Background Applications

Make sure Windows is running with as few resources consumed by other programs as possible. One of the most common reasons for a game not to run is interference from such "background" tasks. Some of these take up system resources such as memory and processor time that the game needs, regardless of how powerful your computer may be. Background tasks can cause error messages such as illegal operation errors, poor performance, crashes, and lockups.

There are literally millions of different applications that can interfere with programs. A few examples of programs most likely to interfere would include:

• Chat/messaging utilities
• Anti-virus programs
• Anti-crash utilities
• File sharing software
• Spyware programs

Although somewhat less likely to cause problems, here are some other background applications found on many machines:

• Firewall software
• Modem Sharing software (Wingate, Sygate or Built into Windows)
• Hardware applications

Check for background tasks and close them

Hold down the CTRL and ALT keys simultaneously. Press the Delete key once to bring up the close-program window. The only 2 programs that need to be running are Explorer and Systray. Select a program that is not Explorer or Systray and then click the End Task button. The window should now disappear. Press CTRL-ALT-DEL again and repeat this process. Once Explorer and Systray are the only programs in this list, then try running the game.

If you restart the computer, all the background tasks that were ended will return. Use caution when ending background tasks - pressing CTRL-ALT-DEL again while the close program window is displayed will restart your computer. When ending background tasks, you may experience some programs that do not immediately end on the first attempt to close them. Click End-Task on these again and wait a few seconds. Occasionally, you may see a window appear saying that a program has stopped responding. Click the End-Task button.

If ending a certain task makes Windows restart, try ending background tasks again but do not end-task on it. If a certain program is making the game crash, you may want to contact your system manufacturer or the manufacturers of the program to ask how to prevent it from loading when windows is started.

Note: If you close a virus protection/firewall program that is running in the background, you will want to restart your computer after playing the game to ensure that it is protecting your system.

Under Windows 2000 and Windows XP, such tasks are known as "Processes." You should be logged in with an account that has administrator privileges to perform these steps.

To end background tasks in Windows 2000 and Windows XP:

• Press CTRL-ALT and DEL simultaneously. This will bring up the Task Manager.
• Select the Applications tab.
• Select all the programs that are running and click the End Task button.
• Next, select the Processes tab.
• Check the box at the bottom of the window labeled "Show processes from all users."
• Select a process with an account username next to it and click the End Process button.

WARNING: Do not End Process on Explorer.exe or processes with "SYSTEM" or "SERVICE" in the username. Ending these processes can prevent Windows from running correctly. Also, ending another user's process will cause all of their open programs to close, which may result in a loss of all unsaved work.