Sherlock Holmes Nemesis Won't Load Past Splash Screen

Having played nearly all the Sherlock Holmes games, I would dearly love to be able to get Sherlock Holmes: Nemesis to run on my PC, but I can never get past the opening splash screen. The program always automatically shuts down immediately after a few seconds of splash screen.

I have been through dozens of emails with both Focus and Frogwares, with numerous suggestions, all to no avail.
My game was a download from a game site, not a cd or dvd.
I've never had a problem with any of the dozens of BFG games, or several other games downloaded from other sites.
I even took a huge risk and downloaded "Sherlock Holmes versus Jack the Ripper" after these problems and didn't have a minute's trouble and loved that game.

But it's been over a month now, and I haven't heard from Focus or Frogwares, so it's obvious that they have given up on me.

My information is as follows:

From the DXDIAG Report:

Operating System: Windows XP Professional (5.1, Build 2600) Service Pack 3 (2600.xpsp_sp3_gdr.100216-1514)
Language: English (Regional Setting: English)
System Manufacturer: Dell Inc.
System Model: Vostro 400
BIOS: Phoenix - AwardBIOS v6.00PG
Processor: Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Quad CPU Q6600 @ 2.40GHz (4 CPUs)
Memory: 3326MB RAM
Page File: 836MB used, 4372MB available
Windows Dir: C:\WINDOWS
DirectX Version: DirectX 9.0c (4.09.0000.0904)
DX Setup Parameters: Not found
DxDiag Version: 5.03.2600.5512 32bit Unicode

Card name: NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT
Manufacturer: NVIDIA
Chip type: GeForce 8800 GT
DAC type: Integrated RAMDAC
Device Key: Enum\PCI\VEN_10DE&DEV_0611&SUBSYS_053C10DE&REV_A2
Display Memory: 512.0 MB
Current Mode: 1680 x 1050 (32 bit) (60Hz)
Monitor: Plug and Play Monitor
Monitor Max Res: 1600,1200
Driver Name: nv4_disp.dll
Driver Version: 6.14.0012.5721 (English)
DDI Version: 9 (or higher)
Driver Attributes: Final Retail
Driver Date/Size: 6/7/2010 18:57:00, 6300544 bytes

From the Game Log File:

Warning | Can't get device(0,3) [SW] caps: This device does not support the queried technique
Error | Ca't set data format for device [PTZ-930]
SysError | Exception at game initialize
SysError | Executable: [c:\program files\sherlock holmes nemesis\game.rwg]
SysError | Build from: [Fri Sep 28 03:06:12 2007
SysError | Fatal exception: [Access violation] at 3c1d6dd
Error | Can't initialize engine resources

From my last email to publisher and developer:

"In the past week, I have installed, based on your suggestions:
* PhysX_ 7.09.13 _ SystemSoftware.exe
* focus-home.fr/WDM_R235.exe
* 257.21_desktop_winxp_32bit_international_whql.exe
* PhysX_9.09.1112_SystemSoftware.exe
The lastest PhysX-9.09, sent by Focus, removed the Ageia PhysX-7.09 that Frogwares specifically asked me to install."

I have tried run as administrator and even went into Norton Antivirus settings and set to allow this game in user specified programs.
I haven't tried to contact tech at the game site where I purchased this, as they rarely have much to say except install the latest drivers.

I'm not a tech geek when it comes to computers, don't speak DOS, and hesitate to do anything major to my PC in fear of serious damage because I didn't know what I was doing.

Can anyone offer any suggestions as to what my problem might be?
Thanks in advance for taking the time to read all of this.

Hi LadyCav,

I'm no tech expert, but your graphics card is more than adequate to run this game. Did you try redownloading the game, in case your original download was corrupted in some way?

Hi Rushes,

Thank you very kindly for your reply.

In answer to your question.. No, I haven't. I would have to go to Amazon and try to determine if such a thing is even allowed... (???)

I know Frogwares said the Aegia driver had to be installed with the cd, and he sent me the driver which I installed. Then Focus sent me a different driver which removed the Aegia driver.

As an update, I did uninstall and then reinstalled the game from Amazon and ran into the very same problem.

What I found disconcerting when I started looking around was the difference in file size from different sites:
The Adventure Shop: 1350MB
Gamersgate: 1258MB
Amazon: 818.88MB

Is it possible that many key files are missing from a download that is much smaller than the other two sites and was this my error? It never occurred to me to check file sizes from one site to another.

I'm assuming you have a download version and not a disc version.
Amazon sells a download verion ***here***.
Is that what you have?

If your Amazon download broke off before it was complete, that would account for why the game won't work. You might ask Amazon how large their downloaded file is "supposed" to be. Usually download game installers calculate the checksum of the downloaded file to make sure it is complete before installing. But I don't know if that is always the case.

Yes, ma'am, that is what I have. There are files in the Amazon downloading software folder that one can open with notepad that verifies that the download is complete. Not being aware of how different companies compress their software, I couldn't help but wonder if their version left some things out. I've seen other similar posts on the Focus forum, about the program not initializing, but since many others can run Nemesis problem free, and after numerous emails and driver updates, it's just left me totally stumped, especially since I had no problem with Jack the Ripper.

I'm curious - your desktop resolution is different from the native resolution.

What is the model number of your monitor, and did you install drivers for it?

I couldn't read the model # on the back of the monitor, even with a magnifying glass, sorry, but it is whatever was the standard 22" monitor that Dell was selling in 2008. The local computer expert in town helped me pick out all the specs when I ordered a new pc a couple of years ago. whatever drivers there are were installed by Dell. The resolution was chosen from the desktop display properties/settings window.

If you were able to play "Ripper," then I must believe either that you do not have all the files or there is file corruption.

I think Inland was referring to this:
According to that, your monitor is capable of 1600x1200 resolution, yet you're running it at 1680x1050. Unlike the old CRT monitors, LCD monitors usually look best when run at their native resolution (the highest you can set them in Desktop Properties). I don't know if that will affect the game though.

If you can locate the specific model number, vast Dell's website and download the drivers for it - it's not uncommon for them to be omitted.

Of the models I looked at it looks like the resolution advertised is exactly what you've got. I'm not sure why Dxdiag seems to misreports it.

I doubt the game would have installed if the download was corrupt - but, you may want to try downloading it one more time.

Have you tried lowering the acceleration settings in DXDiag? There should be a slider control on the Display tab.

Thank you, Gobobby, Jenny100, and InlandAZ for your responses. I appreciate your taking the time.

InlandAZ:
I found the slider bar that you were talking about in the DXDiag window, but don't understand what that means, or what effect it would have. I only knew how to run that report when Focus and Frogwares wrote to me. I ran the full report again without changing the slider bar, and the max resolution did say 1600,1200 as stated before. I'll try to do some checking tomorrow on the specs for this monitor, and what drivers it should have. But honestly, wouldn't I have experienced problems elsewhere long before I started buying games if I didn't have the correct drivers?

Jenny100:
I've never had any problems that I have noticed running at 1680x1050 as it seems to be a common setting that many people use and it worked well for me when processing photographs for my website. And it's never caused any problems with any other games like, SH-Ripper, SH-Awakened, Dracula Origin, Dracula 3, both Syberia's, Nostradamus, etc. It has always worked well except for this one instance.

Gobobby:
I was beginning to wonder the same thing about the file being corrupt when I saw that the other sites offer a download that is approx. 500MB larger. But the last email that Frogwares sent before passing me over to Focus was that after the PhysX problems had been solved, I now have a game crash issue, which can be seen in the game log report that I originally posted. Shame that these kinds of download purchases are non refundable. But I understand that websites can't refund purchases with so many different OS problems that can occur.

1650x1050 is a widescreen resolution.
1600x1200 is not.
Is your monitor a widescreen?
If it is, the 1600x1200 may be being misreported.


Sometimes using a bright flashlight in addition to the magnifying glass helps.

Not necessarily - the drivers will restrict the resolutions to only those that are supported.

As Jenny stated 1600x1200 is not a wide screen resolution (it's a 4:3 aspect ratio).

That slider control can be used to increase or decrease the hardware acceleration levels. You'll have to trial-and-error the settings, and then try the game.

My monitor is a Dell E228WFP. It is listed as a widescreen and 1680x1050 is the native resolution.

I don't know why the DXDiag is reporting 1600x1200.
I don't understand the nuts and bolts of what hardware acceleration levels actually do to my computer and if it would mess up any other programs on my pc. Right now the slider is all the way to the right. As I stated earlier, the more difficult technical aspects elude me and I hesitate to inadvertently mess something up.

It won't cause any issues, so long as it not completely to the left (which disables hardware acceleration).

Slide it down a notch, and then restart the game.

Edit -

Here are the drivers for your monitor.

Dell Monitor Drivers

This is in the Direct X Diagnostic Tool Window:
My slider bar was in the sound tab, not the display tab:
DirectX Features: Hardware Sound Acceleration Level.
Of the eight tabs, the sound tab was the only one with a slider bar.
I moved mine down one notch to "standard".
It made no difference when trying to run the game.

In Display Properties Window, accessed by right clicking the desktop:
Settings>Advanced>Troubleshoot Tab>Hardware Acceleration:
I bumped that one down one notch as well.
It made no difference when trying to run the game.
Quick splash screen and close.

I just read your edit to your post. I see the driver page that you linked to.
However, in the compatibility list, Dell Vostro 400 was not on the list, only the Dell XPS/Dimension 400. That page states it is a hard drive file format. This for a monitor, and since it is optional, what difference/improvement will it make?

Sorry to be so much trouble, and I sincerely do appreciate the time you are taking in trying to help solve my problem.

That's Audio acceleration, not video acceleration. But it's good to test that as well.


That's the one you want. Too bad it didn't help.

You can change your acceleration back to full any time you want. Some games may need the full video acceleration, depending on what you play.


It should work with any computer that has that model monitor and is using that monitor. The monitor you bought is not sold with your Vostro by default, so it isn't in that list.


Yes. You download the drivers to your hard drive before installing them.


The monitor drivers may make it possible for the monitor to display resolutions that the default Plug 'n Play drivers XP uses will not. The drivers are "optional" because most people are happy to get a picture for surfing the web and doing email, and don't need to change resolution for games.

Also make sure you do not have an antivirus program running in the background when you play the game.

Thank you, Jenny100, for explaining everything so well.

I installed the monitor driver, and rebooted. Sadly, there wasn't any change from before. Splash screen and close.

Thank you, Cathy1. A few days ago I went into Norton and added Nemesis to the quiet mode in miscellaneous settings and that didn't help either.

It seems the monitor and acceleration changes might not be the problem since nothing has helped yet.

It seems so odd. I was under the impression, (and I could be wrong), that Jack the Ripper is a newer game then Nemesis. I would have thought my game crash problems would have occurred with the newest of the games, i.e. newer technologies and DirectX/PhysX drivers, etc. But Ripper worked like a charm.

I do thank you for all the suggestions so far, just nothing yet, and like Boris Karloff and The Grinch who puzzled and puzzled till his puzzler was sore, I'm still at a loss.

Since it's a downloaded game, there might be a problem with activation. When you started the game, is it possible a firewall could have blocked the activation?

It's also possible that Amazon has a defective version of the game on their server. You say you contacted both Focus and Frogwares, but if the game came from Amazon, the problem might be solely with Amazon.

Jack the Ripper is made better than Nemesis. Although Jack offers better special effects than Nemesis, it doesn't require them. From what I've heard, Jack works better than Nemesis both with older computers and newer ones. I don't know why Nemesis wouldn't work with your computer unless there's something wrong with the download. It wouldn't be the first time Amazon had a defective file uploaded to their server.

I downloaded the game from Frogwares some while ago. Three files totaling 1.7 Gb. The Amazon game is 800 Mb. Even with compression, that file is too small. What did you download? Was it a Zip file? What was the final file size of the installed game?

If you are still having a problem, I am sure you can get a refund from Amazon. Buy the disk version for $9.

LadyCav reported these sizes earlier:

Gobobby,
Was your download from Frogwares the "Director's Cut" version that includes an option to play in either 1st or 3rd person?

Hi Gobobby and Jenny100,

I'm about to believe that you are right. I have four other games from Amazon and had no problems before. But I never compared file size before when downloading a game. I will from now on! But as you said, Gobobby, that is just too big of a difference to be just compression. Live and learn, I guess, especially since you say, Jenny100, that it isn't the first time as far as Amazon is concerned. Amazon has a download manager and it works pretty much like BFG downloads so there's no zip file. I've read their policy and FAQ and there is no refund. All downloadable game purchases are final.

I'll wait till it's on sale somewhere, and try again someday. And I'll still be waiting for the new Testament and later the Hound of the Baskervilles, in spite of these problems.

Thanks y'all, a whole bunch, for trying to help. I appreciate it. Can't win every time, right? I noticed that gamersgate has a big sale going on, and they have The Witcher for only six bucks. I've never tried a RPG before, and everyone seems to have it on their favorites list, so maybe I'll read around here in the forums about that game, and maybe give it a go.

You still didn't get what you bought. Have you tried to contact them and ask them to check their file?

Seems we posted at the same time!

I will find an email to write to them and see if they would be willing to give it consideration, though. Can't hurt to try, especially in this economy.

I wouldn't hesitate to send them something, LadyCav. Perhaps they aren't even aware there is a problem with their download. Or perhaps they have dozens of other people notifying them of the same problem.

If you paid with a credit card, you can try to dispute the charge.

Thank you all. I will contact Amazon and explain the situation to them.