Wing Commander III: Heart of the Tiger t e c h n i c a l   i n f o r m a t i o n

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

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

	device=c:\windows\himem.sys
	dos=high
	files=25
	buffers=99
	lastdrive=[enter the drive letter of your CD-ROM]
	device=[CD-ROM drivers]
	device=[Sound lines (if any)]

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

Requirements & Other Useful Info

Wing Commander III: Heart of the Tiger
Common Issues

Error Messages

"A processor exception has occurred. Your system may be unstable..."

Conflicting devices are resident in memory while the game is running. Create a boot disk for the game. (You can use the automatic shortcut maker or boot-disk maker!) and start your system with it before you run the game. If the problem persists, you may need to update your CD-ROM device drivers.

"Exception 13 (during spaceflight only)"

While in-flight select VGA mode by pressing ALT-1. Go to the spaceflight options by pressing ALT-O. Turn OFF "Frame Rate Switch." If this does not help, create a boot disk with the Origin automatic boot disk maker or automatic shortcut maker (found on this site!).

"Exception 13 (or) Bad .EXP file"

As with the above, make sure that you have a good boot disk for the game. If the boot disk does not help, you may need to check the CD-ROm for scratches or marks. If the CD-ROM is clean of physical imperfections, you will probably need to get more recent CD-ROM drivers from your manufacturer.

"Bad .TRE file format (or) Bad xxxx chunk in xxxx"

From the C:\WC3 directory, type DEL *.TRE. This will remove the offending files from your hard drive. If this does not solve the problem, put a *different* Wing Commander III CD into your CD-ROM. Change to your CD-ROM drive letter and type COPY *.TRE C:\WC3. Restart the game.

The new .TRE files, copied from a different game disk, may allow you past the error message. If they do not, you may need to repeat the process with yet a *different* disk.

"Critical error on file:..\..\ (or) Read failed on file:..\..\"

Ensure that you are running with the appropriate boot disk for the game. Create one automatically using the Origin 'BOOTDISK' program. If this does not help, check the bottom of the game CD for marks and scratches. If the CD-ROM media has no visible problems, you may need to get a more recent CD-ROM device driver from your hardware manufacturer.

"CVMManager : : getPtr ( )"

This error message appears when Wing Commander III cannot get enough memory to run. Edit the CONFIG.SYS file on your boot disk by typing EDIT A:\CONFIG.SYS. Make the "BUFFERS=" line read: BUFFERS=25 and change the 'DOS=HIGH' line to read: DOS=LOW. Restart your system with the new configuration and try again.

"Malloc ( ) Failed"

If you fly 'manually' to a waypoint (meaning that you did not press "A" to AUTOPILOT), you will get this error message. If you cannot (A)utopilot, check around the first action sphere for a transport or 'cargo' ship that needs an escort. Fly close to that ship, and you will be able to (A)utopilot.

If using (A)utopilot does not solve the problem, you may need to reconfigure your boot disk. This is, basically, the same problem as addressed above. Wing Commander III cannot get enough memory to complete a given function. Try using a boot disk created by the Automatic boot disk maker. If this does not help, use the steps mentioned above to change the CONFIG.SYS file so that BUFFERS=25 instead of the default BUFFERS=99. This will save some memory.

"Error loading *.IFF or *.TRE files"

If you are using a "shortcut" in Windows 95 to run the game, right-click on the shortcut icon, select 'Properties' and then select 'Program.' Make sure that the "Cmd line:" and the Working: folders are the same. If running exclusively under MS-DOS, delete the *.TRE files from the C:\WC3 directory and re-start.

Copyright 1997 Origin Systems, an Electronic Arts Company