"Football Manager 2008 has stopped working"

I've been playing FM08 on Vista for a few months, but it's suddenly stopped working. It's a legit CD.

The splash screen comes up, then an error appears; "Football Manager has stopped working", and it shuts.

I can't load it up. I've reinstalled FM08 a few times with the same result. I've run a virus scan, no viruses.

I was told that it doesn't work anymore because my Drivers are old. I have an Acer Aspire laptop with a NVIDIA Geforce Go 7300. This driver hasn't been updated for almost 2 years. I'm not very good with computers but I don't see why the driver would be a problem since I haven't had a problem until now.

Any help is much appreciated.

This would be better off in the bugs forum. Install patch 8.0.2.

Maybe your anti virus is causing problems. Make sure that it ignores any folders that fm uses. Also try stopping some of the programs running in the background.

Delete your cache...

C:\Users\Username\AppData\Roaming\Sports Interactive\Football Manager 2008 and then delete the cache folder.

Welcome To the forums!!!

This would be better off in the bugs forum. Install patch 8.0.2.

Sorry, new to the forums. Didn't know where to post.

Already have 8.02 installed.

Maybe your anti virus is causing problems. Make sure that it ignores any folders that fm uses. Also try stopping some of the programs running in the background.

Disabled anti virus. Made no difference

No programs are running in the back ground.

Delete your cache...

C:\Users\Username\AppData\Roaming\Sports Interactive\Football Manager 2008 and then delete the cache folder.

There was no cache.

Welcome To the forums!!!

Thanks!

Thanks for your advice guys, but FM08 still not working.

Any other advice would be great

(Also if a mod sees this thread, please move it to the correct forums - thanks(

Disabled anti virus. Made no difference

No programs are running in the back ground.

Are you sure? Have a look at the bottom right of your desktop and right click on any icons and see if there is an option to disable. I would also go into the task manager and select processes and stop as many of these as you can. Try running a virus and spyware scan in safe mode to see if it finds anything since it might be something conflicting with fm when windows is loaded properly. Try checking your hard drive for errors and defraging. One last step would be to upgrade your drivers since you got an error about your drivers.

Thanks trekman.

I'm sure, no programs. Only thing at bottom right is audio, internet connection etc.

I would disable processes in Task Manager but not sure what most of them are and I might end up disabling something important.

I've defragged and checked for errors, but I'll do it again after scans in safe mode.

I'll run a scan in safe mode. Any free programs recommended? I usually use Superantispyware and Spyware Terminator.

One last step would be to upgrade your drivers since you got an error about your drivers.

I can't upgrade my drivers. There are no updates since December 2006 :/ Dunno what to do.

This probably wont help, but I got a new PC in January, and it came with Windows Vista Basic. I played FM08 on it fine for a while, and a similar if not identical thing happened to me too. I had problems with other programs too such as IE, and just went back to XP. It has been working fine now since. I find Vista has many compatiability issues.

Hope you figure it out. A life without FM is not a pleasant thought.

This probably wont help, but I got a new PC in January, and it came with Windows Vista Basic. I played FM08 on it fine for a while, and a similar if not identical thing happened to me too. I had problems with other programs too such as IE, and just went back to XP. It has been working fine now since. I find Vista has many compatiability issues.

Hope you figure it out. A life without FM is not a pleasant thought.

Hmm, yes sounds identical.

I had problems with Mozilla Firefox when FM08 stopped working too. Had to reinstall Firefox and then it was fine.

I don't want to downgrade to XP tbh, will take up too much time for me to do it.

Yes, I have to resort to watching rubbish on TV during my FM08 time.

Somebody saaaaaaaaaave me.

Post in bugs forum mate.

Post in bugs forum mate.

Thanks, I have done.

No responses yet though :/

I can't upgrade my drivers. There are no updates since December 2006 :/ Dunno what to do.

It might be time for a new computer unfortunately. I'll get back to you about what processes you can safely disable.

I've been playing FM08 on Vista for a few months, but it's suddenly stopped working. It's a legit CD.

The splash screen comes up, then an error appears; "Football Manager has stopped working", and it shuts.

I can't load it up. I've reinstalled FM08 a few times with the same result. I've run a virus scan, no viruses.

I was told that it doesn't work anymore because my Drivers are old. I have an Acer Aspire laptop with a NVIDIA Geforce Go 7300. This driver hasn't been updated for almost 2 years. I'm not very good with computers but I don't see why the driver would be a problem since I haven't had a problem until now.

Any help is much appreciated.

Just your computers way of telling you FM 09 due to be released

If you get the demo you would only have to wait a couple of days before you could be playing again. Best to use the demo to see if the same happens and if so, it would be best to email SI directly.

It might be time for a new computer unfortunately. I'll get back to you about what processes you can safely disable.

I bought my laptop 11 months ago :/

Still pretty new.

If you get the demo you would only have to wait a couple of days before you could be playing again. Best to use the demo to see if the same happens and if so, it would be best to email SI directly.

Hmm, I guess I'll get the demo. I've never got the demo before, how do I get it and how much does it cost?

I bought my laptop 11 months ago :/

Still pretty new.

Hmm, I guess I'll get the demo. I've never got the demo before, how do I get it and how much does it cost?

A fiver, I'll give you my bank details later

Jokes aside, it is free and it will be availabe on Sunday at 00:01 on the News of the world site, on bit torrent and through steam. You get 6 months of gameplay and unlimited save games

A fiver, I'll give you my bank details later

Jokes aside, it is free and it will be availabe on Sunday at 00:01 on the News of the world site, on bit torrent and through steam. You get 6 months of gameplay and unlimited save games

Lol ^

Awesome. Thanks for the info Looking forward to it.

In the meantime, if anyone thinks they know how to fix my FM08 problem, I'll be very grateful.

Thanks.

Lol ^

Awesome. Thanks for the info Looking forward to it.

In the meantime, if anyone thinks they know how to fix my FM08 problem, I'll be very grateful.

Thanks.

You are welcome mate, I try my best

Have you tried searching here and in the bugs forum for information using the search function at the top, but I am really clueless on your problem!

A fiver, I'll give you my bank details later

Jokes aside, it is free and it will be availabe on Sunday at 00:01 on the News of the world site, on bit torrent and through steam. You get 6 months of gameplay and unlimited save games

I think its only the vanilla demo that will be available on the 'news of the world' website. If you want to try the demo with other leagues then you'll have to get the strawberry demo.

You are welcome mate, I try my best

Have you tried searching here and in the bugs forum for information using the search function at the top, but I am really clueless on your problem!

I didn't try the search option, but read a thread in bugs forum which explained that in my situation I need to update my driver.

But like I said, I have the latest version of my driver (though it was last updated almost 2 years ago). So just trying to find out if theres any way to get around that problem :/

Anyhow, gotta go. I'll try surf the forums for a possible solution later.

Thanks all for your time ^

Delete your cache...

C:\Users\Username\AppData\Roaming\Sports Interactive\Football Manager 2008 and then delete the cache folder.

There was no cache.

I only just found the cache folder and deleted it. Wasn't able to find it first time round.

However, hasn't solved the problem

Pretty sure that I just have to update my driver, if NVidia Geforce Go 7300 has been updated :/

resinstall your windows

I've been playing FM08 on Vista for a few months, but it's suddenly stopped working. It's a legit CD.

The splash screen comes up, then an error appears; "Football Manager has stopped working", and it shuts.

I can't load it up. I've reinstalled FM08 a few times with the same result. I've run a virus scan, no viruses.

I was told that it doesn't work anymore because my Drivers are old. I have an Acer Aspire laptop with a NVIDIA Geforce Go 7300. This driver hasn't been updated for almost 2 years. I'm not very good with computers but I don't see why the driver would be a problem since I haven't had a problem until now.

Any help is much appreciated.

Have you tried playing around with the compatibility settings? They come up in the properties window. Try setting them to XP compatibility setting and making sure you are running the game as administrator. Also, try running the game windowed - could be a display driver issue.

resinstall your windows

Wouldn't that mean everything that I've installed will not be installed?

Not sure if I'm too keen on that idea, will just have to live without FM08

Have you tried playing around with the compatibility settings? They come up in the properties window. Try setting them to XP compatibility setting and making sure you are running the game as administrator. Also, try running the game windowed - could be a display driver issue.

Ok, I've tried the compatibility thing, but I'm unable to tick the administrator box for some reason. Without ticking it, FM08 still doesn't work. Any ideas as to why I can't select run as administrator as my user is the only user on my laptop.

Also tried windowed, still nothing.

I forgot to mention - whenever I try to load FM08, my screen resolution changes from 1280 by 800 to 1024 by 768. This didn't used to happen when FM08 used to work.

use the 'show settings for all users' button to enable the 'run as administrator' checkbox. Try changing the target in the first tab that comes up in properties to

"C:\Program Files\Sports Interactive\Football Manager 2007\fm.exe" -small_screen -windowed

including the quote marks.

use the 'show settings for all users' button to enable the 'run as administrator' checkbox. Try changing the target in the first tab that comes up in properties to

"C:\Program Files\Sports Interactive\Football Manager 2007\fm.exe" -small_screen -windowed

including the quote marks.

Still can't tick the "run as admin" box ^

Tried windowed, same result :/

hmmm. can you run as administrator by right-clicking the shortcut?

It might be time for a new computer unfortunately. I'll get back to you about what processes you can safely disable.

I've sent you a pm about processes.

hmmm. can you run as administrator by right-clicking the shortcut?

Afraid I can't :/

Quote:

Originally Posted by trekman View Post

It might be time for a new computer unfortunately. I'll get back to you about what processes you can safely disable.

I've sent you a pm about processes.

Thanks trekman.

Much appreciated

Still no luck with FM08 yet though

Afraid I can't :/

That is quite odd. Which version of vista do you have? How are your user accounts set up?

That is quite odd. Which version of vista do you have? How are your user accounts set up?

Home Premium (6.0, Build 6001)

I don't understand what you mean. I only have 1 account on my laptop.

Home Premium (6.0, Build 6001)

I don't understand what you mean. I only have 1 account on my laptop.

If you right-click other program icons, does the 'run as administrator' option come up in the pop up menu?

(I know this might all seem a bit irrelevant, but FM really should run as administrator cause it needs to access protected memory areas. It's not definitely the cause of your problem, but it's wise to rule it out first.)

If you right-click other program icons, does the 'run as administrator' option come up in the pop up menu?

(I know this might all seem a bit irrelevant, but FM really should run as administrator cause it needs to access protected memory areas. It's not definitely the cause of your problem, but it's wise to rule it out first.)

I don't think it seems irrelevant. I think it may be the problem.

Other programs (I.E, Firefox, FM09 Demo) all had the run as administrator option. And all 3 work perfectly.

So, now we have to figure out why I can't choose to run FM08 as admin :s

I don't think it seems irrelevant. I think it may be the problem.

Other programs (I.E, Firefox, FM09 Demo) all had the run as administrator option. And all 3 work perfectly.

So, now we have to figure out why I can't choose to run FM08 as admin :s

I am fairly mystified by the option being missing. Have you tried going into the folder that the actual exe file is in and then trying there? Quickest way to get to the folder is right-click the shortcut -> open file location.

I had a brief bit of research and found this interesting trick (link below), but it is a bit fiddly and I don't want to recommend messing around in the registry unless you know what you're doing - it is easy to bugger stuff up.

http://www.vistax64.com/tutorials/63998-compatibility-mode-list-programs.html

I am fairly mystified by the option being missing. Have you tried going into the folder that the actual exe file is in and then trying there? Quickest way to get to the folder is right-click the shortcut -> open file location.

I had a brief bit of research and found this interesting trick (link below), but it is a bit fiddly and I don't want to recommend messing around in the registry unless you know what you're doing - it is easy to bugger stuff up.

http://www.vistax64.com/tutorials/63998-compatibility-mode-list-programs.html

Thanks for the advice.

I was able to run as admin from Program Files\Sports Interactive\FM08\fm.exe

However, didn't fix the problem.

I tried registry tip, setting fm.exe to run as admin, and also set to be compatible to XP but still wont work.

The problem has to be my driver. I guess there's nothing I can do since they haven't updated in nearly 2 years.

Oh well, at least this is definitively ruled out.

Some more ideas I'm just throwing out: seems to be some drivers here: http://drivers.softpedia.com/get/GRAPHICS-BOARD/NVIDIA/NVIDIA-32bit-ForceWare-GeForce-Go-10085.shtml

Also, apparently it is possible to make newer nvidia drivers work with older cards, this site seems to have some good resources: http://www.laptopvideo2go.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=9243 http://www.laptopvideo2go.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=11997

You will need to be pretty careful though (especially making sure to follow all the steps) to avoid messing stuff up. It depends how important it is for you to get it running...

hi there, unfortunately the demo runs to slow for me. i reinstalled fm08 but it wont load. half way through after the war child ad it crashes. ihad no problem b4 playing demo. i also asked my neighbour to have a look, he works in computing, and not even he knows after having a look. any responses would be gratefully received. and ive reinstalled it numerous times. gonna keep trying!

Maybe its a sign,,

buy 09

i believe it might have been caused by one of the vista updates... you know the ones microsoft releases so often... one of those updated changes some settings around and now your game is unplayable.. switch back to XP if possible , if not then get the 09

Oh well, at least this is definitively ruled out.

Some more ideas I'm just throwing out: seems to be some drivers here: http://drivers.softpedia.com/get/GRAPHICS-BOARD/NVIDIA/NVIDIA-32bit-ForceWare-GeForce-Go-10085.shtml

Also, apparently it is possible to make newer nvidia drivers work with older cards, this site seems to have some good resources: http://www.laptopvideo2go.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=9243 http://www.laptopvideo2go.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=11997

You will need to be pretty careful though (especially making sure to follow all the steps) to avoid messing stuff up. It depends how important it is for you to get it running...

Thanks for all your help pelicanstuff.

I checked the site but couldn't find my driver, and I appreciate you looking into this for me. I'm afraid I'm not confident enough with technical stuff and I don't want to risk damaging my laptop by trying to make newer nvidia drivers work with my card.

If there was a simpler solution, I'd try it out, but doesn't seem like there is. A shame too since FM09 is an epic fail IMHO. Started 2 games on the demo so far and at least 3 people get injured (with Arsenal) every match even though they don't run much and tackle easy.

If they don't fix FM09, and I can't get FM08 to work, it's time for me to move on.

Remove your gfx drivers than update them with the 2yr old ones

Thanks for all your help pelicanstuff.

I checked the site but couldn't find my driver, and I appreciate you looking into this for me. I'm afraid I'm not confident enough with technical stuff and I don't want to risk damaging my laptop by trying to make newer nvidia drivers work with my card.

If there was a simpler solution, I'd try it out, but doesn't seem like there is. A shame too since FM09 is an epic fail IMHO. Started 2 games on the demo so far and at least 3 people get injured (with Arsenal) every match even though they don't run much and tackle easy.

If they don't fix FM09, and I can't get FM08 to work, it's time for me to move on.

I've done a bit of looking, and NVIDIA ForceWare GeForce Go 101.29 should be compatible with your video card without any risky modifications. Also, the driver (100.85) in the first link should as well, but 101.29 I think is newer. People say it's best to uninstall the old driver before installing the new one.

It took me a few minutes to get used to 09, but I've grown to like it a lot already. The injury problem can be solved quite easily by getting rid of all the pre-season friendlies the team has by default and making sure the new ones you arrange are a decent distance apart - and also taking good care of the players during the friendlies. There's still a few too many injuries in the game overall, but my teams have had a very low number (across several saves) by taking care in preseason.

I really wish I had a better graphics card so I could run the 3D smoothly on high detail setting though.

Edit: Maybe set a system restore point before you do it just to be 100% certain that you won't do anything that can't be undone. There's no reason for anything to, but it's always good to have an extra safety net...

I've done a bit of looking, and NVIDIA ForceWare GeForce Go 101.29 should be compatible with your video card without any risky modifications. Also, the driver (100.85) in the first link should as well, but 101.29 I think is newer. People say it's best to uninstall the old driver before installing the new one.

It took me a few minutes to get used to 09, but I've grown to like it a lot already. The injury problem can be solved quite easily by getting rid of all the pre-season friendlies the team has by default and making sure the new ones you arrange are a decent distance apart - and also taking good care of the players during the friendlies. There's still a few too many injuries in the game overall, but my teams have had a very low number (across several saves) by taking care in preseason.

I really wish I had a better graphics card so I could run the 3D smoothly on high detail setting though.

Edit: Maybe set a system restore point before you do it just to be 100% certain that you won't do anything that can't be undone. There's no reason for anything to, but it's always good to have an extra safety net...

You're brilliant dude!

I read up on how to install a new driver and installed Geforce 179.13.

Football Manager 2008 is working perfectly again, and thanks to you I've got an insight on how to update drivers etc

Thanks for all your time and effort. Much appreciated.

Hopefully people who have similar problems will benefit from your help too.

Thanks again and again and again