Edit: SERIOUS BUG, installers breaking Dark Crusade installations

[Titler]

This is an edited thread now, as I've been made aware of one possible cause of why people keep losing access to previous expansions under Dark Crusade.

To fill in the background, I have had the following problems:

1.) The CD Key for Winter Assault is reset to 0000-0000 etc, and Dark Crusade loses it. Sometimes returning the key would solve this
2.) Dawn Of War is not recognised as being installed, even though all the keys are still present. All games run, and can connect online, but DC refuses to accept them. A full reinstall of all the software seems to be the only way to fix that one.

For reference, the original thread I made in Tech Support is here: http://forums.relicnews.com/showthread.php?t=125830, which I quickly want to discuss.

The only other person who identifies a possible culprit states that they were using the Yager and Company of Heroes installers for the demos. In my case, I have been running an installer, created using Install Creater Pro, which calls upon the Winter Assault key to locate where to place a WA/DC map that I had made.

The few people who have had the map in beta did not report a problem, but once I released the map to the wider community, suddenly the same problem I was having, and perhaps as others have had, is being reported in a flood.

http://forums.relicnews.com/showthread.php?t=126944

It thus looks to me highly likely that it's perhaps things which call upon the THQ Reg Keys (which I assume CoH/Yager does) is breaking some setting for Dark Crusade

If Relic wish, I can provide the map with installer as it currently is, to test this theory. However I've taken the map link down because it's a swine when it kicks in. Tomorrow, I will create empty installers that just call upon the keys for DoW and WA to see if I can break Dark Crusade with this alone.

[Troubleshooter]

Better e-mail this to Buggo ...

[Stormsong]

Please note, the possible installer/uninstaller issue relating to the other THQ games is just an educated guess on my part, since the issue I reported in the thread coincided with the uninstalling of said game and demo. However should a THQ or Relic representative ask me to try and reproduce the problem, I will give it a try. Anyway, I agree with Troubleshooter, you might want to mail Buggo about this.

[Titler]

I'm emailing almighty Buggo right now, I've managed to replicate the bug with a blank installer, and pointers from Incarnate as to what was the cause. I'll keep you posted as soon as I get any feedback.

Just for the record, the way I've isolated it is this property of installers, and as follows:

http://img91.imageshack.us/img91/5492/createrprodetailsch2.th.jpg (http://img91.imageshack.us/my.php?image=createrprodetailsch2.jpg)

Step 1.) Create a clean install of DoW/WA/Dark Crusade. Started it and closed it 5 times to ensure that it was working.

Step 2.) Created an installer which called the THQ registry key, but didn't have the Update option checked. Then ran this 10 times to ensure high chances of any bug appearing.

Step 3.) Re-ran Dark Crusade. At this point, it still works.

Step 4.) Created an installer which called the THQ registry key, but with update checked. Ran this 10 times.

Step 5.) Dark Crusade is broken at this point. All the Reg keys for Dawn Of War, Winter Assault and Dark Crusade still exist, all games run, but Dark Crusade doesn't believe they are installed. Thus at this point the bug is replicated correctly.

So it was my installer for those who downloaded our map. Damn.

[ÜberJumper]

Moved back to the technical support forum.

To confirm this is not an issue with the CoH, DoW, or Other install applications, but merely third party installers for maps or what not?

[Titler]

Bumpage for extra information: After much fiddling about and watching what it does, if you get the error that says DoW is not installed properly, but DoW is still working, you do NOT need to do a full reinstall. Fix it thus:

Click Start > Run > then type "Regedit"
Navigate to the key which is listed under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE > SOFTWARE > THQ > Dawn Of War
Right click the key on the right marked as "InstallLocation" and select "Modify"
Now change the data to the directory Dawn Of War is installed at. Make sure a "\" is on the end; so type C:\Where Your\Dawn Of War is\

The missing \ is what is breaking it: In my installer, it looked up the DoW InstallLocation key, and offered that information to point my map at... But when the installer updated the key, with the same information it has just called, it doesn't have a \ on the end, because the installer didn't display one, and Dark Crusade can't read the install location without it being there. As I found out by keep putting it on and taking off again the final \, just to be sure :) That slight change in file path is the cause of it breaking for me.

Just to clarify further, the below image is what some installers will offer to the installee when it pulls a working RegKey:

http://img201.imageshack.us/img201/6205/missingck4.th.png (http://img201.imageshack.us/my.php?image=missingck4.png)

Note the missing \, which it doesn't need to place the map into that directory. But it writes that subtle change back into the RegKey.

Now the next bit is simply guesswork at this stage, as I've just got the 3 individual Dawn Of War games, and don't know what other combinations of DoW are out there so I can't test this: But if CoH or any other THQ software came with DoW, and shares a RegKey with it, and if the uninstaller does the same as mine, and just assumes a \ at the end, but updates the key without it... well, there's where it's being broke for everyone else.

So can those of you who've had these problems tell us what other software which involves DoW you've got please, and give us some screenshots of what it does to try and find where DoW is either installing or uninstalling? So we can notify Relic if this is indeed the cause of other people's misfortune... after all, you can't ALL be secretly passing around copies of my map with it's broken installer :P

[hangar-8]

I use Clickteams installer as well. Don't update the reg key, save the information for uninstallation in the uninstaller only.. there's really no need for it to update the DOW regkeys.