Startup problem with Steam

[bamapookie]

I just purchased Darwinia and Uplink through Steam. Darwinia works fine, but when I try to start uplink, only a small black box appears (3-4 pixels wide and 20-30 pixels tall). The sound starts (you hear the modem dialing and the connection, then the very fine music) and the mouse is restricted to the small black box. I end up having to alt-tab out and then kill Uplink with the task manager. Can anyone help?

Edit: It's 4 pixels by 32 pixels. When I start uplink, the screen goes blank and the resolution changes, then the small box appears and the sound starts.

[frenchfrog]

Update your video drivers.

If you are on Vista you could be out of luck because most graphic card manufacturers have buggy OpenGL drivers.

[bamapookie]

I'm using Windows XP Pro and have the latest drivers from Nvidia. I have a GeForce 7600 GS and am using the 93.71 drivers.

[frenchfrog]

Do you play the latest patch?

Do you run a buggy windows gui replacement? (like windowsblinds) If see, put Uplink in the exclusion list.

Worse case you could try putting this opengl32.dll file in the Uplink diectory.

[bamapookie]

I'm using the most up to date version on Steam (betas excluded). I don't run any gui replacements. I'll try the opengl file tomorrow and let you know what happens.

[frenchfrog]

Put the opengl32.dll file in [Your Steam directory]\steamapps\common\uplink

[bamapookie]

The opengl32.dll did not resolve the problem.

[frenchfrog]

Try to run Uplink with '+graphics_safemode +game_debugstart' on the command line and post the resulting [Your Steam directory]\steamapps\common\uplink\users\debug.log .


Care to give a dxdiag report?

1)'Start' windows button
2)'Run ...'
3)Type 'dxdiag.exe' in the 'Open' textbox and press the 'Ok' button
4)Once the 'dxdiag.exe' dialog is up, click the 'Save All Information ...' button.
5)Choose a destination for the file (ie: your desktop) and a name for the file (ie: 'dxdiag_info.txt')
6)Post the content of the file here.


Also, please post back if do find a way to solve your problem.

[bamapookie]

I haven't had the opportunity to try frenchfrog's suggestions from the preceding post, but I found the culprit: Google Desktop. When I shut down the google desktop sidebar, I was able to start Uplink with no problems. I'm using the latest version of the Google Desktop. Is there anything known about this incompatibility?

[frenchfrog]

Thanks for reporting back the problem.

No, it's the first time I heard about it. I guess I'll add it alongside WindowsBlinds in the softwares causing problems.