Pin Ball will not start

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  • Start date Start date
G

Guest

New Dell 4700 desktop. Every thing seems to work fine except Pin Ball. Click
on Pin Ball in All Programs/Games/Pin Ball, and it will "Flash" for a split
second like it was going to open, but then goes back to Desk Top. All of the
other games work fine. No error messages. Have tried creating short cut and
opening from there, but still same result. I actually loaded XP from the CD
that came w/ computer on to another computer I have, and Pin Ball will Open
on it. Thanks for any help!
 
Hi Gregory,

I'm going to assume that the other games you refer to are the games which
are included with Windows, and that you're not refering to DX based games.

I believe this issue can be resolved by undating your video card drivers.
You can upgrade your drivers in one of two ways:

A. Visit the Windows Update site, or

B. Here are the steps I recommend you use to update your driver:

1. To identify the make and model of your card, right click your
Desktop, choose Properties / Settings / Advanced / Adapter.

2. Download the latest video driver for your card online, using
http://mvps.org/nibblesnbits/Video.html#drivers
to find the website to download from. I also have advanced
video driver and direct X troubleshooting steps on that page.

3. Save the .exe driver (or extract the zip file) to a folder
in My Documents named after the driver version number.

4. Restart the computer in Safe Mode by pressing the F8 key
about once every second as it's rebooting to pick Safe Mode.

5. Click Start / (settings) Control Panel / System / Hardware
Device Manager / expand +Display Adapters / right click on
the adapter, pick "Uninstall", and click No if asked to reboot.

6. Use Control Panel / Add-Remove programs to uninstall the
previous driver (exe)software which may have been installed.

7. Restart the computer in Safe Mode by pressing the F8 key
about once every second as it's rebooting to pick Safe Mode.

8. If the driver is NOT a (.exe)program file, GO TO step 11.

9. When Windows prompts you to install the video adapter, click
"Cancel" and Double click the driver program to begin installation.
* Even if not prompted, doubleclick the driver and install it.

10. After you reboot, go to Control Panel / Display / Settings and
choose 32 bit Color Quality, and 800x600 or higher Resolution.
That's it! Scroll down to the Troubleshooter if you have problems.

11. When Windows prompts you to install the video adapter, click
"Install from a list or specific location", click the "Browse" button,
browse to the My documents folder where you saved the driver,
and finally click on one of the driver files to begin installation.

** If you are not prompted, or if the driver was updated automatically:
Click Start / (settings) Control Panel / System / Hardware Device Manager
expand +Display Adapters / right click on the adapter, pick "Update Driver"
to start the Update Wizard, choose the "Install from a list..." option:
Browse to My Documents\ folder with the driver in it
Click OK and click Next to begin the update.

12. After you reboot, go to Control Panel / Display / Settings and
choose 32 bit Color Quality, and 800x600 or higher Resolution.
That's it! Try the advice in the Troubleshooter if you have problems.

TROUBLESHOOTING:

Test your drivers using DXDiag: Click Start / Run / type: DXDIAG
Click the "Test" buttons in the Display, Sound, Music & Network Tabs;
If any of the Display options are Disabled and you cannot Enable them,
your most likely solution would be to update your Chipset Drivers as per
my website: http://mvps.org/nibblesnbits/Video.html#v11

Your program might not support dual monitors, or "dual head" video cards
You can disable the extra video output in your display properties control
panel. Click Start>Settings>Control Panel>Display>Settings>Advanced.

Along with your Video card, Sound Cards, Motherboard Chipsets,
and Video Monitors may also require updated drivers. Even your
motherboard's BIOS may need to be updated for compatibility with
your Video card. These steps are listed at: http://NibblesNbitsVideo.tk

Perhaps the old Video drivers did not completely uninstall. If that's the
case, use these utility to completely uninstall the drivers and go to step
7:
nvidia: http://content.guru3d.com/index.php?page=detonatorrip&menu=0
or for all cards including nvidia use: http://www.driverheaven.net/cleaner/

The latest video drivers sometime don't work with a particular game.
(Check the Video suggestions in the readme.txt file in your game folder/CD)
If there's no suggestions, try an older (WHQL) driver, and/or if you still
experience problems try a Beta driver, or even an Omega driver instead:

BETA Drivers: http://download.guru3d.com/
OMEGA Drivers: http://www.omegacorner.com/

There you have it, if you have any questions feel free to post them! :-)

--
Cheers, Windows XP MVP Shell / User
Jimmy S. http://mvp.support.microsoft.com

Game FAQs: http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=FH;[LN];gms
Visit my Zone.com / Gaming Helpsite: http://nibblesnbits.tk or Call /
Contact
MS Support at: http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=sz;en-us;top
My advice is donated "AS IS" without warranty; nor do I confer any rights.
_________________________________________________________

Gregory Wrote:
=================
| New Dell 4700 desktop. Every thing seems to work fine except Pin Ball. Click
| on Pin Ball in All Programs/Games/Pin Ball, and it will "Flash" for a split
| second like it was going to open, but then goes back to Desk Top. All of the
| other games work fine. No error messages. Have tried creating short cut and
| opening from there, but still same result. I actually loaded XP from the CD
| that came w/ computer on to another computer I have, and Pin Ball will Open
| on it. Thanks for any help!
 
Thanks for the reply, but it did not solve the problem. I have successfully
installed the newest update available, from dell, as the same one from
Microsoft would not install. Pin Ball Z still will not start. Just a split
second flash of it and then back to Desk Top. All the other games do work,
they are all the games that come with XP, it was all preloaded on the
computer, but Pin Ball doesn't work and it would be the one my kids want the
most. Any further assistance would be appreciated. Specs:
Dell Deminsion 4700
Xp Home SP2
pentium 4 3.2 w/ hyper threading
Intel [R] 82915G/GV/910GL Express Chipset Family

Color is set at 32 bit true
Resolution is at 1024 X 768

I have tried several different resolution settings.
It is really wierd that it works on my old Optiplex!

Thanks!

Jimmy S. said:
Hi Gregory,

I'm going to assume that the other games you refer to are the games which
are included with Windows, and that you're not refering to DX based games.

I believe this issue can be resolved by undating your video card drivers.
You can upgrade your drivers in one of two ways:

A. Visit the Windows Update site, or

B. Here are the steps I recommend you use to update your driver:

1. To identify the make and model of your card, right click your
Desktop, choose Properties / Settings / Advanced / Adapter.

2. Download the latest video driver for your card online, using
http://mvps.org/nibblesnbits/Video.html#drivers
to find the website to download from. I also have advanced
video driver and direct X troubleshooting steps on that page.

3. Save the .exe driver (or extract the zip file) to a folder
in My Documents named after the driver version number.

4. Restart the computer in Safe Mode by pressing the F8 key
about once every second as it's rebooting to pick Safe Mode.

5. Click Start / (settings) Control Panel / System / Hardware
Device Manager / expand +Display Adapters / right click on
the adapter, pick "Uninstall", and click No if asked to reboot.

6. Use Control Panel / Add-Remove programs to uninstall the
previous driver (exe)software which may have been installed.

7. Restart the computer in Safe Mode by pressing the F8 key
about once every second as it's rebooting to pick Safe Mode.

8. If the driver is NOT a (.exe)program file, GO TO step 11.

9. When Windows prompts you to install the video adapter, click
"Cancel" and Double click the driver program to begin installation.
* Even if not prompted, doubleclick the driver and install it.

10. After you reboot, go to Control Panel / Display / Settings and
choose 32 bit Color Quality, and 800x600 or higher Resolution.
That's it! Scroll down to the Troubleshooter if you have problems.

11. When Windows prompts you to install the video adapter, click
"Install from a list or specific location", click the "Browse" button,
browse to the My documents folder where you saved the driver,
and finally click on one of the driver files to begin installation.

** If you are not prompted, or if the driver was updated automatically:
Click Start / (settings) Control Panel / System / Hardware Device Manager
expand +Display Adapters / right click on the adapter, pick "Update Driver"
to start the Update Wizard, choose the "Install from a list..." option:
Browse to My Documents\ folder with the driver in it
Click OK and click Next to begin the update.

12. After you reboot, go to Control Panel / Display / Settings and
choose 32 bit Color Quality, and 800x600 or higher Resolution.
That's it! Try the advice in the Troubleshooter if you have problems.

TROUBLESHOOTING:

Test your drivers using DXDiag: Click Start / Run / type: DXDIAG
Click the "Test" buttons in the Display, Sound, Music & Network Tabs;
If any of the Display options are Disabled and you cannot Enable them,
your most likely solution would be to update your Chipset Drivers as per
my website: http://mvps.org/nibblesnbits/Video.html#v11

Your program might not support dual monitors, or "dual head" video cards
You can disable the extra video output in your display properties control
panel. Click Start>Settings>Control Panel>Display>Settings>Advanced.

Along with your Video card, Sound Cards, Motherboard Chipsets,
and Video Monitors may also require updated drivers. Even your
motherboard's BIOS may need to be updated for compatibility with
your Video card. These steps are listed at: http://NibblesNbitsVideo.tk

Perhaps the old Video drivers did not completely uninstall. If that's the
case, use these utility to completely uninstall the drivers and go to step
7:
nvidia: http://content.guru3d.com/index.php?page=detonatorrip&menu=0
or for all cards including nvidia use: http://www.driverheaven.net/cleaner/

The latest video drivers sometime don't work with a particular game.
(Check the Video suggestions in the readme.txt file in your game folder/CD)
If there's no suggestions, try an older (WHQL) driver, and/or if you still
experience problems try a Beta driver, or even an Omega driver instead:

BETA Drivers: http://download.guru3d.com/
OMEGA Drivers: http://www.omegacorner.com/

There you have it, if you have any questions feel free to post them! :-)

--
Cheers, Windows XP MVP Shell / User
Jimmy S. http://mvp.support.microsoft.com

Game FAQs: http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=FH;[LN];gms
Visit my Zone.com / Gaming Helpsite: http://nibblesnbits.tk or Call /
Contact
MS Support at: http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=sz;en-us;top
My advice is donated "AS IS" without warranty; nor do I confer any rights.
_________________________________________________________

Gregory Wrote:
=================
| New Dell 4700 desktop. Every thing seems to work fine except Pin Ball. Click
| on Pin Ball in All Programs/Games/Pin Ball, and it will "Flash" for a split
| second like it was going to open, but then goes back to Desk Top. All of the
| other games work fine. No error messages. Have tried creating short cut and
| opening from there, but still same result. I actually loaded XP from the CD
| that came w/ computer on to another computer I have, and Pin Ball will Open
| on it. Thanks for any help!
Click to expand...
 
Give a try to removing it and re-installing: start\control panel, add or
remove programs, add\remove windows components, accessories and
utilities, click details, games, click details, untick pinball. Ok your
way out (twice) and click next.
Your component will now be removed by the wizard. Restart your machine
and re-install pinball by using the above procedure.
Thanks for the reply, but it did not solve the problem. I have successfully
installed the newest update available, from dell, as the same one from
Microsoft would not install. Pin Ball Z still will not start. Just a split
second flash of it and then back to Desk Top. All the other games do work,
they are all the games that come with XP, it was all preloaded on the
computer, but Pin Ball doesn't work and it would be the one my kids want the
most. Any further assistance would be appreciated. Specs:
Dell Deminsion 4700
Xp Home SP2
pentium 4 3.2 w/ hyper threading
Intel [R] 82915G/GV/910GL Express Chipset Family

Color is set at 32 bit true
Resolution is at 1024 X 768

I have tried several different resolution settings.
It is really wierd that it works on my old Optiplex!

Thanks!

:


Hi Gregory,

I'm going to assume that the other games you refer to are the games which
are included with Windows, and that you're not refering to DX based games.

I believe this issue can be resolved by undating your video card drivers.
You can upgrade your drivers in one of two ways:

A. Visit the Windows Update site, or

B. Here are the steps I recommend you use to update your driver:

1. To identify the make and model of your card, right click your
Desktop, choose Properties / Settings / Advanced / Adapter.

2. Download the latest video driver for your card online, using
http://mvps.org/nibblesnbits/Video.html#drivers
to find the website to download from. I also have advanced
video driver and direct X troubleshooting steps on that page.

3. Save the .exe driver (or extract the zip file) to a folder
in My Documents named after the driver version number.

4. Restart the computer in Safe Mode by pressing the F8 key
about once every second as it's rebooting to pick Safe Mode.

5. Click Start / (settings) Control Panel / System / Hardware
Device Manager / expand +Display Adapters / right click on
the adapter, pick "Uninstall", and click No if asked to reboot.

6. Use Control Panel / Add-Remove programs to uninstall the
previous driver (exe)software which may have been installed.

7. Restart the computer in Safe Mode by pressing the F8 key
about once every second as it's rebooting to pick Safe Mode.

8. If the driver is NOT a (.exe)program file, GO TO step 11.

9. When Windows prompts you to install the video adapter, click
"Cancel" and Double click the driver program to begin installation.
* Even if not prompted, doubleclick the driver and install it.

10. After you reboot, go to Control Panel / Display / Settings and
choose 32 bit Color Quality, and 800x600 or higher Resolution.
That's it! Scroll down to the Troubleshooter if you have problems.

11. When Windows prompts you to install the video adapter, click
"Install from a list or specific location", click the "Browse" button,
browse to the My documents folder where you saved the driver,
and finally click on one of the driver files to begin installation.

** If you are not prompted, or if the driver was updated automatically:
Click Start / (settings) Control Panel / System / Hardware Device Manager
expand +Display Adapters / right click on the adapter, pick "Update Driver"
to start the Update Wizard, choose the "Install from a list..." option:
Browse to My Documents\ folder with the driver in it
Click OK and click Next to begin the update.

12. After you reboot, go to Control Panel / Display / Settings and
choose 32 bit Color Quality, and 800x600 or higher Resolution.
That's it! Try the advice in the Troubleshooter if you have problems.

TROUBLESHOOTING:

Test your drivers using DXDiag: Click Start / Run / type: DXDIAG
Click the "Test" buttons in the Display, Sound, Music & Network Tabs;
If any of the Display options are Disabled and you cannot Enable them,
your most likely solution would be to update your Chipset Drivers as per
my website: http://mvps.org/nibblesnbits/Video.html#v11

Your program might not support dual monitors, or "dual head" video cards
You can disable the extra video output in your display properties control
panel. Click Start>Settings>Control Panel>Display>Settings>Advanced.

Along with your Video card, Sound Cards, Motherboard Chipsets,
and Video Monitors may also require updated drivers. Even your
motherboard's BIOS may need to be updated for compatibility with
your Video card. These steps are listed at: http://NibblesNbitsVideo.tk

Perhaps the old Video drivers did not completely uninstall. If that's the
case, use these utility to completely uninstall the drivers and go to step
7:
nvidia: http://content.guru3d.com/index.php?page=detonatorrip&menu=0
or for all cards including nvidia use: http://www.driverheaven.net/cleaner/

The latest video drivers sometime don't work with a particular game.
(Check the Video suggestions in the readme.txt file in your game folder/CD)
If there's no suggestions, try an older (WHQL) driver, and/or if you still
experience problems try a Beta driver, or even an Omega driver instead:

BETA Drivers: http://download.guru3d.com/
OMEGA Drivers: http://www.omegacorner.com/

There you have it, if you have any questions feel free to post them! :-)

--
Cheers, Windows XP MVP Shell / User
Jimmy S. http://mvp.support.microsoft.com

Game FAQs: http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=FH;[LN];gms
Visit my Zone.com / Gaming Helpsite: http://nibblesnbits.tk or Call /
Contact
MS Support at: http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=sz;en-us;top
My advice is donated "AS IS" without warranty; nor do I confer any rights.
_________________________________________________________

Gregory Wrote:
=================
| New Dell 4700 desktop. Every thing seems to work fine except Pin Ball. Click
| on Pin Ball in All Programs/Games/Pin Ball, and it will "Flash" for a split
| second like it was going to open, but then goes back to Desk Top. All of the
| other games work fine. No error messages. Have tried creating short cut and
| opening from there, but still same result. I actually loaded XP from the CD
| that came w/ computer on to another computer I have, and Pin Ball will Open
| on it. Thanks for any help!
Click to expand...
Click to expand...


---
avast! Antivirus: Outbound message clean.
Virus Database (VPS): 0548-0, 11/29/2005
Tested on: 11/30/2005 6:42:23 PM
avast! - copyright (c) 1988-2004 ALWIL Software.
http://www.avast.com
 
Hi john,

Let's try some basic troubleshooting. If the problem still persists
please post back and we'll try some more steps. Good luck! :-)

1. To see if it's a software conflict: Temporarily disable Startup
programs one at a time, starting with Firewall, Antivirus, and ad
blockers using this utility: http://www.mlin.net/StartupCPL.shtml
or this method: http://www.pacs-portal.co.uk/startup_content.php

You can lookup what a program does before you disable it here:
http://www.sysinfo.org/startuplist.php

2. Run a virus scan at: http://housecall.antivirus.com and then
install MS AntiSpyware from: www.microsoft.com/spyware to
remove any Spyware or Adware which could clog up your PC.

3. Click My Computer / Rightclick the Drive & Choose Properties
/ Run the "Disk Cleanup..." / Next Click the "Tools" Tab and run
the "Error-Checking" and "Defragmentation" utilities.

4. Go to the Windows Update site for everything under Critical and
Recommended: http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com Some games
require a patch: http://www.avault.com/pcrl/patches_list.asp?letter=a

5. Update DirectX and your Chipset, Sound, &Video Drivers:
For all Video / DirectX / Game and Hardware Issues, I have a
Checklist of Solutions at: http://mvps.org/nibblesnbits/Video.html

--
Cheers, *Windows_XP_MVP_Shell/User*
Jimmy S. http://mvp.support.microsoft.com

Visit my MSN Zone.com and Gaming Help Site: http://mvps.org/nibblesnbits
MS Games Help and Support Center: http://support.microsoft.com/?pr=gms
My advice is donated "AS IS" without warranty; nor do I confer any rights.
_________________________________________________________



john Wrote:
=================
| i am having same problem and pin ball option is not listed in games
|
| "Gregory" wrote:
|
|| New Dell 4700 desktop. Every thing seems to work fine except Pin Ball. Click
|| on Pin Ball in All Programs/Games/Pin Ball, and it will "Flash" for a split
|| second like it was going to open, but then goes back to Desk Top. All of the
|| other games work fine. No error messages. Have tried creating short cut and
|| opening from there, but still same result. I actually loaded XP from the CD
|| that came w/ computer on to another computer I have, and Pin Ball will Open
|| on it. Thanks for any help!
 
Jimmy,
Ive seen there's been alot of problems with 3D Pinball. Ive had
problems with it not opening, but mostly with the ball freezing while
in play. To open it, I've run it as pinball and generally it will
open. To keep the ball from freezing I've saved it to desktop which
worked for a while but now it's freezing again. I've also done a clean
boot restart which worked for a short time, but it's back to freezing.
Should I try what you've previously mentioned?
Dave
 
Hi freeze,

Yes, please go ahead and try those solutions and let us know the outcome. :-)

--
Cheers, *Windows_XP_MVP_Shell/User*
Jimmy S. http://mvp.support.microsoft.com

Visit my MSN Zone.com and Gaming Help Site: http://mvps.org/nibblesnbits
MS Games Help and Support Center: http://support.microsoft.com/?pr=gms
My advice is donated "AS IS" without warranty; nor do I confer any rights.
_________________________________________________________

freeze Wrote:
=================
| Jimmy,
| Ive seen there's been alot of problems with 3D Pinball. Ive had
| problems with it not opening, but mostly with the ball freezing while
| in play. To open it, I've run it as pinball and generally it will
| open. To keep the ball from freezing I've saved it to desktop which
| worked for a while but now it's freezing again. I've also done a clean
| boot restart which worked for a short time, but it's back to freezing.
| Should I try what you've previously mentioned?
| Dave

Jimmy S. Wrote:
=================
| Hi john,
|
| Let's try some basic troubleshooting. If the problem still persists
| please post back and we'll try some more steps. Good luck! :-)
|
| 1. To see if it's a software conflict: Temporarily disable Startup
| programs one at a time, starting with Firewall, Antivirus, and ad
| blockers using this utility: http://www.mlin.net/StartupCPL.shtml
| or this method: http://www.pacs-portal.co.uk/startup_content.php
|
| You can lookup what a program does before you disable it here:
| http://www.sysinfo.org/startuplist.php
|
| 2. Run a virus scan at: http://housecall.antivirus.com and then
| install MS AntiSpyware from: www.microsoft.com/spyware to
| remove any Spyware or Adware which could clog up your PC.
|
| 3. Click My Computer / Rightclick the Drive & Choose Properties
| / Run the "Disk Cleanup..." / Next Click the "Tools" Tab and run
| the "Error-Checking" and "Defragmentation" utilities.
|
| 4. Go to the Windows Update site for everything under Critical and
| Recommended: http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com Some games
| require a patch: http://www.avault.com/pcrl/patches_list.asp?letter=a
|
| 5. Update DirectX and your Chipset, Sound, &Video Drivers:
| For all Video / DirectX / Game and Hardware Issues, I have a
| Checklist of Solutions at: http://mvps.org/nibblesnbits/Video.html
|
|
| john Wrote:
| =================
|| i am having same problem and pin ball option is not listed in games
||
|| "Gregory" wrote:
||
||| New Dell 4700 desktop. Every thing seems to work fine except Pin Ball. Click
||| on Pin Ball in All Programs/Games/Pin Ball, and it will "Flash" for a split
||| second like it was going to open, but then goes back to Desk Top. All of the
||| other games work fine. No error messages. Have tried creating short cut and
||| opening from there, but still same result. I actually loaded XP from the CD
||| that came w/ computer on to another computer I have, and Pin Ball will Open
||| on it. Thanks for any help!
 
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