Following are some common questions and answers about problems that you may encounter
while playing Duke Nukem 3D.
When I try to install or launch the game I see a "Runtime Error 200" error,
then the launcher crashes.
This can happen for 1 of 2 reasons. If you have an exceptionally fast computer, such as
a Pentium II 350 or 400, you may need to slow it down a bit. There is a free program named
"Mo'Slo" that you can download that will slow down your system's
processor when you need it to. This program along with instructions on its use can be
downloaded free of charge on the World Wide Web at: http://www.hpaa.com/moslo/
If you have an older computer that isn't so fast, there may be other programs loading when
you boot your computer that are causing problems with the game. The best way to fix this
is to restart your computer with a "Clean boot".
For more information on performing a "Clean Boot", please refer to our DOS
General Troubleshooting Document.
The CD-ROM is in the drive, but I'm getting an error that states "Please insert
Duke Nukem Atomic CD in drive".
First, check your Duke3D directory, and make sure there isn't a HIDDEN cdrom.ini file.
If there is, get rid of it. Then, check the contents of the non-hidden cdrom.ini file in
the same directory. This file contains the path to the support directory on your Duke
Nukem 3D CD-ROM, and should read exactly as follows:
D:\support\
If your CD-ROM drive has a drive designation letter other than "D", substitute
the appropriate letter. If the cdrom.ini file does not exist for any reason, create one
with a text editor.
If the cdrom.ini file checks out, try updating your CD-ROM drivers. If this doesn't work
either, check config.sys and autoexec.bat to see if the name of the drive is simply
"CDROM". If it is, change it to another name in BOTH places. If you change it in
only one of the 2 files, your CD-ROM drive will not load up properly.
When Duke Nukem runs I get an "Insufficient Memory" error or it just
doesn't run.
You don't have enough free memory to run Duke 3d. You need at least 8 megabytes of free
RAM. To free up memory, you can make a boot disk that loads only your CD-ROM, Sound Card,
and mouse drivers.
Note: do not use memory managers like EMM386, QEMM, etc. Duke3d uses the DOS 4GW memory
manager and other managers will simply get in the way. Do not use disk caching programs
like Smartdrv, etc. either.
The Windows Setup programs runs after installation.
Duke Nukem 3D is not installed, probably due to insufficient disk space. Free up some
hard drive space and try to install Duke 3d again.
Why doesn't my mouse work with Duke 3d?
Your mouse driver is not loaded. Loading your mouse driver into DOS can be as simple as
typing MOUSE and pressing ENTER at the DOS prompt. If this doesn't work, refer to the
documentation that came with your mouse, or contact the system manufacturer.
Why can't I get music or sound effects.
If you're not hearing sound effects and/or music, Duke 3d may have incorrect
information regarding your sound card. Run the SETUP program to check if Duke 3d has the
correct information on your sound card.
If you have a sound blaster, and your sound card drivers are properly loading in DOS, you
can type SET at the DOS prompt and check the line that says "Blaster=" to
determine what settings to use.
I can't get digital sound from my Sound Blasterä compatible sound card.
You may be experiencing a DMA conflict. You may have a CD-ROM or hard drive on the same
DMA channel that you specified in Duke 3d's SETUP program. Change the DMA channel of the
sound card or offending device. If the problem persists, please contact your sound card
vendor.
I hear static when listening to Duke 3d with my Sound Blaster (or 100% Compatible)
card.
You should refer to your sound card manual for instructions on how to lower the Mic and
Line volumes to 0 (zero). This is usually done through the mixer program that came with
your sound card.
My Stereo Channels are reversed.
You can fix this in the sound menus of the SETUP.EXE program. Go to the Main Duke3d
menu, choose the options menu, and then the sounds menu. From there, you can toggle the
"Reverse Stereo" option on or off. This should correct the problem.
I was playing Duke 3d, but always after a specific amount of time my screen goes
black. I can still hear the music and sound effects in the background.
Some computers use a special Power Management or Energy saving system that blacks out
the monitor, normally after a pre-set period of inactivity. If you have such a system you
should refer to your computer manual or contact your computer company to help you disable
this feature, since this is most likely causing the problem.
I get the error that has the words "Granular Limit Error" in it.
This means your DRAM speed is too fast. You'll need to go into your CMOS and slow it
down. Info on how to do this will be in your computer or your motherboard's manual.
I get the error "Exec Error: No such file or directory".
It's likely you have selected the controller configuration "Keyboard and
External". Go back and reconfigure your controller. Do not select the
"External" controller unless you have a controller or a device that specifically
tells you that you need to select this.
I have an ATI Mach64 video card and cannot access the higher SVGA modes.
Check your C:\MACH64 directory for the file m64vbe.com. Run it before you play Duke,
and you should be OK. If you do not have this file, contact ATI for an update.
I have a Matrox Millennium video card and cannot get your video working properly.
Please make sure the BIOS on your video card is at least v1.9. If it is not, contact
Matrox for a BIOS upgrade.
I have a Diamond SpeedStar video card and I'm having video problems.
I have Compaq computer with a VGA card and the game tells me that I do not have a
VGA card, and/or I'm experiencing lockups.
There is a device driver available from Compaq that will fix this problem named
FINDVGA.SYS. Please contact Compaq if you cannot locate the file.
I want to run the game in high resolution, but I do not have a Vesa driver for my
video card.
You can contact your Video Card manufacturer, or you can try a universal Vesa driver
such as UniVBE. UniVBE is included with the registered CD-ROM of Duke Nukem 3D, and can be
found in the directory \goodies\univbe on the CD. To install UniVBE, go to the
goodies\univbe directory on the Duke Nukem 3D CD-ROM, and type install. Installation
instructions are on screen. Please note that while we have included UniVBE for your
convenience on the CD, it is a shareware product produced by a different company. If you
are having problems installing UniVBE, please contact Scitech at http://www.scitechsoft.com.
I get an error while loading that says something like"* ERROR!(L63) Parameter
'BURNING_FLAME' is undefined", or some other error relating to the CON files.
Your game configuration (con) files have been altered to the point where the game will not
run properly. We strongly urge you to reinstall at this point. The .CON files are ASCII
text files which can be edited and used to radically alter the game parameters. We
strongly urge you to not change these unless you know what you are doing. If you corrupt
these and run the game anyway, the game will likely crash.
GTI CANNOT HELP YOU IF YOU HAVE ALTERED OR DAMAGED .CON FILES. Your only recourse may be
to delete the entire Duke Nukem 3D directory and then re-install Duke Nukem 3D.
I'm using a NexGen/586 CPU/Motherboard, and can't get the game running.
Try going into your CMOS and look for a setting called "Alternate
Instructions". If it is set to OFF, set it to ON. If this doesn't work, NexGen has a
fix on their World Wide Web site called the Q87 floating point emulator. Their Web site
can be reached at http://www.nexgen.com.
I have a Creative Labs Sound Blaster 16 and some sort of daughterboard add-on card
like the WaveBlaster or Roland Sound Canvas daughterboard, and am having trouble getting
the MIDI music and SFX working properly.
To fix this, first try selecting WaveBlaster as your music device, even if you don't
actually have a true WaveBlaster. If this doesn't work, there is a fix for this type of
problem available from Creative Labs. This fix is called the "Sound Blaster MPU401
Patch".
Please note: if you have to use the WAVEPTCH.ZIP fix, you will most likely need to run the
fix program every time you want to play Duke Nukem 3D. The program should be run just
before you start the game. Some users have reported that their cards require the fix to be
run even when they exit the game and immediately restart it. At this point, 3D Realms has
not been able to determine why this is required.
I have an AWE32 and are having problems initializing the sound.
I have an AWE32 Sound Card and get an "MPU-401 Initialization Error".
You will need to turn your computer totally OFF, wait about 5-10 seconds, and then turn
it back on again. Delete the DUKE3D.CFG file from your game's directory, then run the
SETUP.EXE program again and try reselecting your music/SFX. This error is caused by
picking incorrect settings: if you pick the wrong settings for an AWE32, you need to power
down and retry, not just reboot.
I have a Packard Bell computer and are using their combo modem/sound card but can't
get any sound.
In your c:\sound144\utility directory there should be a program called setmode.exe.
Change to this directory, and type "setmode /sbp". This will tell the card to
operate in Sound Blaster Pro mode. If it is operating in Windows Sound System mode, you
will NOT get any sounds, because the Windows Sound System is not supported.
I am getting an error that reads something like "General Failure reading Drive
..." and the system locks up.
This probably means you're trying to play the game from a single shared copy on the
network. You can't do this, you need to have the game installed on each local computer
that wishes to play the game. Playing from a shared copy is not possible.
I am playing a modem or network game and get a "Fatal Sync Error - Please
Restart Game" message.
This means that something has gone awry in your game. If this happens, the only way to
resolve it is to restart your game. Do not continue to play, as the game is unreliable at
this point.
If you are playing a modem or serial game when this is happening, check these things to
make sure your parameters are set up correctly.
- Make sure your port speed is at 9600. DO NOT CHANGE IT. There is no advantage in opening
the port speed any higher than 9600.
- Use the default modem init string of ATZ.
If you are playing a network game when you get this error, try using a different socket
value in the setup program. Also, if there is a slow computer playing the game, it can
cause this error. Play with a faster computer.
How can I get Duke Nukem to Run Faster on my computer?
Try reducing the screen size. When playing the game, you can press either '-' to reduce
your screen size, or '+' to increase it.
Try reducing the amount of digital channels that you have set for sound effects. Some
system configurations have problems with having Duke 3D set for higher than 4 digital
channels.
Try reducing the mixing selection on your sound card from 16 bit to 8 bit. This is done
from the SETUP.EXE program, under the "SETUP SOUND FX" menu item. 8 Bit Mono is
the fastest music/sound combination there is in duke3d, so if you have slowdown problems,
try selecting 8 Bit Mono.
I have set a password for the Parental Lock feature, and have forgotten the
password. What can I do?
You can get rid of the password by following these simple steps. First, delete the
Duke.cfg file located in your Duke 3d directory. Next, run the setup program for the game
again, and set up your sound card and all of the other options as you did when you first
installed.