Strange error with CDs/DVDs

Gandelf · Post by **Gandelf** » Sat Oct 14, 2006 12:15 pm

Anyone able to help?

Some games I install require the CD or DVD to be in the drive before the game will load up. In some cases I get the message telling me to insert the correct disc, even though the disc is in the drive.

I've noticed though, that if I log out of my normal administrator account in Win XP, then long onto another account on the same computer, that the games work.

It's puzzling me. I guess it's something in the profile, but I'm not sure where to find it or what to do. So, does anyone have any information about what I should do please?

Thanks.

Post by **Xest** » Sat Oct 14, 2006 5:44 pm

Could just be that many games use idiotic copy protection now that means the games wont work regardless.

Do you have anything like Daemon Tools or Alcohol 120% installed? These can upset some copy protection mechanisms too.

Honestly, the best bet is to get a crack downloaded from http://www.gamecopyworld.com it's a sad sad day where you have to rely on pirates to make a game work where a publisher has broken it. May I ask which game it is? I had similar troubles like that with Command and Conquer The First Decade and LotR: BFME2. Frankly, I wont buy another game from EA on the PC until they start saying on the box that it hasn't got some idiotic copy protection mechanism that stops you from actually playing the game you've paid for.

Gandelf · Post by **Gandelf** » Sun Oct 15, 2006 11:45 am

Xest wrote:May I ask which game it is?

Well, it's happened with several games. At the moment it's Civilization IV that's causing the problem, but other games include:-

Vampire Bloodlines
Rome: Total War
Doom III
Ghostmaster

The thing is that I can play the games if I log on to another user account on the same computer. They just don't want to acknowledge the CD when I'm logged on to my standard user account.

Post by **Xest** » Sun Oct 15, 2006 2:25 pm

Onto a standard user account or an admin user account?

Gandelf · Post by **Gandelf** » Sun Oct 15, 2006 7:24 pm

It's really weird. On Admin accounts I get the problem, on limited accounts there are no problems??

Post by **Xest** » Sun Oct 15, 2006 9:06 pm

All admin accounts or just the one admin account?

Gandelf · Post by **Gandelf** » Mon Oct 16, 2006 11:41 am

All of 'em.

Luz · Post by **Luz** » Mon Oct 16, 2006 12:04 pm

Never ran into any of this in all my years of gaming.

Maybe you windows is broken somehow.
Maybe you should do a new account and move all your profile stuff to it ?

Post by **Xest** » Mon Oct 16, 2006 12:12 pm

If you turn an admin account that it doesn't work on into a limited account does it then work?

Cromcruaich · Post by **Cromcruaich** » Tue Oct 17, 2006 8:44 am

I'd say coincidence, but seems you can reproduce it reliably, so its a bit of a mystery.

And this sort of thing is pretty common with modern copy protection.

Its a long shot, but as I really can't think of any reason why it wouldnt work as admin (except for buggy copy protection that relys on read access to protected files or some such - you may of found a copy protection hack there gand!), but your not doing something else coincidental, like sticking it in a different dvd/cd when you retry it?