TECHNICAL ERRORS FAQ's

[vikrant]

LIST WILL BE UPDATED FREQUENTLY





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The 'MedievalShell' and the keyboard shortcut screen are opening unexpectedly when I use the keyboard controls.

>>>

This problem may occur if you are using a Microsoft wireless keyboard with an out of date version of the Intellisoft driver installed.

The latest version of the driver - 5.5 - can be downloaded from the Microsoft site here

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The text is distorted or corrupted in Medieval 2

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If you are seeing illegible or distorted text in Medieval 2 and you are using an ATi video card, you should try to toggle Catalyst A.I. in your Catalyst Control Centre.

To do this:

- Right-click on your desktop
- Choose Catalyst Control Centre from the menu that appears

The exact location of the Catalyst A.I. tick-box will vary depending on which version of the Catalyst Control Centre you are using. It can usually be found within the 3D options. If Catalyst A.I. is on, please turn it off. It it is off, please turn it on.

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I receive a Cyclic Redundancy Check when I try to install the game

>>>

If receive a Cyclic Redundancy Check error when trying to install Medieval Total War 2

1. First, check to see if there are any scratches, fingerprints, or marks of any kind on the disk surface. Something even as small as a piece of hair or a very light scratch can cause this error. If you find any fingerprints or debris try cleaning the CD with a dry, soft cotton cloth.

2. If you do not find any scratches, fingerprints, or marks of any kind on your CD, try renaming the InstallShield folder located in C:\Program Files\Common Files\InstallShield, to InstallShieldOld. Start the installation again to reinstall the InstallShield components with the newest version.

3. Close all background tasks

4. If you have any virus protection programs like Norton or McAfee, temporarily disable them by right clicking on the icon in the system tray (lower right corner of the desktop) and selecting "Disable" or "Exit". Also be sure to end all background programs before attempting installation, this is best done after a fresh reboot of the PC.

5. Download the SafeDisk update from the Macrovision website here

If the above does not work, try the following:

6. Make sure that you are logged in as the Administrator (for Windows XP Professional) or Owner (for Windows XP Home). This will usually be the first account that was created once Windows XP was fully installed. If you are not certain, contact the manufacturer of your PC for assistance in finding your Administrator/Owner account.

7. If you have an Administrator account, create a new account with Admin rights:

- Click Start
- Click Control Panel
- Click User Accounts
- Click Create New Account
- Choose account name eg. Games
- Click Next
- Choose Computer Administrator as Account Type
- Click Create

After the account has been created, Log Off via Start and Switch User

Choose the new account eg. Games to log in and install under this account.

8. If the previous steps did not work and you have sufficient hard drive space available, you can try copying the disk files to your hard drive and installing without the disk.

- Create a new folder on the desktop (just right-click on a blank portion of the screen and select New then Folder)
- Name the folder MTW2.
- Double-Click the new MTW2 folder to open it.
- Insert the 1st disk into the DVD-Rom drive and if the auto play starts, cancel it.
- Double-click My Computer to open it.
- Right-click on your DVD-Rom drive and choose Open
- When you see the contents of the disk in the Window, click on Edit at the top of the window and choose Select All
- All the contents of the disk should now be highlighted, click on Edit at the top of the window again and choose Copy
- Click on Edit at the top of the window and choose Paste. This will copy the contents of the disk into the MTW2 folder on your hard drive.
- Follow the steps above to copy the second disk - Once all the files have been copied, remove ALL CDs from any drives.
- Run Setup.exe to install the game

To save disk space, you can delete the MTW2 folder after the installation has completed.

If you cannot copy the CD contents to your hard drive or get the same error message when installing the game on another computer, then there is a possibility of the discs being defective, if you suspect this may be the case, please return the disk to the original retailer for a replacement.

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MP cd-key issues, how to resolve them

>>>

You're getting the error message:
"Login failed - invalid CD-key"

Right this is how to resolve (with thanks to various posters)
You cannot change the cd-key ingame anymore (most likely for the protection against illegal games), so you have to do other things.

Open Start
Click Run
Type: regedit
Now go to this: "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/SOFTWARE/SEGA/Medieval II Total War"

Now you'll see a value representing the CD-key. Change it to what it should be. You could have done the following wrong:
-Don't type spaces
-Do type the "-"s
-Don't use "o"s use "0"s
-Type everything (except for the numbers obviously) in capital letters

Now it should work, if it doesn't let us now ... preferably in the MP part

<<<
mixing ram speeds causing CTD
>>>
<insert smart answer here>





**** SUPPORT SITES
1 http://p223.ezboard.com/fshoguntotalwarfrm60

2 SEGA

[DarK_RTW]

Forum .com support link should probably be :
http://p223.ezboard.com/fshoguntotalwarfrm59

[theStig]

It would have been nice to ask if you could use my MP CD key guide [/lies]

Anyway, if I were you I would make an add to it.
Some people bought the so called CE edition (limited edition or something, I have no idea), anyway for them this doesn't work (maybe better: doesn't always work). They can try this:
uninstall
going into the register
deleting all traces of MTW2
reinstalling

it worked for 1 or 2 people, but also didn't work for others.

[dantheman3612]

I am in HKEY LOCAL MACHINE/ SOFTWARE/ SEGA/ M2TW and all I see is (default) reg_sez with no info in it. Please help I bought the game and really want to play with my friend.

[Albion Crusader]

If you've tried all the usual advice such as re-installing the game, updating directX, updating sound/video drivers etc and the game is still crashing to desktop, then it is likely that you have faulty RAM.

In order to test your RAM you can use a free program called memtest available here: http://www.memtest86.com

Full instructions on its use are given. You basically make a boot-able floppy or CD and reboot your PC, making sure that your PC boots first from the drive containing the memtest floppy/CD. Memtest will then automatically boot and will run tests on your RAM. It's recommended you leave it running for 8-10 hours overnight and print off a report in the morning which will show if any errors are found.

You don't have to adjust any of the settings in memtest. Simply reboot your PC and allow it to run by itself.

If you have more than one stick of RAM then make sure you only test one stick at a time.

If you're not sure of the results of the test then post it on any good technical support forum and ask for help.

I used to suffer from frequent CTDs when playing MTW2 (And Rome) and then, using memtest, I discovered that one of my RAM sticks was faulty. Now I never suffer CTDs and the game runs faster on 512MB than it did on 1024MB!

Happy hunting!

[vikrant]

thread merged to a stickied thread
great info

[Illyrian]

got a ctd when defending Gaza against Egypt. I had to autoresolve it, after it crashed for over 10 times. And autoresolve, i lost it. This blows

[WImPyTjeH]

Problem: Monitor goes into safe mode when you start a battle. (You some times get an error message with this name (depends on the manufacturer) in it *underlined in green*.

Solution: Download a new driver (first check what which company manufactured your video card by clicking Start < Run < type in: dxdiag < Display < Manufacturer *underlined in red*). Make sure you download the right driver *underlined in blue*. Uninstal your current driver (Start < Control Panel < System < Hardware < Hardware Wizard < + Display adapters < right click on your current driver and uninstal) . Restart Windows and instal your new driver.



ATI Drivers
When you've selected the right options, you'll get the download window. There you have two download options: Catalyst Software Suite and Display Driver. Download the Display Driver (just without the Catalyst Control Center)

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(I had the same problem and this solved it)

[Daneboy]

Dang!!!WlmPyTJEH.. I am so marying you. I have that exact problem. THAnks. These forums rocks.

[mAIOR]

Hey. I have that missing text option however, I can't seem to find the "Catalyst AI thingy. I don't hace the Catalyst option when I press the right button on my desktop so I went trough Properties, advanced and there I found the Catalyst controls. however I have not the Catalyst AI option there. Am I doing something wrong??
My grafics card is an ATI 9700 Mobility.

Cheers...

[Daneboy]

Problem: Monitor goes into safe mode when you start a battle. (You some times get an error message with this name (depends on the manufacturer) in it *underlined in green*.

Solution: Download a new driver (first check what which company manufactured your video card by clicking Start < Run < type in: dxdiag < Display < Manufacturer *underlined in red*). Make sure you download the right driver *underlined in blue*. Uninstal your current driver (Start < Control Panel < System < Hardware < Hardware Wizard < + Display adapters < right click on your current driver and uninstal) . Restart Windows and instal your new driver.



NDIVIA Drivers
ATI Drivers

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(I had the same problem and this solved it)

This also sorted me out. I had to install the catalyst control center 6.11. Had a hard time installing the microsoft.net version 2, that was required.
But I never deinstalled my driver before installing the CCC 6.11.

[WImPyTjeH]

Yeah, i've checked it and it's best if you just download the Display Driver instead of the Catalyst Software Suite. It will spare you a lot of stupid messages:wink:

so when you've selected your driver, you get the download window. There you have two download options: Catalyst Software Suite and Display Driver. download the Display Driver (just without the Catalyst Control Center)

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[fruXzu]

My medeival 2 game keeps shutting down my computer 2 or 3 minutes in the game everytime i play Grand Campaign or in a battle, but not on the menu screen. My game would freeze for 1 second and then shuts down. I played the game for about 4 days i think and i had no problems. Problem began when i started entering cheat using the "~" in the game, example. add_money 12345. I uninstalled the game and installed it again but im still getting the problem. I downloaded the latest drivers for my computer and it still doesnt work.
I have:

Processor: Intel(R) Pentium(R) 4 CPU 3.00GHz
Operating System: Windows XP Home Edition (5.1, Build 2600) Service Pack 2 (2600.xpsp_sp2_gdr.050301-1519)
Video Card: ATI Radeon 9550 256 MB, Driver Version: 6.14.0010.6652(English)
Sound Device: Realtek AC97 Audio, Driver Version: 5.10.0000.6190(English)
Memory: 512 MB RAM
System Model: MS-7071
Bios: Phoenix - AwardBIOS v6.00PG
System Manufacturer: MICRO-STAR INTERNATIONAL CO., LTD
DirectX Version: DirectX 9.0c (4.09.0000.0904)

Please, Anyone know the problem and how to fix it.

[DMZ333]

yo, when i try to install my game, i get the evil blue screen of death, it asks me to restart,i try it again and same thing happens, y does it do this and wut can i do to keep this from happening and how can i fix it so i can play my game???

please help, i am anxious to play, it sounds like an awesome game

[prosoccer268]

AHHHH! I bought the game, and I was happy, but it wasn't working. I typed the CD key in the right spot, but it wasn't letting me press "NEXT". I typed the CD key right, but it won't let me continue on. It has 18 characters (without hyphens) and 4 with it. Does this fill up the required space? And what should the pass look like? AAAA-AAA-AAA-AAAA-AAAA

[sicko]

5. Download the SafeDisk update from the Macrovision website here

This step.. can u show me a link to that update..? (cant find it lol)

[Combat Wombat]

Yeah I need that link too dudes? I can't find anything on the macrovision site about it aside from pdf files.

EDIT: I think this is it dude. http://www.macrovision.com/products/...c/safedisc.exe

[prosoccer268]

please help...

[prosoccer268]

k, somehow i got it working! But a new problem is starting to occur. Everytime I try to start a game, it takes a while to load, and the screen goes black. A box pops up saying "Microsoft Windows detected and reovered from a device failure." What should I do?

[WImPyTjeH]

k, somehow i got it working! But a new problem is starting to occur. Everytime I try to start a game, it takes a while to load, and the screen goes black. A box pops up saying "Microsoft Windows detected and reovered from a device failure." What should I do?

If you have a radeon card then you should do this:
http://www.twcenter.net/forums/showthread.php?t=69555

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