HalfLife 2 demo

[Trotter]

I downloaded the HalfLife 2 demo (http://www.ati.com/gitg/promotions/halflife2demo/index.html).

Problem is, when I try to run/install it, it cannot connect to Steam, and my system bogs down to way below a crawl. Task Manager shows vsmon.exe chewing up 16%-45% system resources. Steam cannot update, and it cannot connect to the servers.

So, I go to http://www.steampowered.com/ to see what's going on. The FAQ in the support section has exactly what I'm having a problem with. Great, right? Yeah... It lists all this stuff that does not apply, or that checks out OK. It finally says to uninstall and try again.

So, I download the Steam installer, 'cause the demo is like 751MB. Same problem, no connection. So I uninstall, re-download, install, nada.

Is this a common problem? Anyone know how to correct it? I mean, before I shell outt he money for the whole game, I want to make sure the stinking thing is gonna work...ain't that what a demo is for?

Thanks in advance for whatever help anyone can give!

 

[waynejkruse10]

try putting a -steam flag in the shortcut

 

[Trotter]

Huh? Could you explain exactly what you mean?

I don't think I will have a problem doing it, but I don't get what "it" is.

 

[Trotter]

Anybody know what the snot is going on with this?

 

[NewCents05]

ive been having problems installing some updates from ati and their website so they could of messed something up in the installer
http://www.download.com/Half-Life-2-demo/3000-7453_4-10349535.html?tag=lst-0-5
download that and install it because thats where i played mine from and it worked fine
if that doesnt work i have no idea

 

[ShoobieRat]

1. If you're running WinXP with SP2, do you have Steam allowed for the firewall?

2. Disconnect from the internet. Launch Steam. It should ask you if you want to play Offline. Choose to play offline, then try playing the demo.

 

[Trotter]

NewCents05,

I renewed my ezArmor subscription and dropped the crappy Windows firewall that I was using as a stop-gap. It seems to be updating...

 

[NewCents05]

tell us if it works ultimately

 

[ShoobieRat]

I renewed my ezArmor subscription and dropped the crappy Windows firewall that I was using as a stop-gap. It seems to be updating...

The "crappy windows firewall" ain't the problem, buddy. I've setup 7 installations of HL2 on XPSP2 machines with the firewall active, with no problems. If you say you turned off the firewall and Steam is updating now, that tells me you didn't have the SP2 firewall setup correctly.

 

[Kupo]

yeah... XP's firewall really ain't that horrible... and it's REALLY nice on system resources which you can't really say about any other firewall. I run HL2/CS:S with windows firewall on with no problems.