Windows 7 Walkarounds (Halo 2 for Windows Vista)

[supersniper]

There are various methods to get Halo 2 for Windows Vista to work on Windows 7 and some work some don't.
Anyways here is a list of possible solutions below.

If you are one of the unfortunate players that cannot get Halo 2 to work on Windows 7 please see these methods below.

Method 1
DEADBL0W

Keeping things in perspective, this was never a Games for Windows -- LIVE issue, it was a problem that was addressed like several other products by the Windows development team.

If you are seeing errors with Halo 2 for Windows Vista, such as 'Failed to Initialize LIVE', then this KB article below should be your next step in resolving your issue. However, if the error still persist, for whatever reason, then you should contact Windows Support for assistance as this update is supported by them.

http://support.microsoft.com/KB/976264

As for the manual steps below, they were a spin off from the exact same issue occurring with folks running dedicated servers on Windows Server 2003, they have also been proven to work with Vista and Win 7; However, its a last resort approach and should be avoided unless the above patch fails to resolve your Halo 2 for Windows Vista problems.

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/941208

If you continue to experience problems with this error and Halo 2, then you should contact the support number provided in the manual specific to your country.

Here is the following troubleshooting steps I have done and so far have worked for me and a few friends
Try the following:

1) Run Command Prompt (run as Administrator):
2) Type: net stop cryptsvc and hit enter
3) You will receive a message stating that the service was stopped.
4) Navigate to your LocalDrive:/Windows/System32 and rename the "catroot2" folder to "cr2old"
5) Once it is renamed, go back to command prompt and run this command: net start cryptsvc which will restart the Cryptographic Services:



The above steps may work, however I have noticed that if it does when you exit to the desktop then try to relaunch or reboot the PC the error may come back. If this is true then the steps below have been so far successful.



1) Delete all the tmp*.cat files in the following folders (use the search option on the top right corner of the screen to find and delete the files):

%systemroot%\system32\CatRoot\{127D0A1D-4EF2-11D1-8608-00C04FC295EE} (there may be no files in this folder if that’s the case then only worry about the next folder)
%systemroot%\system32\CatRoot\{F750E6C3-38EE-11D1-85E5-00C04FC295EE} (if no items are found then go to the next step)



2) Delete all the kb*.cat files in the following folders (use the search option on the top right corner of the screen to find and delete the files):

%systemroot%\System32\CatRoot\{F750E6C3-38EE-11D1-85E5-00C04FC295EE} ( A pop up will ask that you need admin rights to delete, accept and delete, you may notice that they were deleted however still appear, if you refresh the screen they will be gone)
%systemroot%\System32\CatRoot\{127D0A1D-4EF2-11D1-8608-00C04FC295EE} (again skip if there is no files in the folders)



3) Delete all the oem*.* files from the %systemroot%\inf folder. (again use the search option on the top right hand corner of the screen to find and delete the files)

4) At the command prompt (Run as Administrator), type the following commands. Press ENTER after each command.

A) net stop cryptsvc
B) Next, Navigate to your LocalDrive:/Windows/System32 and delete the renamed Catroot2 folder we made previously and keep the “Catroot2” file
C) ren %systemroot%\System32\Catroot2 oldcatroot2
D) net start cryptsvc


5) Exit Command Prompt

6) Run halo 2



This should run successfully, even after exiting and re-launching halo 2 as well as after a reboot. Hopefully this helps and Please post back with results, as I'm sure the Mods would like to know the outcome

Source (http://forums.gamesforwindows.com/t/8958.aspx)

Method 2
GFWLMod

Looks like I am going to be giving another nod to our friends over at http://www.monstrmoose.com/ (in particular Squirrely)

A user has reported that they have a workaround for this, which is very similar to one for Halo2 dedicated servers (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/936688). It does not appear to "fix" the problem persey but it *should* (I cannot test this in house as I have no erroring system) allow you to play, even if you need to do this occasionally. I would like to ask some of our users who are having this issue, to give this a try:

Run Command Prompt (run as Administrator):

Type: net stop cryptsvc and hit enter
You will receive a message stating that the service was stopped. Navigate to your LocalDrive:/Windows/System32 and rename the "catroot2" folder to "cr2old"

Once it is renamed, go back to command prompt and run this command: net start cryptsvc which will restart the Cryptographic Services:

http://forums.gamesforwindows.com/cfs-file.ashx/__key/CommunityServer.Discussions.Components.Files/8/8272.cmd.PNG

Please let me know the results and I will send our devs back to finding the root issue :)Source (http://forums.gamesforwindows.com/p/8021/81496.aspx#81496)

Method 3
Squirrely765

This is a followup to my previous post.

I fairly quickly threw together a program to do the first part of the fix automatically. (Deleting/renaming catroot2)

*****This program has to be run as an Administrator for it to work properly, or it will throw an error.*****

If you download and use this program please understand the following below: (I am just doing this as I don't want to hear "this program haxed my pc". Also if you skip the reading below that means you agreed.)

------------------------------------------------------------------

MonstrMoose.com is making this software freely available on the basis that it is accepted as found and that the user checks its fitness for purpose prior to use.

This software is provided 'as-is', without any express or implied warranties whatsoever. In no event will the authors, partners or contributors be held liable for any damages, claims or other liabilities direct or indirect, arising from the use of this software.

MonstrMoose.com gives permissions to redistributing this program freely, but to use this software you must agree to the following restrictions:

1. The origin of this software must not be misrepresented; you must not claim that you wrote the original software.
2. You must not alter the software in any way.
3. This notice may not be removed or altered from any distribution.
4. You may not resell or charge for the software.
5. You may not reverse engineer, decompile, disassemble, derive the source code of or modify [or create derivative work from] the program.
6. You must not use this software to engage in or allow others to engage in any illegal activity.
7. You may not claim any sponsorship by, endorsement by, or affiliation with MonstrMoose.com if you use this program.
8. You acknowledge that MonstrMoose.com owns all the code and research for this said program.

Additional Info:

This program *does* delete a folder (catroot2) in your Windows directory. It logs everything it does in the text-box. This program's only use is to attempt to fix the Windows 7 problem with H2V and nothing else.

------------------------------------------------------------------

So finally, here is the link to download it. :)

http://www.monstrmoose.com/download.php?f=H2VWin7Fix.exe

Please post any problems you had with it.Source (http://forums.gamesforwindows.com/p/8958/83957.aspx#83957)

Method 4
Shock120


1) Do these steps first.

Download the latest H2V update (http://download.microsoft.com/download/b/0/e/b0ec1acf-8623-4520-9764-75baaffc0718/Update.exe)
Download the latest GFWL update (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=98609)
Install them both



2) Navigate to root folder you installed Halo 2 on.

Default 32bit OS: C:\Program Files\Microsoft Games\Halo 2
Default 64bit OS: C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Games\Halo 2



3) move "activate.exe" to another location. (it can be anywhere, preferably the desktop)
4) Start up halo2.exe (which is in the Halo 2 folder)
5) Sign onto GFWL

when prompted for a product key from GFWL, enter it as such.
After entering the Product key, you will see Live and Network still grayed out.
Close H2V.



6) Bring "activate.exe" back into the Halo 2 folder.

7) Initiate Startup.exe

you will be prompted for a key, enter it, then enjoy H2V!





This fixed my problem, I was comparing what file from 1.0 and 1.4 of H2V is messed up.
THIS SOLVED MY UNSOLVABLE CRYPTOGRAPHIC CRAP, that GFWL couldn't solve.Source (http://www.monstrmoose.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=2671)

Method 5
Guardian Hope

IdahoLagold

For those with the "Live Gaming on Windows failed..." problem. I have Windows 7, 64-bit and was having trouble for weeks. I read many forums and thanks to Deadblow, I was able to finally run the game. However, upon reboot I received the blue screen and had to revert to an earlier time. But buried deep within this long string of replies are two postings. One is from Selexo and one is from "The Double Duce". I followed their advice and now I think the game is totally stable on my system. Basically, all I needed to do was to remove (or rename) these two files from the Inf folder: oem94.inf and oem95.inf.

As they already reported, this may be different on other computers, but for MY computer, after deleting these, everything worked. It will be different for your computer! You need to go through a trial and error exersize. Such as: I started by installing the game completely and then moving all the oem*.* files from the INF folder into a new folder. Then the game would start. But to narrow it down to the one or two bad files, I needed to cut and past and keep re-starting the game until I figured out which files were the offenders.

Again, thanks Deadblow, Selexo and Double Duce. Your hard work paid off for me. I was even able to transfer all my saved games from another computer, but that's another story.I had the same problem as you. After reading your post I went to C:\Windows\INF and started by coping the second half of my OEM files (including both the .INF and .PNF files). By narrowing it down via the process of elimination I have resolved my problem. For me, it was OEM20.inf and OEM20.pnf which are for atiilhag.inf and there is a special note that it was modified with Mobility Modder.NET (Previous to Catalyst 10.3 we Notebook users had to use that utility to get updated drivers to work). Now Halo 2 works fine and my system seems perfectly fine. I did not do anything to my Catroot folders or any other modification besides what I said above and also listed below to get Halo 2 to work on my Windows 7 Ultimate x64 System.

So, to narrow it down:

Problem: LIVE Gaming for Windows fails to initialize on some Windows 7 systems running Halo 2 Vista.

Symptoms: When starting Halo 2 Vista, an error will pop up stating that "LIVE Gaming for Windows failed to initialize..."

Solution: This error seems to be caused by one or more OEM files in the C:\Windows\INF directory. You will need to narrow down which file (or files) it is by moving them to another directory and starting Halo 2 to see if it starts. If it does, you need to move some of the OEM files back until you get the error, then narrow it down to the one or multiple files causing it. Remember, it will not be the same file on all systems as the post I have quoted had the problem with OEM94.inf and OEM95.inf which don't even exist on some systems.

Good luck, and I hope this helps!

Selexo 1 (http://forums.gamesforwindows.com/p/8958/84327.aspx#84327)
Selexo 2 (http://forums.gamesforwindows.com/p/8958/84329.aspx#84329)
Selexo 3 (http://forums.gamesforwindows.com/p/8958/84768.aspx#84768)
The Double Duce 1 (http://forums.gamesforwindows.com/p/8958/96801.aspx#96801)
The Double Duce 2 (http://forums.gamesforwindows.com/p/8958/97111.aspx#97111)Source (http://forums.gamesforwindows.com/p/8958/111253.aspx#111253)

Method 6
xxFFernandoxx
uHRuKg-6XsoSource (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uHRuKg-6Xso)

Method 7
PirateOfTheInternet
CkYnBKBtgLgSource (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CkYnBKBtgLg)

Method 8
Hi. Recently finally installed Win7 and just for old time sakes i figured to install h2v.. right... easier than it sounded. I PM this so you can edit your post, i don't think i've seen any link to what i installed.. did work though.

1st did the regular downloads, update.exe, gfwlivesetup.exe. When i ran GFW it started nagging about a Live sign-in assistant, right available for download.. so far so good but the thing wllogin_64.msi wouldn't install no matter what.
Got me this package: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/en/details.aspx?FamilyID=9ba199ef-3086-4f12-970d-8745be104600 and h2v worked right away.

L8r!Source: Private Message from Vicky

Method 9
Syuusuke
If all else fails, install a new partition with Windows 7 (or over your old one) and try it.

It should work, eventually it worked for me. It turned out the cryptographic service was off for me because it "logged" on as the Local System instead of Local Service, which was later changed to Network Service... (this was a special case )Source (http://www.modacity.net/forums/showthread.php?21725-Halo-2-Windows-7-Workarounds&p=541123&viewfull=1#post541123)

[Kornman00]

Sticky request granted. Verified delivery of ordinance on target.

[Syuusuke]

If they all don't work, you can try to make a small partition (About 20 gb? I forget how much Win7 and H2V takes up together) and try to install on that new partition.

[Kornman00]

I'm not sure if anyone actually likes the game that much to get a second W7 key and make a dedicated partition just for H2V http://kornnersoftware.com/trillian/nick.gif

[Limited]

Don't mean to be picky but: http://www.modacity.net/forums/showthread.php?21725-Halo-2-Windows-7-Workarounds, also its workarounds :D

[Syuusuke]

Same guy, same workarounds, plus one more =D

Oh no wonder I thought this was all familiar...

[SnaFuBAR]

Sticky request granted. Verified delivery of coordinates on target.
it's "verified delivery of ordinance on target"

whoop.

[Syuusuke]

I'm not sure if anyone actually likes the game that much to get a second W7 key and make a dedicated partition just for H2V http://kornnersoftware.com/trillian/nick.gif

What as long as it's on the same system it should work?

Oh right you have to call the damn reps.

[Kornman00]

it's "verified delivery of ordinance on target"

whoop.
I was just testing you. You passed :downs:.

I knew that didn't sound right :ugh:

[supersniper]

yeah i've posted it before but I couldn't find it when i searched and well i wanted it stickied so newbies can see it if they have problems.

and shush about the title :P

is there anything else I should add to it?

[Resinball]

I've installed H2v on various Win 7 systems. Only today did I have an issue with the updates. It seemed to be stuck in an infinite loop, it would repeatedly download my profile and the same update. I am aware there are multiple updates but this was the same one over an over.


The solution was to set the Halo 2 executable and the Launcher to Run as Administrator:

So go to where you installed H2v and right-click the main executable (halo2.exe) then click Properties, then select the Compatibility tab. Check the Run as Administrator box.

Do the same for startup.exe just in case.

[Shock120]

There is a new/old problem where users experience this.
Different version error (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gIgR1a2JiC4)

To locate the halo2.exe.cfg file:

You must go to > C:\Program Files\Microsoft Games\Halo 2
or for 64bit users, they go to > C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Games\Halo 2


<Liveconfig>
<titleid>4D53080F</titleid>
<lankey>FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF</lankey>
<rating>
</rating>
<enableCrossPlatformSystemLink>false</enableCrossPla tformSystemLink>
<titleversion>10000481</titleversion>
</Liveconfig>A person with this error would be on latest update, however the <titleversion>10000481</titleversion> isn't on 1000481.
A simple edit in notepad fixes this problem.

After that, the Windows 7 error will pop up, or for lucky ones it won't.

Just thought people who do play/bought this game should know.

[ronaldoyesher]

Window 7 is more powerful.Halo 2 is played fast in window 7.So play it.

[Shock120]

Window 7 is more powerful.Halo 2 is played fast in window 7.So play it.No, it's not just the OS, but your hardware must be "powerful".

[supersniper]

update, thanks vicky. hope that will help people if they haven't gotten it working yet

[Futzy]

I might be getting this soon. It works just fine without any glitches on W7 besides the install issues right?

e: would anyone who doesn't play this anymore be willing to give up their key?

[Vicky]

update, thanks vicky. hope that will help people if they haven't gotten it working yet

NP. Was the only way i got it to work on Ultimate 64bit. Game does run better on a multicore CPU like mentioned before, fried my previous mobo with vista+h2v :P Looks nice with a DX11-card too although it aint supported still looks a little better.

[Kornman00]

I had to reinstall W7 a while back and I only recently got around to reinstalling H2V. This time I had no issues at all. I installed the game, then the dedi then the editing kit, ran the game, started the update and then ran the game again and everything was fine. I think I had already updated to the latest G4WL stuff though before I installed this. Just kind of funny that first time I had issues running H2V but this time I didn't.

[supersniper]

yeah it's just a completely random bug that even g4wl haven't sorted out. and now on top of that due to their update in the voice coded in november. in game chat is broken in h2v. you can send live messages, and do private chat channels but the actual h2v public chat channel doesn't work anymore. i miss talking to the noobs in halo2 :/

[Shock120]

One time they talked about having "Windows Live ID Sign-in Assistant" service to stay enabled.

[MetaRidley15]

Hello.

I know this thread's been dead for a long time but I have tried all of these methods on my computer and halo 2 won't run.

Now when I try to run the game using windows program compatibility troubleshooting, the following message comes up:

"Initialization failed. Either insufficient system resources were found to run the game, or game data is missing or damaged. Reinstalling the game may fix this problem."

I've reinstalled 3 times now and no luck. But I think I know what the problem is.

When I ran the installer it told me that my graphics were not up to scratch, saying that I had 64MB of intel integrated graphics. Now that's all well and good expect for the fact that I have a Alienware m11x and my graphics card is a 2.0GB DDR3 NVIDIA GeForce GT 540M.

This isn't new to me; dxdiag can only see my integrated intel graphics too, but msinfo32 can see my NVIDIA card. Other games such as crysis 2 and starcraft 2 are run at max settings so I know its there. So basically halo 2 won't start because it THINKS my graphics aren't good enough but they certainly are.

I've tried the methods in this thread that apply to me and they haven't worked so I'm sure that this is the problem.

Is there any way for me to run Halo 2 without it having to check my system's graphics? Or can I get it to recognise NVIDIA at all? (I have made sure I've selected to “run with NVIDIA high performance graphics processor” when I click on it)

Other specs
Windows 7 Home Premium (service pack 1) 64 bit
8GB DDR3 RAM
Intel i7 2617M 1.5GHz processor (overclocks to 2.5GHz)

Any help would be appreciated :)

Edit: I've also made sure the drivers for both graphics cards have been updated (integrated required update, NVIDIA didn't).

[Resinball]

Have you tried disabling the integrated Intel GPU?

[MetaRidley15]

Yes I thought of that after I posted actually, but that didn't work. Dxdiag couldn't find any graphics card and halo 2 still wouldn't run. Thanks for the suggestion though.

[supersniper]

the issues above are for the error where it says an instance of LIVE is already running.

but if dxdiag couldn't find any graphics card then there's your problem.

[MetaRidley15]

Ok. Well do you know of any way that I can make dxdiag recognise it? Or Halo 2? Or can I trick Halo 2 into thinking my integrated graphics are better?
Thanks again for any help.

[MetaRidley15]

I should also note that I reinstalled the driver from the CD that came with the computer and that didn't work either. Perhaps I should disable the integrated graphics, THEN reinstall NVIDIA drivers? Maybe that would get dxdiag and other programs (like Halo 2) to recognise the card.

[supersniper]

what kind of card do you have?

[MetaRidley15]

NVIDIA GeForce GT 540M, 2GB

[Resinball]

1) First download the latest drivers for your NVIDIA GeForce GT 540M, 2GB here: http://www.nvidia.com/Download/index.aspx?lang=en-us.


2) Then disable the integrated GPU. Sometimes you need to enter the BIOS to do this correctly.


3) Then uninstall the old NVIDIA drivers (drivers from CDs are almost always outdated) and restart the computer.


4) Now install the new drivers you downloaded in the first step.


Success?

[MetaRidley15]

I swear I replied to this before but thanks for the advice.
Unfortunately it didn't work, dxdiag still couldn't see anything and Halo 2 didn't do anything. Interestingly, I couldn't access NVIDIA Control Panel with just the NVIDIA card activated; it said
"You are currently not using a display attached to a NVIDIA GPU."
This implies to me that the NVIDIA card works through the intel integrated GPU, and when I look up the m11x on alienware's site it says the card set is a "dual" set so I guess one can't work without the other.

Any other ideas?

If not which support people should I contact, Alienware (for GPU) or Microsoft (for Halo 2)? I'm thinking Alienware.

[supersniper]

well clearly your issue is with your graphics card not being recognized by your computer, did it come with the computer or did you install it yourself? if you installed it yourself then you did it wrong.

this has nothing to do with windows 7 so that's why none of the solutions above helped.

[MetaRidley15]

It did come with my computer, I only got it a couple of weeks ago. As I said before, "msconfig32.exe" can see it but not dxdiag. I still think it's something to do with the dual graphics of my computer. Alienware's site says:
"Dual graphics with Intel HD Graphics 3000 and 2.0GB DDR3 NVIDIA GeForce GT 540M"
It's still perfectly functional with other games, it's just that halo 2 can't detect it.

[MetaRidley15]

Another important point. I downloaded the latest drivers from NVIDIA and the install program itself could not detect the card.
The driver installer on the Alienware CD CAN see the card.
This is making less and less sense. I'll contact Alienware.

[Dozo]

Got a problem with H2V.
Inserted disc. H2V Installation prompt about playing while installing (why) pops up. Once I click the option to install, the menu closes, PC loads for a few seconds and nothing happens.
I've tried the different installation options multiple times and still when I select one the menu simply closes and does nothing. No installation wizard or anything.

[KommissarReb]

I installed Windows Live, and then Installed Halo 2, and I had no problems. I am a Windows 7 user, so I'm guessing patches have been released to make the game work on operating systems that were not Vista?