HL does not start via metahook.exe

[Brogrammmer]

Hi, I am unable to start the Steam version of HL via metahook.exe. All I get is the main menu background offset to the right of the screen (without the menu itself).

I think I am doing everything according to the instructions:

|C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Half-Life\
|----> MetaHook.exe
|----> alure2.dll
|----> libsndfile-1.dll
|----> OpenAL32.dll
|----> valve\
  |----> metahook\
    |----> plugins\
      |----> MetaAudio.dll
    |----> configs\
      |----> plugins.lst

This is the shortcut: "C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Half-Life\MetaHook.exe" -steam -game valve -insecure

I know the shortcut "works" because changing "valve" to "bshift" will load BS background (I have that installed as well).

I tried the same on 2 different PCs (both Nvidia) with exactly the same outcome. One has integrated Realtek sound card, the other has X-Fi Titanium.

Any ideas where the problem could be? HL works fine without metahook.exe.