BF2 crashes to desktop after trying to join multiplayer

[soul reaver]

So I've seen many other people with the same problem as me and many of those people got it fixed through various means. I don't get an error message at all like the others and I have tried some of these other solutions. My major problem is that I cannot even uninstall BF2 anymore. I've uninstalled PR thinking that that may have been the problem, but it seems that was a very bad idea.

for anyone wanting to know my specs:
Vista 32bit
2 gigs of RAM
8500 512megs of VRAM
~2.4 gig dual core amd processor

[thepalerider]

Have you tried using the installer on the BF2 cd or dvd and choose uninstall instead? It's been awhile but I thing it might have a fix install choice as well on the cd or dvd.So have you tried just reinstalling BF2 + 1.41 patch then starting BF2? Single player works ok?If joining multiplayer is causing the ctd try runningpbsvc.

good luck

[soul reaver]

yea i have tried going onto the disk and all that stuff. i guess i should have mentioned why i cant install or uninstall it. it starts to load the installer then right as its about to finish the screen flashes blue like its gonna work but then dies out and nothing happens. i also cannot install patches because it said "bf2 directory cannot be found" so im kinda screwed either way

[[R-CON]MrD]

The screen flashes blue?

Are you sure your OS isn't collapsing or your HDD isn't about to fail?

[soul reaver]

yea im pretty sure that neither of those things is about to happen. its not like the blue screen your thinking of. its more like if you go to install something and the background for the installer hasnt loaded so its like a tealish blue color.

[thepalerider]

Sounds like you manually trashed your BF2 file instead of using the add remove program or do you still have:
C:\Program Files (x86)\EA GAMES\Battlefield 2\mods\pr

Are the folders in the C:\Program Files (x86) folder?

lots of good info below:

Originally Posted by 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.

Hope this helps

[soul reaver]

thanks for the help but it looks like i did trash my bf2 files even tho i did use add remove programs first. unless my friend can come up with anything else on another site where another person had the same problem the only other option i have really is reformatting my computer, which is a huge thing for one game. and as for the good info it did provide some helpful ideas but seeing as i get no error messages i had to try some of the ideas on my own and that still didnt help. o well maybe something will come up later on.

thanks for all the help guys

[Nixiva]

Originally Posted by soul reaver

thanks for the help but it looks like i did trash my bf2 files even tho i did use add remove programs first. unless my friend can come up with anything else on another site where another person had the same problem the only other option i have really is reformatting my computer, which is a huge thing for one game. and as for the good info it did provide some helpful ideas but seeing as i get no error messages i had to try some of the ideas on my own and that still didnt help. o well maybe something will come up later on.

thanks for all the help guys

mhm, sucks hardly.. I got the same problem aswell, it just shuts down without any error given or anything. Reformating wont WONT do you any good at all, since i tryed that aswell, its just waste of time to do that.

[thepalerider]

Did you try the The long fool proof way to fix most BF2 and PR mod Errors?

Post back and let us know how it went.

[soul reaver]

well i havent tried that just yet but i want to know one thing before i do. is there a way to keep my accounts if i remove all the files or is there no way to keep them?