Tech Support

Some of this is summarized from Westwood's Support Q&A to ensure it doesn't get lost, (they have already removed the Blade Runner section of their site and no longer answer questions relating to Blade Runner). Some has been added from answers given in various Blade Runner forums. Please note that these answers are given in good faith - if you do anything strange to your computer, it is not my fault! Also, if the answer to your technical support problem is not here, don't expect me to be able to answer it. However, if you have any useful technical answers to add, then by all means e-mail me. Hints and Tips for playing the game are in the other sections.

One day I'll probably sort these a little more, but for now I'm just dumping them on here. 

The Patch

There is a patch (well actually two - one for the CD version and one for the DVD version). Nobody seems to know exactly what the patch does, but it does seem to solve some problems. If you are not having any problems, ignore it. If you are having problems, the patch might resolve them or it might not, but its a good place to start. Get it from the BRmovie Downloads page.

Will this game work in Windows 2000/NT/ME/XP?

Westwood Studios does not officially offer support for any of their products running on Windows 2000, etc. unless specifically stated on the game box. Their (old) comment was, "Many of our games that were designed for Windows 95/98 will not detect Windows 2000 as an optimized operating system and therefore may not properly install. The Windows 2000 family of products are developed as business applications and optimized for this unique environment." This is a company covering itself. Blade Runner seems to work just fine in most Windows environments, though you may need to slow it down on fast processors. If you do have any problems with DirectX, etc. you need to checkthe Microsoft site for info on older games.

How do I troubleshoot Blade Runner Video and Sound Issues?

Our Windows games use DirectDraw, part of DirectX, for graphic rendering. To be fully compatible with DirectX, you must have certified drivers. To check if your drivers are certified, you can run the diagnostic programs by running DXDIAG.EXE from the DirectX install path. This will test your video and sound devices to see if they are compatible with DirectX.

To obtain the latest drivers, go to the web site of your video card manufacturer and go to their drivers or download files section. Find the latest driver for your specific card and download it. Read the instructions on their site on how to install it.

Why does the game lock up at Early Q's Bar?

If you are getting a lockup when getting thrown out of Q's bar, the easiest way to work around this is not to get thrown out. Do not draw your gun in the bar. To get past Hanoi the bouncer, talk to the girl on stage until Hanoi walks up and stands by the edge of the stage, then run to the rotating table and climb in. This should only be the solution to take if all other means of fixing the problem fail (i.e. patching the game to the latest version, etc.)

Will there be another Blade Runner? I lost my manual/CDs/Floppies. How do I get replacements?

There are no plans to continue the Blade Runner series at this time. If you need a floppy, CD or manual replaced, please contact the warranty department directly by phone at: (USA) 650-628-1905, by e-mail at: warranty@ea.com, or by mail at:

Westwood Customer Warranty
P.O Box 9025
Redwood City, CA 94063-9025, USA

Westwood don't have any Blade Runner merchandise for sale directly any more.

Why is my screen black in Blade Runner? or
What does "Unable to Allocate Primary Video Buffer" mean?

Westwood Windows games use DirectDraw, part of DirectX, for graphic rendering. To be fully compatible with DirectX, you must have certified drivers. To check if your drivers are certified, you can run the diagnostic programs by running DXDIAG.EXE from the DirectX install path. This will test your video and sound devices to see if they are compatible with DirectX.

To obtain the latest drivers, go to the web site of your video/sound card manufacturer and go to their drivers or download files section. Find the latest driver for your specific card and download it. Read the instructions on their site on how to install it.

Primary Video Buffer, Black Screen, or other Video Problems
These problems are directly related to a DirectX video card conflict.

Make sure you download the latest video drivers for your video card, available from the manufacturer's website. You can determine the manufacturer/model number of your video card by right-clicking on your "My Computer" icon, selecting "Properties", then clicking over on the [Device Manager] tab. You will see an entry name Display Adapters. Click on the [+] to the left and it will expand the list of video card(s) installed in your machine.

Usually you can find the manufacturer's site by going to www.companynamehere.com. If this doesn't help, try checking a site such as windrivers for a list of manufacturers web sites.

After downloading and installing the updated video drivers, it will also help to install the latest version of DirectX (7.0 or above). This is available from the Microsoft Website. Netrunner recommends updating DirectX once or twice a year to the latest version anyway, just to keep up with the latest software.

Why is my Screen Flashing in Blade Runner?

There are two possible fixes for this problem:

1) Open the DXTOOLS program on your hard drive. In a standard installation, you will probably find this in: c:\program files\directx\setup\dxtools.exe ; On the "Tools" screen, disable the first option "Direct3D" and enable the second "DirectDraw".

2) Open the buffering for your video card in the system control panel. Right click on "My Computer", select "Properties". Click on the "Performance" tab, then the "Graphics Button". Slide the Hardware Acceleration slider one step to the left, then try the game. Continue until the game works.

Why does my installation of Blade Runner freeze?

Verify that you have enough hard drive space to install the game.

What does "Cannot Read From CD-ROM" mean in Blade Runner?

Look for scratches or defects on CD. Try other CDs to verify that problem is not with the CD-ROM drive.

You may need to send in your CD for a replacement.

You can contact the warranty department directly by phone at: (USA) 650-628-1905, by e-mail at: warranty@ea.com, or by mail at:

Westwood Customer Warranty
P.O Box 9025
Redwood City, CA 94063-9025, USA

Can I use the Westwood Blade Runner logo or sounds? What is copyrighted and what isn't? Can I link to your website?

Fansite kits contain pictures and logos for each specific game. Although we don't have fansite kits available for all titles, most of them are available by visiting Westwood.com, clicking Games then the title you are inquiring about.

All logos, pictures and sounds that are included in the fan site kits are available for use providing they are not changed or manipulated in a malicious way. Although these are copyrighted, they are available for general public limited use.

Many of our fansites link to our website, and we encourage you to do so. Please link only to the main page, however. This is: www.westwood.ea.com - but note that the Blade Runner game is now discontinued as is the section of the Westwood website. If you are linking specifically to the Blade Runner Game, then please link to the Blade Runner Zone ( BRmovie.com/Game ).

How do I install/uninstall Bladerunner?

If you are having problems installing the game, try this:

First, try copying the entire contents of the CD to your hard drive then run the setup.exe from your hard drive. Make sure you still have the disc in the CDROM when you do this.

Second, Try to change IDE transfer mode from DMA2 or PIO Mode 4 to PIO 1 mode or standard mode. Most of the new drives are now shipping with DMA2 and PIO mode 4. This change can be done in System BIOS setup if the BIOS setup allows.

Third, Right-click on the "My Computer" icon and select "Properties". Then click on the [Device Manager] tab in the window that appears. Click on the [+] next to the "CDROM" listing. From whichever drive you're using to install, double-click on it (or click once and select the P[Properties] button below) to access the properties of the drive. Under the "Settings" tab, make sure you turn *off* the checkbox for "DMA". If it is already off, you may want to try turning is *on* to see if that works too.

Fourth, from the same settings window as the DMA, try turning *on* "Autodetect", if it's not already checked.

Fifth, if the DMA switch doesn't work, or if it's not an available option for your CDROM, please check with the CDROM manufacturer's website for an updated windows driver. Sometimes in addition to the driver a company will offer firmware code updates to the actual hardware in the CDROM. Either of these have worked for other customers having the same compatibility issues.

Note: for Windows 2000/NT users you may need to edit your registry. To do this, change the DMA setting for NT (as the DVD/CDROM is
loaded as a SCSI(ATAPI)) device as below:-

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\atapi\Parameters\Device
1\DriverParameter

and change the key value from "DmaDetectionLevel = 0x1;" to...
"DmaDetectionLevel = 0x0;".

Finally, if all else fails... it could be something as simple as a defective disc. If this is still occurring, please exchange it for another copy at the store you purchased the game from, or contact our Warranty Department for a replacement.

You can contact the warranty department directly by phone at: 650-628-1905, by email at: warranty@ea.com, or by mail at:

Westwood Customer Warranty
P.O. Box 9025
Redwood City, CA 94063-9025

Why is the sound stuttering in Blade Runner?

To resolve this issue:

- Right-click on "My Computer".
- Select the "Properties".
- Click on the [Device Manager] tab.
- Extend the list to "Sound, Video, and Game Controllers".
- Double-click on your sound card .
- Click on the [Settings] tab.
- Make sure the option to "[x] Allow Full Duplex" is checked.

I am having sound issues in Blade Runner.

Sound Issues

Westwood Windows games use "DirectSound", part of "DirectX", to play all in-game sound and music. To be fully compatible with DirectX, you must have certified drivers. To check if your drivers are certified, you can run the diagnostic programs by running "dxdiag.exe" from the DirectX install path. This will test your video and sound devices to see if they are compatible with DirectX.

To obtain the latest drivers, go to the web site of your sound card manufacturer and go to their drivers or download files section. Find the latest driver for your specific card and download it. Read the instructions on their site on how to install it.

I don't have sound in Blade Runner, or I get an "Unable to Create Direct Sound Object" error message.

You need to make sure that your sound card is correctly installed in Windows in order for it to work with Blade Runner. You'll also need to have the latest version of DirectX installed.

Make sure you download the latest sound drivers for your sound card, available from the manufacturer's web site. You can determine the manufacturer/model number of your sound card by right-clicking on your "My Computer" icon, selecting "Properties", then clicking over on the [Device Manager] tab. You will see an entry name "Sound, Video, and Game Controllers". Click on the [+] to the left and it will expand the list of sound card(s) installed in your machine.
Usually you can find the manufacturer's site by going to www.companynamehere.com. If this doesn't help, try checking a site such as windrivers for a list of manufacturers' web sites.

After downloading and installing the updated video drivers, it will also help to install the latest version of DirectX (7.0 or above). This is available from the Microsoft Website.

Why do I get a "Cannot Uninstall the Game" message in Blade Runner?

Unfortunately, this error generally means that there was either a problem during the install or there is a corrupt entry in the Windows registry. Just delete the Bladerunner directory to uninstall the game. Bladerunner stores all of its files (with the exception of DirectX) in the Bladerunner directory on your hard drive.

Deleting this directory will delete the game. If you are familiar with the use of RegEdit, you can remove the registry entry manually - the settings are found in the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/SOFTWARE/WESTWOOD Section.

Before making any changes to the Registry you will want to "back it up". This will enable you to return to your original settings in the case that an unnecessary change is made. To "back up" the System Registry select Registry in the upper left corner of the RegEdit program, select Export Registry, and a small prompt will appear asking for a file name and destination. You can save the file under any name you like, I suggest Westwood. Save the file to your desktop, this will make it much easier to locate if needed.
Once the file is saved, you have successfully "backed up" your System Registry. In the event that you want to revert back to the original settings, go through the same steps, except instead of selecting Export Registry, select Import Registry and the file located on your desktop.

Running the game under Linux

Jon wrote in with this information:

The game works fairly well for me on my debian gnu/linux system, using WINE. There is a screenshot here:
http://jon.dowland.name/screens/brunner_linux.png (569K)

Cd swapping works properly if you mount and unmount the cdrom drive accordingly. Swapping between windows on my graphics driver (nvidia) can cause the game to crash, but I've had no problems if I only use the game window whilst playing.

Technical information:

* Linux limey 2.4.18 #1 Wed May 15 19:39:48 GMT 2002 i586 GNU/Linux
* Wine 20021219
* Debian unstable (sid)
* blade runner version straight from CD - probably patched (budget release)
* XFree86 Version 4.2.1.1 (Debian 4.2.1-4 20021123003806)
* nvidia-glx-src 1.0.4191-1
* nvidia-kernel-src 1.0.4191-2