CnC Generals CD not working on Lite-on CDRW/DVD Combo

[gojane]

Last weekend I built a new PC with the following specs (all brand new btw):

AMD 2600+ (Not Overclocked)
Gigabyte basic Mobo 7V400L (?)
512mb PC2700
MSI 128mb AGP x8 TV Out
Lite-On 48x?x48/16x CDRW/DVD-Rom Combo Drive
Win XP Pro etc..

No probs with normal software but has problems with some games and not others - particularly CnC Generals.

Installs fine (even re-installed just in case) but when you put Disc 1 in to play the game, it says: Incorrect CD, please insert original (or similar like the message you'd get from an incorrect backup).

Neither of these game discs are backups - they are originals but do have SafeDisc protection. And before some wise guy asks - yes the correct cd is being inserted.

I did read on the EA Games Tech Support that there is a potential problem with SafeDisc protection and Macrovision for DVD-Roms but the fix they offered didn't work.

Has anyone else come across this problem?

If it can't be fixed, I'm thinking of putting in a CD-Rom from an older PC which only reads at 24x max. Is 24x max ok to run CnC Generals?

Cheers.
:confused:

[EVOEvo]

have u tryed useing a no cd crack that might fix the problem it will run the game off the hdd instead of disk

[gojane]

Thanks for the tip. :cool: I WAS thinking about using it but alas it's all too late.

I went over there and put in the old 24x as Master and had problems reading CD's. Same happened with 48x brand new Compaq. This had more to do with the PC rather than the games.

My uncle has this weird thing about fixing his PC's at his house. Had I have been allowed to take it home, it'd probably be fixed by now. He also believes OS's are running a consipiracy against him.

He went out and bought an overpriced brand new CD Rom, then decided he wanted to format the HD. Cause I'd done it in NTFS with XP, his 98 boot disk didn't like it.

Over the phone - during about 6 conversations - I got him to fdisk (HD is 80gig btw) 60% - 40% and format as FAT32. His version of erring on the side of caution was to load on Win 98 and is obsessed with loading all this crud that comes along with drivers on CD. Go the bloat.

After OS & other installs, the CD drive letters were the other way around - he asked me how to fix this but it's been so long since I've used 98 I forgot. Other than that, CnC Generals worked and so did a couple of other games like Red Faction.

Then he had to push the envelope - installing Anti-Virus (McAfee). Apparently he loaded it and the PC failed to boot so I then had to try to guide him over the phone on how to get rid of some of the elements of it. Luckily I had to go out so I don't know how he went and I didn't hear from him yesterday.
;)
BTW - The other PC that they have connected to the net on adsl has cacked itself - when you press the on button, the power light comes on but it does nothin' after that! IMHO I reckon this is an easy fix but he's going to take it to a shop. :cool: That puts me in the clear to play with my own PC's.

Even trying to teach the man to use google is an effort. The net rocks for info.

Chow.
:p

[gojane]

Well - Just in case anyone else comes across the same problem, I worked out what the deal was. Since I started this thread, the OS has gone from XP Pro to XP Home to Win 98 and back to XP Pro.

This problem had nothing to do with Safedisc & Macrovision, it was all in the Secondary IDE Channel.

Device Manager -> IDE Controllers -> Secondary IDE Channel -> Advanced -> change to PIO instead of either BIOS default / DMA 2.

I doubt this is something that I will ever forget!

:D