Can't load PR

[Connzcdf]

Hello I'm new to the forums, and I have looked at different threads but none of the solutions work, so I'm making my own thread. Well when I press on it it comes up with the Splash Screen (The one with dogtags!) It then comes up with pr.exe has stopped responding, and it just stays there. My normal BF2 works 100% fine. I have re-installed both BF2 and PR. Here's my specs:

OS - Windows 7 64-bit
CPU - AMD Athlon II x4
MEM - 4gb
HDD - 1tb
VGA - 9200 Intergrated NVIDIA GeForce

Any help would be greatly welcomed and thanked.

[LITOralis.nMd]

Hello, welcome to the PR community,

I'm posting the short version of the installation directions below, the link to the long version of the installation directions is also below.

If you know you installed correctly, make sure you ALWAYS start PR.exe AS AN ADMIN.

On the bottom of the quote below is the way to find out what is the cause of PR to freeze up and not respond. Try that and let us know.

And finally, did you install PR on a Windows User Account with Admin privileges?

LITOralis.nMd;1797950']Not sure how far along in the installation process you are, or if you are thinking or starting a reinstall again from scratch:

Here is the installation guide with download links:
https://www.realitymod.com/forum/f27-pr ... guide.html

Here is the installation guide in tl;dr format:

Install BF2.
Run BF2.
Note the version number on the bottom left corner of the log-in screen. Write it down.
log in or create a user account.
join online game.
adjust your audio and video settings now for convenience.
exit BF2.
Reboot.

install 1.41 FULL PATCH.
Run BF2.
log in.
join online game.
exit BF2.
Reboot.

install 1.5 PATCH.
Run BF2.
log in.
join online game.
exit BF2.
Reboot.

Download and install 0.973 full installer.
Start the PR shortcut on desktop.
log in.
join online game.

If you crash at the splash screen, or the screen goes black and then crashes to desktop, try to start PR in windowed mode by following the directions below:

Edit your PR shortcut and ( what AfterDune said ) put this in it

Code: Select all

"D:\Program Files\Battlefield 2\mods\pr\pr.exe" +restart +menu 1 +fullscreen 0 +szx 1280 +szy 720

Dont just copy paste this, but adjust to your install location. Make sure you dont omit quotation marks or it wont work.

If you start in windowed mode and it CTDs, a Message will pop up telling you the problem. Take a screenshot or write this down and post it to this thread.

You can then download the PR:Vietnam, PR:Normandy, PR:Falklands and Anders Soundmod at your discretion.

[Connzcdf]

Hey cheers for helping, and ye it works, then when I log in it come up with an error saying:

You must use 'pr.exe' to run Project Reality.

Please update your shortcuts as required.
Example:
"C:\Program Files\EA Games\ Battlefield 2\mods\pr\pr.exe"
instead of:
"C:\Program Files\EA Games\ Battlefield 2\bf2.exe"

Sorry I don't know how to do images on forums.
Also I did try to edit it with what it says but windows says its wrong even though I know the path is correct. Cheers again for the help!

[LITOralis.nMd]

Right, you are running into one of two common problems.
Answer this, what version of Battlefield2 do you have installed?
Steam, EADM/Origin, Retail CD, etc. ??


Let's try this first:
Easy solution here,

Open up Explorer and
go find your pr.exe

Right click on PR.exe and "Run as Administrator"

Default location for retail CD is "C:\Program Files\EA Games\ Battlefield 2\mods\pr\pr.exe"
Default location for Steam is inside your Steamapps directory, Battlefield 2\mods\pr\pr.exe
Sorry, I forgot the default location for EADM/Origin (my bad)


P.S.
Just to state this, you can NOT run PR using the /mod command line on the BF2.exe file.


If that solves the windows/PR freezing, but you still crash at the loading screen, then Right Click on your PR.exe file inside the installation directory and add the command line stuff above, adjusting the example below for your installation location. Make sure the Quotation marks are in the right place and there is a space between the pr.exe" +restart when you type it out.

[html]"D:\Program Files\Battlefield 2\mods\pr\pr.exe" +restart +menu 1 +fullscreen 0 +szx 1280 +szy 720[/html]

[LITOralis.nMd]

OK, there is a second possible solution.

If you are using Steam install of BF2, you MUST DISABLE THE STEAM OVERLAY before starting PR.

If you are using Steam install of BF2 You have to (well as a noobie you should do this for convenience) add PR.exe to the "non-steam" games list under the games tab



For your reference,
Here is an old reply with the same problem:

Q: After logging into PR, I get an error message You must use "pr.exe" to run Project Reality. Please update your shortcuts as required.

A: Firstly, take note of the message under that, IF YOU HAVE JUST CREATED A NEW ACCOUNT, PLEASE RESTART PROJECT REALITY. So, if you have just created or retrieved an account, simply quit out of PR, then launch it again. It should allow you to log in.

If the error still shows, then you are not using "pr.exe" to run Project Reality. You cannot launch PR from the community tab in BF2, it must be launched from pr.exe. Check your desktop shortcuts, and make sure it looks similar to this:

(Default Directory 32bit Windows)
Target:
"C:\Program Files\EA Games\Battlefield 2\mods\pr\pr.exe"

Start In:
"C:\Program Files\EA Games\Battlefield 2\mods\pr"

Target:
Default Directory 64bit Windows
"C:\Program Files (x86)\EA GAMES\Battlefield 2\mods\pr\pr.exe"

Start In:
"C:\Program Files (x86)\EA GAMES\Battlefield 2\mods\pr"

If that STILL doesn't work, you are sure that you are using pr.exe, but you still get the error, try deleting your My Documents/Battlefield 2 folder, launch PR, retrieve your account, restart PR, then see if that works.

[LITOralis.nMd]

And the third and easiest solution:

Go to Documents\Battlefield 2\mods and delete everything.
This deletes the shader cache which might be corrupted upon first creation if PR.exe crashes the first time it is executed.

[Connzcdf]

Oops sorry didn't realise you were posting more

[Connzcdf]

Sorry for double post but no nothings happened at all I get the same error everytime. Really sorry. Is there anything else I can do?

[LITOralis.nMd]

Answer this, what version of Battlefield2 do you have installed?
Steam, EADM/Origin, Retail CD, etc. ??

What is your screen resolution?

We could be hitting a hardware limitation with your VGA - 9200 Intergrated NVIDIA GeForce graphics card. PR uses substantially more graphics power than vanilla BF2.

Try opening vanilla BF2 and lowering ALL of the graphics options to Low, and set the resolution as low as possible. Save the changes, and join an online server for a moment to make sure the changes have stuck.
Exit vanilla BF2,
Start PR.exe using the command line shortcut above.
Let me know if it works.

I'm afraid to say that I believe your graphics card might be running out of shared VRAM while trying to load up the texture files for PR.

The 9200 has only 8 shaders, it is fast enough for 720p mkvs through WMP/MPC, 720p youtube, but generally not fast enough for gaming or 1080p.

P.S. A quick look on scan.co.uk shows some AMD HD 6570 and HD 6670 for about 50 quid inc. VAT, they are low power, and can run PR at max settings. It's possible to find a used card locally that can also run PR at max settings.
PLEASE check the Wattage rating of your PC's power supply before buying a video card. You need enough juice to make the card run.

[Connzcdf]

I'm using the steam one and I'm just getting the:

You must use 'pr.exe' to run Project Reality.

Please update your shortcuts as required.
Example:
"C:\Program Files\EA Games\ Battlefield 2\mods\pr\pr.exe"
instead of:
"C:\Program Files\EA Games\ Battlefield 2\bf2.exe"

Cheers for everything again!

[LITOralis.nMd]

Did you wrap more quotes around it? This should really be it:

"C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Battlefield 2\mods\pr\pr.exe" +restart +menu 1 +fullscreen 0 +szx 1280 +szy 720

I'm out of ideas, I think the shared RAM is crashing PR, but I'm not sure.

[Comodeus76]

Bit of an old post but might still be relevant for others.
I had the same problem (and setup) as topicstarter.

I have found a way around the problem of the crash.

Load the game using the +fullscreen command mentioned above.
RETRIEVE UR INFO AS MENTIONED ABOVE.

Now exit game and loadup and login with ur gamename/pw.
(also as mentioned above btw).

In game go to options, reset ur screenres to same as desktopres.
Aply and exit PR.

Now restart the game and it should work.

I also think the install mashes up something in the playersettingsfile.
(as mentioned above, )

[Cavazos]

What do you mean by shared RAM? And i've tried all these options using Steam 64 bit. Ever since I upgraded to Steam I cannot run this game. I don't get any popup when it crashes and tried changing resolution.

[Cavazos]

So far I been slowly fixing the issue. A combination of changing from Steam BF2 to CD BF2, ensuring there are no issues with my RAM but removing some and making sure my computer can use it all (I used to be 32 bit but had 6 GB of RAM which only 2.75 was usable, disabling my standard sound stuff in Device Manager except my new device card as that caused crashing as well.. and changing my newly paid Webroot to something else fixing my load times on 64 bit.

This.. weekend.. has.. sucked.. so.. bad. I think i'm almost there though. I got regular PR working now without addons.