Can't launch RT2 (v1.56) since last Win-7 update

[jeffryfisher]

For a couple years now, I've needed to launch RT2 twice before it would actually "open". Now it just runs in the background without ever claiming the screen. Even though I don't play very often anymore, I'll be very sad if one of my favorite games has been obsolesced by Microshaft 

Does anyone have any suggestions?

[CrownVic95]

7 hours ago, jeffryfisher said:

For a couple years now, I've needed to launch RT2 twice before it would actually "open". Now it just runs in the background without ever claiming the screen. Even though I don't play very often anymore, I'll be very sad if one of my favorite games has been obsolesced by Microshaft 

Does anyone have any suggestions?

I know the feeling (of frustration) though I haven't experienced that specific problem. I ran RRT II for many years on W98SE, then XP for many more. But my HD finally bit the dust and I bought a new laptop running Windows 10. So I skipped W7 altogether and have never had a RRT II problem with W10. I didn't know they were still updating Win 7.

My first hunch would be to look at video drivers. Did that update mess with any of your drivers?

 

[jeffryfisher]

Doubtful it messed with drivers. I think only vital security updates are sent to Win-7 these days. I'll look at the compatibility setting and then see if Win-10 can work for me as well as it does for you (luckily my Win-10 laptop has a DVD / CD drive to spin the key).

[CrownVic95]

On 1/18/2024 at 9:29 AM, jeffryfisher said:

Doubtful it messed with drivers. I think only vital security updates are sent to Win-7 these days. I'll look at the compatibility setting and then see if Win-10 can work for me as well as it does for you (luckily my Win-10 laptop has a DVD / CD drive to spin the key).

So have you resolved your issue?

[jeffryfisher]

On 1/29/2024 at 11:30 AM, CrownVic95 said:

So have you resolved your issue?

Yes -- I had an RT2 backup data disk instead of my backup install disk in the optical drive (similar writing on the upper surface).

Note to self: After backing up my saved games etc, don't leave the disk near the computer.

[CrownVic95]

7 hours ago, jeffryfisher said:

Yes -- I had an RT2 backup data disk instead of my backup install disk in the optical drive (similar writing on the upper surface).

Note to self: After backing up my saved games etc, don't leave the disk near the computer.

Glad to hear you found and fixed it.

Your post reminded me of a similar issue I had with Firefox for....years, I'd say....until I stumbled on the cause by accident. Most detail and text is too small for my old eyes on my 21" monitor that I run at 1920X1080. So I set the scaling in Windows 10 to 150% - have done it for years. But there is one exception to that, one program that runs off the screen at that scale and can't be adapted to run compatibly with it - Railroad Tycoon II 😉.

So back to Firefox. When I started Firefox, it would (almost) always open to a mini-rectangle at the top of the screen (along with the standard taskbar icon) and I would have to single click it twice to expand to normal. I gave up trying to figure out why and just lived with it for a long time. Then one day recently I opened it immediately after running RRTII at its required 100% scale. There it was - full screen (with little tiny text), no extra clicking required.

That was it! It opened with its modified version of "minimized" because of my scaling setting. Opens normally when set at 100% for younger eyes. 🙂 I had experienced that  from time to time before (which is why I said "almost" above), but never made the connection 'til just the other day.

[CrownVic95]

On 2/2/2024 at 7:09 AM, CrownVic95 said:

Glad to hear you found and fixed it.

Your post reminded me of a similar issue I had with Firefox for....years, I'd say....until I stumbled on the cause by accident. Most detail and text is too small for my old eyes on my 21" monitor that I run at 1920X1080. So I set the scaling in Windows 10 to 150% - have done it for years. But there is one exception to that, one program that runs off the screen at that scale and can't be adapted to run compatibly with it - Railroad Tycoon II 😉.

So back to Firefox. When I started Firefox, it would (almost) always open to a mini-rectangle at the top of the screen (along with the standard taskbar icon) and I would have to single click it twice to expand to normal. I gave up trying to figure out why and just lived with it for a long time. Then one day recently I opened it immediately after running RRTII at its required 100% scale. There it was - full screen (with little tiny text), no extra clicking required.

That was it! It opened with its modified version of "minimized" because of my scaling setting. Opens normally when set at 100% for younger eyes. 🙂 I had experienced that  from time to time before (which is why I said "almost" above), but never made the connection 'til just the other day.

Well, so much for that theory, or supposition, observation. It's (apparent) validity lasted only a matter of days. Firefox is now right back to opening minimally at default 100% scaling. There was an update to version 122.01 that I installed on Feb 7th, I believe, just 3 days ago. It would seem logical to blame the change on that update, but would be just a guess.

Mozilla has a long history of breaking Firefox with "upgrades" and updates, but I've yet to find any alternative that is preferable overall. Firefox is the worst browser out there.......except for all the others.  😉

[jeffryfisher]

4 hours ago, CrownVic95 said:

Mozilla has a long history of breaking Firefox with "upgrades" and updates, but I've yet to find any alternative that is preferable overall. Firefox is the worst browser out there.......except for all the others.  😉

How democratic!

Once upon a time, it was possible for Firefox and Thunderbird to each have one profile on one shared partition used by both Win-10 and Ubuntu on my dual-boot machine. I could then achieve "synchronization" internally because each version literally read the same files as the other. Then some genius broke one of the cardinal design laws of all Mozilla applications by making OS-dependent versions of one or more files in their profiles, forcing me (I hate being forced) to assign my profiles to one OS and abandon the other.

Now when I ask about synchronization, I am told to upload all of my (personal and private) email and browsing data to Mozilla's cloud. Like Hell I will.

[CrownVic95]

2 hours ago, jeffryfisher said:

How democratic!

Once upon a time, it was possible for Firefox and Thunderbird to each have one profile on one shared partition used by both Win-10 and Ubuntu on my dual-boot machine. I could then achieve "synchronization" internally because each version literally read the same files as the other. Then some genius broke one of the cardinal design laws of all Mozilla applications by making OS-dependent versions of one or more files in their profiles, forcing me (I hate being forced) to assign my profiles to one OS and abandon the other.

Now when I ask about synchronization, I am told to upload all of my (personal and private) email and browsing data to Mozilla's cloud. Like Hell I will.

Speaking of Thunderbird, do you use it? If so, have you succumbed to their "latest and greatest"....Supernova? I've used TB for 5 years now, since my XP machine bit the dust and I had to move to Windows 10.

But I read too many harsh and skeptical reviews of 115 early on to warm at all to the idea of "upgrading". I have stayed with 102 and, given all I've read for the last 7 months or so, there is no way in the world I will "upgrade". Especially since it has become a nightmare to try to "downgrade" to a previous TB version. And it got that way even before 115's release. But now, from most reports, it's worse than ever.

I'm happy with 102, except for it's daily nagging to "upgrade"....which can't be turned off any way that I have been able to find.

I've looked at some alternatives, but found none that didn't have issues that gave me pause.

[jeffryfisher]

19 hours ago, CrownVic95 said:

have you succumbed to their "latest and greatest"....Supernova?

Ubuntu has been upgrading TB without asking permission for years now (since about the same time the sync broke between WIn-10 and Linux), and there's no way to even ask it to wait until I'm ready. Likewise Firefox -- It'll sometimes become unusable in the middle of the day because it has upgraded without my knowledge or consent, and then I'm forced to restart it, even losing work / losing my browsing place(s).

[CrownVic95]

23 hours ago, jeffryfisher said:

Ubuntu has been upgrading TB without asking permission for years now (since about the same time the sync broke between WIn-10 and Linux), and there's no way to even ask it to wait until I'm ready. Likewise Firefox -- It'll sometimes become unusable in the middle of the day because it has upgraded without my knowledge or consent, and then I'm forced to restart it, even losing work / losing my browsing place(s).

So I take it that you have Supernova and are using it? Do you like it or do you wish you had 102 back?

[jeffryfisher]

8 hours ago, CrownVic95 said:

So I take it that you have Supernova and are using it? Do you like it or do you wish you had 102 back?

I have never heard the name "Supernova" (wrt Thunderbird) before now.

[CrownVic95]

9 hours ago, jeffryfisher said:

I have never heard the name "Supernova" (wrt Thunderbird) before now.

Everyone who uses Thunderbird knows that they call their newest release (in July '23) Supernova.

Clearly, you don't want to answer my question or even have a discussion. (More than) enough time wasted.

Good day.

[Silverback]

I use thunderbird. I never new the July 23 release was called Supernova either until mentioned above so everyone does NOT know. I much prefer version numbers to names.

The version of railroad tycoon 2 I now use is from GoodoldGames - gog.com which doesnt need a CD at all as all their game are DRM free (and legal) I've not had rhe double launch problem with it. I would suspect a DRM timing issue if using a version of the executable that requires a CD as some other games that required a CD to be in the drive stopped working as the DRM they used was found to be a security risk so microsoft disabled the services they needed to run  

 

 

[CrownVic95]

A final? note and update pertaining to my Thunderbird comments here.

Over the last 20 or so years, I have observed an alarming steady decline in software quality as new updates are released. Some of them subtle and some of them disastrous. Most memorable for me was the Microsoft Windows 10 monthly patch in the fall of 2017, I believe it was, that rendered my brand new laptop unbootable. Fortunately, it was brand new and Best Buy took care of me with the HP machine that I'm still using.

Anyway, I've been burned so many times with these disappointments that today I don't even consider applying new software updates without first doing extensive reading/research, including all the comments I can find on the experience of other users.

Back to Thunderbird. I can't recall a new version of any other software that I have used that was hyped as much as version 115 was - for months and months prior to release.....and continued with user commentary for months afterward. The more I read, the more concerned I became. And one could not possibly do the research I was doing without being bombarded perpetually with its new name - Supernova. So I guess what I should have said was that everyone who has extensively researched the new Thunderbird version knows that they call it Supernova. But I'm reminded that not everyone researches like I do.

I held off updating for many, many months due to the alarming amount of negative user feedback out there., including countless reports of not even being able to send/receive mail. Scary stuff.

But the constant update nagging built into Thunderbird became so tiresome that I finally decided to bite the bullet and do it, with a plan to move to another of several options if I found myself agreeing with the Supernova is a disaster folks.

I updated a few weeks ago and have seen no problem. In fact, hardly enough change to be worth much talking about. Have no idea what all the (Internet) fuss was about, but there was too much of it to ignore.

So, as we all knew, some fuss is nonsense. But some is ignored at our peril. 😉