Common Problems and Fixes:
- Q: Upon installation I am getting an ISSET_SE or an error 105.
- Q: I am getting strange video/audio/input problems or getting an error about a missing DLL file.
- Q: The game is crashing when I attempt to run it.
- Q: I am getting an "Assertion Failed..." error.
- Q: I am getting a runtime error or the game is just crashing when loading a new area.
- Q: I deleted the games folder from the hard drive and now it still says PLAY. How do I reinstall?
- Q: The installer is crashing out before it can finish copying the files to my computer.
- Q: I am getting strange graphical glitches.
- Q: Number's such as 1,3,7 are being entered into text fields when I move the mouse.
- Q: Recently, the game started accessing my hard drive constantly and appears to be going slower than before.
- Q: I have an MX200 sound card and the character sounds are not playing.
Q: Upon installation I am getting an ISSET_SE or an error 105.
A: The computer most likely has DOS cdrom drivers loading. We suggest you contact your systems manufacturer to make sure that the DOS drivers are disabled and that the Windows CDROM drivers are installed properly. If no real-mode dos cdrom drivers are loading then you will want to make sure that both the cd and the drive have been cleaned properly.
Q: I am getting strange video/audio/input problems or getting an error about a missing DLL file.
A: The game requires that you have the current version of DirectX installed. You will want to install DirectX from the CD before attempting to play the game. If you did not install it when prompted during the games installation, you may install it by double-clicking on the DXSETUP file found within a DirectX folder on the CDROM. You may also download the newest end-user version of DirectX from the following address:
www.microsoft.com/directx
Please reference our DirectX troubleshooting guide if you continue to experience troubles with DirectX.
Q: The game is crashing when I attempt to run it.
A: This could actually be caused by a few different reasons. You will want to check the following (in the order listed):
- The game requires that you have the current version of DirectX installed and that your drivers are showing as "certified". You will want to reference our DirectX troubleshooting guide to check DirectX for proper installation.
- Often drivers that show as certified are still incompatible. You will want to check the manufacturer of your video card and sound card to make sure that the drivers you are currently running are the most current.
- Another program runnning in the background can cause a crash. You will want to do the following:
- Press CTRL+ALT+DEL. This will bring up a "Close Program" box.
- The only items listed should be Explorer and Systray
- Highlight any other item listed
- Click on End Task
- Continue back with step 1 until Explorer and Systray are the only items listed.
- Please reference the answer to the question below regarding graphical glitches.
- Try disabling or enabling Direct3D or DirectDraw. These options are available by running DXTOOL. (Start/Find/Files or Folders/DXTOOL.EXE)
- Try disabling EAX or Environmental Audio Sound. This option is available on the Sound screen of the games main ?Option? Selection.
- Verify that your in-game resolution matches your system resolution. (16bit recommended for both.)
- Verify that you have enough available hard drive space. The games cache requires a minimum of 80 meg available. Please take into account that the windows swap file will also require its own space.
Q: I am getting an "Assertion Failed..." error
A: Depending on the line number that is displayed, this error may mean something different.
Line 581
This error will occur if you have installed the game to a root of a drive (such as D:\). You will want to uninstall the game and reinstall the game into a folder (such as D:\TORMENT).
Line 4215- "No valid video mode supported"
This will occur if you are unable to select 640X480-16bit color within your Windows display properties. You will want to check to make sure that the video card has 2mb of RAM as stated on the box and that all drivers have been installed properly. If the problem persists a call to the manufacturer of the video card will need to be made so that they may help to enable the 640X480-16bit display mode within Windows.
All other line numbers
The majority of all other Assertion errors seem to be caused when the game is unable to locate a file that is needed or the file is corrupted. To correct this you will want to try the following:
- Clean your cdrom drive with a lense cleaner and be sure that all dust, dirt, or glue has been cleaned from the cd's surface.
- Be sure to delete the games cache (delete all files within {games folder}\CACHE\). When you restart, the program will recreate the cache and should repair the missing file.
- If the previous two steps do not work you will want to try to use an earlier save game as well. There have ben a few reports of a corrupted save game causing this type of error.
Q: I am getting a runtime error or the game is just crashing when loading a new area.
A: This will happen most often when the area file has copied over incorrectly from the CD. You will want to do the following:
- Right click on "My Computer"
- Select "Properties"
- Click on the "Performance" tab
- Click on "File System"
- Clcik on the "CD-ROM" tab
- Under "Optimize access pattern for" select "No Read Ahead"
- Click on "OK"
- Click on "CLOSE"
- The system will want to restart for these changes to take effect. Click "YES" to restart.
- Delete all area files contained within the C:\Program Files\Black Isle\Torment\CACHE\ folder.
- Rerun the game
Q: I deleted the games folder from the hard drive and now it still says PLAY. How do I reinstall?
A: To properly remove the game you should go to the Add/Remove applet within the control panel. If you have simply deleted the folder, Windows still thinks the game is installed. To get past this you will need to run SETUP from the CD manually instead of from the Autorun screen. This can be accomplished as follows:
- Click on START
- Select RUN
- Within the "Open" field type D:\SETUP (replace D with the drive letter of your CDROM if different)
- Click OK
Q: The installer is crashing out before it can finish copying the files to my computer.
A: This can happen on some faster CDROM drives that are losing data when they are attempting to cache. To rectify this you will want to do the following:
- Right click on "My Computer"
- Select "Properties"
- Click on the "Performance" tab
- Click on "File System"
- Clcik on the "CD-ROM" tab
- Under "Optimize access pattern for" select "No Read Ahead"
- Click on "OK"
- Click on "CLOSE"
- The system will want to restart for these changes to take effect. Click "YES" to restart.
Once Windows is back up to your desktop you should be able to now install the game. If you continue to run into trouble, be sure to check to make sure you have the most current drivers for the CDROM and that you have run a lense cleaner on the drive before attempting to install the game.
Q: I am getting strange graphical glitches.
A: Some video cards may experience graphics glitches while playing the game. These problems are caused by DirectX Hardware Calls to your video card that are not functioning. We have written software renders for all of these calls to allow people to play even with drivers that are not 100% compatible with the DirectX standards. You can enable a software render for these calls if you have the most recent drivers for your video card and are still experiencing problems. Using the software render will probably fix the graphic glitches, but WILL result in a performance hit.
IF YOU ARE EXPERIENCING PROBLEMS WITH THE GRAPHICAL DISPLAY OF PLANESCAPE TORMENT, PLEASE MAKE SURE YOU HAVE THE LATEST VERSION OF YOUR VIDEO DRIVERS. DRIVER UPDATES ARE AVAILABLE AT MOST (if not all) HARDWARE MANUFACTURERS AND CHIPSET MANUFACTURERS SITES ON THE INTERNET.
If you have the most recent drivers for your video card, and you are still experiencing problems, you can enable software renders for these calls. The options are available in the options menu under 'Video'. The following list describes the known graphics glitches and which Call should be disabled to fix them. If in doubt, try different combinations and this may help. You can always turn off all software renders to return to the default settings.
If the problem persists it is most likely the keyboard. We have had a couple of customers fix this trouble by disconnecting the keyboard, rebooting the computer, starting the game and then plugging the keyboard back in.
