Troubleshooting
From System Shock 2 Wiki
Incompatible Windows Version
When attempting to install, you are presented with a dialogue box stating that your version of Windows is incompatible with System Shock 2.
Reason
System Shock 2 has no real support for NT kernel operating systems, so to avoid people complaining of all the bugs that appear under NT, the game refuses to install, giving a legitimate reason.
Solution
Run SETUP.EXE from the CD-ROM with the parametre "-lgntforce". To do so, select "Run" from your start menu, enter "D:\setup.exe -lgntforce", however you will need to replace the "D" with the letter that your CD-ROM uses.
Movies Don't Play
All FMV Cutscenes in the game are skipped instantly, failing to play
Reason
The old codecs used to encode the movies is very unsupported under Windows XP.
Solution
Run the file iv5play.exe located on the System Shock 2 CD-ROM, this will install the drivers and codecs needed to view the movies. You may need to do this after each reboot of your system. You can also register the video drivers by running from the start menu's Run command:
regsvr32 "C:\path\to\sshock2\lgvid.ax"
You will need to change C:\path\to\sshock2\ to the directory where you installed System Shock 2 into.
Dual CPU or Hyperthreading Systems
Movies may or may not work, this problem has no effect on movies. The game will install fully, and the EXE will load in compatibility modes. The first level will load, controls will work, sounds will work. The game will halt after a few seconds of movement, or of sitting still.
Reason
System Shock 2 under Windows XP will not run under a duel processor envornment.
Solution
First of all, run the System Shock 2 Multiplayer patch, it fixes many small bugs. This problem is fixed easily by assigning only one CPU to the System Shock 2 process. To do this, launch the game, and before starting a the game (while in the menu) hit CTRL+ALT+DEL and select "Task Manager". In "Applications" select System Shock 2, right click on it and select "Goto Process", right click on the process and select "Set Affinity". Here you are able to set whatever CPUs you want to the System Shock 2 Process. Select only a single CPU to run the process, and apply the new settings. Return to System Shock 2 and play the game, the symptoms of running Duel CPUs should dissapear.
Download an unwrapped/no-cd version of the System Shock 2 EXE file for the multiplayer patch version (Do not ask where any file of this type can be located, for obvious reasons...). Download the System Shock 2 Multithread/XP Fix (http://www.lanime.com/ntx/ss2fix/ss2mtfix.exe) Run ss2mtfix.exe, specify the location of an unwrapped System Shock 2 EXE, the program will patch the file to only run using a single CPU (CPU 0).
Illegal Operation at Runtime
You are presented with an Error Reporting dialogue at runtime, and the program fails to load, or you recieve a blue screen at runtime.
Reason
The copy protection "SafeDisc" is very unreliable under Windows XP, and often causes this type of error.
Solution
Locate a safedisc unwrapper, and run it on the shock2.icd file to generate an unwrapped EXE, this should solve the problem.
Intel or ATI Rage Video Cards
Graphical glitches may occur with these video cards, or the game may not load at all.
Reason
Unknown, possibly just due to outdated drivers.
Solution
Add the text
safe_texture_manager
to the file C:\path\to\sshock2\user.cfg.
Other Graphical Glitches
Uusual screen flashing, corrupt or odly coloured textures, certain textures not appearing, etc.
Reason
Lack of testing for unpopular graphics cards, or use of outdated and incompatible drivers.
Solution
Locate the newest most upto date drivers for your video card, and install them. If this fails, try locating slightly older than newest drivers, or old than your current drivers.
Cannot Use Ingame Menu
When pressing Esc ingame, the mouse arrow is restricted to a small area and cannot reach any of the options in the menu.
Reason
Most likley resolution/visual themes confusing the way System Shock 2 uses the ingame menus.
Solution
Right click on your shock2.exe, and in the Compatibility tab, check "Disable Visual Themes".
WaitOnDialog() Error
When attempted to install System Shock 2, after choosing the destination folder, you're presented with an error dialog window.
So far the only way around this is to do a manual installation.
Texture Memory Usage
Add the text
safe_texture_manager
to the file C:\path\to\sshock2\cam.cfg.
Crash When Loading station.mis
You need a directory c:\path\to\sshock2\current\.
Buff Len of 80 Exceeded
System Shock 2 has crashes because the path to a file is too long. This will happen if you've installed it into a directory with a long path name, or because you have long path names in your install.cfg file. Move the game into a folder with a shorter path name and replace the contents of your install.cfg file.
