[AUG 2024] Fixing Crash Upon Launch

[yoinklesss]

Hi! Here's some steps I took to actually be able to play the game

1. Deleting all .SWF files

Go to the game's files under restaurants. The path should look something like this:

E:\SteamLibrary\steamapps\common\Diner Dash Hometown Hero\assets\downloads\_default\restaurants
Note: My typical location for Steam Games are in Drive E, but if you install your games in the default Drive C then check there

Now go through all restaurants and delete all "intro.swf" files.

For good measure, I also deleted the PlayFirst Logo animation (.SWF file as well) that plays upon startup. You should be able to find it within the assets -> splash folder as well.

2. Optimizing the Compatibility

Go back a few folders until you see the actual Diner Dash application. Right click it and select "Properties"

Now under the "Compatibility" tab, tick these two boxes under "Settings":

• Run in 640 x 480 screen resolution
  
• Disable fullscreen optimizations

Click "Apply", then "OK", then close the Properties Window.

3. Adding Steam.exe in the steamapps\common folder

After completing the above, you may run into an error message that reads something like: "Application load error 5:0000065434"

If you go to your steamapps -> common folder where you see all the game folders you've installed, there should be "steam.exe" missing.

Go to where you've installed Steam. For me its:
C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam

Search for an .exe file that's simply named "steam". Copy it, then paste it in the common folder where your game files are.

Here's the reddit thread I referenced: Link


When you've successfully completed all three your game should be able to run! at least for me it did lmao

I'm not really an expert on these things but do let me know if you have any difficulties with these steps, I'll try my best to help.

Thanks! 🫶💖

[avocadoallyson]

OK I finally got this to work for me! I followed all of the steps in this thread, and I also followed the steps from @adammay1983 from this thread: https://steamcommunity.com/app/37240/discussions/0/2572067496656896607/

This worked for me! Though I did not create the desktop shortcut. That made things worse for me for some reason.

Here is the relevant text of the comment from that thread: "If your game keeps crashing after removing these files, next step is this. 1. Go to C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Diner Dash Hometown Hero. 2. Right click on the Diner Dash - Hometown Hero.exe. 3. Click on Properties. 4. Click on Compatibility. 5. Check box that says (Run this program in compatibility mode for: and set it to Windows 98 / Windows Me). 6. Then check the box that Says (Run this program as an administrator). Then click ok. 7. Right Click again on Diner Dash - Hometown Hero.exe go down to SEND TO and click Desktop (Create Shortcut.) "

Hope this helps someone!