Unable to start PCem

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mforan89
Posts: 13
Joined: Sat 10 May, 2014 3:30 pm

Unable to start PCem

Post by mforan89 »

I just downloaded the latest version from the site and when it opens all I get is the menu bar and a gray box in the window. After a few seconds I get an error saying PCem.exe has stopped working.
This is with no config file running on Windows 10. The other versions I downloaded are also suddenly experiencing the same issue. Any ideas?
tk421
Posts: 156
Joined: Sat 18 Jun, 2016 6:57 am

Re: Unable to start PCem

Post by tk421 »

I recommend trying it again. I had a weird issue like that at first, but running the program again after restarting the computer helped. I am still in the process of testing this new version, but after restarting the issue you report did not happen again. I admit I ran the program under an XP machine, and PCem did what you described, but restarting the computer, and the program, helped me avoid the issue again. Also, when I loaded up my emulated P100, it loaded as an enhanced pentium, and not the normal Award 430vx Pentium many of us have been using for some time now. I made sure to load my emulated pc after going through my configuration again, and it worked without more input from me.

Hopefully your problem, which really does sound like what I had at first when running the program, is resolved soon.

tk421
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Fusion
Posts: 11
Joined: Sun 05 Feb, 2017 10:14 pm
Location: Ontario, Canada

Re: Unable to start PCem

Post by Fusion »

I had a similar problem without the crashing issue. Other BIOS files would work but not the 430vx. After a few attempts and extracting v12 from the .zip many times the 430vx BIOS worked and I was up and running. I spent a good 30mins cursing and swearing as to why it was giving me a grey screen, or a smaller black screen. :S
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SarahWalker
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Joined: Thu 24 Apr, 2014 4:18 pm

Re: Unable to start PCem

Post by SarahWalker »

I seem to recall that a while ago someone else was having issues starting the emulator due to the DirectDraw renderer not initialising for some reason. Try with the attached config file - that should default to the Direct3D renderer, which may work better.
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pcem.cfg
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Fusion
Posts: 11
Joined: Sun 05 Feb, 2017 10:14 pm
Location: Ontario, Canada

Re: Unable to start PCem

Post by Fusion »

That makes sense since I tried switching to D3D and I guess I didn't put two and two together. I've found D3D to be much better, less sound stuttering especially.
Katakis
Posts: 118
Joined: Thu 05 Mar, 2015 6:42 am

Re: Unable to start PCem

Post by Katakis »

I had the same problem (PCem has stopped working), but I found out that the emulator won't work without at least one ROM present in the /roms directory.
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