Problems installing IWD: Heart of Winter

[N'Al]

I recently installed BG2: ToB on my new PC* and ran into the black box problem, which, apparently, is not uncommon on GeForce 8000 series graphics cards. After I installed the Widescreen Mod, however, all these graphics problems disappeared, so I've now got a perfectly working copy of BG2 on my PC. Sweet!

 

I'm now trying to do the same thing for IWD: HoW since the unmodded version throws up the same graphics problems. Unfortunately, the Widescreen Mod requires a full install of HoW, and I'm getting an error message when I attempt the full install (the recommended one works fine, though). The error message is:

 

"Component transfer error

Component: Full Uncompressed

File Group: Full Uncompressed

File: D:\CD3\Data\eAR9200.cbf

Error: Data error (cyclic redundancy check)"

 

Once I then press OK the installation is simply aborted, i.e. it dumps me back to the desktop.

 

Does anyone know what this error means, and whether there is a way around it (e.g. by doing the recommended install and then copying some files from the CD to the harddrive manually)?

 

* Specs:

Intel Core 2 Duo 2.66GHz

2047MB RAM

GeForce 8800 GT

Windows Vista Home Premium 32-bit

[Qwerty the Sir]

This looks like a scratched disc issue. I had a similar error warning "Error: Data error (cyclic redundancy check)" when trying to install Baldur's Gate and it could not find one file.

 

I was finally able to install the game, after cleaning my disc pretty well (I used one of those disc repair cleaners) and installing it on a newer DVD drive.

 

I suggest trying to clean your disc and try again, maybe on a newer drive. Otherwise yeah you may need to copy the disc to the hard drive and if you can find the corrupted files I can try to email them to you.

 

Good luck man

[N'Al]

This looks like a scratched disc issue. I had a similar error warning "Error: Data error (cyclic redundancy check)" when trying to install Baldur's Gate and it could not find one file.

 

I was finally able to install the game, after cleaning my disc pretty well (I used one of those disc repair cleaners) and installing it on a newer DVD drive.

 

I suggest trying to clean your disc and try again, maybe on a newer drive. Otherwise yeah you may need to copy the disc to the hard drive and if you can find the corrupted files I can try to email them to you.

 

Good luck man

 

Hrm, I guess you're right.

There's a small but deep scratch on the disc. I've tried cleaning it as well as possible, but the installation still conks out when it gets to eAR9200.cbf.

I've also now copied the entire disc to the harddrive; fortunately, that's the only file that seems to be corrupted. All others copied fine.

 

If you (or someone) could email me the file, that'd be ace! Cheers!

[Qwerty the Sir]

The file was over a little over 10 megs so I uploaded it on GigaSize:

 

Link.

 

Hope it works :D

[Tigranes]

Yes, try using Qwerty's replacement to install from the hard drive.

 

If not, I believe the trick to fake a Full Install is still possible with IWD:HOW? I haven't tried it on it myself, but basically, you copy the files onto a folder on your hard drive, then open icewind.ini in your installed game, and change the paths to point to the hard drive. (And possibly, Installation Type=3.)

[Bartimaeus]

Use toothpaste and water to clean your scratched CDs. ie., smear toothpaste all over the data side of the CD, and then wash it off with water as well as using your finger. Always works.

[Gromnir]

am envious. 12-15 hours of our life were wasted playing how. inability to install would have been a boon (albeit one that we could not have appreciated w/o perspective.)

 

go chew tin foil, or urinate on an electric fence... is equally enjoyable to playing how.

 

HA! Good Fun!

[Big Bottom]

You didn't like it then?

Edited March 9, 2008 by Big Bottom

[Tigranes]

Have IWD:HOW + TtoL installed and a party ready to go, but haven't really had the urge yet. I enjoyed IWD2 a lot more and played that 3-4 times, so now I've nearly forgotten what the first one is like. I just need to get my IE urges going again, having played through Thief 2 and 3 back-to-back.

 

I certainly consider both IWD1 and 2 too grindy to play continuously - you need breaks from all that monster-pounding, and I admit using Ctrl+Y to bypass some annoying battles. But they're still good romps if you enjoy IE.

[Gorgon]

Nothing called Icewind was that fantastic. As for replayability, the inventory and ragdolls in Icewind Dale 1 are so ugly it's a real eyestrain. At least they changed a lot of that for Icewind Dale 2.

[N'Al]

Balls! But then again, not.

 

I downloaded the file from Qwerty's link (once again, muchos gracias!) and then burnt it on CD along with the uncorrupted files from my original CD.

Now when I try and install the game I get this error message:

 

"CRC error

CRC error: The file C:\Games\Icewind Dale\ CD3\Data\eAR9200.cbf doesn't match the file in the setup's .cab file. The medium from which you are running the setup may be corrupted; contact your software vendor."

 

Thankfully, the installation continued once I clicked Ignore, and the Widescreen Mod is now installed as well; I just hope that this doesn't cause errors further on down the line.

 

Also, the graphics bug is unfortunately still there.

[Tigranes]

That should actually work, N'Al - and later, if you crash trying to enter a particular area, that's probably eAR9200. (There should be an Area Code list online - that's the easiest way to check) It shouldn't crash at all, but if it does, just try re-copying Qwerty's version directly into the hard-drive, then clearing the temps folder.

 

I take it all the 'fixes' you tried for the other games have yet to work with IWD1, for the graphics glitch? I'm not sure how to remedy that one, maybe the ohters will.

[N'Al]

Well, according to this FAQ AR9200 is the Barbarian camp. Quite an important area, I'd say. Ah well, we'll see what happens when I get back there.

 

As for the graphics glitches, yeah, I've still got some options I can try, like turning on Software BLT, etc. That seemed to have helped other people with GeForce 8000s. I'll have to run IWD Config later and see what I can do.

 

Anyway, thanks guys and gals for the help so far.

[Qwerty the Sir]

Hope all goes well. Icewind Dale is my favorite game all time, and I thought Heart of Winter was a solid expansion (and Trials of the Luremaster was excellent).

 

I really don't know why you would get that error message. My Heart of Winter disc came from the Icewind Dale Ultimate Collection, but aside from having the manuals on the discs, the Heart of Winter disc was exactly like the standalone version.

 

Let us know if you have anymore problems.

[Junai]

Only thing that bothered me when I played HoW were the huge clunky avatars for the tribe-warriors. Other than that, it's a great dungeon-crawl and lots of fun.

I can play IWD and HOW over and over. Pure nostalgia. NWN2 I uninstalled and shelved after 3 days. Was about as entertaining as watching the first Dungeons & Dragons movie, the one with the mulatto-elf and the evildoer with the blue lipstick. Would rather watch 200 episodes of Walker Texas Ranger.

 

J.

[N'Al]

Hope all goes well. Icewind Dale is my favorite game all time, and I thought Heart of Winter was a solid expansion (and Trials of the Luremaster was excellent).

 

While IWD is nowhere near my favourite game this is my second run-through. Currently about to enter the Luremaster castle, then I just have to head back to finish the last chapter of HoW.

 

Anyway, turned on Software Transparent BLT, and that got rid of the black boxes. Seems to be working fine now (although I'm experiencing some minor slowdown in some areas where there's a lot going on; checked BG2: ToB as well, and the slowdown was there as well (Saradush, for example)). These IE games, sooo hardware-hungry, eh?!?

 

Only thing that bothered me when I played HoW were the huge clunky avatars for the tribe-warriors.

 

Do you mean these guys: pic (sorry, couldn't find a bigger image)?

[taks]

the black boxes are a result of using one of the 32-bit settings (in config, i don't recall the actual setting). i think if you switch to 16 or 24-bit they go away. i had the same problem. using software BLT may remedy the problem, but probably creates the slow-downs you're speaking of.

 

qwerty's ultimate collection file is probably updated from any original HoW CD set you may have, which would explain why it has a different CRC check. i.e., the ultimate collection was probably based on a new build generated with some (or all) of the patches and resulted in a different checksum value. since you have the original (assumed), it's looking for the original checksum.

 

taks

[N'Al]

I'm using 16-bit and I still get the black boxes without Software BLT turned on.

 

I've heard that different people had to solve this problem in different ways; what worked for some didn't work for others. For some, changing from 32 to 16-bit helped them get rid of the problem, whereas others (like me) needed to switch on one of the BLT (bacon lettuce tomato???) settings. I guess I just need to tinker some more with the settings to find the ideal one that doesn't result in black boxes, but gives me the least slowdowns.

 

As for the 'ultimate collection', is this what you mean? Cause that's what I've got, and it didn't come with any patches, was just plain old HoW - certainly no Trials of the Luremaster.

[Junai]

Only thing that bothered me when I played HoW were the huge clunky avatars for the tribe-warriors.

 

Do you mean these guys: pic (sorry, couldn't find a bigger image)?

 

Hehe.. yeah. Your own characters (even fighters with 18/100 str) look like kids compared to those savages. Oh well, I guess realistic graphics isn't the main priority for most gamers.

 

J.

Edited March 10, 2008 by Junai

[N'Al]

Your own characters (even fighters with 18/100 str) look like kids compared to those savages.

 

True, but they look cool. They're BARBARIANS after all!

 

As for the slowdowns, have now turned off static background animations, runs pretty smoothly now.

[taks]

Cause that's what I've got, and it didn't come with any patches, was just plain old HoW - certainly no Trials of the Luremaster.

i believe it is already patched, up to the time the collection was originally released, so it wouldn't "come with patches," it would be "already patched." whether or not it contains the final patch i do not know. TotL would bring the "patched state" up to nearly the final anyway, and i don't recall if there was any subsequent patching done after that. perhaps it has something to do with a US vs. UK version? maybe each CD has a CRC based on whatever security measures were put in place?

 

taks

[Spider]

TotL is the final patch amd imcludes everything done prior to the release of the module.

[N'Al]

I downloaded the file from Qwerty's link (once again, muchos gracias!) and then burnt it on CD along with the uncorrupted files from my original CD.

Now when I try and install the game I get this error message:

 

"CRC error

CRC error: The file C:\Games\Icewind Dale\ CD3\Data\eAR9200.cbf doesn't match the file in the setup's .cab file. The medium from which you are running the setup may be corrupted; contact your software vendor."

 

Thankfully, the installation continued once I clicked Ignore, and the Widescreen Mod is now installed as well; I just hope that this doesn't cause errors further on down the line.

 

So, I finally managed to complete TotL and got back to Lonelywood with the help of the ring.

 

Unfortunately... errors down the line.

Everytime I now try and enter the Barbarian camp the loading screen gets about half-way, then the screen just goes black and crashes on me completely. Damn.

 

Tried Tigranes' trick below as well, but no luck. Ah well, I guess it's toothpaste time, and if that doesn't work ebay.

 

That should actually work, N'Al - and later, if you crash trying to enter a particular area, that's probably eAR9200. (There should be an Area Code list online - that's the easiest way to check) It shouldn't crash at all, but if it does, just try re-copying Qwerty's version directly into the hard-drive, then clearing the temps folder.

[Tigranes]

Heh, I played the game around the same time, I actually finished HoW so went back and now doing ToTL.

 

Anyway, so AR9200 is the Barbarian Camp, then. That's tricky - the Barbarian Camp is visited multiple times and has various triggers, so that it's probably unwise to simply skip over the area. Unless someone comes up with a better idea:

 

1. You did do full install, right? The [alias] section of icewind.ini should read like this:

CD3:=C:\Games\Game Folders\Icewind Dale\CD3\ (Or whichever folder its installed in, thats just mine).

 

1b. If it's not, and it's set to D:\CD3\ or something, copy the entire contents of the CD3 folder in the Heart of Winter CD to the above folder; then put in Qwerty's AR9200.cbf.

 

2. Clear the cache/data and temp folders in your IWD folder.

 

3. Try again.

 

This is probably what you have already done, though. I'll see if I can find anything from my past troubles when I come back home later.

[N'Al]

Yeah, tried all that; to no avail, unfortunately. And my dental hygiene products are going to remain just that - dental hygiene products - as well.

 

Ah well, ebay. Not that this won't be the 3rd copy of HoW I'll be buying...