[Win XP] Demo crashes when starting

[BlueSalamander]

Mmmm, after reading this thread http://forums.steampowered.com/forums/archive/index.php/t-2717189.html, I wonder, could it be a mouse issue?

Does the music continue to play after the game freezes? If yes then it could be something with the mouse.
Like the options 'enhance pointer precision' or 'display pointer trails'.

Also someone says 'I was able to fix this issue by checking Disable display scaling on high DPI settings on the compatibility settings for the executable of the game.'
Worth a try if you have this option somewhere.

[Absalom526]

Tried both of those ideas, neither worked. Though DPI settings for WinXP are limited to High, Medium, or Custom; and none for compatibility mode. The thread suggested setting compatibility mode to WinXP levels of DPI compression so I do not think it is relevant anyway (Though I tried all available options). I'm thinking it just may not work on XP for whatever reason.

And the music stops when it crashes, it is not a mouse option; though I tried setting my mouse options to both of those suggested.

[BlueSalamander]

Could you please launch Driver Sweeper and then try again?
You can download Driver Sweeper from there: http://www.guru3d.com/content-page/guru3d-driver-sweeper.html

If that does not help, could you please try to launch the game in XP without any service package?
To do this install XP as a virtual machine by following the instructions there:
http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/11060/create-an-xp-mode-for-windows7-home-versions-and-vista/
You will need the original XP CD. Thanks!

[BlueSalamander]

Hi, I would be grateful if someone could try version 1.011 in Windows XP. Does it work any better than the previous one?

Link to download: http://www.mediafire.com/download/5bdcwpxofew14rp/BOTSDemoVersion1011.exe

[Noumenon]

Nope, sorry.

[BlueSalamander]

Thanks. What if you install the Visual C++ 2008 Redistributable Package (x86) from http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=29, does it work any better?

I'll also try another thing, running the game on XP SP 3 using VMware.

[BlueSalamander]

I've tried the XP SP 3 virtual machine. The game runs perfectly, so I can't look for problem code or a missing file.
The mystery remains. I guess in the future if I have access to an XP machine I will try again, but XP is infrequent now.