SWAT 2 Crash Fix
The Problem:
You are probably reading this after you installed Swat 2 in Windows 10 and tried running it for the first time. You got an immediate crash to desktop as the game is starting up. Maybe you got a vague error about "The application was unable to start correctly (0xc0000022)". What the heck is going on?!
The Cause:
You probably have a file permission problem and most likely it is with the file:
"C:\Windows\SysWOW64\dplayx.dll" (path different for 32-bit Windows version)
Google reports that: "the 'dplayx. dll' file is one of many files contained in the DirectX. Since DirectX is utilized by most Windows based games and advanced graphics programs, the errors related to this file would occur when trying to play games."
Solution:
You will need to change the file permission for "dplayx.dll" from READ to FULL CONTROL. You can do this for the Administrator account or for a specific user account.
How do you change the permission you may ask? Read the following link on how to change permissions of a file in Windows 10.
Replacement Mpeg-4 movies (800x600 pixels)
Although Swat 2's original videos are in .AVI format they are encoded with a codec (Indeo Video codec) that Microsoft no longer supports in newer operating systems. For the videos to run smoothly on Windows 8/10/11 it is recommended you download these replacement versions that are re-encoded with the Mpeg-4 codec. Overwrite the original movie files that are stored in the "Movies" folder of Swat 2.
These versions of the movies have been enhanced by AI software to enlarge from 320x240 to 800x600 pixels.
Please Note: the sound glitches you hear in the movies are in the original versions also. Audio compression was primitive in 1998 when the game was made.
Alternate Replacement XVID movies (320x240 pixels)
Instead of the higher resolution replacement movies (given above) perhaps you prefer the original 320x240 pixel size. You may wish to download replacement movies and overwrite the originals with those encoded in XVID format. Confirm that your system can play XVID movies by displaying one of these replacement Swat 2 movies with Windows Media Player. If the movie can't be displayed you may need also need to download the XVID codec from their website.
Please Note: the sound glitches you hear in the movies are in the original versions also. Audio compression was primitive in 1998 when the game was made.
Help I still get a crash!
Your system may be having difficulty playing the Swat 2 movies. To confirm that this is the problem GOG.com support recommends you go to the folder that Swat 2 was installed into and temporarily rename the movie folder (for instance rename it from "Movies" to "MoviesBackup".
Re-run the game and see if you can get past the part in which it crashed at.
Troubleshooting Further
If everything above fails you may wish to further troubleshoot on your own. Here is a tutorial on how to look in the Windows Event Viewer for errors. Although this page is written for Swat 3 you can easily just type Swat 2 when searching instead. This error may give clues to what is causing the problem and how to fix it.