Project Reality doesn't start when I tell it to

[Sidewinder Zulu]

Hey everyone, so I've recently been having some problems getting PR to run.

I click on the shortcut to PR on my desktop, the small screen comes up showing the Dog-Tags logo and everything, and then it closes and nothing happens.
I've tried letting it sit there for a few minutes, and PR still doesn't start. It acts like I didn't even tell it to open.

So I tried running Vanilla BF2, and the exact same problem happened.
I concluded that I might need to re-download the 1.5 patch for BF2, so I got it from Filefront, saved it to the computer, and began to install it.

But then here's the weird part: a little while after its begun installation, the installer stops, and says that it "Can't continue the installation while BF2.exe is running".
Although neither BF2 nor PR are running, at least not to my knowledge.

Is it possible that they're somehow running in the background even though I can't see them on my computer screen? I've checked thoroughly and they're not minimized or anything, so I don't see how they could be running without my knowledge.

Any ideas about how I can get PR to run again? The problem is very unusual, and I couldn't find anything like it so far here on the tech support forums.

Thanks for your help!

[Twisted Helix]

But then here's the weird part: a little while after its begun installation, the installer stops, and says that it "Can't continue the installation while BF2.exe is running".
Although neither BF2 nor PR are running, at least not to my knowledge.

You on Win7 or Vista by any chance ? At a guess I would say what is happening is that BF2 cannot run as it needs to be run as administrator (and installed from an admin account). So does PR.exe.

Basically both are XP executables ... and back then you could write to the program files directory no problem .... Win7 won't let you do that unless the executable has admin privileges.

And BF2 (i think) needs to be run in XP compatibility mode.

[Sidewinder Zulu]

You on Win7 or Vista by any chance ? At a guess I would say what is happening is that BF2 cannot run as it needs to be run as administrator (and installed from an admin account). So does PR.exe.

Basically both are XP executables ... and back then you could write to the program files directory no problem .... Win7 won't let you do that unless the executable has admin privileges.

And BF2 (i think) needs to be run in XP compatibility mode.

Yeah, I have Windows Vista, but I've been able to run PR just fine for over two years without a problem, but now it doesn't work. I don't know what changed.

I thought about the administrator mode thing too, so I went into both the BF2 and PR proprieties and selected it to always run on administrator mode, but the problem still happens.

I wonder if reinstalling PR could solve the problem? But the same problem happens with BF2, so it's probably something connected with both games.
Well, thanks for your input. Anything else I could try that might help?

[thepalerider]

Trash your BF2 cache files
Path:
C:\Users\'your user name here'\Documents\Battlefield 2\mods\bf2\cache

Throw EVERYTHING inside the folder named cache away.
don't worry the files will be replaced with new ones when the game restarts.

Still no PR goodness?

If you still have trouble run battlefield cleaner to flush out your video cache files

Still no joy?
OK
Some other things you can try before you uninstall/reinstall.
Backup your BF2 folder that's inside your documents folder.
Once you have a backup delete the original from your documents folder.
Try starting PR from your PR shortcut
a new default folder is created
link to your online account.
If all goes well (CTD gone/PR starts ok)
all you have to do to get your custom settings back
is copy your 'control' file from your backup to the new profile folder.
Path:
C:\Users\your user name here\Documents\Battlefield 2\Profiles\0002
note: you may not have a 0002 folder so use 0001

Good luck
Welcome to PR
"Project reality, it's all about the teamwork."

[Q2M100]

PLEASE READ: I know EXACTLY what your problem may be! You may have an incompatible or low quality graphics card.

I have had this exact same problem before on my desktop. It took me a while but I have found a solution. First of all, you need to check what kind of graphics card you have. Do this by going to the Device Manager and clicking on the arrow to the left of the "Display adapters" section. Instructions on accessing the device manager: Device Manager. Now, Google the name of your graphics card and find out whether it is integrated or not. A good rule of thumb is if your graphics card is made by Intel, you have an integrated graphics card. In short, an integrated graphics card is usually a low power graphics card without the horsepower to get an actual game running (however, there are some new Intel cards on the computers with i3, i5, and i7 that are actually good enough to run a game). Also, older GeForce/ATi cards may be incompatible so I would Google your card if you have one. If either is the case, you will need to buy an actual graphics card (hopefully you don't have a laptop as it is nearly impossible to install a new graphics card on them).

I recommend anything above a GeForce 9400 GT. Lastly, note that different card manufacturers can make a big difference on the same card so I would compare the actual specs of the card with other manufacturers before buying it.

Good Luck!

[Q2M100]

You on Win7 or Vista by any chance ? At a guess I would say what is happening is that BF2 cannot run as it needs to be run as administrator (and installed from an admin account). So does PR.exe.

Basically both are XP executables ... and back then you could write to the program files directory no problem .... Win7 won't let you do that unless the executable has admin privileges.

And BF2 (i think) needs to be run in XP compatibility mode.

He does not have the PR.exe issue since the Dogtags do show up. Nevertheless, he should make sure he is running both programs as an admin as you suggested.

Also, BF2 doesn't need to be run in XP compatibility mode on Windows 7. However, the same may not be true for Vista from my experiences.

[Sidewinder Zulu]

He does not have the PR.exe issue since the Dogtags do show up. Nevertheless, he should make sure he is running both programs as an admin as you suggested.

Also, BF2 doesn't need to be run in XP compatibility mode on Windows 7. However, the same may not be true for Vista from my experiences.

Thanks for the input guys.


Here's something I just discovered ; when I went into the properties on the PR shortcut that I always use to run the game, the option to "Run as Administrator" was not checked, and the box was grayed out, preventing me from enabling administrator status.
I know that it definitely wasn't like that before, so I'm guessing that could be the problem.
But the question is, how do I tell the computer to let me run PR as an admin? The box is grayed out and I can't select it.

[Q2M100]

Thanks for the input guys.


Here's something I just discovered ; when I went into the properties on the PR shortcut that I always use to run the game, the option to "Run as Administrator" was not checked, and the box was grayed out, preventing me from enabling administrator status.
I know that it definitely wasn't like that before, so I'm guessing that could be the problem.
But the question is, how do I tell the computer to let me run PR as an admin? The box is grayed out and I can't select it.

Try right clicking it and then "Run as administrator". If you can't even do that, idk. Try Google, there is always info if not a solution on it.

[Rudd]

right click the shortcut and slect run as administrator rather than going to the properties

[Sidewinder Zulu]

right click the shortcut and slect run as administrator rather than going to the properties

Hmm, tried that, still doesn't seem to be working...

Well, I may just have to reinstall it, I guess. That could work.

[Twisted Helix]

He does not have the PR.exe issue since the Dogtags do show up.

Correct. If the PR.exe splash screen shows , then it is not a problem with the pr.exe. Its a problem with your BF2 installation.

If you reinstall, make sure you clean your registry out of references to BF2 before reinstalling. Also delete the Blacksand/ProjectReality key. Then reinstall.

[Sidewinder Zulu]

Correct. If the PR.exe splash screen shows , then it is not a problem with the pr.exe. Its a problem with your BF2 installation.

If you reinstall, make sure you clean your registry out of references to BF2 before reinstalling. Also delete the Blacksand/ProjectReality key. Then reinstall.

I will do that, thanks for the help everyone!

[Psyrus]

Since it happens in VBF2 as well, the problem points to your BF2 installation. I had a similar issue as well... I fixed it (and many other problems) by removing my \My Documents\Battlefield 2\ folder, then opening up VBF2, retrieving my account & then logging in. After that, try starting up Project Reality, and it should work fine.

[Sidewinder Zulu]

Sorry to have to dredge this thread up again, but the problem is still occurring!

I couldn't find my old BF2 CD key, so I had to go out and buy a new copy of the game (luckily it was only like seven dollars) and then I totally uninstalled PR, uninstalled BF2, and then installed the new BF2 disc.

The installation went fine, and I started BF2, logged in and everything, all the servers were there, so it looked like it was fixed.

But then as soon as I installed PR and tried to run it again, the same exact problem as before happened.
The Dog tags screen came up, the screen went black, as it always does before going to the BSS logo and stuff, but then the game just CTD. Same as before, no error messages, nothing.
Keep in mind this is an entirely new copy of BF2, and both the old BF2 and PR have been uninstalled and then reinstalled.

Both BF2 and PR have worked without a problem for over two years, so I highly doubt it's something wrong with my computer itself, since this would have happened years ago if that was the case.

Anyway, any other suggestions as to what I could try?

[Johncro]

Sorry to have to dredge this thread up again, but the problem is still occurring!

I couldn't find my old BF2 CD key, so I had to go out and buy a new copy of the game (luckily it was only like seven dollars) and then I totally uninstalled PR, uninstalled BF2, and then installed the new BF2 disc.

The installation went fine, and I started BF2, logged in and everything, all the servers were there, so it looked like it was fixed.

But then as soon as I installed PR and tried to run it again, the same exact problem as before happened.
The Dog tags screen came up, the screen went black, as it always does before going to the BSS logo and stuff, but then the game just CTD. Same as before, no error messages, nothing.
Keep in mind this is an entirely new copy of BF2, and both the old BF2 and PR have been uninstalled and then reinstalled.

Both BF2 and PR have worked without a problem for over two years, so I highly doubt it's something wrong with my computer itself, since this would have happened years ago if that was the case.

Anyway, any other suggestions as to what I could try?

I doubt this is a good answer.
But maybe you comouter can't handle it???
I know it probably does... But i had to ask it?

[Sidewinder Zulu]

I doubt this is a good answer.
But maybe you comouter can't handle it???
I know it probably does... But i had to ask it?

I had considered that.

But my computer wasn't even manufactured until three years after BF2 was made..

My video card is not very strong (Geforce Go 7400) but it ran BF2 and PR on medium-high settings just fine for over two years, without a single error.
I don't know why this problem would randomly start now...

If that's the case, however, then so be it.
I'm getting a new computer this Winter or Spring anyway, but I'd just like to know if this is actually the problem or not.
Any thoughts?

Also, just to add, I checked out the BF2 forums to see what they said, and apparently there are tons of people having this problem, and it only started recently.

However, a lot of them have graphics cards that are below the requirements for running BF2, yet mine meets all the requirements, ran fine for over two years, and now doesn't work. So my problem is even weirder.
I also checked the BF2 "EAsy info", and the game says my comp meets all the video card and memory requirements. The only one it doesn't meet is the operating system (it says Windows XP, but I have Vista) but I run the game in compatibility mode and always have, so that's never been a problem.

[Sidewinder Zulu]

Well, I just randomly tried starting PR again, and it worked!

Dunno what fixed the problem, but I can play again.
I did have one random CTD about an hour in, but I think that's because I need to update Punkbuster.

Anyway, thanks for all the help guys, good to be back in the game!