Crossfire 2.0 XP Installation Maladies

Evening all,

Well, despite my best efforts I've yet to get Crossfire 2.0 up and running on my old laptop that runs XP as the OS (Currently at SP 2. More on that in a moment). First off, the error that I get when I attempt to launch the Crossfire SP/MP update menu reads something like this;

FREELANCER.EXE - Unable to Locate Component

"This application has failed to start because MSVCR100.dll was not found. Re-installing the application may fix this problem."

Hopefully that spurs a "I know what that is!" reaction, but if not I'll go into a little more detail. I started with a clean installation of Freelancer. Installed the MOD manager provided with the 2.0 zip download. Installed Crossfire 2.0 and the C++ bit with it (I had grabbed Microsoft Framework 4 ahead of time as I had read 4.5 isn't supported on XP). Rebooted for good measure. Ran the MOD manager. That went off without a hitch. Tried to launch the game and that error was thrown.

Past experience with mods (and crossfire releases) has taught me sometimes you need to just do it again and hope for different results, because you might just get them. So I uninstalled and deleted all related files and folders, put on a new clean install of freelancer (this time testing to make sure that it worked pre-modding), then continued with the installation by the book. Same end result.

So, I tried it again. Same routine as before, only "killing" my virus protection; just in case. Turns out third time wasn't a charm. Now I'm starting to scratch my head a bit. I uninstall/delete all files and folders again, reinstall vanilla Freelancer, and this time copy the system folder out as a backup. Then I proceed with the installation as before. Same error. Figuring "Why not at this point?" I copy the vanilla folder back into the system folder and try again. Same error (not that I actually expected that to do anything.) That when it gets weird.

While I was thinking what to do next, the game launches (but it doesn't launch the update sp/mp interface with all the links) Goes through the NEW opening videos, gets to the load screen before the main menu, then *poof!* it crashes. At this point I'm befuddled, so I move on to plan B - install everything on my desktop, which runs that "plays well with nothing" OS called Vista, SP Who-cares-I'm-upgrading-to-something-else-someday-anyway. Install everything, fire it up, launcher appears, updates, runs like a top (except the server was down that night per further research here on the forum).

Only real differences on the installations? One machine runs an outdated SP of XP and can't use framework 4.5, and the other runs something somewhat on par with windows 7 and can use all the latest and greatest updates as it's still supported. Mostly.

I'll continue troubleshooting on my laptop, though hopefully someone knows of the problem I face and it's something as simple as "check this box in this menu". Just finished another clean installation cycle before writing this up, this time adding "Removed all write protection from the files and folders" after each stage of the installation to the list. Back to just the launch error (same one). I couldn't find anything after numerous searches of the forums, however, so I broke my usual silent forum stalking to see if anyone has at least seen it before. Worst case scenario I'll resign myself to using the desktop until the budget allows putting this old HP zv6000 into retirement. Not ideal, as I live away from home during the workweek and this well-seasoned machine continues to serve me well as my sole source of digital entertainment after work, but I least I'll have a way to get into the 'verse on occasions.

Cheers!

Hello everyone!

Apologies for the delay in getting back on here; been a busy couple of days.

Firstly, thanks for the warm welcome SA_Martind Forlon! I've started combing through the forum discussion you linked for anything that might help get it up and running. Looks like that'll be a wealth of knowledge once I get things running and it starts breaking. First goal is to get it to the point were I at least get a launcher, broken or not. That said, there is a lot of info in there, so I may yet run across something.

Wanderer and SA_Trinity,

I tracked down the MSVCR100.dl2 file, copied out an untouched version, renamed it, and tried to launch again. It threw a very similar error message at me as a result;

FREELANCER.EXE - Unable to Locate Component

"This application has failed to start because MSVCP100.dll was not found. Re-installing the application may fix this problem."

Pretty sure my machine is messing with me at this point. I couldn't find a file with MSVCP100 in the name, so for fun I put another copy of the MSVCR100.dl2 file into the directory and renamed it to the NEW missing file. Now, keep in mind I never expected it to work, just wanted to see what would happen at this point. It threw the following error;

Freelancer.exe - Entry Point Not Found

"The procedure entry point ?_Orphan_all@_Container_base0@std@@QAEXXZ could not be located in the dynamic link library MSVCP100.dll"

Worth a shot, were it only so easy. I'm currently in the process of updating to SP3 and running any updates that incurs. opefully that puts my system more at the baseline of other XP users. Then I'll try a nice, new, clean installation attempt of FL and get back on here with the results. I'll keep an eye on here while doing that in the event the collective knowledge base here on the forums have any more ideas come my way.

Thanks again all for taking the time to chime in! It is appreciated.

- Ranger

Good morning everyone!

I upgraded my system to SP3, and per Silverfox's recommendation installed MS C++ 2010. To clarify on the C++ package I was using, it was 2008; that's the version that piggybacked with my 2.0 zip file download.

With all of that, the installation seems to have worked! Now I'm running into an issue with the launcher freezing shortly after it fires up. From the link Martind Forlon provided early in this thread, it looks like I have a very similar issue to what you had, Wanderer. I know my launcher ends up looking identical to the screenshot you posted at the beginning of that thread.

I'll look more into how to approach that tonight after work. Just wanted to give everyone a progress report. One step closer, it seems!

Thanks everyone!

- Ranger

Alright, good and bad news.

The good news; I got the issue of the freezing/crashing launcher resolved after very briefly poking around the thread I mentioned above. (read/write access settings. Imagine that) Updates no problem now.

The bad news; the game crashes after a few moments of sitting in the load screen that follows the opening cinematic. I'm fairly certain I've seen that issue crop up on other threads, so I'll continue to investigate as I find the time. That said, if someone happens to pass through with the quick fix version or a link to the portion of a relevant thread, any little bit to speed things up would continue to be most helpful.

Hopefully I'm on the home stretch, now!

- Ranger

Another day, another installation.

I've yet to find a solution to the issue of it crashing once it hits the load screen. I did a fresh installation of everything now that my system has all the tools to run the launcher, got rid of the opening cinematics to speed things up a bit, and removed the read only access on files, tried again.

Still crashing.

I'm going to step away from this project for the weekend as after a week it's starting to get under my skin. That, and I know it works without any fuss on my desktop at home, if I get the time to run it. I'll come back to it again with a fresh mind next week. Hopefully I can find a solution that doesn't involve upgrading my hardware.

- Ranger

Hi all! Sorry about the delay in getting back to this. A re-installation of everything on my laptop pretty much renders it useless for a few hours while it churns away, so I've been neglecting working with it during work nights.

I've done a few clean installations since last posting here. To answer the above question I have made a point of making sure that saved games folder is deleted and removed from the recycle bin. I encountered an identical crash on my desktop when I set some of the shaders and graphics to something it didn't like. Thinking that might be the problem I did my latest installation using vanilla FL settings where available. Still crashes after the load screen before the main menu.

At this point I think I'm dubbing it a lost cause for my laptop and will stick to playing it on weekends when I have my desktop on hand; less frustration that way, and I won't play it to death that way. Plus means I can start using this thing for Netflix...and Morrowind. Vanilla FL runs like a champ, and while my laptop isn't a graphical gaming powerhouse, it used to run 1.7 (and maybe 1.8) series of releases for crossfire without any issues. Just something about the new one that it does not play well with. Still open to finding a solution, but I'm not actively troubleshooting one unless I happen across something promising.

That said, my "Lance_DeWes" character seems to have survived the server sands of times, so at present, that's the name you'll find me under online. See you in the 'verse!

-Ranger