Hey, think i may have figured out this whole mess -
somehow, maybe.
It seems this problem started to happen when i was trying to find some 'good' sharewares to do two different things; create the race movies in a reasonably powerful video editing program & starting the work on the X-Worlds modeling of ships through extensive 3D files (all of this from scratch) editing.
So, i went on a rampage to find and multi-install whatever needed to be tested and then make a final choice. Plenty of stuff got in&out of the PC while a bunch of reconfiguration of system settings & alterations to DLL layouts were done behind the curtains. As a result, DirectX was taxed out, files were packing the registry with tricky calls and still, hadn't determined what to use as definitive solution(s) which, in fact, became THE problem.
There is only one explanation. AFAIK, a combination of bad typos or improper values for my PC while i was installing FFDSHOW altered (screwed up - might be a better word in this case) some default XP settings (mostly for decoding vids or sounds), and fixed a few key things here & there as it thought should be best. Dunno
exactly what or how, but it DID have an impact in a number of regular features of the OS... some processes started to slooooow down, DosBox (where the XCom games are installed) began to act very strangely. A gigantic wreck, i'd say.
I could always fix all by simply uninstalling FFDSHOW and be done with it, but even if i tried already... it WON'T correct the issue. More and worst problems creep up; the GC opening menu takes a looooong time to load while a bunch of ticks signal me the activity is flawed! Darn, keep it in.
Yup, i could do that and fix the issue
with FFDSHOW as is.
But, there's a tough process ahead; knowing what to do, since the help file of that thing is
not comprehensive enough & in fact, quite messy. Db gains, heck... just about 150++ different type of settings. Talk about trial & error attempts like an idiot who doesn't really know what he's doing.
Updated XP & Net Framework. I seriously think the Registry itself has been borked up over that run... through some previous panic steps!
At least, now, i've got a fair hint.
Still, it's strange. So, i'm sorry if i assumed DA was buggy and the direct cause of this problem - as the real culprit here truly is the driver behind the wheel and how he handles his own PC files & what he puts on his Hard-Drives.
Stupid me.
- Zyxpsilon.
