20 replies to this topic

[tanzanos]

Help!!!!

Whenever I play a game either online or offline my units explode after a few seconds and of course I am defeated. This has been happening now for 1 week. What is wrong? Have I got some special C&C virus????

Someone please help as I am unable to play. :?


Cheating is for cowards only!

[Azrael]

Re-install. That happened to me in RA2, a quick re-install did the trick.

[greenbeangizmo]

Re-install. That happened to me in RA2, a quick re-install did the trick.

First off, I'm sorry for bringing back such an old post.

I have the exact same problem where everything blows up after a few seconds and the re-install has not helped. I have also tried manually uninstalling, patching, disabling firewall/antivirus, etc....

My stats:
System Manufacturer/Model Number Hewlett-Packard HPE-360z
OS Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit (6.1, Build 7600)
CPU AMD Phenom™ II X6 1090T Processor (6 CPUs), ~3.2GHz
Memory 12288MB RAM
Graphics Card ATI Radeon HD 5570 2GB
Monitor(s) Displays HP 2509 Series Wide LCD Monitor

[godly-cheese]

Before reinstalling. Did you delete your Zero Hour directory?

[greenbeangizmo]

Before reinstalling. Did you delete your Zero Hour directory?

Yes I did.

I deleted the previous folders and registry files, then reinstalled and then I had to do the options.ini fix to get it to run.

Also after the buildings and everything blow up, at the main screen the background animation is running extremely fast.

Edited by greenbeangizmo, Thursday, 14 October 2010 - 06:37 AM.

[Sonic]

I have the exact same problem where everything blows up after a few seconds and the re-install has not helped.

That's usually a sign of the ripped/downloaded version of the game.

[Doctor Destiny]

Buy a copy of TFD or the Deluxe Edition from Amazon. If it doesn't work, we can go from there.

[greenbeangizmo]

I do actually have the real discs, one of the deluxe edition and one of just zero hour, (I'm mostly wanting to play multiplayer so that why I have multiple discs).

I can assure you that it is not ripped/downloaded or cracked in any way. And I even have several brand new serial codes since EA thinks that giving me a new one each time I contact them is the solution.

[Jehal]

There have been loads of threads about this. Anyone fancy finding one?

Well.. You can try and search these forums using the search bar. If you don't find anything, Google will, since this is a fairly common problem.

[greenbeangizmo]

I am aware that it is a fairly common problem and I have searched all over the forums and google, all of which people post the problem but no answers become available. Alot of the answers received are from moderators of other forums assuming that the person does not have the real disc so they shut down the thread. I believe that is why there is a lack of answers for this particular problem.

[Sonic]

Have you tried a complete uninstall? Run the uninstaller from Add/Remove in the Windows Control Panel. Then make sure to remove any files left behind in the game install folder. Remove registry entries as well.

Then install the game again, patch it etc....

[greenbeangizmo]

Yes I have done the complete manual uninstall, to no avail.

Edited by greenbeangizmo, Friday, 15 October 2010 - 11:29 PM.

[Nmenth]

Have you tried compatibility settings and run as administrator and all that?

[greenbeangizmo]

Just in case anybody did not believe me about actually having the disc(s) here is a picture.

Have you tried compatibility settings and run as administrator and all that?

Yes I have done all that jazz and such, ... basically anything that EA representatives could have possibly said, I have done.

[Jehal]

Well. It happened to me once. I uninstalled the game completely (removing all traces of Generals I could), then I reinstalled and everything worked fine.

It might have something to do with your CD key. (not sure).
If so, you will justhave to "find" a new one. You have the CD's as proven, so you won't get into trouble really.

Just a shot in the fog: Try and install the game with your internet offline. This worked for me with various games like CS:S and Doom 3 from which my CD keys where stolen.

[Nmenth]

It might have something to do with your CD key. (not sure).
If so, you will justhave to "find" a new one. You have the CD's as proven, so you won't get into trouble really.

Apparently you missed this:

I even have several brand new serial codes since EA thinks that giving me a new one each time I contact them is the solution.

[Sonic]

Just in case anybody did not believe me about actually having the disc(s) here is a picture.

I hope you were not offend by the suggestion that you had stolen the game. As you pointed out its an easy assumption to make.

My only other guess would be that perhaps you have something conflicting/interfering with the installation or running of the game. Try disabling anti-virus and firewall software.

Also since your running Windows 7 64bit have been through this thread? http://forums.cncnz....showtopic=12319

[Inferno]

Uninstall the game, delete the folder and install somewhere else.

[greenbeangizmo]

Yeah I actually had to do the options.ini fix to get it to even start

// then I had to change the serial to a new one from EA directly in the registry to get the internet to let me log in

// then I had to change the playing to windowed version by typing -win in the shortcut name, and changed resolution to 800-600 to fix play speed

// and now finally the EA representative I have been talking to for about 3 weeks just said he "[I] give up on this problem, I am sorry but there is nothing further I am able to do" and then he gave one of their pre-made comments for this issue "Thank you for contacting Electronic Arts Customer Support. I do apologize for any delay in my response. I have been assigned to your issue, and would be happy to assist you in this matter. As a gamer myself, I understand how frustrating this issue can be. At this time we are investigating this issue closely with the Studio. While we do not have a resolution for this issue, we are hopeful to have it soon. We do apologize for any trouble that this has caused you, and appreciate your patience while this issue is being investigated. ".....

He went on to say that "off the record" that he was refering me to a different patch that might work for the issue and he sent me to a page that had no-cd patches.. ... so I tried it and it now runs without everything blowing up.

His explanation was that there is a built in anti-piracy glitch where if there is any kind of large change on a computer (mine was upgrading to windows 7 ultimate) that the game will think it is not from the actual disc and act as if it is fake.

I also had to re-patch by inserting the cd and clicking check for upgrades (it would not let me do it manually).



So in conclusion... it works.. long live





Also here is a step by step solution so anybody else that may have this problem might be able to resolve it:

With a system that has Windows 7 (any type):

1. To get it to start if the game crashes at the second splash screen:
go to http://forums.cncnz....showtopic=12319 ..... and change the options.ini



2. If the game does not allow you to even connect to the online servers// contact an EA representative via the chat service they have (phone support is even worse) and have them supply you a new serial code.

Once you have the new serial go into the registry:
1. Press windows key + R to open the run command and type in "regedit"
2. then follow these folders exactly ==> HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE
==> SOFTWARE
==> Wow6432Node
==> Electronic Arts
==> EA Games
==> Command and Conquer Generals Zero Hour
==> ergc

Then right click on the (Default) file and select Modify and change the current code to your newly supplied one. Then restart the computer.
The game should now connect to the online servers.



3. If your game is running too fast it is most likely because of something to do with your processor and/or graphics card. The way I got mine to work is to right-click on the shortcut for zero hour and select properties. From there you need to change the target at the end to look instead of ("C:\Program Files (x86)\EA Games\Command & Conquer Generals Zero Hour\generals.exe") to look like ("C:\Program Files (x86)\EA Games\Command & Conquer Generals Zero Hour\generals.exe" -win) with the space and "win" after it... This will cause your game to start in windowed mode and if your game should not be running as fast anymore, then you need to go into the options on the game and change the resolution to the smallest available, then exit the game. After you exit you need to restart the computer and upon restart you need to change the target of the shortcut back to normal, when the game loads up after that, you can change the resolution back to what you had originally.



4. Finally, if you are having the problem where if you start any kind of non campaign mission and you can only play a few seconds to a minute before everything blows up (or campaign mission where you win and it says you lose)...... this is caused by the games built-in anti-piracy that could have been activated by something on your computer (installing some programs/ antivirus software/ firewall/ etc...).

Assuming you have the actual cd's like I did and not ripped like mentioned above, this problem may be fixed by installing something called a no-cd patch. This method was mentioned by an EA representative via chat (still can't believe that). After the installation make sure your game is patched via the menu after inserting your game disc. The no-cd patch actually includes a game.dat and generals.exe that will force the game to run properly when the game disc in inserted.





Using these steps I was able to get it to work and hopefully anybody else that needs help can use these steps to fix their game too... Enjoy.

Edited by greenbeangizmo, Monday, 18 October 2010 - 09:12 PM.

[Jehal]

Will a moderator please take a moment to change the thread name into something more appropriate so that others who encounter this problem will be able to find this solution.