I can't shake this bug

[jdkerr]

(WinXP, modern hardware, current drivers, etc.)

I can't get Diablo to work. It installs fine, but as soon as the opening cinematic runs, it crashes. If I run it in Win95 compatibility mode, it asks for the CD (even though the CD is in the drive). It does this unpatched, patched (1.09), etc.

I can't figure it out, and Google is no help. Any ideas?

For reference, the header on my error log dump:

PROGRAM VERSION: 1.0.9.1
INFO:

Exception code: C0000005 ACCESS_VIOLATION
Fault address: 00BD00A4 00:00000000 *unknown*

[Lanthanide]

When you saying 'opening cinematic', do you mean the Blizzard logo, or the actual intro cinematic with the glowing sword etc?

Do you see any frames of it, or does it crash before it shows any of it? (possibly during a resolution change or something). Have you tried using this CD on another computer - you might have a scratch that has corrupted one of the video files or somesuch.

If it's the intro cinematic, then it might be possible to copy the MPQ to your hard drive, set Diablo to point to that (edit the registry for the CD rom path) and remove the file from the MPQ with an MPQ editor to prevent it trying to play it. Google around for MPQ programs in that case. Also the intro cinematic only plays once when you first start, so there is probably a registry setting that says 'play cinematic' which you could turn off, or perhaps a setting in an .ini file in the Diablo directory (just guessing there).

If its simply any of the cinematics, or another alternative to the above, see if you can disable smacker from running at all.

[jdkerr]

I can watch the entire "Blizzard" cinematic and the entire "sword" cinematic. It crashes after the screen returns to black, as though it is about to enter its next phase. Upon subsequent attempts, the "sword" cinematic does not play. I do not think the cinematic is the problem; I think the problem comes immediately after it (although I could be wrong).

I have not tried the CD on another computer; I will do that tonight.

[Lanthanide]

In that case you're crashing when you get to the main menu, which is much more problematic, since it isn't an optional part of the game that you can do without, obviously.

My only real suggestion in this case is the CD might be scratched or something.