I can't even run Emperor: Battle for Dune - HELP!

MajorPay · #1 26-06-2001, 23:26

I have tried to run emperor, and the splash screen comes up and then kills. I have bought and returned four CD-ROMs. E.A. says they can't help past all the suggestions on their website and they know that it is a safedisc 2 problem. I never had problems with Shiny's Sacrifice - Damn E.A.
I am running M.E. and have tried a Sony CRX160e 12x10x32, an acer 2x2x6, and acer 32x, a creative labs 56x, a pinegroup 56x, and finally an IO Magic 52x.
I have returned the game once, thinking it was a bad CD. Maybe I could just get the cracked setup.exe? This has cost me a lot of money, time, and headache!!!!
e-mail me at [email protected]

GermanFlag · #2 27-06-2001, 06:29

You can install the game, but not play it?
That's strange, because already the Setup has a SafeDisc #####.

However:
Try this ISO crack:
www.germanflag.6x.to

Marxian · #3 27-06-2001, 06:44

I've had exactly the same problem! I too returned the game twice and got blown off by EA support! Most newer games don't seem to work, especially Operation Flashpoint! What the hell is going on? I have Colin Mcrae Rally 2 and it works fine!

GermanFlag · #4 27-06-2001, 10:06

Both, Emperor and OFP are SafeDisc2-protected (Colin 2 is SecuROM2-protected).

saba · #5 27-06-2001, 14:32

This is what I recieved from Westwood support after contacting them on the same issue:

"We are investigating the cause of the installation issues that are being reported by several Dune customers.....[blah]... the problem across different copies of the game."

They also said that it might be a "security issue" with certain CD-ROMS ("SafeDisc2" ?.. Me not saavy.)... but that wasn't the case with me (3 different CD-roms), and even more so, it definately isn't what's causing your problem.

not much help, sorry

Marxian · #6 27-06-2001, 17:32

The funny thing is even though the setup screen doesn't show on my P3650 either using the NEC DV 5700A DVD or the HP 9100i burner, when I tried to see if the game would install on my 7, that's right, 7 year old Cyrix Pentium with Win 95, the setup screen came up fine! Obviously I couldn't play it on this but it encouraged me to move the ancient CD drive to my newer rig, but guess what? The setup screen failed to show up as well!
I think it must be some problem with Win98SE or direct X, or the order all the crap has been piled onto the computer, gradually swamping Windows, or its some instructions in safedisk that screw things up. Obviously it can't be the CD readers for christsake, unless they have been getting cheaper and crappier in the last seven years!
What the hell is going on?
I can't get OpFlash or Conflict Zone to work either!

goreloozer · #7 27-06-2001, 18:34

Mine took 25 minutes to install..............then locks up after the westwood logo!!! I tried EVERY crack i could find...they dont werk for me!! I have backed up EVERY GAME ive ever owned! never failed [some real tough ones to!] This one..... forget about back ups.. i just want to play the darn thing!!!!!!!!

LordPyro · #8 28-06-2001, 04:23

the problem with safedisc 2 is that it is incompatable with some drives. also in the case of emperor the setup.exe is protected with safedisc 2 so that also needs to be cracked as well as emperor.exe before a backup can be made.

whiskeykid · #9 28-08-2003, 17:09

whiskeykid · #10 28-08-2003, 17:25

I also got prob playing emperor - bought , played got hooked . upgraded comp: and boot back to desktop every time untill forgot to install AGP drivers for m-board -then played well but frame-rate was poor. install agp driver and I see the menu but it kicks me back to desktop AGAIN! CD rom don't matter , even sony dvd burner won't play as cd rom- went to friend , installed copy of xp corp fresh, new GE-force TI 4200 and all drivers updated . low and behold it would play even on a clone cd copy. but on his rig it plays only 20 minutes or so and crashes.Older asus board and 750 amd t-bird proc .
I was running win xp home with all updates and 512 meg ddr , n-force m-board, 1800 proc. even patched from official site before they gave up the ghost. still no go . seems to run better on older systems but can't get it to run even with the compatability tab set to [95] [98] any thoughts? I was able to play this disk on older system but it is no longer available.
any and all help appreciated ---------------D

whiskeykid · #11 31-08-2003, 11:20

over labor day weekend I have set up a older comp[amd 600hz proc , generic m-board with 2x AGP, 128 sdr ram ,s3 savage4 diamond stealth 3 s540] -fresh install of xp pro corp. and emperor of dune played fine on it .
As i said in prev. reply my newer comp. [1800 proc 512 ddr ti 4200, n-force m-board] will not play unless I forget to install the chipset drivers for m-board- framerates drop but it will boot game past the menu start button, other-wise with agp drivers it goes back to desktop.
I recentlly installed a ATI aiw 7200 vid card on the n-force board and still no play.
So why does the older comp play it? is it the lack of sse instuctions for the 600hz proc? Or the 2x AGP slot and protocals.
I just tryed my clone cd backup [from an older version of clone cd one or two years old ] and it plays as well as the original.
I can't diagnose this further as I don't grok the software and security protocals , all I can do is change out the hardware.
untill I can run on the better comp I will get my fix on this old 600hz beast.
LONG LIVE THE FIGHTERS