I wasn't sure if this should go in my other topic or if I should start a new one. Anyway, here goes.

When I start Rhem 2 with CD2 in the drive the small rhem 2 screen appears then the virtual pc screen goes black with a mobile hourglass cursor (doesn't freeze up or lag). Also, the orange light on my DVD drive doesn't come on, even though the "use physical drive E:" is selected in the CD menu.

EDIT: Should ScanDisk scan the VM every time I restart it?

Did you install VM Additions again after the reinstall? Run DXDiag (Start, Run - enter DXDIAG and press OK) - you'll see the driver version on the Display Tab. It should read: VM additions Trio32/64 PCI 732/764.

If you have it installed, try lowering the acceleration level under the Display applet (in Control Panel). It's under Settings, Advanced on the Performance tab. Lower it a notch or two.



It should not. Make sure you shut down normally (Start, Shutdown)...

1. Video acceleration reduced 2 notches
2. Additions "added"
3. ScanDisk has stopped being a pain.

Will try the game again.

Edit: Well my friend, you'll be happy and relieved to know we succeeded in starting Rhem 2 ! I have video now. HOWEVER, it still stalls right after I swipe the security card right of the tram door, so I'm stuck inside the train. I can't remember if there's a patch I need. Will look for it.

That's strange. Do you think there could be something wrong with your game? Does the disc look dirty or scratched?

One thing you can try is doing a complete install to the hard drive, as described at the end of the readme. It involves copying a folder from the game CD to the RHEM 2 folder on the hard drive.

I've uploaded what I think is the save folder from RHEM 2. There are two saves, one just after swiping the card and the other after stepping through the door of the car (just in case you can't get out of the car for some reason).

Download DPOT.zip from
http://www.sendspace.com/file/9umjfw

Unzip it -- it unzips to a folder called DPOT.
I think the only saves you need are
001a.txt
001b.txt
002a.txt
002b.txt

But replacing the whole folder should work too. The zipped file is very small at just over 3KB and I think you may just be able to paste it in Virtual PC and then move it around. The DPOT folder should go inside the DATA folder that's inside the RHEM 2 folder.

If you don't have an unzipper in Windows 98, then unzip the zipped folder in XP before copying the folder over. Or unzip it and copy the four files I listed over to the DPOT folder that you already have, overwriting the empty saves that are there.

If you think the disc is damaged or has minor scratches that might be affecting game play, try creating an ISO image and pointing to it from the VM. To mount an ISO image, select CD Capture ISO Image from the VM's toolbar.

You can download the software at the site below:

ISO Recorder download page

Once it's installed, you can create an image by right clicking the disc icon from My Computer and perusing to Create Image from CD/DVD. Make sure you note the location you save to so you can find it later. I’ve played several games this way, it saves wear and tear on the disc and read access is much faster.

It's a nice little utility to have in your back pocket.

thanks for the saves jenny. I tried copying them to the DPOT folder in win98. they unzipped just fine (by the way, the vpc additions work like a charm. I can drag and drop from win7 to the VM with ease). The only problem now is when I try to load the saves it asks "where is the .dxr file?"

InlandAZ, I think I will try to mount the game per your suggestion. Too bad my power ISo software only works from win2000 and up.

Edit; Minor scratches found on disk. This could be the problem. Will try to mount

The images are created on the Host - So, if your software doesn't have issues with Windows 7 you should be able to use it.

The power toy (ISO Recorder) is free utility for those that don’t have other options. It's also fully supported under Windows 7.

ok then PowerISO should work then, because capturing Steve,s .img file to set up win98 worked just fine (PowerISO recognized it).

What about the .dxr problem? (Director). Could this have anything to do with DirectX? the game then opens a window where it's looking for a file called NR01

Edit: Just noticed strange behavior from the game. After I swipe the card the door still doesn't open. I then press the space bar which makes the inventory screen pop up with the same 2 items inside (swipe card and artefact). Just thought I'd add this bit of detail.

Edit final: Well, I guess mounting the game worked in this case. Thanks for all your help !

No it's not related to DirectX. Those are Macromedia file extensions. It's possible the save games that Jenny sent you contain directory or drive information (they could be different from your own).


Try to open one of them with notepad. See if there are any file specifications. Something like this -

CD=D:\your drive letter\

When the game prompts you for the location, does it give you an option the "browse" for it?

Unfortunately I don't own the game, but I believe it's one of Jenny's favs - she'd be far better at answering that question.

Edit -



Good deal - glad you got it sorted out

That's possible. My game folder is installed in the root folder C: and not in Program Files or My Documents.

But it sounds like mounting the image of the CD fixed your problems anyway.

sounds like it to me too Jenny. But I'll keep the saves. Thanks to you guys I've learned a lot about virtual machines and even more about the inner workings of file structures and my pc and such. I really appreciate it.

How do I save these two topics we've created in case I ever need to refer to them again? As a link, or do I simply keep them in my Watched topics? Will they stay there forever?

You could either save the html file of the thread to your hard drive (in which case you won't see any updates to the thread but you'll be able to read it offline) or you can bookmark the thread in your browser (or save the link). I suppose using Watched Topics would work too.

Duh. thanks!

One last question if I may: There's a chance I may get a copy of XP Pro from my brother as well. Now, since I've never actually installed XP from scratch myself (I had OEM software with my old pc as I once told you), would I simply install XP via win98 (because XP won't be able to install through DOS)?

If you want to install XP Pro inside of Virtual PC, create a new Virtual Machine for XP Pro. Don't install over Win 98 because you'll want to keep that handy.

You should be able to boot off the XP Pro disc when you load the empty Virtual Machine. Installing XP Pro is easy. Just follow the prompts.

Not only is XP Pro easy to install - it also tends to be a bit more compatible with older games (don't ask me why).

I have several Windows 3.1 games that refuse to start under 95, 98 and ME - but XP plays them flawlessly.

good to know. thanks.

final update: You'll be glad to know that all the effort put into win98 and rhem2 paid off wonderfully. It's running super fast and stable. Thanks again :thanx:

a little update: XP Pro installed smooth as silk on my 2nd VM. Me thinks I might be hooked on this Jenny