every few minutes I get a links has stopped working message and this dump:

Problem signature:
Problem Event Name: APPCRASH
Application Name: LINKSMMIII.EXE
Application Version: 22.10.2.41
Application Timestamp: 485ac5c2
Fault Module Name: LINKSMMIII.EXE
Fault Module Version: 22.10.2.41
Fault Module Timestamp: 485ac5c2
Exception Code: c0000005
Exception Offset: 0029dbe2
OS Version: 6.1.7600.2.0.0.256.48
Locale ID: 1033

Additional information about the problem:
LCID: 1033

I searched around here but found no solution. I am running a core i7 on a X58 mobo with a gtx260 graphics card. I have seen the thread about nvidia and links, but it didn't mention the specific linksmmiii file error. I have tinkered with compatibility modes for both the install and running the program... no help. I have a few other games... mirror's edge, call of duty, crysis, all run without problems. Ideas for my poor Links 2003?

[tomk2542]

Links, Windows 7 work ok, with most ATI cards but very few if any Nvidia cards, I think that is where your problem stems from.

[campb2922010]

[Sam_Givens]

[jurgie]

Here is a really easy soloution to the compatability problem between Windows 7, Nvidia and the Links 2K3 game. Not only a soloution but also a setup that will not cost you an arm and a leg so as to speak. When I went from XP Pro to Vista 64, I soon realized that a lot of my favorite older games which ran problem free in XP had issues in the Vista platform or did not run at all in Vista. It was really a frustrating experience. I am running dual Nvidia 9800GTX cards in my machine but I have solved the compatability issue by having two seperate drives, one with the XP Pro platform and the other is running Vista 64. They are in caddies, which are inclosed cases that house each drive and all you do is slide them in and out of the machine depending on which drive you wish to employ. After you slide them into the machine, the drive is locked in with a small key to prevent it from being accidentally removed while the computer is running. To change drives you merely unlock the drive when the machine is off and simply slide the drive out and the new one in, lock the drive in place boot the computer back up. I have all my older games including Links on the XP drive and use that drive just for the purpose of gaming. It is only a 300 gig drive but is more than enough for the gaming that I do. The Vista drive is a 600 gig drive which I use for the newer games and just regular computer tasks. If and when I decide to go to Windows 7, I will either istall that platform on my Vista 64 drive or just set up another drive caddy that I can slide into the computer. I have had this setup now for several months and as far as I am concerned it is the only way to go if you have older applications that you want to run but also want the luxury of being able to run the newer stuff. It beats the heck out of a dual boot setup and certainly solves the problem of changing out graphic cards.

[Sam_Givens]

[jurgie]

First of all Sam, when I went to Vista from XP Windows 7was just a rumor and not a reality. There is little doubt in most peoples mind that Vista 32 or 64 was and still is a patform that has numerous problems in regards to running a lot of window based applications. It certainly was a profound dissappointment to me. Windows 7 however is an entirely different animal. The Windows 7 Platform is probably the best operating system that microsoft has served up since the introduction of Windows 98. The point I was making is that by having caddied drives you can have the best of both worlds. Everybodie's computer needs and preferences are different and certainly are not or at least should not be dictated by one game that happens to have issues in one platform or another. If you enjoy Windows 7 and it meets all your computer need, why in the world would you not use it? Computer technology literally changes overnight and I for one welcome the change. Change is usually a sign of progress isn't it? I was merely pointing out an easy and hassel free way to enjoy both the older as well as the newer aspects of computering.

[Ron Lane]

What caddie system are you using? I'm definitely interested.

[Mailman]

Jurgie,

I had never considered what you are suggesting. I currently have a dual-boot sytem (Win 7 and XP both 32 bit) and only use XP for my TV tuner card and 1 or 2 games that I play sporadically. I have 2 hard drives in my PC with XP (and some partitions) on the older drive with Windows 7(and some more partitions) on the newer drive. What is the advantage in using your set-up as opposed to what I have? Just curious really.

[Howie97]

Hello Mailman, Jurgie, and all... I have taken Mailman's process 1 step further. I actually triple boot XP Professional, Vista Business, and Windows 7 x64. I just purchased a second HD that I have Windows 7 on. I have also been pounding my head trying to get Links to run under 7. Even when I can get it to run under 7 briefly , I can't get AA to run without losing the golfer and the overhead ball flight. I am able to get AA to work under XP with the addition of nHancer. Although I think that is a nice setup Jurgie, I don't understand why multi-booting is a problem. I also have considered the move to ATI to replace my not-so-old nVidia 9800GTX, but found that isn't quite so simple as it sounds. I would at least have to do a BIOS flash to my mobo to have it recognize the ATI card which can always be as much of a crap-shoot as a space shuttle launch. I've also read that ATI isn't a guaranteed fix, just more likely to work. I think people are at least still trying to fix the problem so I'll be patient knowing that teeing it up perfectly is still only a reboot away!

[jurgie]

Thanks for your coments and interest in a caddy drive setup guys, I appreciate your input. Here are a few things that I should mention that got me interested in the caddy set up. I originally had a dual boot set up on my machine with Vista 64 and XP Pro 32 installed on a 600 gig hard drive. It was not long after I this computer that I started to notice conflictual problems on each side of the OS partition. Particularily on the XP side. These issues included freeze ups, crashes and bootup problems only to mention a few. It is quite possible that because one side was a 64 bit setup and the other 32 that most of the issues were primarily because of that. It got to the stage where every bootup was an adventure because you were never sure as to what new p[roblems you might encounter. I finally called a computer builder friend of mine to see if he could offer a solution to my computer woes. He immediately told me that dual boot setups can be problematic and that a lot of his service calls involved computers that were running dual boot systems. He suggested a caddy drive setup as the ideal and most cost effective way to go. Being that this machine is fairly new and the fact that I already have the two operating systems, the only money I would have to put out would be the cost of an additional internal hardrive, and the caddy trays. The first thing I said to him is what the hell is a caddy tray setup? I like many of you had never heard of such a thing. After he gave me a brief explanation of how it works, I knew that this is the ideal set up for me. The only reason that I have Vista 64 on my other caddy drive is because I already had the platform with a lot of applications installed, and I really could not afford at that time to invest in a completetely new OS. This whole setup change cost me a little over $200.00 US dollars and that included his labor costs to make the changes. The caddy slides in on rails similar to the ones used by your DVD/CD Rom player on the front of your case. The hardrive sits in an aluninum case that has a handle mounted on the front of the case. Once you slide this case all the way into the slot, the handle on the font is pushed down to lock the drive securely into place and it is now properly connected. There is a small key provided which when inserted into keyhole and turned prevents the drive from being accidentally disengaged while the computer is booted up. To change drives, all you do is unlock the drive once the computer is turned off with the provided key, lift the handle up and slide the case out. You can then insert your other drive caddy, lock it in, boot up and you are ready to go using the other OS. The whole operation takes less than half a minute. I will find out where caddies were purchased. I could not get a hold of my computer friend this morning because he is on the golf course. ("Hate That Guy", LOL) I do know however, that they are available through several computer parts suppliers. Basically what he did was copy both of my Platforms to seperate hardrives and unpartitioned my original drive. He then transferred the Vista 64 OS back onto the 600 gig drive. He then transferred the XP Pro to the new 300gig drive(Western Digital) that I purchased new for under $70.00.The Caddy SATA Tray cost me $79.95. He charged me $97.50 for the labor involved of transfering the OS's to their respective drives. I have had this setup now for about 5 months, and it works flawlessly. I thought I would share this information with you guys who are running Windows7 and canot get Links to perform properly. In my mind, the caddy is a soloution to this annoying problem which really is not cost prohibitive. I am sure that sometime this year I will buy the Windows7 OS and I will caddy that platform as well. I should have all the information in regards to the where and hows about the caddy setup when I get a hold of my buddy. When I do, it will be posted here. PM me if you have any additional questions.

[Sam_Givens]

[Jess and Jack Dad]

But Sam, the majority of PCs purchased are still purchased as a complete entity from retailers, OS already packaged. As people replace, even if they are only doing so to upgrade on HD space or otherwise, they are also getting the Windows 7 package. In addition, they're replacing systems that were also bought complete, with an OEM version of XP or Vista or whatever, so they don't necessarily have the option of keeping their outdated OS, just because it runs one or 2 old apps or games the way they like.

Thought I'd put an extra para in here, to keep you sweet

I liked XP when I had it, and hated Vista, but 7 does the job better than either. I know that's my opinion, and I'm not forcing it on you. But you might want to read your posts before you submit them sometimes.
[/b]

[Daniel]

Sam using Caddies is easy very easy even my 10 year old grandson uses them.What you get with a caddy is an inner case that fits perminantly in your compter tower at the front, there are bays for them just like your DVD drive. Then you have an inner case this is where you fit your hard drive.The wire fittings that fit to your hard drive from your motherboard fit exactly the same on the perminantly installed inner case.All you do then is slide the caddy in the case and it slots into fittings at the back of the inner case and thats all there is to it.

[jurgie]

Thank you for the coments guys, even for your thoughts in regards to this matter Sam. You know the old sayin,"Different Strokes For Different Folks." Some people just hate to get out of their comfort zone either because they are ill informed or anything different is just too intimidating to deal with. You are absolutely correct in stating that this is a very simple setup soloution Daniel. This is truly the best modest computer hardware investment I have ever made and it sure solved the Links compatability isuue for me. My caddies are called "Serial ATA". After doing a little research on the net, I found a very similar caddy offered at newegg. They are very modestly priced. I will post more information as soon as I hear from my computer tech friend. By the way Sam, I have absolutely no vested interest or other connections regarding the sale of drive caddies. I am only presenting a soloution for a lot of frustrated Links players so they are able to enjoy playing this game without all the new platform hassels. If my memory serves me correctly; you were also the same guy who swore up and down that there was no way to force AA into the L2K3 game with Nvidia Graphic Cards in XP or anyother platform, right Sam? Have a nice day!

[Mailman]

Jurgie,

Yes I can see looking around UK sellers that these drive caddies are relatively inexpensive. For portability and an additional layer of security I can see a niche for these.

Re the dual-boot scenario that I have run with various system for a couple of years now, the trick appears to be in the organisation of partitions (I have 12 logical partitions), segregation of the OS partitions onto separate physical disks (XP on the 250GB disk and Win 7 on the 500GB disk) and order of installing the operating systems making up a multi-boot system. The last time I set them up, I did a fresh install of both operating systems within the same day. I also take care to segregate installing applications onto the respective physical disks where their parent OS resides. I cannot recall having issues relating to the fact that I have a dual-boot system but I might have been fortunate and/or wise in how I have set things up. Possibly having both XP and 7 systems as 32-bit may have helped not really seen evidence either way on that. As my default is set-up to load into Windows 7 I'm happy with how things are working for me. Now all I'm waiting for is stuff like the BBC iPlayer and DigiTV to work flawlessly on Windows 7 and then it may be sayonara to XP for good. Being on ATI now with graphics Links is not my reason for booting into XP.

[Mailman]

Jurgie,

Yes I can see looking around UK sellers that these drive caddies are relatively inexpensive. For portability and an additional layer of security I can see a niche for these.

Re the dual-boot scenario that I have run with various system for a couple of years now, the trick appears to be in the organisation of partitions (I have 12 logical partitions), segregation of the OS partitions onto separate physical disks (XP on the 250GB disk and Win 7 on the 500GB disk) and order of installing the operating systems making up a multi-boot system. The last time I set them up, I did a fresh install of both operating systems within the same day. I also take care to segregate installing applications onto the respective physical disks where their parent OS resides. I cannot recall having issues relating to the fact that I have a dual-boot system but I might have been fortunate and/or wise in how I have set things up. Possibly having both XP and 7 systems as 32-bit may have helped not really seen evidence either way on that. As my default is set-up to load into Windows 7 I'm happy with how things are working for me. Now all I'm waiting for is stuff like the BBC iPlayer and DigiTV to work flawlessly on Windows 7 and then it may be sayonara to XP for good. Being on ATI now with graphics Links is not my reason for booting into XP.