Dungeon Keeper incompatible with Vista?

  • Thread starter Thread starter DarkMisstress
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DarkMisstress

I am at the end of my tether!

I go to install Dungeon Keeper or Dungeon Keeper Gold on my new Vista PC and
it gets to the title screen with Horny and then closes into a blackbox at the
top left of my screen, minimizes then closes.

I am not the only one who cannot get it running on Vista either as you can
see there are among hundreds of people with this problem:

http://vogons.zetafleet.com/viewtopic.php?t=15412&sid=d83bb96204ea6f54a940aa2d5711e8f2

http://www.compatdb.org/ubbthreads.php/ubb/showflat/Number/178301/page/1

http://z9.invisionfree.com/Keeper_Klan_Forum/index.php?showtopic=1350

http://z9.invisionfree.com/Keeper_Klan_Forum/index.php?showtopic=1092


Is there any patch to get it running on vista? Changing the compatibility
options don't work either!

Will Microsoft actually do anything for this?

Please let me know. Regards.
 
DarkMisstress said:
I am at the end of my tether!

I go to install Dungeon Keeper or Dungeon Keeper Gold on my new Vista PC
and
it gets to the title screen with Horny and then closes into a blackbox at
the
top left of my screen, minimizes then closes.

I am not the only one who cannot get it running on Vista either as you can
see there are among hundreds of people with this problem:

http://vogons.zetafleet.com/viewtopic.php?t=15412&sid=d83bb96204ea6f54a940aa2d5711e8f2

http://www.compatdb.org/ubbthreads.php/ubb/showflat/Number/178301/page/1

http://z9.invisionfree.com/Keeper_Klan_Forum/index.php?showtopic=1350

http://z9.invisionfree.com/Keeper_Klan_Forum/index.php?showtopic=1092


Is there any patch to get it running on vista? Changing the compatibility
options don't work either!

Will Microsoft actually do anything for this?
Click to expand...

It has nothing to do with M$ it is upto the game makers to supply a patch..
But I have Gold running on my Vista machine. Installed as administrator,
didn't have to do anything else.
 
It has nothing to do with M$ it is upto the game makers to supply a
patch.. But I have Gold running on my Vista machine. Installed as
administrator, didn't have to do anything else.
Click to expand...

Found this on VRG
Hi there. Believe it or not, I just finished the entire game again
(for the nth time), but this time on Vista! I was having the exact
same issues as you, crashing, freezing... then I went into the Windows
DEP (Window key+pause - Advanced System Settings - Performace tab,
Settings - Data Execution Prevention tab - Add) then add the
Keeper95.exe to the list. Then go into the program file Keeper95.exe,
right click it and choose compatibility - Windows XP SP2. Now after
all this, if I run the game from the shortcut it won't work! You have
to go into the program files\bullfrog\keeper\ and run the game by
directly clicking on keeper95.exe. Weird, but worked every time!
 
VRG Scotty said:
It has nothing to do with M$ it is upto the game makers to supply a patch..
But I have Gold running on my Vista machine. Installed as administrator,
didn't have to do anything else.
--
VRG Scotty

www.vistareadygames.com
Register, it's free, and use the 'search for solution' tab for any problems
Click to expand...

Fair enough, but surely MS can alter the compatibility list, seeing as they
are the ones who decided to bring out new software.

I've just tried running it as an administrator, but it still doesnt work.
Does the exact same thing. Any other solutions? Thanks.
 
That doesn't work either I'm afraid.

Managed to find any other potential solutions? Thanks.
 
When you do find a way to get it to work please post here what it is you do
to get it working! It's one of my all time favorite games and I'd hate to
not be able to play it anymore. Getting a new gaming notebook next week and
it is loaded with Vista Ultimate 64. I'm hope VRG Scotty's solution works
for me if I run into problems, but I'm counting on DarkMisstress if it
doesn't! Of course I'll post anything I find too.

Best of luck to you!
 
DarkMisstress said:
I am at the end of my tether!

I go to install Dungeon Keeper or Dungeon Keeper Gold on my new Vista PC
and
it gets to the title screen with Horny and then closes into a blackbox at
the
top left of my screen, minimizes then closes.

I am not the only one who cannot get it running on Vista either as you can
see there are among hundreds of people with this problem:

http://vogons.zetafleet.com/viewtopic.php?t=15412&sid=d83bb96204ea6f54a940aa2d5711e8f2

http://www.compatdb.org/ubbthreads.php/ubb/showflat/Number/178301/page/1

http://z9.invisionfree.com/Keeper_Klan_Forum/index.php?showtopic=1350

http://z9.invisionfree.com/Keeper_Klan_Forum/index.php?showtopic=1092


Is there any patch to get it running on vista? Changing the compatibility
options don't work either!

Will Microsoft actually do anything for this?

Please let me know. Regards.
Click to expand...

Wow, 100 people still play Dungeon Keeper? Don't get me wrong, Dungeon
Keeper is the "bee's-knees", but really, 100?

I got it running, forget how, but I believe I used DOSBox and that worked,
and I also ran it in Vista using a lot of compatibility tweaks. I can't for
the life of me remember how.

FYI, good for you keeping the spirit of Bullfrog alive. John Riccitello from
EA just stated that destroying Bullfrog was one of EA's "Biggest Mistakes".

-A.
 
VRG Scotty said:
Found this on VRG
Hi there. Believe it or not, I just finished the entire game again
(for the nth time), but this time on Vista! I was having the exact
same issues as you, crashing, freezing... then I went into the Windows
DEP (Window key+pause - Advanced System Settings - Performace tab,
Settings - Data Execution Prevention tab - Add) then add the
Keeper95.exe to the list. Then go into the program file Keeper95.exe,
right click it and choose compatibility - Windows XP SP2. Now after
all this, if I run the game from the shortcut it won't work! You have
to go into the program files\bullfrog\keeper\ and run the game by
directly clicking on keeper95.exe. Weird, but worked every time!
Click to expand...

I tried that, didn't help me, I did something else to get the game working,
but won't know til I get home tonight. DOSBox is still my recommendation.
The game in DOS lacks some things, but it's playable.

DK2 runs better, but fans don't seem to like that version as much.

-A.
 
Anybody else managed to discover anything which may make DK1 work on vista
without having to use Dosbox which really limits what you can do. i.e :
Editor, Direct 3D, plays in a small window, lags etc.

Thankyou!
 
I tried that windows DEP trick too, didn't work for me either. Now it
just does nothing at all.
Anyone has some different ideas? I've checked practically every forum
there is on this subject and noone seems to have a solution that works
for me! It's always 'just change your compatibillity settings', but
that also doesn't work.

How does DOSbox work? Maybe after all, I'll have to try that...

Ana
 
DOSBox is a GREAT program, it's basically an emulator that emulates an old
DOS system running with old ISA (dos friendly) sound cards like the SB16 and
Gravis UltraSound.

If you have old DOS games, more than likely DOSBox can run them.

It is an emulator though, so you need a fairly robust system to get good
performance out of it, and setup is a little tricky, but once it's working
it should run DK. Best thing to do is Google something like "Dungeon Keeper
DOSBox How-TO."

See what comes up. http://www.dosbox.com/comp_list.php?showID=758&letter=D

Been reading notes online since Dungeon Keeper used to be for Pentium it
requires a fairly high end system to run in DOSBox.

That DEP trick never works

Here's a link to the DOSBox tutorial... live it, love it.
http://www.dosbox.com/wiki/Basic_Setup_and_Installation_of_DosBox


I tried that windows DEP trick too, didn't work for me either. Now it
just does nothing at all.
Anyone has some different ideas? I've checked practically every forum
there is on this subject and noone seems to have a solution that works
for me! It's always 'just change your compatibillity settings', but
that also doesn't work.

How does DOSbox work? Maybe after all, I'll have to try that...

Ana
 
fredskis said:
Hi all. I have been trying to get Dungeon Keeper working with Vista for
a couple of days.
I think I'm onto something but am not really sure what yet so just bare
with me...

On my desktop (Vista Ultimate x64) I get the problem of DK crashing
after the splash screen with a black 640*480 box and no error messages.
I installed it in a 98SE virtual machine using VMWare and it runs well
except the cursor randowly snaps to edges and renders the game pretty
unplayable as selecting anything becomes a very tedious chore.
I also installed it on Microsoft Virtual PC and as on Vista it would
crash after the splash screen.
I was going to install it on an old system running Windows 98SE
natively but while doing so decided to try one last thing...
I installed DK on my laptop (also running Vista Ultimate x64) and voila
it worked! Unfortunately the Direct3d won't work but for some reason it
works on there.
Now for the weird part...
I brought my laptop home from my girlfriend's place and tried playing
on my desktop's monitor but got the same error of crash at splash.
Puzzled I realised that the only change was the resolution, i turned it
back down to the laptop's 1440*900 from 1680*1050 and it worked.
Excitedly I tried this on my desktop but unfortunately it did not work
:(

Now the only thing I can think of being different between these two
machines other than the hardware would be Service Pack 1. However, this
problem, as I understand, has been occurring to others since before it
was released.

If anyone can get it running, what are their system specs?

My laptop is:
Dell Inspiron 6400
Core 2 Duo processor 2Ghz
2GB RAM
NVidia 7300Go
1440*900 resolution

Desktop:
Gigabyte EX38-DS4
Intel E6600
4GB generic RAM
NVidia 8800GTS G92
1680*1050 resolution
Click to expand...

I can't believe so many people still play DK 1. Do you play the Deeper Dungeons expansion?

You may be on to something with the resolution, older DirectX games would sometimes have "trouble" changing resolutions in games. The workaround was to set your computer to the same resolution/color depth that the game runs in.

So if DK runs in 640x480x256 colors, set your desktop to 640x480x256 (8-bit) color, and try the game again.

Oh wait, Vista only goes down to 800x600. Well maybe DK runs in 800x600.

DOSBox buddy, a friend to classic games everywhere.

-A.
 
ok, i have a different problem with vista, cant seem to find many
others with this complaint. I've installed the patch, compatible
XPsp2, all that stuff... but when i go to open a campain or skirmish
or pet dungeon, the game screen is blank. i can pick up imps, if i
float my hand over an area it'll tell me if its the dungeon heart or
walls or whatever, i can select where to dig, but i cant see a thing!
Anyone know what to do?
Click to expand...

DK is extremely difficult to get running under Vista. I would suggest
setting the compatibility tab to Windows 95. Disable Desktop
Composition, and visual themes. Do a little prayer, and try again.

I've heard people will run DK in DOS mode with DOSBox.

Here's another possiblity, I recall trying this and could not get it to
work, but your milage may vary...

(-quote-)
I went into the Windows
DEP (Window key+pause - Advanced System Settings - Performace tab,
Settings - Data Execution Prevention tab - Add) then add the
Keeper95.exe to the list. Then go into the program file Keeper95.exe,
right click it and choose compatibility - Windows XP SP2. Now after
all this, if I run the game from the shortcut it won't work! You have
to go into the program files\bullfrog\keeper\ and run the game by
directly clicking on keeper95.exe. Weird, but worked every time!
(-end-quote-)

Thanks VRG Scotty.
 
How I installled Dungeon Keeper on Vista.......1.) Make sure the Bullfrog Directory has no Dungeon Keeper II Folder before re-installing.....2.) Install DKII from original disk and Play it first before any update is applied..... It will Default @ 800x600...3.)The only update that works is the v1.30tov1.61....The v1.30tov1.70 some how must reset cfg to 640x800...Ive uninstalled and re-installed several times on a compaq w/AMD TL-60 w/Nvidia 7000m and works evey time this way...P.s> Still gotta crack 1.7....


Post Originated from http://www.VistaForums.com Vista Support Forums
 
its possible but I don't think that will help, Directx checks to make sure
it doesn't downgrade during install.

sorry, i missed the first part of this, have you downloaded the Directx9
runtimes from microsoft.com? Vista only comes with Directx10 and a lot of
the older stuff is missing. To get it you have to install Directx9 (it won't
downgrade, only fill in the old pieces) go to
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/...38-db71-4c1b-bc6a-9b6652cd92a3&DisplayLang=en

as an alternative to a virtual pc, as a last resort, the Microsoft
Application Compatibility Toolkit has an entry for Dungeon Keeper 1. Looking
at it, there are a bunch of post-win95 fixes. make sure you try running the
game in compatibility mode for Windows95 (right-click on keeper.exe icon in
folder, not in games-explorer. select properties, select compatibility tab,
check run in 256 colors, run in 640x480 and run in compatibility mode for
win95) .

The MACT is fairly tricky to work with but can get just about anything to
work. You might download it (free from
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/...E9-B581-47B0-B45E-492DD6DA2971&displaylang=en) -
the compability administrator is the piece you need.

Hope that helps!
Mark
 
i have the exact same problem ne solutions?
Click to expand...

Amazing how many posts I see every day about this game. Makes me wonder
why someone doesn't port it to iPhone or something. (Oh, right, EA owns
the license)

Easiest solution, install DOSBox (Google it).

You might need to tweak DOSBox a little, but if you read some of the
docs that come with DOSBox or the stuff online you'll see it's fairly
easy to setup.

Once setup install DK per the instructions that come with the game for
DOS Mode installation.

Game graphics should return. Since it's an emulator a slower system may
not run the game so stellarly.

If you want to fix the game in Windows, try updating your graphic card
drivers, and run DXWebSetup.EXE again (make sure all DirectX files are
installed).

Good luck, old game + new computer = good luck.
 
I absolutely love Dungeon Keeper. Great game! I'm not going to ask where you
got it but I will ask if you can re-download or re-install it. What OS are
you running on? Because of my personal enjoyment from this game I would love
to help as much as possible. If you don't mind run dxdiag (start > run >
dxdiag) and save configuration to a file. Copy and paste that file into a
reply. DosBOX may be your only option, although I'm sure we can find a
different way.
 
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