I've tried everything suggested so far. Really surprised this doesn't run on a modern OS considering this is one of the most popular games on GOG.com. Really bummed out that I can't play this on my new computer...

Working over here. What's the issue?

you got terran.exe has stopped working right? I am finding solution too, very frustrating :(

Yeah, and after screwing with various settings as mentioned in the other thread, it usually just goes to a black screen and crashes out to desktop.

I have the same problem when trying to run Alien Crossfire, only I get a different message.

I had the same issue, and after editing the ini file with the settings from the other thread, it starts correctly now:

[Alpha Centauri]
ForceOldVoxelAlgorithm=1
DirectDraw=0
ds3d=0
eax=0
[PREFERENCES]
ForceOldVoxelAlgorithm=1

Having trouble editing the ini. file. Not a computer guru, could use a step-by-step, if anyonehas the time. I found the ini. file, just need to know how to swap out the old text for the text in this thread. Thanks in advance to any tech types out there.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/INI_file

I'm not really sure, but have you tried opening it with a standard text editor, like Notepad?

EDIT: http://www.windowsbbs.com/windows-xp/72128-error-opening-ini-files-notepad.html

"Right-click the .ini file.
Select "Open With...".
This will pop up an "Open With" window displaying a list of programs. (Notepad will likely be near the top of the list as a "Recommended" program.)
Select Notepad.
Click the OK button."

I'm assuming you can just change the numbers on the lines. Like, under the [Alpha Centauri] section, if DirectDraw=1, change that to DirectDraw=0.

I don't know for sure, to be honest.

I'm going to assume you tried "run in compatibility mode for"

Haha, I'm an idiot. All better now. I had my permissions set so I couldn't edit the file. Fixed that and added the text suggested in this thread. Game runs great now. A big thank you to everyone who took the time to babysit me. You guys/gals rock \/