2.8.3 wont work and if 2.8.2 crashes nothing works

[Angel]

For a while i have had a problem, with 2.8.2 beta, it installs fine works well then if a server crashes, next time i try to load the game i get a typical windows microsoft error and the programme won't even load, uninstalling and reinstalling won't help. I have even downloaded the game to another pc, checked it worked, copied it over to mine, and still it won't open for me
even 2.7.1 wouldn't play, until Tank sent me his version of arma

i love arma and thought it worth formatting my lil laptop to try get arma working and yay, it does, but i know as soon as a server crashes, which does and will happen, then it will be unplayable again. I also downloaded the latest beta 2.8.3 release, but that wont open at all, after install i straight away get the windows error, this means i can't play on some servers, my fav server being guru3's server, which is now saying i need an update, yet its impossible for me to update
I dont want to and shouldn't have to format my laptop just to play arma

i have an acer travelmate4400 with an ATI radion x700 and have had no problems with anything but arma, if possible i would love some help on this. Yes i could maybe get linux, but getting linux on a laptop isnt always so easy, so for now im stuck with this error and each time i open the beta 2.8.2 im holding my breath hoping it will load.

and still theres no angel smilie lol

[Z-Man]

Waitwait. So, your situation is:
You have 0.2.7.1, 0.2.8_beta2 and 0.2.8_beta2 installed (into different directories, I assume).
Before the moment X,
0.2.7.1 works
0.2.8_beta2 works
0.2.8_beta3 does not work.
Then, moment X comes: you play on a server, and ??the server crashes??? What exactly do you mean by that?
After moment X,
0.2.7.1 does not work
0.2.8_beta2 does not work
0.2.8_beta3 does not work (surpise!).

What is this typical Windows error you get for beta3? Would you be willing in helping with a little debugging? It would involve you installing a small debugger, running the game until it crashes, and sending back output.

One thing you can try to do to restart the installation of AA only is to open up your user configuration directory and delete everything in it. beta3 has a start menu entry for it. For 0.2.8_betaX, I would not know what else may be persistent across game sessions. And I'm absolutely clueless about what could cause 0.2.7.1 to fail; the two should have no interaction at all.

[Angel]

hi thankyou for the fast reply and apologies for not explaining better

the other day i tried entering a server and instead of entering i was literally thrown out of the game, the whole of arma closed and i was returned to my desktop, after that arma beta 2.8.2 wouldn't open, no amount of reinstalling and uninstalling would work, the 2.7.1 i also had wouldnt open and i was given the same error, the windows error of, this programme has to close due to an error it also had the msvcrt.dll in the title.
this happened once before and i was able to play again when as a last resort i downloaded arma to another pc and copied the folder across to my pc without using the installer, this worked until the recent crash i descibed above. I tried this again, but this time it diddnt work, hence the format.

the error i get when i try to load 2.8.3 is

armagetronad.exe has encountered a problem and needs to close. We are sorry for the inconvenience.

i would be happy to help with anything, if i can, just let me know what it is, what i have to do, when and how lol

[k]

Did you try rebooting the computer?

[Angel]

yes i rebooted my pc several times, including restarting to totally turning it off for a lil while and then restarting

[joda.bot]

is this solved ?

hm... angel do you have any problems with other applications ?


With the latest beta there are two new menu entries (at least I notcied them once beta3 was installed). Use the Link to open the folders for

Armagetron Advanced Server Data and
Armagetron Advanced User Data

. In the User data directory ... just create a new directory "backup" and
move the two folders "resource" and "var" into "backup".

This is only needed if the first step did not workout:
In the Server data directory rename the "var" folder to "backup-var".

The User Data directory contains the settings and is never cleared during install or uninstall (AFAIK). Once it works ... I guess you should zip the user data "backup" folder and upload it here.

Just my go at it....

[Phytotron]

Off-topic, but this thread just makes me think about it: Does anyone else think it's a problem that numerous people have been calling them 2.8.2 and 2.8.3? The problem being that some may think these are full version releases, rather than understanding that they are betas. I think it has been discussed elsewhere that it may need to be more clearly stated that they are betas.

[Z-Man]

Yes, that's annoying me, too.

I think it has been discussed elsewhere that it may need to be more clearly stated that they are betas.

Maybe, but how? Replace the menu background?

[Phytotron]

I meant on pages where it can be downloaded.

"THIS DOWNLOAD IS A BETA. IT IS NOT AN OFFICIAL RELEASE. That is why it's titled 0.2.8_beta2 and NOT 0.2.8 or 0.2.8.2 or 2.8.2. Take note of this when you come to the forums to make bug reports/complaints."

Or something to that effect, heh.

I remember Lucifer had some other ideas for making some sort of announcement with the game itself, but uh, I'm too lazy to look up the thread.

And/or, someone could design a different title screen with an FBI-type warning, pointing out that the person is playing a beta.

[Angel]

I realise the 2.8.2 i have been using is a beta release, and also that 2.8.3 is also the next beta release, the reason i didn't name them as beta releases is because i assumed however wrongly that as i was trying to report what maybe is a bug, that the people that could help me would know they are beta releases.
I think it is pretty obvious they are beta releases as when you go to download them, they are named as such, in game if im asking a person what version they are using i usually ask are they using the beta version and which one, and from what i have seen with most conversations is that most players realise that the 2.8 releases are beta and not official releases.

I hate writing in forums and it took me a while to report my problem, as to be honest i feel so stupid and lacking in knowledge in all of this, now having this pointed out, just because i left the word beta from my post, reminds me of why i don't post.

[Lucifer]

I think it's all reasonably stated, and some people calling them 2.8.3 are clearly just being lazy. You know, like writing "myn" instead of "mine". I don't know of anyone that has tried to treat these as full versions, but then I guess I hang out with the early adopters anyway. Huh.

[Tank Program]

It's gotten a nickname somehow. Big deal. The point is now you're making this sound like Angel's fault which it is. The point of a beta is to get it tested so that we don't have a couple of dozen people knocking at our gates when something goes wrong. Here's a case where something has clearly gone wrong. An average end user has come to report a bug, which looks to be quite serious. I don't know why you're making such a big deal of this with the name thing, but users copies of Armagetron suddenly not working seems to be a bigger issue. It's not a case of lazyness on the part of the end user, it's a case of the end user doing what he or she was asked to do, and that is test the software. I may sound harsh but it's not fair to Angel to be called lazy. She has gone to great length to try and fix this herself and as she has stated she does not enjoy forums. She took a big leap of faith coming here to help get this fixed, and you're essentially throwing pies in her face. Take the nameing thing into another thread (I may split it) or actually play some on varried servers where the average player plays and listen to what they say. Still, it's neither here no there. The point is to get the problem fixed, and find out what's causing it, because Armagetron suddenly not working is a huge problem here, not some silly little thing with the names.

[Lucifer]

whoah, I was trying not to call Angel lazy specifically, I was thinking about other places I've seen this recently. I know durn well Angel's trying to help and stuff, Angel's a sweetheart and we all owe her at least something for her efforts (assuming Angel is a she, I don't actually know, and Angel's a boy's name too).

Look on the bright side, at least people are trying to tell us which beta they're having problems with. I'm *also* running into people on the grid who are saying just "the beta".

[Tank Program]

whoah, I was trying not to call Angel lazy specifically, I was thinking about other places I've seen this recently.

Sorry, I know how we tend to sort of go off on sidethreads, but new users to the forums don't, and in that context it really did look that way.

(assuming Angel is a she, I don't actually know, and Angel's a boy's name too).

Yes, Angel is female.

[Z-Man]

Ok, Angel, please just ignore the OT stuff. And please also think every order I give is followed by "please, with sugar"
Here's what you need to do to send back debug output: It involves downloading about 13 Mb of software. If you can't do that, I'll try to find a leaner solution, but the one alternative I already tried was inadequate.

I'm assuming you're using a 32 bit Windows version.

Ready?
1. Go to Microsoft and download their debug tools. The page is
http://www.microsoft.com/whdc/devtools/ ... llx86.mspx
and the direct download link is
http://msdl.microsoft.com/download/symb ... .5.3.8.exe
(If size is a problem, take one of the earlier versions, they should work all the same)
2. Install them.
3. Start them; they should be in the start menu under "Debugging Tools for Windows", therein WinDbg.
4. In the "File" menu, select "Open Executable". Click your way to the executable of 0.2.8_beta3.
5. In the "Debug" menu, select "Go".
6. Watch it crash; ignore the huge window in the debugger that just gives a "file not found" error. That's there because you don't have the sources installed.
7. In the "View" menu, select "Locals", "Disassembly" and "Call Stack", the last one being the most important.
8. Copy/Paste the window contents here or make a screenshot and attach it.

The call stack will tell us where exactly the progam crashes; the "Locals" window may give some clue why it crashes.

We can also schedule an IM/IRC session were I walk you through this, but my parents will visit over the weekend and there is still a lot to do, so it'd have to be next week.