D3 "access violation" error crashing game

[Diamond]

After a long stint since playing descent 1&2, I finally picked up the dual jewel version of D3 cheap. I successfully (and thoroughly enjoyed) played levels 1 -7 and now I am getting constant game lockup/crashes in level 8. The error log reports "access violation". It is quite frustrating!

I have tried changing video modes (openGL and d3), upgrading to version 1.4, reducing resolutions and graphics, shutting off everything I else in the background I can think of, etc. all to no avail.

Any ideas what to check out, or how to identify the culprit?

Basic computer info: Dell laptop Pentium 4, 1.8GHz, 512M ram, built in 32M nvidia video.

Thanks in advance.

[DCrazy]

IIRC versions prior to 1.4 have a known crash in level 8... you did use the dual-jewel specific patch, not just the regular 1.4 patch, right?

[Diamond]

Thanks for the reply-
Dual jewel specific patch 1.4? I used the dual jewel fix patch (got the "old file not found thing" with 1.4 alone)then the standard 1.4 patch from the descent3.com website. Is this what you mean? Or did I miss something.

[WarAdvocat]

How about your video/sound drivers?

First step is to install the latest, greatest drivers, and see if that fixes your problem...The second step is to downgrade your drivers...

I had problems with the NEWEST video drivers from Nvidia and D3 so I downgraded my driver installation until a new version comes out.

Hopefully you have older driver versions, but if not there are archive sites that can be found.