Stuck in a dialog box

[Kairus]

I don't know if this bug has already been reported, but it has started to happen to me since I use my new computer. In the old computer I had all games working fine (except for the windows-based hi-res graphics which were messed up, but the rest was fine).
The problem is that now I downloaded a couple of the new games released and the same problem happens to me in both: when a dialog box comes up, whether it's a game message, or the dialogs for saving/loading/quitting, the game gets stuck, you can't move the mouse, you can't press the keyboard, you can't even use the classical ctrl-alt-del thing, you can only reset. The music keeps on playing, though. If I try it in a window instead of full screan I, at least, can close the game with several "shut down application". It doesn't happen to me all the time, it's like I can only start it once and then reset the computer, if I run the game a second time without rebooting the bug happens. I have tried older AGS games in this computer and I think they worked fine, maybe it's a problem with newer versions of AGS...
Has anyone encountered this problem already? Do you know what it can mean or how to solve it?
Thanks.

[a-v-o]

the game gets stuck, you can't move the mouse, you can't press the keyboard, you can't even use the classical ctrl-alt-del thing, you can only reset.

When I debugged my plugins I had similar/same situations: At breakpoints or errors the game got stuck. Reason: The focus was given to a windows message box which was "behind" the AGS fullscreen game. The game can't process keyboard/mouse events which are still sent to the game and not to the windows message box behind.
This effect can also happen when watching a movie in fullscreen mode with e.g. mediaplayer and an error occurs. So it's a windows "feature" not AGS specific.

It doesn't happen to me all the time, it's like I can only start it once and then reset the computer, if I run the game a second time without rebooting the bug happens.

Do you use Win XP?

[Pumaman]

Hmm, strange though if it doesn't happen with older games.

It's possible you have the problem where the game doesn't shut down properly, so if you load it up a second time it's still actually running (if you see what I mean).
After you quit the game the first time, can you check in task manager and see if the process is still there?

When you say the music keeps on playing, does it carry on playing normally, or does it keep skipping and repeating the same few seconds?

[Kairus]

Well, having isolated a little more the problem, it seems to happen with windows compiled games, both older and newer ones. I tried KQ1VGA and it has the same problem, indeed, KG1VGA gets stuck after watching the logo scene (it works only if you reboot and run it only once). All MS-DOS games I've tried (old ones) work perfectly, and I tried one in windows using winags.exe and it runs ok, too.
When it works right, the game shuts down properly as nothing is left in the task manager. Music also plays perfectly, no loops, but there's no interaction with keyboard or mouse at all.
I use Windows 98 in an AMD Duron computer.
I tried minimizing the game to see if there's any pop-up windows message behind but there's nothing.
What could be happening?

[Pumaman]

Could you try using the latest 2.6 engine to run, say, KQ1VGA, and see if it helps. Download the http://www.agsforums.com/ags_26_final.zip and extract the ACWIN.EXE. Then:

1. Copy the ACWIN.EXE file into the game's directory.
2. Rename the game EXE file to AC2GAME.DAT.
3. Double-click the ACWIN.EXE file.

See if running it that way helps at all. If not, could you try disabling the sound in the game Setup just on the off-chance that it's related.

What graphics and sound cards do you have, and what did you have in your old computer which worked?