Trying to load game in Win98SE - "unload debugger" problem

[jshakerley]

Dear reader,

I recently installed Win98SE on VMWare Fusion 4.1.3 (730298)/OS X 10.8 so that I could have access to an old game.

Because the game disc was corrupt I ripped an ISO image and have been loading it with MagicISO in the vm.  The installation worked fine but now when I click on the disc image to play the game I get the error message "A debugger has been detected: Unload the debugger and try again".

Any thoughts as to what the problem is and how I can work around it?

With thanks in advance,

J.R.S.

[WoodyZ]

I ripped an ISO image and have been loading it with MagicISO in the vm.

Just assign the ISO Image to the CD/DVD in the Virtual Machine's Settings.  You do not need MagicISO to work with an ISO Image as an Optical Disc.  When assigned to the CD/DVD in the Virtual Machine's Settings it should be transparent to the Guest OS, in other words the Guest OS will not know that it's an image instead of an actual disc.

[jshakerley]

OK I have done what you recommended above but unfortunately it has not solved my issue.

Any other ideas?

Thanks.

[WoodyZ]

Have you checked to see if debugging is turned on in VMware Fusion's Preferences?

Have a look at Enable debugging checks in the Diagnostics section in: Set General Preferences

[jshakerley]

Should it be enabled, or not?  I've tried both ways and neither made a difference.

Thank you for your suggestion but unfortunately it doesn't look like I'm any closer to solving this.

I've googled the issue but most of the results concern XP not 98SE - some people have suggested that it might be an audio driver issue?  I'm really just thinking out loud because I'm useless with this sort of thing.

J.R.S.

[WoodyZ]

Under normal circumstances debugging should be disabled and only needs to be enabled if having issues and suggested before collecting support information.

[jshakerley]

OK it's been disabled for most of the time but doesn't seem to be making the difference.

Any further suggestions?

[admin]

Try setting the preferred virtualization engine to "Intel VT-x with EPT".

[WoodyZ]

In case you're wondering where the "Intel VT-x with EPT" setting, mentioned by jmattson, is have a look at: Change the Preferred Virtualization Engine

[jshakerley]

No improvement, unfortunately.

I get this error message:  'This host does not support EPT.  Using software virtualization with a software MMU.'

Is there really nothing else that I can try?

[admin]

In that case, try setting the preferred virtualization engine to "Intel VT-x."

[jshakerley]

Hmm.  Well my system is certainly much slower now, and I've hit another problem.

'Cannot locate the CD-ROM.  Please insert the correct CD-ROM, select OK and restart application.'

I have no idea why it should be doing this - everthing is properly connected using an ISO.

[WoodyZ]

Back in the day some installs hard coded the path in an .ini file or the Windows Registry or a configuration file in the programs working directory with programs that accessed the CD for use with the program and if the drive letter for the CD/DVD changed between the install and the location it's now being accesses that can be the cause of such an error message.  Since you were originally using MagicISO was it assigning a different drive letter during the install then the ISO Image is currently using now that you set the ISO in the CD/DVD Settings of the Virtual Machine?

[admin]

You're probably running afoul of some other form of anti-piracy.  Sorry, but I have nothing else to offer.  It's possible that "Intel VT-x/EPT" would work on a more modern system, but that may also be a non-starter.

[jshakerley]

There may be unessecary anti-piracy measures going on but my software is legitimate.  I'll upload some photos of the original disks if you want.

Regarding the ISO being assigned to a different place - I had thought of that so I uninstalled and reinstalled whilst keeping an eye on things.  This hasn't helped either.  I'm still perfectly perplexed.

Oh dear.

[WoodyZ]

Have you tried using the actual physical optical media vs the ISO image as some anti-piracy measures will not allow proper creation of an image of the disc, even if the program reports a successful image creation.

[jshakerley]

I think this would involve me buying a new optical disc drive as I've been having problems with the one I currently own.  Though you've probably hit the nail on the head with this... I was hoping for a work around that would save me the hassle of buying and installing a new disc drive but it's getting to look like it is unavoidable.

Well, thank you for your recommendations anyhow.

[admin]

jshakerley wrote:

There may be unessecary anti-piracy measures going on but my software is legitimate.  I'll upload some photos of the original disks if you want.

I'm not accusing you of piracy; your software is.  I doubt that the photos will convince it otherwise. 🙂