Undetectable cd?

[SilentWinds]

Ok, I was having trouble previously with the main menu not opening up, yet still having music playing in the background... I downloaded the latest patches for the game and it requires me to have the cd in the drive... that is the case currently and I keep on getting an error saying that it can not detect the cd in the drive and to retry once the cd is in... is there any way around this step? Its a bit of a nuisance...

[Terra Nullius]

sorry i really can't help with that one, but my prayers are with you!
this is exactly the problem i started with.
so far i have tried

replacing the cd-drive
-- didn't help

reinstalling civ
-- couldn't do it because it won't read the cd

re-installing windows
-- that went fine, but now when i try to re-install civ, autorun creates all sorts of errors, and setup says it can't read from the specified device

ptw cd successfully installs directx, but then spits the dummy because it can't detect vanilla as being installed.
c3c setup starts correctly, then runs into the same problem.

copying the cd across to the hdd
-- goes fine until it runs into the art/movies/*.bik files, then chucks a wobbly

ever since this happened (ie. 'please insert cd message' appearing even though the cd is definitely in the drive), i seem to have run into every imaginable video problem and a fair share of system board probs

like i said, can't shed any light on it myself, but i'd sure as hell like to know whats going on

oh and WHY THE F@#$ DO WE HAVE TO PUT UP WITH THIS IRRITATING B. "PLEASE INSERT CD" THING IN THE FIRST PLACE!!! @#$% .. @#$% .. @#$%

edit: don't know if this will help with your problem but it appears we are not alone ...

http://forums.civfanatics.com/forumdisplay.php?f=48

[Kloreep]

Originally posted by lebensraum
oh and WHY THE F@#$ DO WE HAVE TO PUT UP WITH THIS IRRITATING B. "PLEASE INSERT CD" THING IN THE FIRST PLACE!!! @#$% .. @#$% .. @#$%

Copy protection.

I don't have any suggestions for getting the CD detected, but you could contact Atari support and try to get a no-CD patch that allows you to run it without the CD. I don't know what you'll need in order to prove you own a legal copy since I've never needed it myself, but I have read they will sometimes give one to you.

[Gramphos]

Re: Undetectable cd?

Originally posted by SilentWinds
Ok, I was having trouble previously with the main menu not opening up, yet still having music playing in the background... I downloaded the latest patches for the game and it requires me to have the cd in the drive... that is the case currently and I keep on getting an error saying that it can not detect the cd in the drive and to retry once the cd is in... is there any way around this step? Its a bit of a nuisance...

What game release do you have the CD from and what patch are you trying to run?

For PTW and vanilla Civ3 you would need to get a patch for the correct disc since the copy protection is different in different parts of the world. See the Civ3 patch center on the mainpage for links to all patch versions.

[SilentWinds]

I downloaded the latest patches from the Civ 3 website... I think that its my Nivida Riva TNT 64 Pro video card... I re installed the game and the video card had an error and crashed my computer, so I have given up on trying... My computer is a knob...

[Terra Nullius]

Originally posted by Kloreep
Copy protection

yeah, but how lame is that ?

You could contact Atari support and try to get a no-CD patch. I don't know what you'll need ...

'parrently ..
they like to see a screenie showing
a) the 'please insert cd' message, and
b) explorer window (on the same screen) showing that the cd is really there
oh, and i presume they'll want proof of purchase.

Originally posted by SilentWindsMy computer is a knob...

Ha !!
try this for size big boy...
amd k6
1.2 gig hdd
64 meg of ram
genuine vga monitor & card (pre-agp!)

damn what am i doin' ?? i should be auctioning this thing as an antique.
amazingly, though, before the no-cd bug bit me, c3c was working perfectly well on ...
p2 ~300 MHz and
32 M ram
any knob you have got ...

oh well, that's the best i've been able to scrounge up on my currently *very limited resources, i know it doesn't meet the minimum system requirements. but i still think it has more to do with some subtle compatibility problem rather than just not having enough grunt

this must be how the wright bros felt watching their first fragile attempts get torn apart in the jet-stream of passing 747s

thx all 'round for the response

edit: some of the probs seem to be related to the .bik files, so next i'm gonna try playing around with bink and see what can be done

[SilentWinds]

Yeah, I kinda did just borrow the game from my buddy and tried to install it... When I re-installed it I recieved a fatal error message about my video card, which crashed my computer... The thing that suprizes me though is that this is the first time it has done that... Its frusterating... I think that all the difficulty is result of my video card, and that even if I got past the undetectable cd error... that my card would still not let the game run... because its just that cool... Computers suck but they kick butt :P

[Terra Nullius]

know how ya feel

i'm working off a borrowed copy right now while a friend is on hol's. i REALLY want to go out 'n get my own copy, but it's gonna be $$$ down the spout if i can't work out the basic compatibility prob.s

it worked fine before, then one day i wake up and ...
please insert cd

epilogue:
maybe it really is haunted. i got my machine off a friend who'd been running an internet caf' for some time. after i explained all of the trouble i was having. he had another look at things. so far he has collected three towers in his appartment. every one of them worked perfectly well for years in the cafe. he unplugged them, took them home, plugged them back in ...

nada

like, seriously nada. not one of them has a pulse. it's getting so i have to run and hide when i see him on the street.

notre pere qui es aux cieux ...

[alva]

Originally posted by SilentWinds
I downloaded the latest patches from the Civ 3 website... I think that its my Nivida Riva TNT 64 Pro video card... I re installed the game and the video card had an error and crashed my computer, so I have given up on trying... My computer is a knob...

I've used a TNT 32MB for several months with no problem and am currently using a GeForce 1 SDR ( the original ) and never experienced any problems.

[SilentWinds]

I guess I should just get workin on my plan to get a kick ass computer soon anyways... but then again... computers just cause me grief