Calling all experts, please help? In preparation for a CF2.0 mod, I have been trying to get an original, disk copy, of Freelancer to run on a recently rebuilt Windows 7 Pro, x64. I have been playing FL in SP and occasionally MP mode for many years and installed FL on many x32 bit machines without issue.
Although, the program appears to install all the files correctly in the C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Games\Freelancer folder, it will not run and crashes out immediately.
My hardware is: x2 Twin Core AMD 2.4GHz 2216 CPUs on a Tyan Opteron n3600 Thunder x64, with 16BG RAM, a Nvidia Quadro FX1500 graphics card and a creative SB X-Fi Sound Card. The following is my method and diagnostics.
After loading disk into drive, I used the Explorer Properties to set the Compatibility on the setup.exe to "Windows XP-SP3" and "Run As Administrator." I then turned off the Windows Defender AV and installed the game as normal. After installation, I manually checked and set all .exe and dll files in \Freelancer\EXE folder to the same Compatibility as above and even set the Security to Full Control for my User Account for all files. I have also set the UAC on the Control Panel to minimum. I then updated the "flconfigdatabase" file with my GPU ID using 0x029e = "Quadro FX 1500". I have set my Display Resolution to 1280 x 960 for a 4:3 aspect ratio, as per FLs original install instructions and also turned off SB X-Fi 3D sound. Even though Windows Defender is still showing as Real-Time Protection as off, I set an Exception entry for the Freelancer folder. I also conducted a separate check of rundll32.exe which works ok. Yet Freelancer still will not run when starting from installed folder or desktop shortcut. Does anyone have any experience of getting FL to run correctly on Windows 7 x64?
Fresh install, original disk, Freelancer will not run on Windows 7 x64, Please Help? [SOLVED]
- EddtheHat
- Thread is marked as Resolved.
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do you have a savegame folder somewhere?
if so try to remove it -
Hi Edd,
I running also Win7 64bit with a similar config but I don't edit the flconfigdatabase, using the Desktop resolution of 1900x1200 and have not set the compatible mode to WinXP even during Installation. Is your Installation Folder read only?
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dunno
i did run the game for years on that OSi always installed the OS then directx9c and then the game
more never was required -
@EddtheHat hi, I had the same problem, this was the solution uninstall of the Windowsupdate 'KB3086255', maybe this helps you.
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See if you can rip the ISO from your disk and mount the image using Daemon tools. Totally legal so long as you don't upload your iso to the Internet. My original disk is so scratched I had to do that. I also use Windows 7 64bit, so like someone suggested, make sure all updates are installed as well as direct x 9. Maybe run in compatibility mode?
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Here's what I did on Windows 7 64-bit:
- run install SETUP.EXE "As Administrator"
- clean install of Freelancer to C:\Games\Freelancer
- run Freelancer loader - set options to "3D sound" off.
- try to run Freelancer. Crashes when I try to load "new game".2nd try:
- clean install of Freelancer (running things "as administrator" as much as possible.
- installed patch 1.1 from Starport site.
- still crashed until I did the following:
- *** important - game only started working when I did this *** Delete entire "My Documents"\My Games\Freelancer directory.
- run freelancer loader - turn off 3d sound.
- running freelancer gives me error about it doesn't know about my graphics card. No, it wouldn't, my card came out about a decade after the game did. Turn off error.
- Works. Mostly. I got some glitches when going to equipment rooms in Kusari space - seems to reboot the graphics card. Weird, but I can put up with it. Finished the original plot anyway, which was my goal.Unfortunately, what worked for me might not work for you. Such is the way of software.
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in mod package is link which lead here to portal FAQ, where are given pretty detailed instructions how to activate CF 2.0 (and keep yourself from problems). You for example can find there also info, that is not needed install any patch.
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3d sound by default should be off
if thats not the case then the installtion went clearly wrongone problem I see here is that you installed FL after installing the mod
correct would be:
install FL -> install FLMM 1.31 -> install the mod -> activate the mod -
in mod package is link which lead here to portal FAQ, where are given pretty detailed instructions how to activate CF 2.0 (and keep yourself from problems). You for example can find there also info, that is not needed install any patch.
I was under the impression that this is the Freelancer forum, not the Crossfire mod forum. I was responding to someone having trouble running, to my understanding, vanilla Freelancer. OP mentioned that it was "in preparation" for the Crossfire mod. Not the mod itself.
I too had several issues trying to get this game to work under Windows 7. Without mods. Which is why I responded, since the "delete the Freelancer directory" wasn't something I would have thought of if I hadn't found one mention of it somewhere else.
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For a "clean" new instalation you must delete the savegames too.
In Win7 savegames are in:
Bibliotheken/Dokumente/Eigene Dokumente/My Games/Freelancer/Accts/SinglePlayer -
EddtheHat hi, I had the same problem, this was the solution uninstall of the Windowsupdate 'KB3086255', maybe this helps you.
Hi All and especially Elbe who I owe a great debt of thanks. I have been offline for several weeks because in my frustration over this problem I managed to scramble my machine and had to re-install the OS from scratch. I then got stuck in the latest Microsoft nightmare of "not being able to run Windows Update". Thankfully I eventually solved the update problem and returned here to see if the community had any more advice. Elbe you were 100% correct; Microsoft's KB3086255 update stops the Secure Driver service from working and FL, like many other games of its generation, actively use this Service to check for copyright before allowing it the run correctly. See: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/3086255 and September 2015 Windows updates KB3086255 breaks many games – My Online Security I simply re-enabled the service and started it and FL started and ran perfectly. So if you are reading this, please remember to check all of the basic advise offered on the forum and if you are still stuck see in the above updated is installed in your Windows 7 build. Thanks again Elbe.
