Punkbuster Error: MD5Tool Mismatch Troubleshooting

[kilroy0097]

Um Black screen on startup and then crashing to Desktop is not a MD5 Mismatch Error issue. Hence try posting your own thread or searching for a similar thread and post your request for help in there. Please keep all posts in here related to MD5 issues.

Thank you.

[kilroy0097]

At the risk of jinxing myself I have fixed my issue. I have tested and played the game now for about 10 hours over three days. I have not received a single MD5 Mismatch error on any file.zip.

So after about a month of screwing with everything I could possibly think of here is the following steps I highly suggest when you receive a MD5 Mismatch error. These steps may only work for XP.

Having issues? First check this location to make certain you have installed and running correctly.

http://www.realitymod.com/forum/f27-...formation.html


Are you gettings a shaders_client.zip mismatch error?

There is an easy duct tape fix for this. It may or may not work for you. To do this fix do the following:

1. Delete the cache data folder for PR. You can find this folder usually by going to
C:\Documents and Settings\username\My Documents\Battlefield 2\mods\bf2\cache\
and deleting whatever folder is there. This will force re-optimization for the game when you load into a map again.

2. Make a backup of the following file by renaming the file adding .bak to the end of it.
C:\Program Files\EA GAMES\Battlefield 2\mods\bf2\shaders_client.zip

3. Then COPY C:\Program Files\EA GAMES\Battlefield 2\mods\pr\shaders_client.zip to the previous folder in Step 2.

4. Restart Game and the problem may be solved.


Are you getting a warning screen after launching with pr.exe?

The Fix bat file can be found HERE

Another way to fix this might be to copy the pr.exe file located here:
C:\Program Files\EA GAMES\Battlefield 2\mods\pr\
into the following folder that also houses the BF2.exe file here:
C:\Program Files\EA GAMES\Battlefield 2\
and then make sure you modify your shortcut to point to the new location of the pr.exe file.
C:\Program Files\EA GAMES\Battlefield 2\pr.exe" +modPath mods/pr +menu 1 +fullscreen 1

You may start getting the warning screen if you have BF2 installed in a different location other than the default C:\Program Files\EA GAMES\Battlefield 2\ location. If you do then you will need to change your shortcut to demonstrate that change such as:
F:\New Path to BF2 Installation Here\pr.exe +modPath mods/pr +menu 1 +fullscreen 1 +restart

Still having unexplained issues? Then you may need to do a truly clean install of BF2 and the Mod PR.

The long fool proof way to fix most BF2 and PR mod Errors

If you are still having issues with the MD5 Mismatch issue then the next few steps are a bit more advanced but very necessary. You are leaving the basic first level fixes and entering the next level. If you do not feel comfortable doing the following then find a friend who can help you with this or take a little time and learn how to do it yourself. It will only help you in the future as this is only moderate second level diagnostics.

First you need to check to see if your file is being changed in some way and is not exactly what it should be after a clean install. Perhaps this is because of a corrupt file or perhaps a bad sector on your HDD or maybe your memory is giving out or it could just have been a bad install for whatever reason. So to double check the integrity of the file you should do the following.

[R-DEV]Spearhead has an excellent yet simply way to check. Find out how HERE

Remember that he asked for the checksum for both when you are playing PR and when you are not playing PR. Make sure you do both steps.

If the file has been changed in some way and the MD5 checksums do not match then you can either do "The long fool proof way to fix most BF2 and PR mod Errors" method above and see if it fixes it. Or you can try and do the following.

Suspect Virus or other Malware programs effecting files

The solution for this is obvious. Get your favorite Anti-Virus or Malware software, update the definitions and do a full scan from Safe Mode. You can get to Safe Mode by pressing F8 leisurely during the initial boot up of Windows.

If you suspect a bad HDD (Hard Drive) then you can do the following

My Computer -> (Right Click) C:\ Drive -> Properties -> Tools Tab
Click on Check Now in the Error Checking section.
Check on the option to, "Scan for and attempt recovery of bad sectors"
Then click Start and let it run through it's entire scan.

For other alternatives not using the built in Windows application tool then you can go to this website HERE. I do not know about any of the software on that site so do a second check on your hard drive on your own.

Did your MD5 checksum values match and yet you are still getting seemingly random MD5 kicks for not only shader_client.zip but also map levels client.zip files?

If you have gotten to this level then you are at the point where I finally was at after doing everything above. Don't despair as this step actually fixed my problem.

First you will have to download the memtest86 .iso for your particular OS. You can get that application from the following website: Memtest86.com - Memory Diagnostic
You will have to burn this file to a CD as an ISO or copy it to a Flash Drive. You will then boot from this media and it will auto start the memtest86 application. Make sure you let it run so it has gone through at least 2 passes on your memory.

If it finds an error or hangs for a long time (minimum 10 minutes on the exact same thing) testing one part of it then you may have an issue with your memory.

To find out which memory stick is bad or if a DIMM slot on your motherboard is bad you will have to do a few things. Make sure you have a can compressed air to blow out any dust particles. Do not do this in a dirty environment and make certain you have discharged any static electricity you have by touching something grounded.

FIRST POWER OFF YOUR PC AND UNPLUG IT. THEN PRESS THE POWER BUTTON AND DISCHARGE ALL ELECTRICITY FROM THE PC THAT MAY BE LEFT.

Take out all your memory and then use the compressed air to blow out the DIMM slots. Then test each stick individually by placing one stick in the first DIMM slot. Then replug in your PC and run the memtest86 again. Do at least two passes on each memory stick making certain you do the power discharge I put in caps above each time. Once you have tested all your memory in this way and if each one passes the test then you have eliminated memory as an issue and must then test out the DIMM slots on your motherboard.

First plug in the first two memory slots. Most motherboards have dual channel memory and so you will have to test slot 1 and 3 or slot 1 and 2 depending on your motherboard. You must read the documentation on your motherboard to know which ones are dual channel. If the first two slots pass the memtest86 then you plug in the 3rd slot. Run the test again. Finally the 4th slot and run the test again. You should know by then which slot is broken and plan accordingly. If they all pass for some reason after all memory sticks are plugged in then it may be that you simply had dust in the slot that was effecting memory access. Try to run the game again and see if you get any errors.

If you do find a bad slot, like I did, then you may need to buy new memory in order to get the same amount of memory that you had before. Or you can simply run on less memory if you don't mind doing that leaving the bad DIMM memory slot open and not used. For my issue I had all 4 DIMM slots taken up by DDR400 512mb sticks. DIMM slot 4 on my motherboard was broken. So I ended up buying 2 DDR400 1GB sticks and putting them in Slots 1 and 3. Slots 2 and 4 (the broken one) are not used.

If you are still having issues and you have done EVERYTHING above then post in the thread and state you have done everything listed in this fix post. Don't lie to us. It will not help you and there are no other fixes. Do everything and then only post if still have issues.

Make certain you list in your post your Operating System, Computer Specs and your directory Path for BF2. Make you you mention if you over clocked anything as well.

I hope this fix summary helps some of you fix your issues.

Special thanks to arn354 for helping me out through PMs. Looks like he was right on the money and absolutely correct with the ultimate steps I needed to take with my particular issue.

Cheers.

[arn354]

Cheers and Congratulations kilroy!

Special thanks to arn354 for helping me out through PMs. Looks like he was right on the money and absolutely correct with the ultimate steps I needed to take with my particular issue.

Thank you - others in that thread were not so nice to me, but i don't care. A s long they don't accept that they have a local problem - they will never solve it.

Welcome back in PR Business

[kilroy0097]

Bump for the non-searchers.

[[R-DEV]bosco]

I'll ask to get it stickied...

[spitfiRe-]

Hi



Any Clue?


edit : happens all the time i connect on 10th moutain server and several other servers ( except for the HeroS server )

[Brummy]

Stickipwned.

[Jagular]

hint: type in console pb_logmd5tool 1 and you`ll see what server check from you

[kilroy0097]

Originally Posted by spitfiRe-

Hi



Any Clue?


edit : happens all the time i connect on 10th moutain server and several other servers ( except for the HeroS server )

First I would give a simple file replacement a try. Ask someone who is not experiencing this error to host that exact file some place for you to download and replace your file with the downloaded one. If the error goes away then you are golden. If it comes back on the same file or a different one then you are showing the symptoms of deeper issues.

See this post for possible other solutions if replacing the file does not work. If you have already done everything in that post then we will attempt to troubleshoot something else.

[aperson444]

I have an issue where I get kicked because of a mismatch with: mods\pr\pr.exe