I received Sacred 2 for Christmas and decided to load it up. It took a VERY long time to install. However, when I try to start the game I get a message "game client has stopped" and the game will not load. I added all the patches and the same message. I uninstalled, reinstalled and get the same message both with and without patches. However, there was one instance when the character creation screen loaded so I thought all was ok. Because it took so long to install I had to stop becase I didn't have time to actually play. Now I continue getting the game client message.

I have Vista and I believe my machine meets the requirements. There is one thing that I would like to try and that is to turn off my anti-virus and firewall. I have McAfee. How do I do that? Plus any other tips, please.

Rowan, Do you want me to move this to Glitches?

I don't have McAfee so can't help you though I'm sure one of our members will be able to

I have McAfee and here is how I turn it off.
1. Right click on the symbol and pick Open Security Center.
2. Next click on Computer & Files that is right under the big green check mark.
3. Next click on configure button.
4. Now click on off for all of them and McAfee is turned off.
(when it asks if how long to turn it off for I usually say until computer restart)(you can have the program turn it back on for you anytime by letting it fix it for you.)

Thanks, VHL, I'll try that later today after chores are done. I'll let you know if that is the issue with my game.

Well turning off the anti-virus software didn't affect anything. I still get the message that the game client stopped. If anyone who had a similar experience with Sacred 2 your input would be greatly appreciated.

I had the same issue and the advice I got from the Sacred Forums was to disable in Task Manager the following:

PDVDDSXSrv.exe

I have had no troubles since. It will not play if I don't close that program first.

Ana

You give me hope, Anna. Please tell me how to do this.

Hi Rowan,

When you are at the desktop, and assuming things work the same with Windows Vista, hit control + alt + delete, and this will bring up the task manager. Find and then click on the exe file that Ana mentioned above, and then click on end process in the lower righthand corner of the window. This should do the trick.

Thank you. I did that and it didn't solve my problem. I went to the sacred forums and checked their site for answers. I disabled all possible background programs to no avail. I've used the Windows utility to see if I have the latest drivers and it says I do. My graphics driver is the original installed in 2007 but the system utility says this is the latest. I've put in all available patches but can't get past the black screen and then the message "game client has stopped." I'm quite disheartened as I was really looking forward to playing this.

I know how frustrating that can be. You've probably tried this already but in case you haven't you could check the windows firewall to see if you have Sacred 2 as an exception.

Just hit start and type in windows firewall and then after you open the windows firewall on your left will be an option for exceptions.

Rowan, you may want to post a question directly to the Sacred 2 Forums. I'm also moving this over to Glitches.

Thanks for moving the thread.

My Windows firewall in the public profile is turned off in order to not conflict with the McAfee firewall. However, I never knew that Windows had a firewall comnpartment for domain and private profiles. This is turned on on my computer. Do I even need this as I am the only computer here anyway? I have tried starting the game with McAfee firewall locked down and unlocked and it doesn't make any difference.

If a computer never connects to the Internet and is not on a LAN, there is no reason to have a firewall. If there is a connection to another system, then there is a route for malwear to enter and some form of protection is advisable. What you need depends on the security of the system.

Rowan, it will depend on what you are using. McAfee Personal Firewall plus does recommend that the Windows firewall be shut down to prevent conflicts, but you should make sure it (McAfee) is configured for your system and use before shutting down the Windows firewall. The link below goes to the McAfee support page containing links to the various Product Guides. Find your product and check firewall set-up on the guide or manual.

Product Guides & Datasheets

Actually my biggest concern is to get Sacred 2 working. I knew that only one firewall should be used on the computer. I've tried playing Sacred 2 with the firewall on and off and the game doesn't work either way. So I am still looking for a way to get it going. It has to be something else. Hope someone can help. I've posted in the Sacred site but no response yet.

Hi Rowan,

I saw your posts over on the Sacred 2 forum. For what it's worth, SecuROM is a copy-protection program, and apparently that's what the Sacred 2 game uses.

More info here:

SECUROM--WIKIPEDIA

Yes, I've seen that, Marian. I've downloaded a utility that someone offered on the Sacred 2 site but haven't used it yet. I've asked whether it fixes only Sacred 2 or if it also affects other areas of the computer - no answer. The one "answer" I got was rather snooty and sarcastic and not helpful at all. Even though I haven't found a solution yet I am very grateful that people are much friendlier here.

I'm also not sure if you delete the securom files if it makes it impossible to deactivate your game which would mean I wouldn't be able to reinstall it more than twice for future replays. I'm not even sure if this utility to bypass the copy protection is legal or not.

What is the name of this utility and what is it supposed to do?
If it removes SecuROM files, no game that uses SecuROM will start.

Hi Jenny,

If Rowan doesn't mind, I will send you a link to this discussion (Rowan's post is the last one, and you will need to scroll up a few notes for this "fix" that is being offered to people who can't get the game to run). This is all way out of my depth, and all I want is for Rowan to be able to play her game!

SACRED 2 GAME WON'T START

Maybe you could shed some light on all of this...I really wanted to help Rowan, but as of right now I have absolutely no clue what to suggest...and I couldn't find anything in the Sacred 2 technical forums that was useful.

I assume the file in that thread called "DeleteSecuromReg.zip" is what it says it is. In other words, it deletes SecuROM registry entries.

Going by what circuitbreaker303 said in that thread, he thinks copy "protections" are fighting with each other and the copy "protection" from another game may be preventing the copy "protection" from Sacred 2 from working. So maybe what that "DeleteSecuromReg.zip" file does is remove leftover versions of SecuROM from other games. You may have to uninstall and reinstall Sacred 2 after using it though.

Thank you, Jenny; so, that registry edit might be worth pursuing.

Rowan, what video card and driver version are you running? I know you checked into whether or not you have the latest video drivers for your card, but it's still worth a look-see.

Well I ran that registry edit and the game still didn't start. When I uninstalled it I didn't get the message to deactivate it which means I lost one of two chances to load this game. I was afraid of that. I will try to reinstall it again but it takes a long time to do. I'll get back on that one.

Marian, my vido card is a GeForce Go 7950 GTX. According to my recent dxdiag the installed driver is the original retail driver version 7.15.011.5669 dated 10/04/07. When I ran Windows updater it checked my computer and online for a newer one but it gave me a message that I had the best one. On the Nvidia site there is a newer one but it is a beta version. The other weird thing is that when I uninstalled Sacred 2 I noticed that nvidia had installed new drivers on 17/09/08. So I don't understand why these don't show up in the dxdiag or in the search.

Anyway, back to reinstalling Sacred 2. This is the worst experience I've ever had with getting a game to run.

Rowan, there's a guy in this thread who is running the game on a laptop with the same video card as yours (his name is Batman), and he got the game started by changing his native resolution that was set to 1280 x 768, to 1280 x 800. Try checking and seeing if your graphics resolution is set to 1280 x 800.

SACRED 2 THREAD

And yes, I saw those beta drivers on the Nvidia website.

Changing the screen resolution didn't help. Thank you so much for trying to help.

I don't think I have any hair left.

Update: I sent a support ticket to cdvusa (a web site that handles problem issues with this game) and got the automated response to update:
-Microsoft.net Framework
-Microsoft c++ Redistributable
-OpenAl
-DirectX
-Video Card Drivers

Well this is all Greek to me. I've already checked the video drivers and I supposedly have the best available driver. There is a newer beta driver but am not sure if it is wise to install a beta driver. I have DirectX 10 which I believe is the latest. Can someone give me any tips on the other 3 things I should check? I don't even know where to look in my computer or elsewhere about MS.net Framework, MS c++ Redistributable, or OpenAl. Thanks in advance. I allow Windows Update to automatically update stuff so I assume everything essential is covered.