Troubleshooting & support forums

Troubleshooting
If you are having technical difficulties in getting the game run properly, you should check these solutions first.


 * Problem: I need to host an Internet multiplayer server behind a firewall or NAT (Network Address Translation). Which settings do I need to change?
 * Solution: To be able to host a game you need administrative access to your firewall or NAT device. It may not be possible if you have a NAT-shared IP among many users.
 * For people having only a firewall and a public IP pointing to the same machine:
 * Go to your firewall settings and allow all incoming connections to TCP and UDP ports 10480, 10481, 10482, and 10483. Outgoing traffic should be enabled without restriction (except maybe ad blocking)
 * For people behind a NAT device with different public and LAN IP's:
 * Go to your NAT device settings and forward all the incoming connections to TCP and UDP ports 10480, 10481, 10482, and 10483 to your LAN IP in which the game server is run.
 * If you are having problems hosting behind a firewall, alternatively it is possible to place your computer in the DMZ (De-Militarized Zone) so that all the incoming connections from the Internet are forwarded to your computer. Beware this might cause security problems if you have any open services on the host computer.


 * Problem: When I start the game I see the launch logo, but then only a black screen appears. I use SWAT 4 v1.1 or the expansion pack.
 * Solution: This is usually a firewall problem as the game freezes trying to connect to the Internet. Set up your firewall correctly to allow the Swat4(X).exe to access the Internet.


 * Problem: When starting the game on Windows 7, the screen starts flickering between the desktop and black while an occasional sounds plays. After that the game crashes with a message like "Error setting display mode: CreateDevice failed (E_INVALIDARG). Please delete your Swat4X.ini file if this error prevents you from starting the game." I have multiple screens attached.
 * Solution: This is related to having multiple screens of differing resolution. A fix is to disconnect all others except the main screen, and the game should run.


 * Problem: I have some other startup and/or crash problem.
 * Solution: Some other applications are known to cause problems with SWAT 4, and need to be closed before opening the game. These include at least:
 * Teamspeak 3 overlay addon
 * VLC media player


 * Problem: When I start the game I can see the 3D-background but not the menu and/or my graphics look very strange (example). I have a Nvidia Geforce 6 video card.
 * Solution: Roll back your video drivers to the version 84.26 (or another 84.xx) which you can download here.


 * Problem: When I start SWAT 4 or TSS I get a "C++ runtime error". I have a PC with a dual core processor (usually Dell or HP).
 * Solution: This problem is caused by the Securom copy protection. You need a new Swat4.exe file to start your game. Here is how to get it (source)
 * 1) Right click on your SWAT 4 or SWAT 4 Stetchkov Syndicate Icon
 * 2) Click on LAUNCH ANALYSIS
 * 3) Click yes on the message
 * 4) Then you should get a message saying you got a analysislog file
 * 5) Next go to http://www.securom.com/ and go to the customer support
 * 6) Email them and attach the analysis file to your email
 * 7) Once you get the email (Email arrival may vary) follow the instructions it gives you
 * 8) Please dont use one of the exe-files that you can find on the official forums because they will only work in single player, you need a special exe modified by Securom so that it matches your own copy of Swat 4

(Well, this is the official solution, but there are of course other ways to get around the copy protection. Nuff said...)

Support forums
If the above section didn't help, you should see the official Irrational Games Community. SWAT 4 isn't the newest game anymore and the possibility that someone had the same problem like you before is very high. Another option is to ask for help on the secondary forums one can find on the web.

Remember that it is of no use to describe your issue with only one sentence. What is needed usually are:
 * a detailed report about what is happening
 * the exact error message if there was any
 * a description of your system specs (CPU, video card and drivers, memory...). If you don't know what kind of PC you have, then you can also submit a DxDiag infofile
 * Windows XP users: Start -> Run -> type DxDiag -> there is a button which you can use to export all the information to a txt-file that you can add to your post.