illegal operation

smitty · 03-27-2002, 12:28 PM

Computer 566, 191 ram plenty of HD space
Game was working fine as I drafted 25 man historical rosters. Used computer to generate fictional players to fill minor leagues. Program crashed and now I when I try to open OOTP4 I get illegeal operation message. I have directx8 and have rebooted the system twice. Suggestions?

Scott Vibert · 03-27-2002, 12:42 PM

When exactly did this occur?

Need exact step-by-step instructions on how to recreate this bug to help you better..

smitty · 03-27-2002, 02:46 PM

it happened after I chose the computer to finish the draft with fictional players. (Round 26 of 50). The program shut down and when I try to reopen I get the illegal operation message.

smitty · 03-27-2002, 03:31 PM

Are you waiting for more info? I'm not sure what else to tell you as I cannot even open the program now.

smitty · 03-27-2002, 04:40 PM

Okay, I reinstalled OOTP and moved my league into the new set-up. I clicked on "finish fantasy draft". Chose for the computer to finish the draft. Recieved "Illegeal opereation" message. Do I need to enter by hand enough players for another 25 rounds of drafting and skip the computer? Please give me an idea of what other info I can tell you.

smitty · 03-27-2002, 05:30 PM

My next step was to try and release all free agents and do the draft again. When the box asked are you sure, I clicked yes and got the illegal operation message again. Please give me some help.

Scott Vibert · 03-28-2002, 04:26 AM

Sorry... I actually was at home away from the internet at the time, so that's why I couldn't help you last night.

It sounds like the game is choking because it doesn't have enough people to finish the draft, however this seems odd to me... since I've redrafted teams of historical players before.

However I've never tried to have computer finish draft using fictional players and I didn't know that that was possible.. I just always ended the draft after I got all the historical players.

What I would suggest you do is open the league and go to the draft main screen... change the length of the draft... so that it ends. If all you want to do is fill the minors with fictional players for your teams, you can go to the League Setup menu press the right button and it will automatically create minor leaguers to fill the minor leagues for your league.

smitty · 03-28-2002, 05:31 AM

Tried that! It wouldn't let me make any adjustments at all without "the" message. I deleted the whole league and will start over.

Oh well, what's 20 hours of work?

Chris M. · 03-28-2002, 04:17 PM

Not sure it has anything to do with your league situation. I just downloaded the setup file and installed it. I was able to fire it up without trouble to purchase the game :-/ but now when I try to launch it I get the same "Illegal Operation" message. After I purchased the game I had to go get some chow so I exited. When I got back I tried to fire it up again so I could get rolling but have been in illegal operation land ever since. I too have tried rebooting, uninstalling, rebooting, reinstalling, but alas I seem to be screwed.

--Chris M.

Killebrew · 03-28-2002, 04:52 PM

[quote]Originally posted by Chris M.:
<strong>Not sure it has anything to do with your league situation. I just downloaded the setup file and installed it. I was able to fire it up without trouble to purchase the game :-/ but now when I try to launch it I get the same "Illegal Operation" message. After I purchased the game I had to go get some chow so I exited. When I got back I tried to fire it up again so I could get rolling but have been in illegal operation land ever since. I too have tried rebooting, uninstalling, rebooting, reinstalling, but alas I seem to be screwed.

--Chris M.</strong><hr></blockquote>

Chris - there are many reasons for the MS "Illegal Operation" error message, but one fairly common one is a corrupt program file. Try the following troubleshooting tips in order simplicity:

1. Make sure you are are double clicking the OOTP4.EXE file that is inside your main OOTP4 folder. Users that installed the OOTP4 patch incorrectly have received the "Illegal Operation" error when trying to start the program from the wrong directory.
2. Reboot your PC and try the game again. Seriously - this works more often than not for many PC tech issues. Think of it like pressing the reset button when a console system game freezes.
3. Make positively sure you don't have potentially conflicting programs running in the background, examples would be firewall software, anti-virus software and "crash-guard" software. When you press CNT+ALT+DEL one time it shows most of the running programs. Try turning off all programs except Systray and Explorer and try the game again.
4. Uninstall the game (add-remove programs) and reinstall it, then try it again. If any files became corrupt due to your original installation then the reinstall will fix that.

Good luck and please let us know if & what info solved your problem, it helps future users a lot.

Chris M. · 03-28-2002, 06:16 PM

Killebrew, thanks for the response.

Having worked tech support myself in the past I know the try-this-then-reboot dance only too well.

Alas, no luck. After uninstalling, I even did a sweep on the system registry to make sure there wasn't any lingering OOTP-ness, but it was clean. Reinstalling didn't help. I liked your idea about getting rid of anything that was running that didn't need to be running and cleaning out the sys tray, but no luck there either. I've tried installing the patch as well, but no go. The original setup file I got was off the OOTP Download Server, and as I said it worked -- at first. And I'm not using AOL either.

Any other ideas? This is pretty amazing. Don't worry though -- if we can get this fixed I'll definitely post the solution, but right now I'm stumped.

--Chris M.

Chris M. · 03-28-2002, 06:33 PM

Tried downloading other versions of the setup file and the patch -- no luck.

The ironic thing is, I'm just trying to get the license, I'm not even going to play it on this computer. I'm going to play it on another machine that's not hooked up to the Internet, and that computer can run OOTP just fine, at least up to the license screen. I have to say I am not a big fan of the elicense thing, even though I know it makes life easier for the OOTP team.

--Chris M.

Killebrew · 03-28-2002, 09:44 PM

You have already purchased the game but they did not send your license? There will be licensing problems if firewall software is on - part of the licensing deals with your PC communicating to ViaTech to insure the licence is there and legit etc.. If you never recieved this then this may be an issue to discuss with ViaTech. If you have firewall software running you may actually want to disable it fully for a reboot (meaning it does not start with Windows) as the eLicense program starts on your system boot. The elicense prog on your PC may be getting the license denied message everytime you boot up so other stuff you try will not matter until that is cleared up. Note - I am not positive about all of this but i know an elicense program starts on bootup and if the license has never been accepted by ViaTech yet this could be why (long winded answer).

Perhaps you have the game licensed now though and this is something else. My memory of licensing the game was to pay up (credit card info etc.) then they send the license right there and presto your game is licensed. Do you mean you went for a bite just after giving your card info, because you should have got the license almost immediately after that? Once you receive it the game should be licensed - it's pretty close to automatic I think. To check this with Explorer, look for an "eLicense Control" folder, and make sure there is a "Out of the Park Developments" sub-folder with the ootp4 license in it. If you do not have this then contact ViaTech.

If you have the game licensed and the above stuff was tried or does not apply, the next thing I'd do is a MS system update via the "Windows Updates" link in START --> PROGRAMS --> etc.
Maybe some required system file that eLicense uses is missing or corrupt. May as well update Direct X too in case that is somehow related. Only after all this would I look at video issues, as it does not seem like that is to blame here. Sounds like the game has not had a chance to see if video issues are a concern

. Hopefully you have a bit more patience here. Good luck and let us know if any of this was worthwhile.

[quote]Originally posted by Chris M.:
<strong>Tried downloading other versions of the setup file and the patch -- no luck.

The ironic thing is, I'm just trying to get the license, I'm not even going to play it on this computer. I'm going to play it on another machine that's not hooked up to the Internet, and that computer can run OOTP just fine, at least up to the license screen. I have to say I am not a big fan of the elicense thing, even though I know it makes life easier for the OOTP team.

--Chris M.</strong><hr></blockquote>

Chris M. · 04-01-2002, 10:17 AM

Turns out in my case it *was* an elicense problem. I finally bit the bullet and called the long-distance customer service number on their website (no one ever answers the toll-free number listeed on the OOTP site, and they never call you back). They had me cntrl-shifting this, that and the other and finally got the whole elicense mess sorted out and installed properly and I am up and running. I'm looking forward to getting started between watching real opening day games today. I still strongly dislike the elicense business model a great deal. My hope is that it enables Markus and company to continue to grow the game and become so huge that at some point soon we'll be able to just go buy a CD-ROM copy in our favorite local retailer of choice.

--Chris M.

Scott Vibert · 04-01-2002, 10:59 AM

You can do that... Season Ticket Baseball 2003 is the retail version of OOTP4.

Chris M. · 04-01-2002, 01:55 PM

Actually, if memory serves, STB *isn't* completely compatible with OOTP, and so therefore isn't actually the retail version of OOTP, but is some sort of weird half-brother to OOTP (at least, that was the case with last year's model). I remember there was some deal about not being able to export from one to the other or some such.

--Chris M.

03-27-2002, 12:28 PM	#1
smitty Bat Boy Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: bay area Posts: 12	illegal operation Computer 566, 191 ram plenty of HD space Game was working fine as I drafted 25 man historical rosters. Used computer to generate fictional players to fill minor leagues. Program crashed and now I when I try to open OOTP4 I get illegeal operation message. I have directx8 and have rebooted the system twice. Suggestions?

03-28-2002, 04:52 PM	#10
Killebrew Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2001 Posts: 3,326	[quote]Originally posted by Chris M.: <strong>Not sure it has anything to do with your league situation. I just downloaded the setup file and installed it. I was able to fire it up without trouble to purchase the game :-/ but now when I try to launch it I get the same "Illegal Operation" message. After I purchased the game I had to go get some chow so I exited. When I got back I tried to fire it up again so I could get rolling but have been in illegal operation land ever since. I too have tried rebooting, uninstalling, rebooting, reinstalling, but alas I seem to be screwed. --Chris M.</strong><hr></blockquote> Chris - there are many reasons for the MS "Illegal Operation" error message, but one fairly common one is a corrupt program file. Try the following troubleshooting tips in order simplicity: 1. Make sure you are are double clicking the OOTP4.EXE file that is inside your main OOTP4 folder. Users that installed the OOTP4 patch incorrectly have received the "Illegal Operation" error when trying to start the program from the wrong directory. 2. Reboot your PC and try the game again. Seriously - this works more often than not for many PC tech issues. Think of it like pressing the reset button when a console system game freezes. 3. Make positively sure you don't have potentially conflicting programs running in the background, examples would be firewall software, anti-virus software and "crash-guard" software. When you press CNT+ALT+DEL one time it shows most of the running programs. Try turning off all programs except Systray and Explorer and try the game again. 4. Uninstall the game (add-remove programs) and reinstall it, then try it again. If any files became corrupt due to your original installation then the reinstall will fix that. Good luck and please let us know if & what info solved your problem, it helps future users a lot. __________________ FOBL Capital City Metropolitans CDL Minnesota Twins

03-28-2002, 09:44 PM	#13
Killebrew Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2001 Posts: 3,326	You have already purchased the game but they did not send your license? There will be licensing problems if firewall software is on - part of the licensing deals with your PC communicating to ViaTech to insure the licence is there and legit etc.. If you never recieved this then this may be an issue to discuss with ViaTech. If you have firewall software running you may actually want to disable it fully for a reboot (meaning it does not start with Windows) as the eLicense program starts on your system boot. The elicense prog on your PC may be getting the license denied message everytime you boot up so other stuff you try will not matter until that is cleared up. Note - I am not positive about all of this but i know an elicense program starts on bootup and if the license has never been accepted by ViaTech yet this could be why (long winded answer). Perhaps you have the game licensed now though and this is something else. My memory of licensing the game was to pay up (credit card info etc.) then they send the license right there and presto your game is licensed. Do you mean you went for a bite just after giving your card info, because you should have got the license almost immediately after that? Once you receive it the game should be licensed - it's pretty close to automatic I think. To check this with Explorer, look for an "eLicense Control" folder, and make sure there is a "Out of the Park Developments" sub-folder with the ootp4 license in it. If you do not have this then contact ViaTech. If you have the game licensed and the above stuff was tried or does not apply, the next thing I'd do is a MS system update via the "Windows Updates" link in START --> PROGRAMS --> etc. Maybe some required system file that eLicense uses is missing or corrupt. May as well update Direct X too in case that is somehow related. Only after all this would I look at video issues, as it does not seem like that is to blame here. Sounds like the game has not had a chance to see if video issues are a concern . Hopefully you have a bit more patience here. Good luck and let us know if any of this was worthwhile. [quote]Originally posted by Chris M.: <strong>Tried downloading other versions of the setup file and the patch -- no luck. The ironic thing is, I'm just trying to get the license, I'm not even going to play it on this computer. I'm going to play it on another machine that's not hooked up to the Internet, and that computer can run OOTP just fine, at least up to the license screen. I have to say I am not a big fan of the elicense thing, even though I know it makes life easier for the OOTP team. --Chris M.</strong><hr></blockquote> __________________ FOBL Capital City Metropolitans CDL Minnesota Twins

03-27-2002, 12:42 PM	#2
Scott Vibert Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: My Computer Posts: 8,249	When exactly did this occur? Need exact step-by-step instructions on how to recreate this bug to help you better..

03-27-2002, 02:46 PM	#3
smitty Bat Boy Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: bay area Posts: 12	it happened after I chose the computer to finish the draft with fictional players. (Round 26 of 50). The program shut down and when I try to reopen I get the illegal operation message.

03-27-2002, 03:31 PM	#4
smitty Bat Boy Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: bay area Posts: 12	Are you waiting for more info? I'm not sure what else to tell you as I cannot even open the program now.

03-27-2002, 04:40 PM	#5
smitty Bat Boy Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: bay area Posts: 12	Okay, I reinstalled OOTP and moved my league into the new set-up. I clicked on "finish fantasy draft". Chose for the computer to finish the draft. Recieved "Illegeal opereation" message. Do I need to enter by hand enough players for another 25 rounds of drafting and skip the computer? Please give me an idea of what other info I can tell you.

03-27-2002, 05:30 PM	#6
smitty Bat Boy Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: bay area Posts: 12	My next step was to try and release all free agents and do the draft again. When the box asked are you sure, I clicked yes and got the illegal operation message again. Please give me some help.

03-28-2002, 04:26 AM	#7
Scott Vibert Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: My Computer Posts: 8,249	Sorry... I actually was at home away from the internet at the time, so that's why I couldn't help you last night. It sounds like the game is choking because it doesn't have enough people to finish the draft, however this seems odd to me... since I've redrafted teams of historical players before. However I've never tried to have computer finish draft using fictional players and I didn't know that that was possible.. I just always ended the draft after I got all the historical players. What I would suggest you do is open the league and go to the draft main screen... change the length of the draft... so that it ends. If all you want to do is fill the minors with fictional players for your teams, you can go to the League Setup menu press the right button and it will automatically create minor leaguers to fill the minor leagues for your league.

03-28-2002, 05:31 AM	#8
smitty Bat Boy Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: bay area Posts: 12	Tried that! It wouldn't let me make any adjustments at all without "the" message. I deleted the whole league and will start over. Oh well, what's 20 hours of work?

03-28-2002, 04:17 PM	#9
Chris M. Bat Boy Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Denver, CO Posts: 11	Not sure it has anything to do with your league situation. I just downloaded the setup file and installed it. I was able to fire it up without trouble to purchase the game :-/ but now when I try to launch it I get the same "Illegal Operation" message. After I purchased the game I had to go get some chow so I exited. When I got back I tried to fire it up again so I could get rolling but have been in illegal operation land ever since. I too have tried rebooting, uninstalling, rebooting, reinstalling, but alas I seem to be screwed. --Chris M.

03-28-2002, 06:16 PM	#11
Chris M. Bat Boy Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Denver, CO Posts: 11	Killebrew, thanks for the response. Having worked tech support myself in the past I know the try-this-then-reboot dance only too well. Alas, no luck. After uninstalling, I even did a sweep on the system registry to make sure there wasn't any lingering OOTP-ness, but it was clean. Reinstalling didn't help. I liked your idea about getting rid of anything that was running that didn't need to be running and cleaning out the sys tray, but no luck there either. I've tried installing the patch as well, but no go. The original setup file I got was off the OOTP Download Server, and as I said it worked -- at first. And I'm not using AOL either. Any other ideas? This is pretty amazing. Don't worry though -- if we can get this fixed I'll definitely post the solution, but right now I'm stumped. --Chris M.

03-28-2002, 06:33 PM	#12
Chris M. Bat Boy Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Denver, CO Posts: 11	Tried downloading other versions of the setup file and the patch -- no luck. The ironic thing is, I'm just trying to get the license, I'm not even going to play it on this computer. I'm going to play it on another machine that's not hooked up to the Internet, and that computer can run OOTP just fine, at least up to the license screen. I have to say I am not a big fan of the elicense thing, even though I know it makes life easier for the OOTP team. --Chris M.

04-01-2002, 10:17 AM	#14
Chris M. Bat Boy Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Denver, CO Posts: 11	Turns out in my case it was an elicense problem. I finally bit the bullet and called the long-distance customer service number on their website (no one ever answers the toll-free number listeed on the OOTP site, and they never call you back). They had me cntrl-shifting this, that and the other and finally got the whole elicense mess sorted out and installed properly and I am up and running. I'm looking forward to getting started between watching real opening day games today. I still strongly dislike the elicense business model a great deal. My hope is that it enables Markus and company to continue to grow the game and become so huge that at some point soon we'll be able to just go buy a CD-ROM copy in our favorite local retailer of choice. --Chris M.

04-01-2002, 10:59 AM	#15
Scott Vibert Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: My Computer Posts: 8,249	You can do that... Season Ticket Baseball 2003 is the retail version of OOTP4.

04-01-2002, 01:55 PM	#16
Chris M. Bat Boy Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Denver, CO Posts: 11	Actually, if memory serves, STB isn't completely compatible with OOTP, and so therefore isn't actually the retail version of OOTP, but is some sort of weird half-brother to OOTP (at least, that was the case with last year's model). I remember there was some deal about not being able to export from one to the other or some such. --Chris M.