Problems With Zoo Tycoon 2

[Guest]

Hi there!

I am having serious problems getting Zoo Tycoon 2 to work on my system. The
game was bought as a gift for my younger sisters but I have been unable to
get it working. Installation was fine and the game starts without any
problems, but mid-game the program closes down. Sometimes this is after only
a few minutes, sometimes upto half an hour. The game doesn't give any signal
it is about to close (no jumping or freezing) it just goes straight to the
desktop.

My Specs:
AMD Sempron 3400 @ 2.5GHz
1023MB RAM
160GB HD
Connect3D 9550 AGP card
Windows XP Prof SP2
Onboard Audio - Realtek AC97

The microsoft site doesn't list any issues with any of my components

I have tried clean-booting, I have installed all the latest video/audio
drivers aswell as every update available for Windows. I have reinstalled
DirectX. I have created a new user and tried the game under that profile. I
have also reinstalled the game multiple times.

I have scanned for spyware and viruses and found nothing.

I'm all out of ideas! I'd appreciate any help or suggestions, my sisters are
eager to play!

Thanks in advance.

 

[Jimmy S.]

Hi Steven Owen,

Hardware issues can cause freezing, black screens and other
errors. Also, your drivers should always be kept up to date.

Try the following steps one at a time to try and resolve the issue.
I hope this helps. Please post back if you have any questions!

1. Update DirectX and your Chipset, Sound, &Video Drivers:
For all Video / DirectX / Game and Hardware Issues, I have a
Checklist of Solutions at: http://NibblesNbitsVideo.tk

2. Dust your fans, vents and components using a 1/4" paintbrush
and a hose vacuum. Use compressed air for hard to reach places.
Set a housefan to blow cold air into your case to expose an over-
heating issue.. If it works add more fans or replace defective ones.
Use this Motherboard Monitor Utility: http://mbm.livewiredev.com

3. A faulty power supply can cause STOP errors, random reboots,
and black screen lockups. One way to test for that is to check the
wattage sticker on your power supply and then calculate your need
http://www.jscustompcs.com/power_supply/ (Min. 350 for gaming)

4. Test your RAM using: http://oca.microsoft.com/en/windiag.asp

--
Cheers, Windows_XP_MVP_Shell/User
Jimmy S. http://mvp.support.microsoft.com

Visit my MSN Zone.com and Gaming Help Site: http://mvps.org/nibblesnbits
MS Games Help and Support Center: http://support.microsoft.com/?pr=gms
My advice is donated "AS IS" without warranty; nor do I confer any rights.
_________________________________________________________


Steven Owen Wrote:
=================
| Hi there!
|
| I am having serious problems getting Zoo Tycoon 2 to work on my system. The
| game was bought as a gift for my younger sisters but I have been unable to
| get it working. Installation was fine and the game starts without any
| problems, but mid-game the program closes down. Sometimes this is after only
| a few minutes, sometimes upto half an hour. The game doesn't give any signal
| it is about to close (no jumping or freezing) it just goes straight to the
| desktop.
|
| My Specs:
| AMD Sempron 3400 @ 2.5GHz
| 1023MB RAM
| 160GB HD
| Connect3D 9550 AGP card
| Windows XP Prof SP2
| Onboard Audio - Realtek AC97
|
| The microsoft site doesn't list any issues with any of my components
|
| I have tried clean-booting, I have installed all the latest video/audio
| drivers aswell as every update available for Windows. I have reinstalled
| DirectX. I have created a new user and tried the game under that profile. I
| have also reinstalled the game multiple times.
|
| I have scanned for spyware and viruses and found nothing.
|
| I'm all out of ideas! I'd appreciate any help or suggestions, my sisters are
| eager to play!
|
| Thanks in advance.

 

[Guest]

Thanks for the advice.

I had a bit of a major crash the other day. Seems my XP installation is
missing a few important files so I'm backing up my important documents and
formatting and reinstalling XP.

I checked the memory and thats fine and I recently installed a new case fan
and PSU. The problem occurred with both the old ones and the new ones so I
doubt there's a problem there.

Its probably a driver issue or something to do with the big holes in my OS!
Its the last time I give my little sister Admin rights!

I'll report back to tell you how the game works under my new installation.

Thanks again...

 

[Katy Pluta]

I had a bit of a major crash the other day. Seems my XP installation is

missing a few important files so I'm backing up my important documents and
formatting and reinstalling XP.

You could try a repair of Windows XP first, before formatting... That
might be enough and take less hassle, and not much time lost with a
repair if it does no work...

===
All the Best
Katy Pluta, MS MVP for Simulators

 

[Chris H.]

As Katy mentioned in her post, trying a Repair Install might be your best
method so you don't need to install all the programs already there. See if
this information from MVP Michael Stevens on the Repair might help you:
http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/XPrepairinstall.htm
--
Chris H.
Microsoft Windows MVP/Tablet PC
Tablet Creations - http://nicecreations.us/
Associate Expert
Expert Zone -

 

[Guest]

Oh dear. Didn't read your posts until after the format!

Well it's done with now, it was probably for the best because I'd
accumulated alot of rubbish over the past year or so. There's been a notable
improvement in speed and Zoo Tycoon runs like a dream.

My problem now is how to drag my sisters away from the game for long enough
to check my emails.. any ideas?!

Cheers

 

[Guest]

Just an update.

As I mentioned I'm running a Sempron 3400. It claimed to run at 1.8GHz out
of the box but it started up at 2.0GHz in my board with default BIOS.

Anyway, after the XP reinstall I overclocked it back to 2.5GHz. I bought a
decent cooler a while back and I was running it at these speeds for many many
months. Completely stable without increasind the voltage (several sites also
claim that running the chip at these speeds is completely fine) - but now
those crashes in Zoo Tycoon 2 are back. If I boot up at 2.0GHz it runs fine.

I'm fairly certain the crashes are attributable to the overclocking. Zoo
Tycoon 2 seems to be the only program suffering from the change in speeds.
It's a bit of an inconvienience but atleast I know what the problem is.

Seems a bit wierd!