Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsxp.games (
More info?)
"Locke" <theoden_704@hotmail.com> wrote in message news:sMrje.19462$ye1.1160@okepread06...
| Im pretty sure this has been posted before but I just joined and I couldnt
| find it.
|
| When I play a full screen game like Sim City 4, Empire Earth, or other games
| like that, if I run the game in my normal desktop it will minimize every 2
| minutes or so. If I disable all of my startup items then it wont do it at
| all. So I know it is something in that startup list - so short of disabling
| and checking one by one does anybody know the culprit?
|
| I run the Norton Anti-virus and Norton Internet Security, I have an HP so
| Backweb is on there, Speedfan, Task Manager, my Lexmark Printer Control,
| Norton Ghost, and Spysweeper. Of couse there are all of the support
| services that are really vague in their descriptions that startup as well.
|
| Any help would be appreciated.
|
| Locke
|
|
Hi Locke,
Step 3 of my post should be the exact solution for your situation
Here are some solutions (and workarounds) to deal with the problem where games minimize to the Task Bar.
1. Install and/or play the game using an administrator account.
2. Keyboard software has been known to cause this problem. One player
posted that by un-installing their Trust Silverline Direct Access keyboard
software, all their games worked again without minimizing to the Task Bar.
3. Norton's AntiVirus (Internet Security) can cause the problem as well. The
workaround is to disable the program. To do so, right click it's Tray icon.
One person wrote: "I just went to the Norton Anti-virus options, and turned
off the Liveupdate auto update option. It worked like a charm for me."
4. One person wrote: "I finally found that if I open the command line, cd to
the directory, then type the program name, it works!!!"
5. Yet another workaround is to click the screen after you launch the game.
If the problem persists, please try these additional troubleshooting steps.
The most common causes for that problem can be solved with
these few steps. If the problem persists after you've tried these,
please post back and we'll try some more solutions. Good luck!
A. To see if it's a software conflict: Temporarily disable Startup
programs one at a time, starting with Firewall, Antivirus, and ad
blockers using:
http://new.jtsoft2001.com/windows/startup.php
You can lookup what a program does before you disable it here:
http://www.sysinfo.org/startuplist.php
B. Run a virus scan at:
http://housecall.antivirus.com Afterwards
Download & Run Spybot from:
http://security.kolla.de to find any
Trojans, Adware, or Spyware which could clog up your system.
C. Click My Computer / Rightclick the Drive & Choose Properties
/ Run the "Disk Cleanup..." / Next Click the "Tools" Tab and run
the "Error-Checking" and "Defragmentation" utilities.
D. Go to the Windows Update site for everything under Critical and
Recommended:
http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com Some games
require a patch:
http://www.avault.com/pcrl/patches_list.asp?letter=a
E. Update DirectX and your Chipset, Sound, &Video Drivers:
For all Video / DirectX / Game and Hardware Issues, I have a
Checklist of Solutions at:
http://mvps.org/nibblesnbits/Video.html
--
Cheers, Windows XP MVP Shell / User
Jimmy S.
http://mvp.support.microsoft.com
Game FAQs:
;gms]http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=FH;[LN];gms
Visit my Zone.com / Gaming Helpsite:
http://nibblesnbits.tk or Call / Contact
MS Support at:
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=sz;en-us;top
My advice is donated "AS IS" without warranty; nor do I confer any rights.
_________________________________________________________
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