Hi guys.

I'm trying to run Still Life on Vista but it just doesn't work so I downloaded a NoCD patch http://www.gameburnworld.com/gp/gamefixes/stilllife.shtml, dragged the files from that into the Still Life folder, then open the game and I just get a black screen, no audio or visuals at all. What am I doing wrong?

I've also changed the Combatibility mode but nothing happens.

Thanks.

to GameBoomers, nwarde. Which compatibility modes did you try? I've read that the compatibility mode to choose when running Vista is Windows NT 4.0 (Service Pack 5), also maybe disable visual themes, and run as the administrator. See if that helps. If not, someone here can give you further assistance with the NoCD patch, along with other suggestions.

I agree with Marian. The game will probably need tweaks beyond the NoCD.
There's a website about how to run Still Life on Vista here, in case you haven't found it yet.
http://alexborisov.org/how-to-run-still-life-under-windows-7vista-ultimate/

Besides using the NoCD, they suggest

• Set compatibility to Windows NT
• Disable visual themes and desktop composition
• Run as Administrator

If you use a NoCD, make sure it's the one for your version of the game. There seem to be two NoCD's at the http://www.gameburnworld.com/gp/gamefixes/stilllife.shtml website. If you don't know which version of the game you have, try both.

If you don't want to deal with a NoCD, you can buy DRM-free versions online from places like GOG.
Currently Still Life is half price -- $4.99 at GOG.
http://www.gog.com/game/still_life

I've re-bought many games because the original had some sort of copy "protection" that didn't work on newer versions of Windows (or delayed the game's startup by a minute or more while revving my poor DVD drive up and down several times). I don't want to have to deal with NoCD's every time I install a game so re-buying a DRM-free version is worth it to me.

Thanks, Marian, for the welcome. I have tried under Windows 95/98 pretty much everything. I noticed under Task Manager's Process that Still Life is running but there is nothing there. :/

I will try that, Jenny100. Thanks.

If you see Still Life running under Task Manager, you need to shut it down before trying to run Still Life again. Either reboot the computer or shut down Still Life process in Task Manager to get rid of it. You don't want two instances of Still Life trying to run at the same time.

I did that, too.

I tried everything on that site, Jenny100. it still won't work. Same black screen. :(

I guess I have to download it from gog.com

When I downloaded the NoCD patch I open it with Winrar and drag the files into the Still Life folder. Am I doing it correctly?

I checked both downloads at
http://www.gameburnworld.com/gp/gamefixes/stilllife.shtml

The first one (for version v1.00 of the game) had a readme.
The second one (for version v1.03 of the game) didn't, but looked like it was the same file structure and that you'd install it the same way.

The StillLife.exe file should go in the main game folder.

The following four files should go in the DLL folder, which is in the main game folder.

MCKGUIBlocks.dll
MCKInputBlocks.dll
MCKXboxUtil.dll
StillLife.dll

If you copied the four files to the main game folder instead of to the DLL folder, that could explain why it isn't working.

And of course you need the correct NoCD for your version of the game.
The NoCD for the v1.03 version won't work if you have v1.00 and vice versa.