Cannot install Patch 1.20

[suma 8]

Q: When I try to install patch 1.20, I get error message like "Error found in file DTA\Sound.pbo (2e091cb6!=6c2ebbc9)". I am unable to install patch.

A: The problem is caused by corrupted data already stored on your hard disc. If you have a VIA chipset, this may be caused by bug in VIA drivers / chipset. Disabling DMA for both hard drive and CD ROM often fixes the problem. See also http://www.flashpoint1985.com/cgi-bin....topic=2 for more information about VIA chipset problems. If you have other chipset than VIA, reinstalling game should help. If not, you should probably ask for replacement disc, as your media seems to be corrupted.

Thanks to NoPatchForYou for finding "Dma off" solution of VIA problems.

[suma 8]

Q: Why cannot I apply patch when I have some files corrupted?

A: To keep patch size as small as possible, patch uses as much data from original version as possible (this is called incremental patching). If we would allow applying patch to corrupted data, the patch result could be even more corrupted than current data you have. For correct patching it is critical that you have all files in the same state as they were distributed.

If you have some files corrupted, you may easily encounter random crashes in different parts of the game, therefore you should try to fix the problems leading to data corruption before you apply patch.

Different sources of corrupted data may be:

(1) Faulty hard disc controller or hard disc

If you have VIA chipset, you may be affected by known bug in IDE channel controller. See above for possible solutions.

(2) Physically bad CD

In this case you should get your CD replaced for free in the shop where you bought it (in most countries law gurantees you at least six moths for replacement of faulty material)

(3) Unreliable CD ROM drive

Some CD ROM drives are unreliable. Copying dammaged file several times from your CD and trying running patch after each attempt you may (with a little luck) repair your files. You can also use our Installation Verification utility, that comes with a step-by-step lists of things  to do in this case.

If you have unreliable CD ROM drive, you might want to consider buying a new one or borrowing it from a friend just to install the game.

(4) Faulty hard disc surface

Hard discs sometimes (very rarely)  fail. To check if your disc is healthy, run some Disk checking utility with "Scan for bad sectors" enabled.

[suma 8]

For more information about possible data corruption on VIA based motherboards visit VIA web site.

Here is most important quote:

Question:

I am having trouble with a system using a VIA chipset including a 686b southbridge and a Creative Sound Blaster Live card.

Answer:

When the 686b southbridge was first released, motherboard manufacturers and VIA discovered a problem when trying to transfer files between the primary and the secondary IDE channels on motherboards using ultra-DMA, when a Sound Blaster Live was plugged in and drivers activated. This issue was caused because too much noise is transferred across the PCI bus by the Sound Blaster Live driver set. In an attempt to fix this issue, some motherboard manufacturers modified their BIOS. In some instances, these modifications to the BIOS caused a data corruption error even when not using a Sound Blaster Live. VIA released a patch which resolves this issue, which is incoroporated in the 4in1 drivers from the 4.31 version onwards. Motherboard manufacturers were advised to change the modifications made to thier BIOS to elimate the data corruption issue. If you are experiencing data corruption or lock up when transferring files between two IDE drives: 1) Make sure you have the latest BIOS from your motherboard manufacturer. 2) Make sure you have the latest 4in1 drivers 3) Make sure when you set up your system that you install the 4in1 drivers both before and after you install the SBL to make sure that the drivers see your SBL and install the correct patch. The patch will only install if the SBL is installed.