I (and many others) would really appreciate if 2D Boy would post a response about this.

I am having the same problem that many others with Vista and ASUS cards are having: WoG  will not launch.  After starting WoG a process will appear in the task manager but the game just never starts.

I can get WoG to start by uninstalling and then re-installing my sound card drivers, which will then allow me to play the game ONCE and ONLY ONCE without any problems.  But then I must uninstall and re-install my sound card drivers everytime I want to play again (or I can keep the sound drivers uninstalled to be able to start WoG, but then I have no sound!)  If you do a search on this forum there are many others experiencing this same problem with Vista and ASUS Xonar DX sound cards.  WoG is such a great game and I really really wish I could play it without all this hassle!  Please help us 2D Boy!

Here are other threads where people have the same problems:
http://2dboy.com/forum/index.php/topic,1378.msg9228.html#msg9228
http://2dboy.com/forum/index.php/topic,730.msg5325.html#msg5325
http://www.gamespot.com/pc/puzzle/worldofgoo/show_msgs.php?topic_id=m-1-47038322&pid=954312

-------System Specs--------- (all latest Windows and hardware drivers installed)
World of Goo Retail v1.3
Vista Ultimate 64-bit (no anti-virus, no firewall, no UAC, no anything!)
Intel Core 2 Duo E8400
4GB Ram
ATI HD4870
ASUS Xonar DX

Wow so that's why my game won't start... damnit.

I would really love a fix for this... please?

I have exactly same problem. Should have just pirated the game first and looked if it works. I tried the game on my friend's Wii console, and thought such a simple game like this won't have any problems. There's versions released for mac, linux etc. too after all..

I suppose refund won't be an option if they can't fix it >_<

[quote author=Ihmemies link=topic=1530.msg10349#msg10349 date=1235821929]
I have exactly same problem. Should have just pirated the game first and looked if it works.
No need to resort to piracy; there's a fully functional demo version too.

Alright, I'm gonna throw a whole lot of confusion into this thread.

I was having the same problem, and gave up on WoG for awhile.  The solution, for me, has been to enable UAC and use the 'Run as Administrator' command.  Having UAC disabled and attempting to run the game in any way will result in an idle worldofgoo process.

And yes, I'm running an Asus Soundcard.  The Xonar DX.  I've noticed that certain system events, such as updating a driver or updating WoG itself will allow me to run the game once without having to use the 'Run as Administrator' command.  It also works if I uninstall and reinstall WoG.  I have no idea why.  I've seen it said that WoG has (had?) a problem with permissions which may have something to do with it, but that's a bit out of my depth.

Full System Specs:
Vista SP1 64, Administrator Account, UAC enabled
World of Goo (Via Stardock's Impulse, not sure what version it is)
Norton Internet Security 2009.  Everything enabled (firewall, intrusion prevention, antivirus, etc)
Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 (Conroe) OC'ed to 3.0
Gigabyte GA-965P-DS3
4GB OCZ DDR2-800 (PC2 6400)
EVGA 8800GT, 182.06 Drivers
Asus Xonar DX, 6.12.8.1747 Drivers
Logitech G15 (old) and G5 (2 button), with Setpoint and GamePanel manager running

Hehe, the game started right away as administrator. It's just very bad design if you can't run it without adminstrator rights :-)

I just need to hope world of goo doesn't want to do anything bad with my computer. Thanks for the tip!

The game even seems to work OK at 2560*1600 (just edited the config file). Since there doesn't seem to be any volume slider, I used windows mixer to reduce the volume.

Thank you BuckyB, your solution worked perfectly for me!  Thank you thank you!

Same problem here, ASUS XONAR DX soundcard, Vista64b Home Basic and World of Goo doesn't start.
Solution to enable UAC and use the 'Run as Administrator' command works but anyway it a shame that I can't run this game without problems :<

Another solution I found on the Asus forums that allows me to play without enabling UAC is to end the  HsMgr.exe (32-bit) and HsMgr64.exe (64-bit) processes from the ctrl-alt-del menu. The game will still have sound.

I'm also affected by this problem...

I have an Asus Xonar D2, running Vista 64-bit.

// Legba

[quote author=Ihmemies link=topic=1530.msg10349#msg10349 date=1235821929]
Should have just pirated the game first and looked if it works.


You would become a PIRATE!?!?!? But, the eye patches and parrots get irritating after a while!  ::)

[quote author=Nic Freed link=topic=1530.msg14266#msg14266 date=1252095677]
[quote author=Ihmemies link=topic=1530.msg10349#msg10349 date=1235821929]
Should have just pirated the game first and looked if it works.


You would become a PIRATE!?!?!? But, the eye patches and parrots get irritating after a while!  ::)



Aw, man! I thought my brother was the only one who liked that strip. Once again, I hate you, Sticky.

Stephan, the creator of pearls, and I have chatted before, he is a good guy, and funny too. We exchange emails every once in a while.  ;D