Punkbuster Error: MD5Tool Mismatch Troubleshooting

[kilroy0097]

Updated 5/6/08 - My Solution Steps and Fixes can be found on this post in this thread. <-- Click here

-------------------------------------------
Original Thread:

This thread is the only other one that has any info on this issue but still does not come with an answer. No threads linked from it have any tangible answers at all.

The error message given in a pop up window after Punkbuster kicks me.

Error: Punkbuster Kicked player 'Player' ...MD5Tool Mismatch: mods\bf2\shaders_client.zip (len=2048)

Background: I am an IT professional in real life so diagnosing bugs or issues with my Win XP machine is not a new thing for me. Keep that in mind. From the release of Patch .756 I have had no issues at all with disconnecting or getting kicked for this particular error. There are the normal connection issues (Esc Button Fix) and punkbuster getting confused and generating an error (Punkbuster A or B .exe not running correctly) but this particular PB error has not occurred until today. Just keep in mind that nothing had changed, no new programs were installed and I have done nothing new to my computer since I last played PR. Which was on Friday morning, 3 days ago.

Computer Specs: Win XP Pro SP2 to current, 2GB of RAM, CPU: Pent(R)4 3.2Ghz, VC: Radeon x1950 Pro Video Drivers: Omega 3.8.421 (Do not suggestion Catalyst or ATI drivers as everything past 7.7 breaks this card running any game)

Video Settings in Game:
Rez: 1280x764 85 hrz - Terrain - Med / Effects - Med / Geom. - Med / Tex. - High / Light - Low / Shadows - Low / Light - Off / AA - Off / Tex. Filter - Med / Dis. - 100% /

Attempted Fixes in order done.
- Update of Punkbuster (Manual Update from evenbalance.com website)
- Complete removal of all Punkbuster files including hidden .sys in Program Applications folder and then after restart of PC a manual installation of PB.
- Turning graphics down even lower than they already were. No graphics changes had been made prior to problem appearing.
- I have no modifications to my files with exception of renderer.drawfps 1 being put into my gamelogicinit.con file which I have since taken out to test if that was the reason. It is not.
- Complete Removal of all BF2 related programs. All PR files and all BF2 files removed. Additional folders left behind after Add/Remove programs sequence manually removed. All registry entries for BF2 or PR that I could find were also removed. This includes all profiles and settings for users in Documents folder.
- Defrag Hard Drive and CCleaner my Registry and Cache files.
- Ran Ad Aware 2007 and Norton Anti-Virus full scan on primary HD. No issues found.
- Complete new installation via BF2 DVD physical Disc (NOT Download version), new appliance of BF2 Patch 1.41, Re-installation of PR files Setup and Maps. Re-patch of 0.756. Updated PunkBuster one more time manually after installation of all BF2/PR files.

So short of reinstalling my video drivers or removing all BF2 stuff and reinstalling it again or a complete reformat of my HD and reinstalling XP, I am out of ideas.

I have no earthly idea why this error decided to affect me now since the patch was working just fine for many weeks now. The posts here so far are no help as there is no fix specific to my issue except one person changing a single video setting which I have already done.

Does anyone have any insight? Playing is impossible since I get kicked sometime within the first five minutes of the game now.

[=BFC=KllrKirk]

Im having the same problem. Ive done nothing since yesterday (aus time) when PR was working just fine, but today, its kick after kick after kick....wtf is going on?

[kilroy0097]

Also let me add that this sudden influx of errors were happening before the EA Account Servers went down for their maintenance and they continued after the account server came back up again. So it doesn't have much to do with that I don't think.

Possibly the new small updated Punk Buster is broken now?

[Habidis]

I had the exact same error message from punkbuster the last saturday night. And I have done almost the same steps as kilroy0097 says, I also formatted my hard drive before reinstalling the game, the patch, the two project reality files, and executing the pbsvc.exe file from the punkbuster web. I must say that I could play half an hour or so yesterday, sunday, but I had no time to test it any further. I'll come back with my results once I've been able to play for a good amount of time. Hope this new stupid issue with punkbuster is solved as soon as possible for everyone that is having the same problems, I've seen there are many of us reporing it.

[nathanator8811]

I get the same error except that the location of mine seems to be a randomly chosen map level folder (i.e. - mods\bf2\levels\xxxx) I haven't changed anything at all and it worked fine til two days ago. It was a kick just once every few games at first, now it's once every 3-4 minutes.

[[R-DEV]bosco]

That is related to the md5 checks now enabled on most servers to prevent people from going around the suppression effect.
You MUST start PR with the PR.exe, if you use the bf2.exe (join through XFire, ABR, etc.), you WILL be kicked.
If you use PR.exe and still get kicked, your installation is most likely corrupt at some point.
If the mismatch is in a mods/bf2 folder, try reinstalling BF2 Patch 1.41.

[Habidis]

Originally Posted by [R-PUB]bosco

That is related to the md5 checks now enabled on most servers to prevent people from going around the suppression effect.
You MUST start PR with the PR.exe, if you use the bf2.exe (join through XFire, ABR, etc.), you WILL be kicked.
If you use PR.exe and still get kicked, your installation is most likely corrupt at some point.
If the mismatch is in a mods/bf2 folder, try reinstalling BF2 Patch 1.41.

Maybe that's why I was able to play longer yesterday, after formatting/reinstalling (read my prior post) I ran the game with the PR.exe shortcut instead of an older one that called the BF2.exe file. Thanks for the info, let's see if this is the solution...

[Jagular]

1. Search
2. if no RTFM
3. if no стена разбег удар

link
useful info there
about
1. using pr.exe
2. cleaning bf2 shaders cache

[General_J0k3r]

Originally Posted by Jagular

link
useful info there
about
1. using pr.exe
2. cleaning bf2 shaders cache

x2. you WILL be kicked if you do not use the PR.exe to start the game!!!

[kilroy0097]

From this post in the PR forums.

// Don`t activate those checks as the files are moved when you start the mod.
// pb_sv_md5tool a "1.1.2965-797.0" v mods\pr\shaders_client.zip SZ188788 AT0 LEN2048 8CA9D58CE2422B0B8BC07B10B6172F0E 
// pb_sv_md5tool a "1.1.2965-797.0" v mods\pr\shaders_night_client.zip SZ188788 AT0 LEN2048 8CA9D58CE2422B0B8BC07B10B6172F0E 

// This is the new location where shaders_client.zip is moved to when the player runs the mod. 
// Disable the md5-check for mods\bf2\shaders_client.zip in psb/bf2.md5 !!!
pb_sv_md5tool a "1.1.2965-797.0" v mods\bf2\shaders_client.zip SZ188788 AT0 LEN2048 8CA9D58CE2422B0B8BC07B10B6172F0E

This is exactly where the error appears. It was mentioned in that post that this file is moved or modified by PR Mod. So is this the reason why PunkBuster is saying this error exists? Is PR the Mod the very reason PB thinks this file is modified? Has PB been updated with this file change in mind? PB was set with BF2 in mind not PR.

Do the Devs have any comments on this?

Oh and BTW my Cache folder was removed when I reinstalled BF2/Patch/Mods as was implied in my original post. And yes I am using the PR.exe file that is automatically created with the installation of PR patch 0.756. Also this error started happening on a clean install that worked for many weeks flawlessly. So obviously the installation was correct. Since it has been reinstalled the same error still exists. So in a total of 3 installations, one of which had no errors since the release of patch .756, I highly doubt all were corrupted. So that is not a viable hypothesis at this point.

Any more ideas on this?