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FL install issue

The place to ask for technical help with running the demo or the full game...

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Davey999

Post Sun Nov 30, 2003 9:20 pm

FL install issue

I know it's normally frowned upon, but I'm going to repeat my post in its own right (rather than on the back end of someone else's) in the hope that someone might read it and be able to help.

I must confess I haven't played FL for months and fancied having another crack at it. Since then I've changed my motherboard and processor (was Epox 8K3A with XP1800, now Abit NF7 with XP2500 - still running Win2K SP4) but didn't think this would have any bearing. Changing the motherboard obviously necessitated a clean install of Windows.

I have been unable to install as the installer starts running and after a while puts up a message saying that either: a) low memory or b) one of the .cab files is corrupt. a) is unlikely as I've got 512MB, had no other apps running and had closed everything in the system tray (including disabling my virus checker) and plenty of HDD space (40GB drive, 30GB of which is empty). b) seemed just as unlikely as FL had installed first time no problem on my old system and not only that, how could the file have suddenly become corrupt when it's burnt on a CD?

I found Blitzy's post on here and have uncompressed the .cab files and copied/pasted the .exe but when I try and run it, I get an error message saying that the machine is unable to find a file called 'Common.dll'. Does this ring any bells?

I'm mystified why I couldn't just install FL off the CD as before. The only changes to my system are those listed (albeit pretty big changes!), the actual RAM in the machine is exactly the same PC2700 stick that the old system had.

This is a stupid situation - never before have I had a perfectly kosher CD that works with one hardware configuration but not another. If I could actually install the program and then encountered a hardware issue when I ran it I could understand it, but to not even be able to install is unacceptable.

term0shad

Post Sun Nov 30, 2003 9:29 pm

try damin tools running in back ground if you cant find it email me ill send you a link at term)[email protected]


mess with the best die like the rest or be terminated from the shadows

lvxoccvlta

Post Tue Dec 02, 2003 6:22 pm

Norton Systemworks, if you have it, could be harmful to FreeLancer.

I had similar problems with FL when I had Norton installed.. norton invades every aspect of windows and attaches itself like a bad rash that doesnt go away.

Davey999

Post Tue Dec 02, 2003 8:02 pm

Nope, Norton Systemworks has never been anywhere near this machine. My firewall is provided by my router and I use McAfee VirusScan, although the virus checker was turned off when I was trying to install.

Emailed termoshad like he asked above ... still awaiting his reply

term0shad

Post Wed Dec 03, 2003 2:38 am

you should of got link if that dont work ill send the file to u


mess with the best die like the rest or be terminated from the shadows

corwin02

Post Wed Dec 03, 2003 2:45 pm

The problem could be rather simple actually and the fix is the same for all

1. your cd could have a scratch
2. your cd could be dirty
3. your cd drives buffers could be overrun

and numerous others

The fix is very simple , go to explorer , make a folder on your hard disk (eg. C:\freecd) copy the entire cd to the directory
then preform the install from the directory instead of the CD
(Note : you will still need the cd to play the game)

If common.dll is the only problem you have you could also try to register the dll yourself by using regsrv32





Time is too short to hate everybody , just hate a few

Davey999

Post Wed Dec 03, 2003 9:12 pm

Just tried copying the contents of the CD to my hard disk and I got the same result:

'Setup failed to extract files from C:FreeCD/Cab1.CAB. This is most likely caused by low memory (low disk space for swapping file) or a corrupted cabinet file. Please restart your machine and run setup again.'

That rules out any fault with my CD drive I would have thought. The CD itself looks undamaged, I've had plenty in worse condition than this that have still been usable, although I don't make a habit of keeping CDs out of their cases.

Sorry for being a noob, but how do I go about registering the common.dll when I can't even find it?

Termoshad - could you try emailing me the file in question again and how to use it? I didn't receive a reply from you before

Getting to the stage now where I'll try anything in order to get this SOB to run ...

corwin02

Post Thu Dec 04, 2003 5:58 am

it sounds like a damaged cabfile to me , try recopying it from the cd and try to extract it manually (winzip will do that for you, to save you the hassle of using the crappy program called expand) and see if that works error free
also check your disk for errors (there are plenty of programs out there in the sharware domain that do a better job then wn2k's chkdsk)

If all else fails install freelancer on another computer copy the entire directory to your machine and run it (yes your can just copy the whole stuff)

Common.dll is in the freelancer directory under the EXE folder

and using regsvr32 is as simple as can be , type regsvr32 C:\[pathtodll\[dllname.dll



I know you have to remove the refrigerator door when placing it at the curb , but then the neighbours kid would get away for sure , damn moral dillema's

Davey999

Post Thu Dec 04, 2003 8:00 pm

corwin02, you are a goddamn genius. Installed it on my wife's machine and copied the files over to mine and the damn thing works!

So, the next question is ... why the hell would it install on her machine and not mine?

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