Empire at War Gold DVD, SW Best of PC

ReeYees · 09-22-2009, 08:01 PM

I saw someone else had a problem 2 months ago with this game, but they only had a CD drive.

My problem is that the Empire at War DVD does not read when I load it into the dvd drive. It spins and spins. Maybe occasionally after playing a DVD movie or having the drive warmed up, it will finally be able to read it and load up, but this is only after several failed attempts of opening and closing the drive. If I let it sit there it will spin for a good half-hour before shutting down, and the computer knows there is something there, but the launcher will not work, asking me to install the dvd and to retry.

This is not the only DVD-rom that I'm having problems with. Star Wars Best of PC Dvd disc 1 is the same, it fails to load up. That is the play disc for Empire at War, KOTOR 1 and Jedi knight II. The other disc featuring Battlefront and Republic Commando eventually load after just a few swaps, and those games play.

On the rare time that KOTOR did load, it crashed after the character selection screen. This crash I think is due to my 3D card, an Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 900.

I thought that maybe it would be fine with a cd version, but I got the CD version of KOTOR II, and it both the CD drive and DVD drive quickly and perfectly starts the game, it still crashes to desktop after character creation.

For both KOTOR I and II, I pass the minimum reqs, but not the recommended ones, in the RAM area i believe.

But these games are years old, I don't understand why my DVD drive can't read them just as quickly as a dvd movie. If I pass the min reqs, and set the resolution and graphics to the lowest possible, why won't they load.

The games were all bought new at Target, but the constant loading/reloading has given them scratches. but even installing EAW gold was a chore, cause it couldn't/didn't want to read it forever.

Any help with these issues would be appreciated.

**Lord Sirian** · 09-22-2009, 08:04 PM

Hi ReeYees. Welcome to TSF.

From that, it looks like your DVD drive is in the process of dying. Soon it won't work at all. Do you have another which you can replace it with?

Also, you'll be lucky to play very much on integrated intel graphics.

ReeYees · 09-22-2009, 08:25 PM

Do you think that it could be a simple a matter as a bad drive? I just don't know if such a thing had been heard of before, where a drive can't read the authentication of a DVD if the computer is too old.

This computer is new to me but was a retro pc, several years out of date, but came with a 16x double layer dvd burner.

Would an external dvd drive be a possible solution?
EaW plays fine even with Intel graphics actually, I was happy with it, when it actually loaded. When it did load I didn't want to shut off the computer because I would lose the DVD drive recognizing the disc and being able to play.

**Lord Sirian** · 09-22-2009, 08:54 PM

As I said, have you got a different drive to test it with? If so, simply plug that one in and unplug the old one and see how it goes.

ReeYees · 09-22-2009, 09:05 PM

i do not have another drive to test it with. I would need to buy a new internal or external drive, but if that isn't the true problem i don't want to be out that money.

I tried to install the game on other computer (a practical clone of this one, from the same store and same drives and parts) but that computer has it's own problems where the dvd drive disappears from My computer, every now and then. It locked up when the disc went in and with no manual release, it took a restart or 2 to get the drive to be located and recognized and responsive to pull the dvd out.

**Lord Sirian** · 09-22-2009, 10:05 PM

Well it sounds like that drive could be faulty as well. Check all of the cables for both of the drives. Make sure that both the power cable and the data cable are properly in, and have no damage to them.

Mcninjaguy · 09-23-2009, 01:24 PM

The first thing you should try doing is to clean the DVD player's laer using something like this.

Memorex DVD Lens Cleaner
$17

If this fails then you should definitely consider buying a new dvd player. You should also consider this, a decent dvd burner is only $29.

LG Black 22X
$29

ReeYees · 09-23-2009, 05:59 PM

I will try the lens cleaner first, thanks. But It does play CDs and DVD movies just fine, they load right up. It was only game DVD-roms that are having the trouble, so I don't know how much good the cleaner will do.

09-22-2009, 08:01 PM	#1 (permalink)
ReeYees Registered User Join Date: Sep 2009 Posts: 4 OS: Win XP SP3	Empire at War Gold DVD, SW Best of PC I saw someone else had a problem 2 months ago with this game, but they only had a CD drive. My problem is that the Empire at War DVD does not read when I load it into the dvd drive. It spins and spins. Maybe occasionally after playing a DVD movie or having the drive warmed up, it will finally be able to read it and load up, but this is only after several failed attempts of opening and closing the drive. If I let it sit there it will spin for a good half-hour before shutting down, and the computer knows there is something there, but the launcher will not work, asking me to install the dvd and to retry. This is not the only DVD-rom that I'm having problems with. Star Wars Best of PC Dvd disc 1 is the same, it fails to load up. That is the play disc for Empire at War, KOTOR 1 and Jedi knight II. The other disc featuring Battlefront and Republic Commando eventually load after just a few swaps, and those games play. On the rare time that KOTOR did load, it crashed after the character selection screen. This crash I think is due to my 3D card, an Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 900. I thought that maybe it would be fine with a cd version, but I got the CD version of KOTOR II, and it both the CD drive and DVD drive quickly and perfectly starts the game, it still crashes to desktop after character creation. For both KOTOR I and II, I pass the minimum reqs, but not the recommended ones, in the RAM area i believe. But these games are years old, I don't understand why my DVD drive can't read them just as quickly as a dvd movie. If I pass the min reqs, and set the resolution and graphics to the lowest possible, why won't they load. The games were all bought new at Target, but the constant loading/reloading has given them scratches. but even installing EAW gold was a chore, cause it couldn't/didn't want to read it forever. Any help with these issues would be appreciated.

09-22-2009, 08:04 PM	#2 (permalink)
Lord Sirian Mentor, Games Team Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Australia Posts: 1,606 OS: Windows XP SP 3 My System	Re: Empire at War Gold DVD, SW Best of PC Hi ReeYees. Welcome to TSF. From that, it looks like your DVD drive is in the process of dying. Soon it won't work at all. Do you have another which you can replace it with? Also, you'll be lucky to play very much on integrated intel graphics. __________________ "Come forth for the cattle call Confront the evil river you can't control Wicked ways and venomous eyes Just human nature in disguise..."- Clouds over California

09-22-2009, 08:25 PM	#3 (permalink)
ReeYees Registered User Join Date: Sep 2009 Posts: 4 OS: Win XP SP3	Re: Empire at War Gold DVD, SW Best of PC Do you think that it could be a simple a matter as a bad drive? I just don't know if such a thing had been heard of before, where a drive can't read the authentication of a DVD if the computer is too old. This computer is new to me but was a retro pc, several years out of date, but came with a 16x double layer dvd burner. Would an external dvd drive be a possible solution? EaW plays fine even with Intel graphics actually, I was happy with it, when it actually loaded. When it did load I didn't want to shut off the computer because I would lose the DVD drive recognizing the disc and being able to play.

09-22-2009, 08:54 PM	#4 (permalink)
Lord Sirian Mentor, Games Team Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Australia Posts: 1,606 OS: Windows XP SP 3 My System	Re: Empire at War Gold DVD, SW Best of PC As I said, have you got a different drive to test it with? If so, simply plug that one in and unplug the old one and see how it goes. __________________ "Come forth for the cattle call Confront the evil river you can't control Wicked ways and venomous eyes Just human nature in disguise..."- Clouds over California

09-22-2009, 09:05 PM	#5 (permalink)
ReeYees Registered User Join Date: Sep 2009 Posts: 4 OS: Win XP SP3	Re: Empire at War Gold DVD, SW Best of PC i do not have another drive to test it with. I would need to buy a new internal or external drive, but if that isn't the true problem i don't want to be out that money. I tried to install the game on other computer (a practical clone of this one, from the same store and same drives and parts) but that computer has it's own problems where the dvd drive disappears from My computer, every now and then. It locked up when the disc went in and with no manual release, it took a restart or 2 to get the drive to be located and recognized and responsive to pull the dvd out.

09-22-2009, 10:05 PM	#6 (permalink)
Lord Sirian Mentor, Games Team Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Australia Posts: 1,606 OS: Windows XP SP 3 My System	Re: Empire at War Gold DVD, SW Best of PC Well it sounds like that drive could be faulty as well. Check all of the cables for both of the drives. Make sure that both the power cable and the data cable are properly in, and have no damage to them. __________________ "Come forth for the cattle call Confront the evil river you can't control Wicked ways and venomous eyes Just human nature in disguise..."- Clouds over California

09-23-2009, 01:24 PM	#7 (permalink)
Mcninjaguy Temporarily Banned Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Ottawa, Ontario, Canada Posts: 10,422 OS: Windows 7 Ultimate 64bit My System Blog Entries: 1	Re: Empire at War Gold DVD, SW Best of PC The first thing you should try doing is to clean the DVD player's laer using something like this. Memorex DVD Lens Cleaner $17 If this fails then you should definitely consider buying a new dvd player. You should also consider this, a decent dvd burner is only $29. LG Black 22X $29

09-23-2009, 05:59 PM	#8 (permalink)
ReeYees Registered User Join Date: Sep 2009 Posts: 4 OS: Win XP SP3	Re: Empire at War Gold DVD, SW Best of PC I will try the lens cleaner first, thanks. But It does play CDs and DVD movies just fine, they load right up. It was only game DVD-roms that are having the trouble, so I don't know how much good the cleaner will do.