Has anyone got Netmech/MercNet to run in XP? Well, not to run, but got the TCP/IP in them to work with XP's? Or the IPX?

Hi, everyone. I've tried so many things that I don't even know where to begin. Here is my problem, however. With VDMSound and DOSBox, the MW2 CD cannot be found (even though it's in the CD-ROM drive). I've made a batch file with NOLFB and SAPUCDEX and when I run it (without VDMS or anything) it starts the game without trouble. I can watch the movies for the clans and screw around in there all that I want. But whether I try to do a mission for an allegiance or in the ToG, the game ALWAYS crashes about .4 of a second after the screen with the dropship "drop procedure initiated" screen comes up. I've tried using different resolutions and turning off the music and it still crashes. I'm not sure what else to do. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks!

DosBox does not emulate the CD properly for MW2 or MERCS so you'll need to use a CD Crack.
 
As for the crashing under XP's NTVDM, verify that your running NOLFB from the same command prompt that you execute the game from. Also make sure that you have updated MW2 to v1.1.

Hello all,
 
I have followed this thread with interest. I have also combined knowledge here with what I have found on the DOSBox forums.
 
So far with VDMSound I can get MW2 DOS to run. At first the mouse response was WAY too slow to be useful. I then found out about the file MOUSE2KV.EXE. I ran it with the 1024 x 768 option (even though the game is running at 640x480) and the mouse works fine now. I run it with a batch file through VDMSound like so:
 
nolfb.com
sapucdex.exe
MOUSE2KV.EXE 1024 768 8 8 mech2.EXE
 
Oh, BTW, the middle mouse button does not seem to be recognized by MW2. I am using a Microsoft Mouse with the default XP driver.
 
There are only two things that still bug me though. The sound is still choppy and the CD audio does not work. I have tried running it through DOSBox with no luck (even when I use the hacked .exes that do not require the CD). I have run the sound configuration through a VDMSound launch and chosen several options. The ones that work always seem choppy.
 
I have followed this guide pretty close, but I wonder if anyone else has expanded on it to fix these two problems. I am running a P4 Northwood with 1024 megs RAM and the original SB Audigy under XP Pro SP2.
 
Thanks for keeping this thread going!
[Edited by Hoyt on 2005-02-26 13:07:13]
 

hi guys,
 
appreciated the info so far..... here's the rub tho,
 
following the advice of Curley_Boy, i set up vdmsound and nolfb and sapucdex with a .bat file. Mechwarrior 2 runs through the intro movie flawlessly (just like i remember it running when I was 11) and goes to the screen where you select allegiances or trials of grievance. if i attempt an allegiance, it plays the intro movie with perfect sound, i briefly glimpse the allegiance hall menu, and then it exits back to windows without a message or anything. if i select the trials of grievance, it lets me into the selection window for the mechs and arena, but as soon as the jumpship loading screen displays, it exits right back into windows without a message. i know someone already said more or less the same thing, but i noticed everyone here talking about xp.....i run win2k (the best thing microsoft has done since dos 6.22) and i'm at a loss for what to do to solve this problem.....any win2k experts out there with some suggestions?
 
much obliged for any assistance rendered.
 
"windows 2000 is NOT windows millenium" anonymous

The dropship menu accesses VESA on your videocard. If NTVDM isn't allowing proper access then that can cause the drop to desktop.
 
What SP level of Windows 2000 are you using?
What video card are you using?
 
Also try adjusting the order of NOLFB in your .BAT file. If above sapucdex then put it below.
 
If that doesn't work then disable sound, don't use SAPUCDEX or VDMSOUND, just use NOLFB.
 
Also try with the v1.1 patch or without.

hello dosfreak,
 
I am using Service Pack 4.
 
Here's what I forgot to mention in my last post. I am trying to do this on an IBM ThinkPad T23. It's using a SuperSavage/IXC16mb video card. (I know that laptop compatibility with dos programs is an issue as well)
 
As for the suggestion on the order for NolfB... i might just be a moron, but the .bat file i created goes as follows:
 
c:\mech2\vdms\dosdrv.exe
c:\mech2\mech2.exe
c:\mech2\mouse2kv.exe
c:\mech2\nolfb.com
 
sapucdex isn't in there. the instructions (i thought i followed) said to:
(Curley_boy)
"To enable cd audio support extract sapucdex to your windows\system32 folder and then you need to edit a few files:
 
Firstly autoexec.nt (which is also located in your system32 folder). Edit with notepad or a similar program and replace the line:
 
lh %SystemRoot%\system32\mscdexnt.exe
 
with
 
lh %SystemRoot%\system32\sapucdex.exe"
 
i did this, and i didn't think any mention of sapucdex.exe had to be made in the .bat file in the mech2 directory.... please tell me if i'm just being stupid.
 
as for the patch, i downloaded it and tried applying it, but it cancelled as it was mentioned it might do. i have choice.com, but i must ashamedly admit i do not know how to use it in conjunction with the patch file. (i haven't been dos fluent since 1998) sorry to be such a newb about all this.
 
patience appreciated
 

ok,
 
i fiddled with the setup a bit more, and here's what i've got:
 
c:\mech2\sapucdex.exe
c:\mech2\vdms\dosdrv.exe
c:\mech2\MOUSE2KV.EXE 1024 768 8 8 mech2.EXE
c:\mech2\nolfb.com
c:\mech2\mech2.exe
 
thats my .bat file, and things are running diferently now.
 
when i select trial of grievance, and launch, it shows me the dropship image for loading, the screen goes blank for a few seconds, and then it restarts at the intro movie, except without sound.???.... if i select an allegiance, it plays the video, and then shows the clan hall, but the image goes wonky, and if i click the mouse, it goes back to the menu page again. i have no idea why its now doing this, but it's driving me up the wall!
 
any assistance is most appreciated

Yep, sounds like a VESA incompatibility.
 
Okay, I believe the patch did help a little bit in my case. The last time I installed it I used DosBox. You have to mount the mech2 directory in dosbox, then copy the patch files to the mech2 directory, and then run the patch installation.
 
If you don't know how to use DosBox or don't want to bother with it. You can manually extract the files from the patch using Winrar. Once extracted simply rename the extensions to their full names (.EX_ is .EXE). I forget what the extension are for the GIDDI files, so check your installed MECH2 directory for their proper names. Once renamed, copy these files into their appropriate locations in the MECH2 directory.
 
Once you get the patch installed, try MECH2 again. If you still get messed up video then try this: http://www.nomissoft.com/newsflash.html
 
Be warned, this isn't an official Microsoft patch and could conceivably mess up your system. All it does is modify VGA.SYS to support proper access to the VESA modes on your video card.

Hi, guys. Qbod, in your first post, your problems sounded very similar to mine (although after your later modifications, I didn't have the problems that you now have). From where I was when I posted a few weeks ago, all that I needed to do was download a crack for Mechwarrior 2.
 
Of course, with this crack for 1.1, you need to find a way to patch it to 1.1. When I did the patching, it was somewhat tedious, but I did manage to patch the game to 1.1. From there, I cracked it, and I got through the "Drop procedure Initiated" screen and played away merrily.
Now that I've had my share of fun with MW2, I am trying to get GBL to work. I am having some trouble with this. It keeps telling me that the CD cannot be found, so I'm looking for a No-CD crack for GBL, just as I did for MW2. If anyone finds such a thing, please let me know. Thanks!

qbodsyt,
 
I don't know about your video bomb outs but I did see something in your batch file that tripped me up at first. Here is what you listed earlier:
 
c:\mech2\sapucdex.exe
c:\mech2\vdms\dosdrv.exe
c:\mech2\MOUSE2KV.EXE 1024 768 8 8 mech2.EXE
c:\mech2\nolfb.com
c:\mech2\mech2.exe
 
If you look closely you will see that the game is being launched twice. Once in line three and once in line five. The mouse2kv.exe line doesn't just set the mouse window, it launches the game with those parameters. I had similar symptoms as you described until I did away with the second launch. Here is my batch file that I run with VDMSOUND:
 
nolfb.com
sapucdex.exe
MOUSE2KV.EXE 1024 768 8 8 mech2.EXE
 
 
The only problems I seem to have is that the game does not recognize my middle mouse button and no CD audio. However the problem may be with my CD itself. I set up DOS on an old PII I had laying around with an AWE64 ISA sound card in it and installed the game. No CD audio in Mech II but in Mercenaries and the original DOS Quake I had CD audio. This leads me to believe I may only have the one mouse problem left.
 
Good luck to all and if anyone figures out the middle button thing give us a holler.

Just wanted to post that in beta vers of DosBox (CVS) you can now load up Mechwarrior 2 (Not Mercs) as an .ISO and not have to use a cd crack. So it is being worked on. If you don't know what a CVS is then don't worry about, continue to use the cd crack.

the mechwarrior 2/netmech revival LIVES!
http://s10.invisionfree.com/NETMECH_CLASSIC/index.php?
i finally decided it was time to create a forum all about bringing netmech/mechwarrior 2 back to life. it (the forum) was born today - PLEASE swing by!!
i, hooby, the admin, also plan on adding a subforum to it thats all about getting mechwarrior 2 running, so all you support-happy folk can feel right at home!
THANK YOU!

first of all AWESOME THREAD.. glad to see the fans of MW2 are still alive and well.. not only was it my first pc game ever, it is still my favorite pc game ever
 
I came across this article on the microsoft website. It is a very clean guide on how to get older games to run under winXP. Hope it helps
 
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/games/expert/durham_og.mspx
 
Rexy

Please don't post useless links. There are hundreds of more usefull web pages on the internet than that one. The only reason that one is quoted often is that it's from MS, that's it. Not because of any actual usefullness. I would bash it but I haven't bothered to create a webpage myself. Anyways, It has nothing to do with MW2 on XP so therefore it's useless.

Originally posted by dosfreak:

Quote:Please don't post useless links. There are hundreds of more usefull web pages on the internet than that one. The only reason that one is quoted often is that it's from MS, that's it. Not because of any actual usefullness. I would bash it but I haven't bothered to create a webpage myself. Anyways, It has nothing to do with MW2 on XP so therefore it's useless. 
?? It is an article on how to get win 9x games to run under winxp, hell it even mentions mw2 in the intro... and the problems which are usually come across are discussed, including the game running super fast?
 
What do you mean it is a useless link that has nothing to do with MW2???

It only mentions Mech2 because it's mentioning "old" games, not because the contents of the post have anything usefull to get Mech2 to work under Windows XP.
 
The only thing it mentions that relates to Mech2 is VDMSound but it doesn't mention Mech2 in relation to VDMSound except at the Intro.
 
 
Basically, please read the entire thread before posting links to sites that do not help.

Hey guys,
 
Just thought I would let you know that you can now play mech2 again, we're getting things going at http://www.netmech.org.
 
Allot of old vets, and new faces have been showing up, cmon and drop by if ya wanna play the game online!

Hi,
 
i've enjoyed reading these posts so far and have looked forward to playing mw2 mercs again.
 
i'm trying to get mw2 mercs running on winxp. as curley_boy suggested i installed vdmsound and i downloaded nolfb which i put into my mercs folder on my hard disk (after installation). the problem is with recognising that the cd is in the drive. i couldn't install the dos version of mercs using vdmsound because it didn't recognise that i had the cd in the drive so i installed it without using vdmsound. the sound card setup recognised my sound card as a soundblaster 100% compatable and even played the test ok so that seems fine. once i'd installed it all and put the nolfb files into my mercs folder i made a bat file as curley_boy suggested with...
 
nolfb.com
mercs.exe
 
instead of...
 
nolfb.com
mech2.exe
 
but when i try to run the bat file with vdmsound it doesn't recognise that i have the disk in the drive again. everytime i use vdmsound for any part of this process it doesn't recognise that the disk is there. my cd drive is f: will that make a difference? how can i get this working? do i need to do the sapucdex part of the post? as far as i can see that is just for playing the music off the cd so i don't think i need to do that.
 
if anyone knows how to krak the mercs.exe and mw2.exe files so it doesn't need the cd to work i would love to hear how to do that or if they have a krak for it or know where i can get one, again i would appreciate any help. i read some other articles about kraking the mw2 files but it was talking about mw2 not mercs and when i tried to find the hex codes in the mercs files (mw2.exe and mercs.exe) i couldn't find them so they must not be the same as with mw2.
 
i don't know whether the problem is with mercs or my pc setup or vdmsound.
 
any help would be greatly appreciated as i really want a game of this soon.
 
cheers
 
bone

Hmmm, try this.
 
Go to command prompt
CD to your Mech2 directory
Type in:
DOSDRV
Then
NOLFB
Then
Mech2 or mercs or whatever the executable name is.
 
Report back if this fixes your CD problem. It should since this way your using NT's Config/Autoexec.NT instead of VDMSound's.