talisman18: Thanks for your help, klaymen. My sound is still a bit off, but I can live with it. It's the magic casting I can't live without. Whoever heard of a sorcerer that can't cast spells. ;-)

I think that the problem that I'm having is linked to reconfiguring the keyboard, particularly the spell casting buttons. I always did this when I had a Windows 98 machine and got so used to it that using the default is weird to me. I usually shift the Cast Ready to C and Cast to V for faster access. This seems to be where the problem is.

Upshot: if someone is having the same problem and looking for a possible fix , try this: uninstall your game, reinstall it, then learn to love the default settings. NEVER shift your keys to anything else. This seems to work. I have notified the GOG guys, so they are aware that at least one person is having this glitch.

Best of luck! :-)

gamer9: I'm having the same problem! Are you using the fan patch? I'm wondering if its an issue with that. My problem started with my first quick save/ quick load.

talisman18: Hi, is there anyone else here with the same problem?

I used Set Spell for my cleric and whenever she casts Heal, the spell book screen comes up and I have to quickly hit the Close button. I'm about 20 hours into the game and suddenly, if I use any magic at all, the game crashes. I've tried restarting, reinstalling, everything. Same result. Use magic = game crash. I also have the sound problems with boats and coaches and Arcomage, but I can live with that if I have to. Not being able to use magic is a game killer.

Any suggestions?
(I have XP on a Toshiba Satellite with the current version of DirectX.)

Thanks.