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Trouble Shooting Install/Startup Errors
Why don't I have sphere.ini???
Why can't I find .scp files? What the heck are you people talking about I don't have these files!?!
Look and see if you have one just called "sphere". If so do this:
    Double click My Computer
    Double click C:\
    In the top menu, (Windows 95/98/ME) go to VIEW (Windows 2000/NT/XP) go to TOOLS
    Go to FOLDER OPTIONS
    Click on the VIEW tab at the top
    Uncheck the box that says "Hide file extensions for known file types"
    You should now see the .ini part of sphere.ini
If you have file extensions showing, and still don't see it:
    Go back to the FOLDER OPTIONS area
    Check the "Show hidden files and folders" button (or uncheck the "Do not show hidden files and folders" button).
    They -should- be visible now.
If they're STILL not visible, make sure you unzipped it correctly.
What does this mean?
WARNING:c:\sphere\scripts\spheretables.scp\ not found...
FATAL:Error opening table definitions file....
FATAL:The sphere.INI file is corrupt or missing....
FATAL:Server terminated by error -3!
It means you did not configure sphere.ini correctly. Up near the top are paths you MUST enter before sphere will run. This particular error means it cannot find spheretables.scp which should be in your scripts directory. SCPFILES=scripts\

If you get a similar error about map0.mul or other .mul file not found, it is the same thing: sphere.ini file paths are missing or wrong. MULFILES=path to UO files here. The same is true for missing accounts files, save path, etc. Re-read the Sphere.ini Configuration section of this help file.
What does this error mean?
ERROR:(spheretables.scp,54)Unable to open directory scripts\speech\*.scp
ERROR:(spheretables.scp,54)DirList=-1 for 'scripts\speech\'
Open spheretables.scp, make sure the path to the location of your speech folder under [RESOURCES] is correct. Usually it's just a missing \ on the end of the path that causes problems. If all else fails, you can type the complete directory on your harddrive it's located. Example: C:\Sphere\Scripts\Speech\
What does FATAL:Unable to bind listen socket x.x.x.x port 2593 - Error code: -1 FATAL:Server terminated by error -9! mean?
It means sphere is already running. If you close sphere by clicking the X in the top right corner it does not actually shut down.. it just hides in the background.

Windows2000/XP users can do ctrl-alt-del -> task manager -> processes tab -> highlight spheresvr.exe and click end task.
Win9x/me users can look for it to end task it, but i am not sure it will show.. just reboot if you cannot find it. Next time shut down sphere properly in the console with a worldsave (#) then turn secure mode off (S) then exit (X) and wait for it to close itself.

Alternatively, if it's definitely NOT running in the background still, this is normally when you are using two [SERVERS] entries at the bottom of sphere.ini for a router, and have them named the same. Just name them differently if you get this. The error may show port 3593 instead of 2593, it means the same thing.
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