srcds.exe will not run for me in Windows Server 2003

[jgclark123]

I have installed Steam's dedicated server for Team Fortress 2 on my Vista Ultimate Edition desktop, and now I wish to install it on my older Server 2003 Standard Edition SP1 server. I had no problems on my Vista install, but after installing on Server 2003, I can't seem to get srcds.exe to run. Neither the GUI nor the console version works at all. (I do prefer console, by the way.) I get no error message; the process just seems to end itself immediately.

My install of Server 2003 is fully updated via Windows Update, except the service pack. I'm running SP1, but I have every security update that is included in SP2.

I'm running the commands identically, but I've tried different ports, including the IP address, even bogus parameters. Every time, I am met with nothing.

For completeness, here's the command my shortcut is running (though I've tried dozens of others via cmd):
"C:\Program Files\Steam Dedicated Server\orangebox\srcds.exe" -console -game tf -port 27015 +map cp_gravelpit +maxplayers 24

The port is forwarded, but it doesn't matter because I don't get that far.

HldsUpdateTool.exe seems to think that everything is up-to-date, also.

[Mooga]

I have no idea, but I will tell you that it SHOULD work on windows server 2003 because that's what my server is running on now.

[Zenxeon]

I have a post on this exact problem, console wont come up at all when spamming the shorcut to the srcds.exe. I just uploaded ALL the working files from my computer that I tested/worked to my server and the SAME SHIT! NOTHING!

So im pretty damn sure at this point its something hardcoded into the TF Server Files and a Hardware incompatablity.

What are your server specs if you dont mind me asking?

[jgclark123]

Zenxeon Wrote:What are your server specs if you dont mind me asking?

Not at all. I'm using most of an old Gateway. (I've replaced quite a few parts.) It's an AMD Athlon Thunderbird 1.1 GHz with 512 MB (1 DIMM) of DDR Corsair ValueSelect. The motherboard is a piece of crap from PC Chips, but the only other new Socket A motherboard I could find was hundreds of dollars. The hard drive is a 250 GB IDE drive from Western Digital (I think).

Come to think of it, the only original part is the CPU. I've even replaced the heatsink and fan. (The fan died one night, but the computer stayed running. The quietness and slight burning smell scared the crap out of me, but everything seems okay with the new fan.)

Anyway, I'm thinking the issue might be with a particular Windows Update. Unfortunately, I have no idea which one. Someone else on this forum mentioned that 2003 SP2 broke srcds.exe for him, but reverting back (to SP1 or no SP, he didn't say) solved the problem. I'm running SP1, but an update included in SP2 that I installed separately could be the culprit. I don't really feel like uninstalling 19 updates at a time (many of which are likely to be compilations of previous updates), however, so if anyone has an idea which one it could be, I'd love to hear it.

The issue could just be any service pack at all, which wouldn't be a problem for me because I saved the uninstall data. This could prevent an unsolvable issue for some, though. Uninstalling a service pack without that data probably means a reinstall of the OS.

I think I'll try either removing SP1 or dual booting with a clean install of Server 2003. Hopefully it's not a hardware issue.

[Zenxeon]

hmm well im having the EXACT same issue with XP Pro with all the latest updates and very similar hardware Thunderbird 1.3 with 1 gig of memory. *shrug* Im leaning on some deeper issue with the cpu core to be honest.

[jgclark123]

Zenxeon Wrote:hmm well im having the EXACT same issue with XP Pro with all the latest updates and very similar hardware Thunderbird 1.3 with 1 gig of memory. *shrug* Im leaning on some deeper issue with the cpu core to be honest.

Oh, wow. I just assumed you were also running some variant of Server 2003. If the same issue is happening under XP Pro, then it really could be a hardware issue (which really sucks).

I guess to be certain I'll pop in my partitioner disc and dual boot with a clean OS, but the outlook sure looks poor.

Have you emailed Valve regarding this issue? I doubt that it'll be much help, but it's worth a shot. I think I will if the reinstall doesn't help. It may just be a simple compiler flag that the Thunderbird doesn't like. According to CPU-Z, the Thunderbird (at least mine, anyway) can only handle MMX (+) and 3DNow! (+), but not any form of SSE. Something tells me Valve won't exactly be thrilled to hand out odd builds of their dedicated server, though.

[Zenxeon]

I happen to have cpuz on the server, let me run a fast test to find out..

[Zenxeon]

Same deal.. Do you have any other applications running on your server, ie: Apache, sql, mail servers ect. ?

[Zenxeon]

im going to venture to say its a SSE issue, or lack there of.. The fact we have the same issue and our cpu only supports the MMX 3dnow Instructions says something imo.. I bet if you started a CSS server it would start right up, its a specific issue to the SRCDS.exe and TF2

[that guy]

I know that Valve sent out a notice sometime saying that if you don't have SSE support you would not be able to run the new Source engine games. There is a bit about how the new engine handles multi threading. Since, Orangebox games run on this new Source and CS:Source still runs on the old one, it could explain why you can and can't run certain servers.

Here's a link to an article. Wikipedia has a bit about it too. I can't find the actual press release/article though.

[jgclark123]

Zenxeon Wrote:Same deal.. Do you have any other applications running on your server, ie: Apache, sql, mail servers ect. ?

Nothing out of the ordinary, just the built-in web server (IIS 6.0) and file server. I've been doing the install through Real VNC (I'm aware of the security vulnerabilities, but I don't use Real VNC over the Internet, it's LAN-only.), but that shouldn't cause any issues. I originally installed the server on my Vista desktop over RDC, and other than the reduced framerate, it ran fine.

At the moment, I'm trying to test the install of CS:S, (-game cstrike, right?), but after the first crash ("Connection reset by peer", happens all the time with HldsUpdateTool.exe), I get "ContentServer rejected client sesison login" with each attempt to restart. I don't own CS:S, but I'm pretty sure I don't need to. I don't even have Steam on the server.

[that guy]

jgclark123 Wrote:At the moment, I'm trying to test the install of CS:S, (-game cstrike, right?), but after the first crash ("Connection reset by peer", happens all the time with HldsUpdateTool.exe), I get "ContentServer rejected client sesison login" with each attempt to restart. I don't own CS:S, but I'm pretty sure I don't need to. I don't even have Steam on the server.

Wait a couple of minutes and then run the command again. I believe it gives that error because there system still thinks you're connected, so it won't allow the same computer to connect twice. I just wait about a minute when it says that and then run the command. Took about 9 commands for me to install TF2, I'd imagine CS:S is the same at the moment.

And yes, it's -game cstrike.

[Zenxeon]

Nah you dont need to own it, just push the up arrow key and hit th enter key.. I have had to battle through that hold deal a 100 times in the last week or so. Yes to your command line, just do -console -game cstrike and that should get you a console at least which is really all your aiming for; no pun intended lol

You also bring up another interesting point with VNC for I also am using that but i cant see how that would cause any issue at all. To further confirm this i FTP'd the server a working install of the server files from my computer last night, same deal..

[jgclark123]

Ah, it's finished installing. TF2 needed a whole bunch of restarts but never gave me that login error, which is why I was confused.

hlds.exe for CS:S runs flawlessly. (Well, I haven't tried playing it, but the .exe runs, and that's worlds ahead of the new Source dedicated server.)

Looking at Wikipedia, my motherboard does support CPUs which support SSE, namely the Athlon XP, but I'm not so sure I want to spend the extra money on a CPU just for a Source dedicated server (though the increase in CPU speed would be nice). My motherboard is from Newegg.com, and my heatsink/fan is from TigerDirect.com, but it seems that both have stopped selling Socket A (a.k.a. Socket 462) processors, which is probably for the better; I don't need to be spending the cash.

[Zenxeon]

It would be nice if they made a hardware statement that included this information. I made a post on the Steam Forums, lets see if i get any decent responses.