Unable to reinstall game program(s)

Hello I don't know if this is the appropriate place to ask for such advice but here goes. About 6 months ago I removed some games from my HD as I was having some free space issues. The space issue has now been resolved and I have come to reinstall them but they fail to do so. The games appear to load OK from the CDs but when I try to play them the monitor appears to switch into standby mode. I can get back to the desktop by hitting the MS button on the keyboard. The game is shown as running on the taskbar (and I cannot 'close' it by hitting the right mouse key). I have tried downloading the demo game from the producer's website with the same results (ie black screen and monitor clicks to standby) This may be a little specific for such a forum as this but I am wondering whether this indicates a graphical problem with my machine. The games were running fine before I removed them. (The game(s) concerned are the 'Combat Mission' series from Battlefront) Any help would be appreciated. Regards Nelclaret (PS my favourite games too!)

Hi nelclaret Just to clarify, is it only those games or do you have the same problem with other games aswell?? If its only the games in question, did you make sure that you removed all the regkeys first time you uninstalled? Asking, because it sounds like there is some old settings for the game conflicting with the new installation. Regards Abydos

Thanks for the reply. Other games seem to run OK. I used the standard Windows 'uninstall' to remove the games. Sorry, I don't kmow about 'regkeys' - can you enlighten me on this? {you can assume you are talking to a PC moron!) Thanks Nelclaret

Hi nelclaret

When you are uninstalling programs, windows doesn't always get rid of unused / old regkeyes. Regkeys can for example be the program-entries your systems search for on the harddisk. Unused regkeys / old regkeys just clutter up your hard-disk, making it harder and longer time spent for your HD to find the right one. In your case, it may be that you have two for the game in question, and windows just take the first available (e.g. the wrong one)

I use programs named Ccleaner and Revo Uninstaller to help me with regkeys. You can find dedicated regcleaner programs, but not all are good, sometimes deleting more than they should! Try read the two articles on the main-page on the subject.

Ccleaner can be found here

And Revo Uninstaller here
(This program trace down the reg.keys when you uninstalls a program via Revo Uninstaller, be sure to only delete reg.keys presented in bold text)

Both programs are free of charge.

Be sure to familiarize yourself with the programs in question and if you have any further question, i'll gladly answer them.

Just a note on Ccleaner; When you use the cleaner, uncheck cookies if you want to keep those (For remembered passwords, settings on various site etc.). Ccleaner's reg.cleaner option is the blue cube. It'll ask if you want to make a save to backup your systems reg.base, just answer yes if you are a little unsecure about the program. Also remember under installation to uncheck "install yahoo toolbar" if you don't want it.

Regards Abydos

Thanks for this, Abydos. I already use Ccleaner fairly religiously as well as RegScrubXP, Would these have caught any stray regkeys from the games do you think. I have downloaded Revo uninstaller as suggested but I have not used it yet (as the games aren't loaded). Will it do any good to load the game and then unload it via Revo to see if it will catch any stray Regkeys or have I got the wrong end of the stick? I am still thinking that it might be a graphics problem as I have had problems with screen/cursor freezes since the game(s) last run. Thanks again for your time. Nelclaret

Hi nelclaret

No, it won't do any harm to try uninstall the game with Revo. You should do it in advanced mode, to be sure it gets as much as possible.
Then you could try install it again to see if it helps. But please read below before you do.

If you think its your graphics thats the culprit, have you checked your drivers? Try see if there is a newer one available. Game freezes and cursor problems within the game might also suggest it could be a directX problem. To check you have the right DirectX installed, go to start->run->write: DXdiag, hit return. It will ask you whether or not it should get info via the net, any answer here will do. Altho a no will be somewhat quicker and have no impact to descern what directx you have. You can also check your graphic acceleration while your there. Under the the tab Monitor i think, you can test and see if you have Directdraw and direct3d activated.

I dont know regscrubXP, but i am always cautious with registry cleaners, reason i use Ccleaner is that it aint to aggressive. The last thing you want is a damaged registry.

Kind regards Abydos

Abydos just to let you know that I have managed to install the games. I used SFC scannow with the original XP disk and this seems to have done the trick. Thanks for your time. Nelclaret

Hi Nelclaret Glad it worked out in a positive way for you Hmm, SFC /scannow would mean that you had a damaged or missing file. The darn about that, is there is no log for it. LOL i would so very much have liked to see which file that could have been. A file that is selective about games, well, guess i shall learn every day As long as it works. Kind regards Abydos