Origin - Tech - Help - System Shock

System Shock
t e c h n i c a l i n f o r m a t i o n

General Troubleshooting. i.e. This is way too much information.
Boot Configuration	Requirements	Error Messages
General	Notes	Sound

DOS XMS Boot Configuration
for use only with shortcuts and boot disks.

| help on modifiying your config.sys and autoexec.bat |

CONFIG.SYS

	device=c:\windows\himem.sys
	dos=high
	files=45
	buffers=30
	lastdrive=[enter the drive letter of your CD-ROM]
	device=[CD-ROM drivers (if CD version)]
	device=[Sound lines (if any)]

AUTOEXEC.BAT

	@echo off
	path=c:\windows;c:\windows\command;c:\dos;
	prompt $p$g
	c:\windows\command\mscdex.exe /m:5 /d:[CD-ROM name (if CD VERSION)]
	[Microsoft Mouse driver (required)]
	[Sound lines (if any)]

Color Code:
BLACK:	Must use the exact lettering provided.
RED:	May need to be modified to reflect the wording in your C:\CONFIG.SYS or C:\AUTOEXEC.BAT, respectively.
GREEN:	Optional. These are not required to run the game. However you may like to have sound with your game, so leaving these out may not be helpful.
[ITALICIZED]:	Comments are not to be entered as is.
If you are still looking at gibberish by the time you read this, visit our ??!! How To !!?? page which has a plethora of Boot Disk makers, Short Cut makers, and easy to read, step by step information on how to make them manually.

Requirements & Other Useful Info

Minimum Requirements

Floppy: 486 DX/33, 4MB RAM

CD: 486 DX/33, 4 Mb RAM, 2x CD-ROM

Memory Requirements

Conventional:

To Install: 530K

To Run: 80K

High: 3072K XMS for Floppy or 7168K XMS for CD-ROM version

Installation Requirements:

CD: ~16 MB

Floppy: ~35 MB

To Install:

CD: D:\INSTALL.EXE

EA Classics CD: D:\ORIGIN.BAT

Floppy: A:\INSTALL.EXE

To Run:

Floppy: C:\SSHOCK\SSHOCK.EXE

CD: C:\SSHOCK\CDSHOCK.EXE

To Quit:

ALT-X

Sound Configuration File:

C:\SSHOCK\INSTALL.EXE

Natively Supported Soundcards:

Sound Blaster, Pro, 16 and AWE 32

Ensoniq Soundscape

General Midi MPU-401

Roland SCC-1

Hey! My Sound Card isn't listed!!

Savegame File Names

Strike Commander:

C:\SSHOCK\DATA\SAVEGAM[my file].DAT

Input Devices

Mouse

Joystick

Keyboard

Joystick Calibration

Hit ESC, click on Input and then select Joystick.

Notes

Floppy Saved Games and the CD-ROM Version of System Shock

Unfortunately, due to the number of enhancements made to the CD-ROM version of System Shock, it is impossible to use saved games created while playing the Floppy disk version with the enhanced CD. Documentation may say otherwise, but this is a misprint. With System Shock CD-ROM, you can continue to play the original floppy disk version by running C:\SSHOCK\SSHOCK.BAT instead of CDSHOCK.EXE.

System Shock
Common Issues

Error Messages

"2004, Could not find Palette"
You will need to make a boot disk to solve this problem. In the boot disk's CONFIG.SYS file, make sure that you have FILES=40 and BUFFERS=30.

"General Protection Fault"
Many times, an incompatible mouse driver can cause this error message. Ensure that you are using a Microsoft Mouse driver or a mouse driver that is 100% compatible with the Microsoft standard.

"Page Fault" crash as well as lockup
Often, this error message is caused by using System Shock on a system with Phoenix bios version 0.10. Contact Phoenix technologies for a "flash upgrade" for your bios to avoid this problem.

General

"My screen is black and locks up when I type SSHOCK or CDSHOCK!"
If you have an ACER machine, you will need to download the ACERBIOS.EXE patch program This will fix a variety of problems with these machines.

Make sure that you are running the appropriate boot disk for the game.

"My game locks up whenever I save my game or whenever I change levels!"
Incompatible mouse driver versions can cause this problem. Even if the actual mouse hardware is made by "Microsoft," you will need to check your system to ensure that you are loading mouse driver software that is 100% compatible with the Microsoft mouse driver.

"The game locks at random times, especially in the elevators, and stange things are happening elsewhere, too!"
This is probably the result of playing the CD-ROM version of the game with a saved game file created while playing the FLOPPY disk version of the game. These two types of saved games are not compatible. You will need to start your CD-ROM version of System Shock from scratch.

"I get an error on Disk #2 when trying to install the game!"
Disk #2 will exhibit an error when installing on a non-Intel processor-based machine. Cyrix processors seem to cause this problem more often than not. System Shock was developed for the Intel processor platform. Other processors may be incompatible.

Sound

"I have a Gravis Ultrasound and I'm not getting any music nor sound!"
You will need to load the Gravis Ultrasound drivers before running the game. Type "SHOCKGUS" while in the C:\SSHOCK directory. Then, run the game. You will need to load these drivers each time you restart your computer.










































Copyright 1997 Origin Systems, an Electronic Arts Company