Long Delay Launching Game

[BrianZ111]

Does anyone else experience a long delay (like 30 seconds) between the time they click the PGA 2000 icon and the time the game actually launches? It doesn't do it on my desktop computer but it does on my laptop. Both are Windows 7 machines now. (Laptop used to be Windows 8 but the hard drive died and when I replaced it I installed Windows 7 on the new drive). It wouldn't be a big deal, except when you're doing something in the architect that you want to go back and forth in the game checking repeatedly, it is going to be annoying (its already bad enough waiting for it to compile in the architect).

Some things I did that may have caused it --

I installed the installation package Viper made when I was away from my CDs. I needed to use the architect at the time but I don't recall if I ran the game and if it did this.

When I got back and had access to my CDs I uninstalled it and installed from my CDs because I thought it would be easier to get all of the Titanium courses back installed that way, since my version on CD is that version.

The CD drive on this laptop has a tendency to crack CDs now so I didn't want to risk putting my discs in it. So I put them in my desktop computer CD drive and transferred the files over to the laptop, then installed from the folders. I thought maybe the problem was because of this unconventional install. My theory was, when you launch the game and it looks for the CD to play the intro video, maybe it takes longer for it to see it's not there then if it was looking at a CD drive and seeing it had no CD in it.

I decided to try turning the CD folders I transferred over into ISO files, but then I ran into another issue. I converted the folders to ISO files with WinCDEmu and when trying to install from these ISO files I get "an error occurred during the move data process -113" during the install. When I check after it finishes, it hasn't copied any files to the C:\SIERRA\PGA2000 Titanium\ folder. Viper, did you have to do something special when you created the ISO files from the original version discs?

I might go back and install the install package on here again and see if it has the delay but I've had about enough of screwing around with it unless somebody knows what the issue might be.

Thanks for any help.

[SteveHorn]

Brian
Are you right clicking to open up all your PGA2000 Icons on your desktop? Then choose run as administrator.

[Viper]

Hi Brian,

The package here is nothing more than a perfect copy of the original discs. The install package will work the same as using physical originals in a CD drive.
I used a pay program to create the ISO’s as it creates perfect copies.
If you use other programs to create ISO’s there can be issues due to various safeguards included on original discs.

Once installed, even if there is no disc available when launching PGA 2000, it won’t spend time looking for the intro video. You can mount an ISO when you launch PGA 2000 to test if you like. Once the ISO is mounted, it’s the same as having a physical disc in a drive and the game will play the intro video.

Your issue could be anything. I would try a reinstall first. The ISO’s would imo be preferable to your original CD’s. I know the ISO’s are perfect copies where as dealing with old physical CD’s it’s possible they may not be read correctly and an error may occur during the install due to their age.

I don’t personally use physical discs any longer for anything. They simply start to become too unreliable at some point.

[BrianZ111]

Yeah I've tried running as admin and not, same result. I tried installing the copied folders from the CD more then once as well.

I don't really understand why it would install from those folders but not as an ISO of those folders. Doesn't seem like copy protection since it lets me copy the folders to the drive and install them. Also it's the same copy, I'm making an ISO out of the folders that successfully install, it's not another recreated copy from the CD.

Next time I get a chance, I'll uninstall this and reinstall the installation package form the site again since I don't remember if it did it then or not.

[Viper]

Win 7 has a Windows feature called Games Explorer.
Every time you launch a game in it’s database it looks to retrieve info for that game from the net. It can greatly slow launch times. It will look for this info every single time you launch.

May be worth disabling it. I have always disabled it immediately on any Win 7 install as it does greatly extend launch times over many games. I think it has somewhere around the 2k mark in it’s database.

I don’t think your situation is Games Explorer but it’s certainly a possibility worth eliminating.

[SteveHorn]

Brian!
Just a thought I doubt it has anything to do with the ultra slow issue but do you have patches installed on your laptop?

[BrianZ111]

Finally got back around to looking at this. Unfortunately uninstalling the CD version and reinstalling the installation package from the site had no effect. I still get the delay launching the game.

Win 7 has a Windows feature called Games Explorer.
Every time you launch a game in it’s database it looks to retrieve info for that game from the net. It can greatly slow launch times. It will look for this info every single time you launch.

May be worth disabling it. I have always disabled it immediately on any Win 7 install as it does greatly extend launch times over many games. I think it has somewhere around the 2k mark in it’s database.

I couldn't figure out where to go to disable Games Explorer. I found where you can uninstall the games that come with Windows but I don't think that's it. Is it a registry entry I have to change?

Brian!
Just a thought I doubt it has anything to do with the ultra slow issue but do you have patches installed on your laptop?

Which patches? Windows is fully patched. That's true on my desktop too and there's no delay launching the game there. I install the PGA 2000 3.3.4.5 patch after each time I install the game.

[Viper]

Win 7 has a Windows feature called Games Explorer.
Every time you launch a game in it’s database it looks to retrieve info for that game from the net. It can greatly slow launch times. It will look for this info every single time you launch.

May be worth disabling it. I have always disabled it immediately on any Win 7 install as it does greatly extend launch times over many games. I think it has somewhere around the 2k mark in it’s database.

I couldn't figure out where to go to disable Games Explorer. I found where you can uninstall the games that come with Windows but I don't think that's it. Is it a registry entry I have to change?

The method that works is to rename gameux.dll. Just rename it to something like gameux1.dll
It is located in 2 places. Rename both dll's. Just search your C drive to find them. You will have to take permission to do the rename. Post back if you have any issues.

[BrianZ111]

I have 14 different instances of it. 12 of them are in various folders in the winsxs folder which a quick Google search tells me is a backup folder for reverting windows updates. Can I ignore those and just rename the other two? I also have many files each with the names gameux.dll.mui, GameUXLegacyGDFs.dll, and gameuxmig.dll. Just leave those alone? Thanks.

[SteveHorn]

I turn off window's update for weeks at a time because it slows down my computer. I also turn off many background apps before I play a round in PGA2000.