Morrowind screws up my system clock...

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Archived from groups: alt.games.morrowind (More info?)

I'd suspected something was up for a while now, and I've now confirmed it.
(By comparing with another clock before and after playing.) For some
reason, when Morrowind is running, the system clock runs fast. It looks
like the clock gains about 5 minutes per hour of playing time. Does anybody
else have this problem? I hope there's a better solution than re-syncing my
clock every time I'm done playing...
 
Archived from groups: alt.games.morrowind (More info?)

On Wed, 20 Oct 2004 20:58:54 -0400, Darrel Hoffman wrote:

> For some reason, when Morrowind is running, the system clock
> runs fast. It looks like the clock gains about 5 minutes per
> hour of playing time.

When logging on, hold down the Shift key. Do this while you press
the "OK" button on the login dialog (or, if the system logs you in
automatically, from the time that the dialog disappears) until the
system is completely booted -- this will kill most of the startup
applications, and, hopefully, any background interference with
the game that could cause this. After that, start Morrowind
directly from the executable and see if there's any difference.

If there isn't, wait a bit for more replies, post this to a forum
or two, and, finally, take it to the Bethesda techies.

> I hope there's a better solution than re-syncing my clock every
> time I'm done playing...

If you don't have the stomach to get to the heart of this issue or
the devs turn out to be just as stumped as I am, there is a better
solution -- look for an application that will sync your system
clock with that of another machine when run, and use a batch file
like the following to launch Morrowind:

rem Start Morrowind, wait, and then start the (self-executing)
rem application that will set the system time to the correct
rem value

start /wait [Morrowind.exe path]
start /min [path to time-synching application]

rem The /min switch on the latter start command will start the
rem time-synching executable minimized -- to have it start
rem normally, simply remove this switch.

--

Passion is inversely proportional to the amount of real
information available.

- Benford's Law of Controversy
 
Archived from groups: alt.games.morrowind (More info?)

Windows XP has a function to automatically sync your time with a server on
the internet. If your using XP.....

"Darrel Hoffman" <i.dont@think.so> wrote in message
news:NYSdnW87kp4RlercRVn-vg@giganews.com...
> I'd suspected something was up for a while now, and I've now confirmed it.
> (By comparing with another clock before and after playing.) For some
> reason, when Morrowind is running, the system clock runs fast. It looks
> like the clock gains about 5 minutes per hour of playing time. Does
> anybody
> else have this problem? I hope there's a better solution than re-syncing
> my
> clock every time I'm done playing...
>
>
 
Archived from groups: alt.games.morrowind (More info?)

> Windows XP has a function to automatically sync your time with a server on
> the internet. If your using XP.....

Running 2000 SP4 here. Athalon 2.6Ghz, 512MB ram, if that makes any
difference. (It's certainly well above spec for this game.)
 
Archived from groups: alt.games.morrowind (More info?)

> When logging on, hold down the Shift key. Do this while you press
> the "OK" button on the login dialog (or, if the system logs you in
> automatically, from the time that the dialog disappears) until the
> system is completely booted -- this will kill most of the startup
> applications, and, hopefully, any background interference with
> the game that could cause this. After that, start Morrowind
> directly from the executable and see if there's any difference.

Hmm. I don't want to have to reboot with a special procedure every time I
want to play, but I'll try it once, just to see if it makes a difference.

> If there isn't, wait a bit for more replies, post this to a forum
> or two, and, finally, take it to the Bethesda techies.

Yeah, I've had very little luck in the past talking to tech support for any
games I've played. They usually just send auto-replies. I'll give it a
shot as a last resort, but I'm not holding out much hope for that...

> If you don't have the stomach to get to the heart of this issue or
> the devs turn out to be just as stumped as I am, there is a better
> solution -- look for an application that will sync your system
> clock with that of another machine when run, and use a batch file
> like the following to launch Morrowind:
>
> rem Start Morrowind, wait, and then start the (self-executing)
> rem application that will set the system time to the correct
> rem value
>
> start /wait [Morrowind.exe path]
> start /min [path to time-synching application]
>
> rem The /min switch on the latter start command will start the
> rem time-synching executable minimized -- to have it start
> rem normally, simply remove this switch.

Hmm. Looks like an interesting hack-job workaround, though hopefully
there's a better solution. Also, technically, I'd need it to run after
Morrowind closes, not right after it opens. Or does this take that into
account? It's been a while since I looked at batch file formatting. (I
used to do it alot back in pre-Windows days, but I've gone rusty.) Oh, and
do you have any recommendation for an app. that will do that automatically?
I have a program called "Abouttime", but I actually have to push a button
after opening the program to get it to actually do its work. One that just
opens, syncs, and closes again without user input would be best for this
sort of trick...
 
Archived from groups: alt.games.morrowind (More info?)

On Thu, 21 Oct 2004 18:01:11 -0400, Darrel Hoffman wrote:

> [His eminence, the high priest of the cult of the T80 wrote:]
>
>> If you don't have the stomach to get to the heart of this issue
>> or the devs turn out to be just as stumped as I am, there is a
>> better solution -- look for an application that will sync your
>> system clock with that of another machine when run, and use a
>> batch file like the following to launch Morrowind:
>>
>> rem Start Morrowind, wait, and then start the (self-executing)
>> rem application that will set the system time to the correct
>> rem value
>>
>> start /wait [Morrowind.exe path]
>> start /min [path to time-synching application]
>>
>> rem The /min switch on the latter start command will start the
>> rem time-synching executable minimized -- to have it start
>> rem normally, simply remove this switch.
>Hmm. Looks like an interesting hack-job workaround, though
> hopefully there's a better solution. Also, technically, I'd
> need it to run after Morrowind closes, not right after it opens.
> Or does this take that into account? It's been a while since I
> looked at batch file formatting.

Yes, it does take that into account -- start /wait will halt the
execution of the batch file until the application started
terminates itself. There's also something else that you need to
know about the start command, if you're going to go through with
this, though; specifying the path won't work, as I found out
today, so you must CD to it within the batch file.

....And how dare you call me a hack!

> Oh, and do you have any recommendation for an app. that will do
> that automatically?

My guess is that this sort of thing would be the equivalent of
nigh-on a dozen "Hello World" programs; you probably wouldn't have
much of a problem asking for something that does this in
any number of intermediate or experienced developers' circles.

--

Passion is inversely proportional to the amount of real
information available.

- Benford's Law of Controversy
 
Archived from groups: alt.games.morrowind (More info?)

"Darrel Hoffman" <i.dont@think.so> wrote:

>I'd suspected something was up for a while now, and I've now confirmed it.
>(By comparing with another clock before and after playing.) For some
>reason, when Morrowind is running, the system clock runs fast. It looks
>like the clock gains about 5 minutes per hour of playing time. Does anybody
>else have this problem? I hope there's a better solution than re-syncing my
>clock every time I'm done playing...
>

I never noticed system clock problems (I probably wouldn't have noticed, I don't
look at the system clock that often) but there's a nasty little piece of
spyware, called TimeSync, that does not get along well with Morrowind. I
wouldn't have thought to mention it, but adjusting the system clock is one of
it's functions. You might want to snag a copy of the freeware prog Spybot Search
& Destroy and scan for it.

http://www.safer-networking.org/en/index.html


It was causing, or at least I think it was causing (the problems disappered when
it was squashed), an occasional odd flicker, where sometimes as morrowind loaded
I would see fast flashing bits of the desktop through the morrowind loading
screens (Start button, clock, etc...), random game startup freezes, and
sometimes a loss of mouse function when I reached the morrowind main menu (mouse
returned when morrowind unloaded).
 
Archived from groups: alt.games.morrowind (More info?)

> I never noticed system clock problems (I probably wouldn't have noticed, I
don't
> look at the system clock that often) but there's a nasty little piece of
> spyware, called TimeSync, that does not get along well with Morrowind. I
> wouldn't have thought to mention it, but adjusting the system clock is one
of
> it's functions. You might want to snag a copy of the freeware prog Spybot
Search
> & Destroy and scan for it.
>
> http://www.safer-networking.org/en/index.html

I ran Ad-Aware and PC-Cillin to check for spyware/virii, but came up clean.
I had an unfortunate run-in with Gator Software (otherwise known as the
devil-incarnate) last week that could be to blame. A pop-up appeared and I
accidentally clicked it before I realized what it was. (It appeared
directly over a link I was about to click. It was one of those
"NOOOOooooooo!!!" moments...) Anyhow, I found the offending software and
removed it. (The only programs I've ever seen that make ads pop up on the
screen when you run the de-installer...) But I ran Ad-Aware after I was
done, and it came up with nothing, so I assumed that I had successfully
purged it. I'll run Spybot and see if it picks up anything that Ad-Aware
missed. Hopefully that will solve it. I'd hate to have to resort to that
batch-file trick that Michael suggested. That just seems a little
hack-job-ish...
 
Archived from groups: alt.games.morrowind (More info?)

> Yes, it does take that into account -- start /wait will halt the
> execution of the batch file until the application started
> terminates itself. There's also something else that you need to
> know about the start command, if you're going to go through with
> this, though; specifying the path won't work, as I found out
> today, so you must CD to it within the batch file.
>
> ...And how dare you call me a hack!

With all due respect, of course. I just think it would be better to find a
way to keep the game from screwing up the clock to begin with, rather than
using a workaround to fix it after the fact. I'll do it if that's the only
thing that works, but I hope I can find a better solution.

> > Oh, and do you have any recommendation for an app. that will do
> > that automatically?
>
> My guess is that this sort of thing would be the equivalent of
> nigh-on a dozen "Hello World" programs; you probably wouldn't have
> much of a problem asking for something that does this in
> any number of intermediate or experienced developers' circles.

Yeah, I was just wondering if there was one good reliable one. The one I
have works directly off the World Atomic Clock, so it's accurate to the
millisecond. (minus whatever time is lost due to signal routing or
what-not.) Obviously, there's no reason for it to be THAT accurate, but
gaining 5 minutes every hour of play is just totally unacceptable.
 
Archived from groups: alt.games.morrowind (More info?)

Darrel Hoffman wrote:

> I'd suspected something was up for a while now, and I've now confirmed it.
> (By comparing with another clock before and after playing.) For some
> reason, when Morrowind is running, the system clock runs fast. It looks
> like the clock gains about 5 minutes per hour of playing time. Does anybody
> else have this problem? I hope there's a better solution than re-syncing my
> clock every time I'm done playing...
>
>
Have you used a program to monitor and log your power supply voltages
while playing the game? The power supply may be acting up under the
load and causing problems with your clock.
 
Archived from groups: alt.games.morrowind (More info?)

> Have you used a program to monitor and log your power supply voltages
> while playing the game? The power supply may be acting up under the
> load and causing problems with your clock.

Only problem is I can't be checking voltages with a 3rd party program while
playing the game, because it's impossible (at least on my system) to Alt-Tab
out and look at another program. Morrowind doesn't seem to want to share
processor power, so I really can't be looking at anything else on my
computer while the game is running.

(That's one of the little things that bugs me about this game. I don't like
it when games take complete control over my computer so that I can't pause
it and go check e-mail/usenet, receive IM msgs, check game FAQ websites if
necessary, etc. If I have to completely quit the program in order to do
anything else on the computer, it just annoys me...)
 
Archived from groups: alt.games.morrowind (More info?)

On Thu, 21 Oct 2004 23:09:14 -0400, Darrel Hoffman wrote:

>> Have you used a program to monitor and log your power supply
>> voltages while playing the game? The power supply may be
>> acting up under the load and causing problems with your clock.
>
> Only problem is I can't be checking voltages with a 3rd party
> program while playing the game, because it's impossible (at
> least on my system) to Alt-Tab out and look at another program.

Why not run Morrowind in a window? The option is avaliable from
the "Options..." screen accessible from the Morrowind Launcher
window. Alternatively, you could change the value of
"HKLM\Software\Bethesda Softworks\Morrowind\FullScreen" to 1.

--

Passion is inversely proportional to the amount of real
information available.

- Benford's Law of Controversy
 
Archived from groups: alt.games.morrowind (More info?)

Darrel Hoffman wrote:

>>Have you used a program to monitor and log your power supply voltages
>>while playing the game? The power supply may be acting up under the
>>load and causing problems with your clock.
>
>
> Only problem is I can't be checking voltages with a 3rd party program while
> playing the game, because it's impossible (at least on my system) to Alt-Tab
> out and look at another program. Morrowind doesn't seem to want to share
> processor power, so I really can't be looking at anything else on my
> computer while the game is running.
>
> (That's one of the little things that bugs me about this game. I don't like
> it when games take complete control over my computer so that I can't pause
> it and go check e-mail/usenet, receive IM msgs, check game FAQ websites if
> necessary, etc. If I have to completely quit the program in order to do
> anything else on the computer, it just annoys me...)
>
>

Motherboard Monitor allows you to write alarms to a file for later review.
 
Archived from groups: alt.games.morrowind (More info?)

> > Only problem is I can't be checking voltages with a 3rd party
> > program while playing the game, because it's impossible (at
> > least on my system) to Alt-Tab out and look at another program.
>
> Why not run Morrowind in a window? The option is avaliable from
> the "Options..." screen accessible from the Morrowind Launcher
> window. Alternatively, you could change the value of
> "HKLM\Software\Bethesda Softworks\Morrowind\FullScreen" to 1.

The game seems to have major rendering issues when I run it in windowed
mode. The ground keeps disappearing, particularly in areas of overlapping
geometry, like wherever there are rocks or mountains. Also, it kills the
framerate. I was in one of those Propylon Chambers, and whenever the swirly
red things were on the screen the game ran at like 1 fps or even slower. In
full screen, that effect doesn't slow me down at all. Anyhow, I suppose
it's useful for testing purposes, but it's really difficult to actually play
the game that way. (You try finding a pass through a mountain range when
you can't see the ground... Not easy.)
 
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