Portal not launching?!

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MAB1994

MAB1994

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Jan 16, 2010
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So I bought the Orange Box and it started installing portal through steam and when it finished and I pressed to play and it says "preparing to launch portal..." then it dissipears or crashes on me. Has anyone had this problem before, does anyone have a solution?

Thanks
 
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The specification is good and ya it should work on your system...but it's not working...maybe the installation disk will be having problem then...other wise do one thing give the same disk to one of your friend and see whether its working on his system or not....then inform us
 
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When I got the Orange Box one of the disks was loose in the case and has a BIG scratch all the way around the center... do you think that could be one reason its not working?
 
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1: Ive opened it both through the steam shortcut on the desktop... neither work
2: If you downloaded it directly from steam it couldn't still be the scratch could it? I downloaded it directly from steam and it still didn't work!
3: obviously this is a usual thing because I went on steam support and they had these to troubleshooting guided which are exactly my problem. But Ive tried every one of they're recommendations and none of them work! Its SOOO frustrating!
https://support.steampowered.com/kb_article.php?ref=6218-USFX-5568
https://support.steampowered.com/kb_article.php?ref=9354-RTIB-643

 
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Ok, are your other steam games working properly (valve ones mainly so half life 2, etc...)?
If so, try uninstalling portal completely and then re-installing it again through steam, could be a corrupt install.

Now there have been updates of portal recently and I havent tried it for a few months but could be related to that... (blame those mac users DX lol!)
 
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Ive installed all the other games that came with the Orange Box and they all work perfectly. Ive lost count how many times Ive uninstalled Portal and reinstalled it, both through the CD and directly through Steam. Ive even uninstalled Steam. NOTHING seems to work I'm on the verge of returning it and getting a new one.
 
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mm seems like its portal thats the problem and not the cd (since the steam install wont work either).

unfortunately im not sure you can return a game if its registered through steam (check it out with whoever sold it to you, but the steam account belongs to you, so its gonna be a problem)

I see you have already posted on the steam portal forums (if MAB7777 is you that is), which is a good idea since your more likely to find someone with a similar problem.

Mmm... have you tried submitting a ticket through steam support with the fact that youve tried everything (I am right in assuming you updated your drivers right? (graphic card, direct x and so on and so on) as well as updating windows)
 
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Yep, just got an email from the seller (on eBay) that I cant return it since its connected to my steam account 🙁 and yah that's me on the other forum lol. Yes I have updated all my drivers and windows but to no avail. What do you mean by "submitting a ticket"? Oh yah and when I type in the "run" menu "dxdiag" like the steam support said it says that its running dx11 instead of the dx9 that portal needs, could that be the problem?
 
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yeah thats what i meant, you have to create your own support account (which is different from the normal steam account) here

https://support.steampowered.com/login.php?s=a06ed3174c24f4779f26acb0493c9aad

Then you choose the correct subject your ticket is about and submit it.

Usually they answer pretty quickly.

However I will tell you that portal was offered for free recently on steam, hence there is a good chance that it wont be their first priority so might take longer then a lost password for example.

Also try out what gorpie mentioned on the steam forums, seems like something to try out (never tried it out myself since im on holidays though lol)

 
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So I sent the ticket to steam support and they replied giving me instructions that might help, here:

Hello, Thank you for contacting Steam Support. The following instructions describe how to temporarily disable applications running in the background which can cause conflicts with Steam. These instructions are for temporary, diagnostic use only and your system should not be left in this state. Please try this: Click the Start button, then "Run" (or Windows key + R) Type in: msconfig Uncheck the box labeled "Load Startup Items". Now, click on the "Services" tab. Please make sure the "Hide All Microsoft Services" box *is* checked. Then, click "Disable All". If you are using Vista or Windows 7, please re-check the "Steam Client Service" as this is required for Steam to function on these operating systems. Click "OK" and allow your computer to restart Test the issue and let us know the results. This is for diagnostic purposes only. You should not leave your computer in this state, but it may help us determine the cause of the issue. To set the system back to normal, launch msconfig again and choose "normal startup", close the window and restart your computer.

But that didn't works, sooo I did as they said and replied and explained what happened, here:

I did every thing you described and restated my PC, and when I clicked to
play "Portal" it said that it was unable to connect to steam because the
internet was off and I couldn't find my own network, it then gave me the
option to "play anyway" or "cancel" I clicked play anyway and it did
nothing. So I returned to normal mode.

Thanks

And now I'm awaiting their next reply... just wanted to keep you guys updated on whats happening, didn't want to keep you in the dark when I wouldn't have gotten this far without your suggestions.
 
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Ive never really liked steam either, I didn't know when I bought this that it would be connected to steam, all I wanted was a physical copy. But its looks like I might of as well just bought it from steam directly. 🙁
 
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I personally think steam is much better then any other digital distribution provider out there, and additionally their drm system is much less of a pain then any other.

@MAB - 😵 u didnt realise that steam belonged to valve?
 
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