Saira won't start. :(

Hi,

I just bought Saira from Gamersgate and when I start it I get a white screen which says "Saira 1.1.1. non portable demo" then it goes to a game menu but is frozen so nothing can be selected.

This is the first time I have purchased from Gamersgate so I could be missing something simple.  Any ideas?

I have no idea why. Try downloading the game from here at http://nifflas.ni2.se to see if the same thing happens. The same serial code as the one you received from gamers gate will work in the ni2.se version.

OK thanks, will try that.  Also noticed that it says "The episode where Saira has bad luck with teleportation" on the screen with the menu.  Dunno if this means anything.

Yeah, that's the episode selection screen (although there's only one existing episode in the game right now). Just hit Enter or S when you see that, if it doesn't work the game must be frozen.

I loaded game from site you gave me and also tried on my other computer which is a newer machine built for gaming and still the same.  It is frozen on that screen and cannot press enter or S.  Oddly I do not seem to have been asked for the serial code at any time. 

you enter the serial code in the settings.exe, not anywhere in the game.

Thanks Miss Paula.  The serial code is entered but still the same frozen start up screen   Can't be the computer because have tried 2.  Can't be Gamersgate because I tried from the other site that Nifflas gave me.  *scratches head*

Would help if you gave the specs of the computers you tried it on. Mainly cpu, memory, display card and how much memory it has. If laptop, does the display card share the memory with rest of computer? Operating system?

Here is info for PC.  Don't have the info for laptop to hand right now

------------------
System Information
------------------
Time of this report: 4/13/2010, 12:43:00
       Machine name: MONSTER
   Operating System: Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit (6.1, Build 7600) (7600.win7_rtm.090713-1255)
           Language: English (Regional Setting: English)
System Manufacturer: To Be Filled By O.E.M.
       System Model: To Be Filled By O.E.M.
               BIOS: Default System BIOS
          Processor: Intel(R) Core(TM) i5 CPU         750  @ 2.67GHz (4 CPUs), ~2.7GHz
             Memory: 4096MB RAM
Available OS Memory: 4088MB RAM
          Page File: 1985MB used, 6186MB available
        Windows Dir: C:\Windows
    DirectX Version: DirectX 11
DX Setup Parameters: Not found
   User DPI Setting: Using System DPI
 System DPI Setting: 96 DPI (100 percent)
    DWM DPI Scaling: Disabled
     DxDiag Version: 6.01.7600.16385 32bit Unicode

Display Devices
---------------
          Card name: ATI Radeon HD 5700 Series
       Manufacturer: ATI Technologies Inc.
          Chip type: ATI display adapter (0x68BE)
           DAC type: Internal DAC(400MHz)
         Device Key: Enum\PCI\VEN_1002&DEV_68BE&SUBSYS_29811682&REV_00
     Display Memory: 2291 MB
   Dedicated Memory: 503 MB
      Shared Memory: 1787 MB
       Current Mode: 1920 x 1080 (32 bit) (60Hz)
       Monitor Name: Generic PnP Monitor
      Monitor Model: F22
         Monitor Id: AOC2200
        Native Mode: 1920 x 1080(p) (60.000Hz)
        Output Type: HD15
        Driver Name: atiu9p64 aticfx64 aticfx64 atiu9pag aticfx32 aticfx32 atiumd64 atidxx64 atidxx64 atiumdag atidxx32 atidxx32 atiumdva atiumd6a atitmm64
Driver File Version:  ()
     Driver Version: 8.690.0.0
        DDI Version: 10.1
       Driver Model: WDDM 1.1
  Driver Attributes: Final Retail
   Driver Date/Size: , 0 bytes
        WHQL Logo'd: n/a
    WHQL Date Stamp: n/a
  Device Identifier: {D7B71EE2-2BFE-11CF-F962-8009A1C2C535}
          Vendor ID: 0x1002
          Device ID: 0x68BE
          SubSys ID: 0x29811682
        Revision ID: 0x0000
 Driver Strong Name: oem20.inf:ATI.Mfg.NTamd64.6.1:ati2mtag_Evergreen:8.690.0.0:pci\ven_1002&dev_68be
     Rank Of Driver: 00E62001

Niya, do you have any restrictions on your windows account? If so, try running the game as Administrator.

Also, try extracting the game to C:\Saira (just to try and get it to work. Once it works, moving it elsewhere can be your next step)

The game should run fine with user priviligies. Only the portable version (the zip file at nifflas.ni2.se) needs write permission to it's own path. If the write check fails, you would never see the episode selection menu, you'll get an instant warning text that the game is unable to write to the save folders.

This must be something else. I'm still really confused about what though.

The game should run fine with user priviligies. Only the portable version (the zip file at nifflas.ni2.se) needs write permission to it's own path. If the write check fails, you would never see the episode selection menu, you'll get an instant warning text that the game is unable to write to the save folders.

This must be something else. I'm still really confused about what though.

Even while you probably are right, troubleshooting requires to do the obvious to find out that something that seems obvious isn't. For that reason it still is good to know if there are any restrictions on the user account and if extracting to C:\Saira works. (I do this for a living )

Niya, do you have any restrictions on your windows account? If so, try running the game as Administrator.

Also, try extracting the game to C:\Saira (just to try and get it to work. Once it works, moving it elsewhere can be your next step)

Tried this, but sadly it has not made a difference.

Those numbers say you're running the original release build of Win7 (7600.win7_rtm.090713-1255), and there's been many patches to it since. Turn on windows update and let it go - as of tonight, 7600.win7_gdr.100226-1909 is current.

I also see that you're running ATI drivers 10.1. After updating Windows, try upgrading your ATI drivers to10.3 (http://game.amd.com/us-en/drivers_catalyst.aspx?p=win7/windows-7-64bit) and see if that fixes the problem.

It's a good idea to update your OS and display driver, just as jjandrah said. There could be compatibility issues in the original retail version of Win7 that are already addressed in newer updates.

Also, if all else fails, try forcing XP compatibility mode for the main program (right click on Saira.exe file -> Properties -> Compatibility tab). Try setting it to "Windows XP SP2".