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Ninthletter
Village Dweller
Joined: 05 Apr 2004
Posts: 7
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| Invalid .exe file error message |
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Wow! Looks like all sorts of bugs are running around in this game.
Ok, now to describe my little corner of hell. Game installed fine. However, any time I attempt to start the game (in any way) I get an error message that reads, Gothic2.exe is an invalid win32 application.
Now, my system is well above the mins. I have all the new drivers for video and sound. I have installed Win XP service pack 3. I have the highest DirectX available. The game is installed in the default path.
Everything seems right, but no matter what I do I get the same message. I have yet to play the game.
If anyone has any suggestions I would love to try them.
Thanks in advance.
Best of premises |
Mon Apr 05, 2004 9:08 pm |
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Wulf
The Shepherd
Joined: 20 Sep 2003
Posts: 2312
Location: North/West.England |
Hey there Ninthletter,
Welcome to the forums,
Did you read the FAQ on this forum? you might have to download and install the VDFSinit.zip file to correct the problem, oh' and you will wait a while while it rewrites all of the ini files, have a beer or somethind.
Good luck. 
_________________
Forever aches my wretched soul, for Chromanin locked in that dark hole, though crypted key i've yet to learn, he knows one day i will return. |
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Mon Apr 05, 2004 11:16 pm |
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Ninthletter
Village Dweller
Joined: 05 Apr 2004
Posts: 7
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Thanks Wulf, I'll try that. It's just about the only thing I haven't tried yet. A beer sounds like a great idea just about now. |
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Tue Apr 06, 2004 3:26 am |
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Ninthletter
Village Dweller
Joined: 05 Apr 2004
Posts: 7
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Well, it was too quick for a beer, and unfortunately it didn't work. So it's back to the drawing board again. Thanks again Wulf, it was worth a shot. I'm at a loss for the moment but, I refuse to give up.
I'm not one to beat a dead horse but, maybe I could get a necromancer and raise it. Then it would at least be moving while I beat it.  |
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Tue Apr 06, 2004 3:49 am |
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Gorath
Mostly Harmless
Joined: 03 Sep 2001
Posts: 6327
Location: NRW, Germany |
| Re: Invalid .exe file error message |
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quote:
Originally posted by Ninthletter
Now, my system is well above the mins. I have all the new drivers for video and sound. I have installed Win XP service pack 3. I have the highest DirectX available. The game is installed in the default path.
What about mainboard drivers?
There is no service pack 3 for WinXP! Whatever you installed there is something else. SP 2 is in beta now, it will be released in the summer.
_________________
Webmaster GothicDot |
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Tue Apr 06, 2004 3:41 pm |
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Ninthletter
Village Dweller
Joined: 05 Apr 2004
Posts: 7
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If the service pack comment is true then I stand corrected but, I'm sure it said SP3 and it came off the Microsoft Auto Updater. If I'm wrong that leaves me with the most up to date version in any case.
Main board drivers. Hadn't thought about that one. Interesting idea. I'll look into it.
Oh, by the way, I tried the Zone Alarm fix. I shut down all the back ground processes, and reinstalled. Yeah, I succeeded in getting rid of the error messeage!
Now, nothing happens. I mean it. Nothing. I hit the try to run the game and then I watch my wallpaper. Oh, and I have tried waiting, and waiting...and waiting.
I must say, if you measure the quality of a computer game by the level of challenge this would be the greatest game of all time. I've already invested about 2 hours a day for a week on it and it has even started yet. Just imagine how challenging it will be when it actually starts!
Gets out club and takes a swing at the undead mule sitting in the mud. |
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Tue Apr 06, 2004 7:28 pm |
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Wulf
The Shepherd
Joined: 20 Sep 2003
Posts: 2312
Location: North/West.England |
When you have a loading fault, which prevents the game to run, at that point an error is recorded in the .ini file, this is the time that the vdfsinit should be run. There is over 2.2 gig of file space required on hard drive. 
_________________
Forever aches my wretched soul, for Chromanin locked in that dark hole, though crypted key i've yet to learn, he knows one day i will return. |
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Tue Apr 06, 2004 8:27 pm |
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Gorath
Mostly Harmless
Joined: 03 Sep 2001
Posts: 6327
Location: NRW, Germany |
I´m 100% sure about the service pack thing. The SP3 you downloaded is probably for OfficeXP.
No reaction at all can be a copy protection thing. As mentioned in our FAQ update ALL drivers including m/b and sound and close every programs. Virus scanner, firewall, everything.
I also had no problems with G2.
_________________
Webmaster GothicDot |
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Wed Apr 07, 2004 2:14 am |
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Ninthletter
Village Dweller
Joined: 05 Apr 2004
Posts: 7
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You were correct ofcourse, it was a OfficeXP update.
Ok, I have now flashed my BIOS using the manufactures Utility. The flash came directly from thier webstie and was successful. I also updated my motherboard audio drivers.
Here is where I am now.
If I shut down all processes except for Taskmanager and Explorer and then double click the desktop icon the followning happens.
First a long pause, then the game graphic with the option to play Gothic2. I click Play Gothic2. I get hourglass icon for a moment. Game Graphic is replaced by a smaller graphic which simply says Gothic2. This second graphic is gone so fast I can hardly make it out, and then nothing happens.
If this is a copy protection issue, what steps should I take to solve it.
P.S. Dispite my frustration I must say that in all honesty I do enjoy the challenge of figuring this out, but I would rather be playing the game. Thanks for all the suggestions and feedback so far.
Best of Premises |
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Wed Apr 07, 2004 6:30 pm |
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Wulf
The Shepherd
Joined: 20 Sep 2003
Posts: 2312
Location: North/West.England |
Hey there Nintletter,
Just for me,  will you try without the task manager and explorer?
_________________
Forever aches my wretched soul, for Chromanin locked in that dark hole, though crypted key i've yet to learn, he knows one day i will return. |
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Wed Apr 07, 2004 7:56 pm |
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Ninthletter
Village Dweller
Joined: 05 Apr 2004
Posts: 7
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Now Wulf, That's just silly 
I did however, try something new last night. Up until now I had been using the taskmanager to shut down the processes. I noticed that there were a couple of icons that were hanging around dispite the shut down. I checked it out and discovered that there was a separate Startup folder that was still running a few things. Surely I had found the problem!
Sadly, it was not the case. I used the MSCONFIG to shut down everything. I disabled my internet link completely. I moved all the startup programs from the Startup folder to a temp holding folder so the wouldn't run, and then I rebooted the system. Bingo, a completely clean start up. I'm talking nothing was running at all (except for system functions).
I deleted the game and reinstalled. And...drum roll please...NOTHING!
Well, not exactly. I'm now back to the invalid .exe win32 application.
At that point I ran the .ini file patch tool and still got nothing.
Now just in case some of you are beginning to wonder. This is not a bootleg copy of the game. I bought it at the Bellis Fair Mall in Bellingham WA USA in the E.B. Inc.
You know, I buy about 15 to 20 games a year (about one a month). And my system works just fine. In fact, its been rock solid for a long time. I buy games and I install them and they work, end of story. Sure I've had some problems in the past with older games. You know, back when you would shout with joy if a game actually ran. That was about, what, ten years ago.
Any way, the point is, there is just no excuse for this. I mean I bought, Sacred, at the same time that I bought Gothic 2, and I've been playing it ever since. (nice game by the way) I not a mystic so I know that there is a real concrete reason way this game is not working on my system. I'll even grant that it could still be something that my system is doing that the game doesn't like. But I'll be damned if I can figure out what is going on here.
The bottom line is that just about every other developer out there is making games that I can install and run without a hitch and in MHO the developers of this game need to get with the program ( no pun intended).
I am going to shelve this one for a while. Maybe when I buy an new system it will like Gothic2 better than my current one. In the meantime, I going to go play some Sacred, or maybe one to the mean other games that work just fine right out of the box.
Thanks for the help and good luck to all of you who are still fighting the good fight. I've just spent too much time on this and it has become too much effort for too little return. |
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Thu Apr 08, 2004 11:39 pm |
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Gryndor Lyonsbane
Village Dweller
Joined: 10 May 2004
Posts: 1
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I just bought Gothic II today, and had the exact same problem. After trying a number of things, I noticed a \bin directory on CD1 that contained the gothic2.exe file and something called ar.exe. I copied both of these files over the ones that were installed, and bingo I've been playing all evening -- good game btw. |
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Mon May 10, 2004 4:37 am |
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Wulf
The Shepherd
Joined: 20 Sep 2003
Posts: 2312
Location: North/West.England |
Well,
I have got to give Nithletter 10/10 for trying to sort out his problem, and it is kind of saddening to know that a fellow gamer is having bad luck.
When ever i set-up my p.c from scratch, after any hard drive formatting, i then install windows/xp using ntfs file/format/system. Next, after the "bare" install and as reccommended by chipset/motherboard manufactures, i install the AGP driver, weather it be single or integrated with other drivers such as usb, gart, sound, memory, ide, miniport, etc', after rebooting and all seems to be working, the menu scrolling in windows will be shakey, at this point (lastly) i install the latest video driver, reboot and all o.k. then i set a page file to just over that reccommended by windows, setting both high and low sizes the same, this makes the pge file contiguous. Next, i defragment all drives, also i set advanced system config to "performance".
I check that all the dma's for the hard drives and cd/cd-rom are on and i install the latest direct/x driver.
This is when i install Gothic/G2, in no more than 10/15 minutes i have the game running at "full blast" no frame "lag" no jerkyness, full colour, surround sound and i am then fully engrossed in the realism and "atmosphere" of the game.
I have done this many times and it hasn't failed once. This is how it should be for you Ninthletter, even now, when you have "given up" (when you said "i refuse to give up") i personally would always be willing to help if required.
_________________
Forever aches my wretched soul, for Chromanin locked in that dark hole, though crypted key i've yet to learn, he knows one day i will return. |
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Mon May 10, 2004 1:53 pm |
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