Owen Borstad
Programmer
Joined: 17 Oct 2001
From: BioWare Corp. |
 Posted: Friday, 30 May 2008 11:46PM |
Hi All,
There is a way to install the game manually if you can't get the game installed for some reason (installer error, saferun, etc).
You will need:
1) access to the contents of the data directory (either off CD, download, temp files, etc)
2) WinRar or 7zip or any tool that can extract .rar files.
Steps:
1) Create a folder on your system somewhere. Default for the installer is "C:\Program Files\Mass Effect\" or a games folder.
2) Open each .rar file in the utility chosen (WinRar for e.g.)
3) Extract each .rar file into this folder. If you are using an English build, you won't need to extract any .rar file that has a different language code (_es, _fr, _de, _it, etc)
4) After extracting all files, your folder should look like this:
...\Mass Effect\Binaries\
...\Mass Effect\BioGame\
...\Mass Effect\data\
...\Mass Effect\docs\
...\Mass Effect\Engine\
...\Mass Effect\MassEffectLauncher.exe
5) Run the MassEffectLauncher.exe and quit immediately.
6) Run the "Mass Effect (tm)_code.exe" from the data folder. Enter your CD Key, click next, it will exit out.
7) Run the Launcher again, hit "Config" .
 Under the "Repair" option on the left, you can re-create your shortcuts if running XP. If running Vista, I'm sorry, you can't add the game to the Game Explorer in these instructions.
9) Run the "Data\DataSetup.exe". (There will be no GUI, no feedback, this is normal)
10) Quit back to the launcher.
11) Play! (everything should work nicely now)
I hope that helps some people!
Owen.
(Edit to add running DataSetup.exe)Edited By Owen Borstad on 06/05/08 14:44 |
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Rangerfly
Game Owner
 Mass Effect PC
Joined: 28 May 2008 |
Posted: Saturday, 31 May 2008 03:22AM |
I had a lot of hope for this to work for me, but when I run "MassEffectLauncher" after extracting all of the data files, I get he same XML error I got with the autorun.exe (see Can't Install thread).
"Switch from current encoding to specified encoding not supported. Line 1, Column 40 in inter XML settings."
Click Here
So I'm getting closer to the problem, some kind of conflict/issue, but no where near the solution... |
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morty_p
Game Owner
 Mass Effect PC
Joined: 28 May 2008 |
Posted: Saturday, 31 May 2008 04:15AM |
Well it looked like it might work at first, but I ended up with the same black screen with music running.
playing on XP with an 8800GTS, 4 Gigs of ram, and a dual core AMD opteron 2.59 GHz. |
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Len'tarn
Game Owner
 NWN
NWN: SoU
NWN: HotU
NWN 2
NWN 2: MotB
Mass Effect PC
Joined: 15 Jan 2004 |
Posted: Saturday, 31 May 2008 05:14AM |
I followed the steps and I encountered some very worrisome results:
1) During extraction, WInRAR complained for multiple corrupted files. However I could then manually extract them from the .rar file and they would extract properly. Maybe this happens during the automated installation, leading to corrupted installations?
2) This part of the error log makes no sense to me:
[5.556] Log: Failed to load 'Material None.': Failed to find object 'Material None.'
[5.556] Log: Failed to load 'Material None.': Failed to find object 'Material None.'
[5.556] Log: Failed to load 'Material None.': Failed to find object 'Material None.'
[5.557] Log: Failed to load 'Material None.': Failed to find object 'Material None.'
[5.557] Log: Failed to load 'Material None.': Failed to find object 'Material None.'
[5.596] Log: Failed to load 'Material None.': Failed to find object 'Material None.'
3) From the log excerpt below, you can see that the game is trying to find file "BIOG_Male_Player_C.upk". The file is -NOT- in the installation directory, but it not in the .RAR files either!
[44.204] Log: >>> Initial startup: 44.20s <<<
[44.724] Log: Failed to load 'BIOG_Male_Player_C': Error opening file '..\BioGame\ CookedPC\ Packages\\GameObjects\ Characters\ BIOG_Male_Player_C.upk' (E:\Mass Effect\ Binaries\).
4) IS Bio2DA.cpp another missing file according to the log? I could not find it in the .RARs or the installation directory.
[44.730] Log: Bio2DA.cpp::CheckedGetIntEntry(): Failed to read row(1902, isNum=0), column(4) in Bio2DA(Talent_TalentEffectLevels)
[44.730] Log: Bio2DA.cpp::CheckedGetFloatEntry(): Failed to read row(1918, isNum=0), column(4) in Bio2DA(Talent_TalentEffectLevels)Edited By Len'tarn on 05/31/08 05:19 |
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Len'tarn
Game Owner
NWN
NWN: SoU
NWN: HotU
NWN 2
NWN 2: MotB
Mass Effect PC
Joined: 15 Jan 2004 |
Posted: Saturday, 31 May 2008 05:43AM |
Adding on, also the file "BIOG_Female_Player_C.upk" seems to be missing in both rar and installation directory. Interestingly enough, both missing files I reported should be pressent according to FileIndex.txt, that is located in the CookedPC folder.
However, what stumps me is that this error did not appear with the automated installation, which leads me to believe that the files did exist with that method. Any ideas? |
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Rangerfly
Game Owner
Mass Effect PC
Joined: 28 May 2008 |
Posted: Saturday, 31 May 2008 06:45AM |
HUGE SUCCESS.
I successfully solved the XML issue/conflict. I never thought It would happen, hours upon hours of scouring the web and trying different combinations of updates.
This also solved the issue I had with the install program/directory select. I am installing Mass Effect as we speak. If I am ultimately successful, I will edit this with the steps I took. |
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tnagedirtbag
Game Owner
Mass Effect PC
Joined: 31 May 2008 |
Posted: Saturday, 31 May 2008 01:28PM |
D:\\data\\mapsNOR.rar: CRC failed in
BioGame\\CookedPC\\Maps
\\NOR\DS1\\BIOA_NOR10_04_DS1.SFM. D:\\data\\mapsNOR.rar: Unexpected end of archive
Get that when i try to extract mapsNOR
How can i fix this? |
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bigbenf
Game Owner
Mass Effect PC
Joined: 12 Nov 2006 |
Posted: Saturday, 31 May 2008 08:16PM |
Extracted files manually. Still had to copy individual files that were "corrupted" during a directory unpack. Game will run but only until the 'press any key' screen. Then:
General Protection Fault!
History: Address=0x1ea9b (filename not found)
Then it's exit to Windows. I would love to play the game...but how? |
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CarlCX
Game Owner
 NWN
Jade Empire
Jade Empire:SE
Mass Effect
Mass Effect PC
Joined: 26 Jun 2002 |
Posted: Saturday, 31 May 2008 08:48PM |
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Havin' the same problem, here. It took some circumventing, but this allowed me to install the game. However, it gets to Press Any Key, I comply, it pans over to the top of the planet and fades to black and then immediately crashes. 8800 GT, drivers updated, etc. |
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-Hoplite
Game Owner
Mass Effect PC
Joined: 28 May 2008 |
Posted: Saturday, 31 May 2008 10:46PM |
I followed these steps and it works until the screen when I am asked to press any key. The screen zooms away from the planet - stops and then I get a crash.
Halp plox
EDIT: I just noticed a 5 page thread about problems involving 8800 GT cards.. which I happen to own.
*sigh*Edited By -Hoplite on 05/31/08 23:07 |
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onlycopunk
Game Owner
Mass Effect PC
Joined: 28 May 2008 |
Posted: Saturday, 31 May 2008 11:09PM |
Quote: Posted 05/31/08 22:46 (GMT) by -Hoplite
I followed these steps and it works until the screen when I am asked to press any key. The screen zooms away from the planet - stops and then I get a crash.
Halp plox
EDIT: I just noticed a 5 page thread about problems involving 8800 GT cards.. which I happen to own.
*sigh*
Same sans the 8800GT part. This method allowed me to actually load the game, but it crashes at the exact same point everytime.
_________________
Asus F8SA
C2D T7500
HD2600
4GB Ram
Vista x64 |
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bigbenf
Game Owner
Mass Effect PC
Joined: 12 Nov 2006 |
Posted: Sunday, 01 June 2008 02:28AM |
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Yup...I have 2 8800GTs in SLI mode. |
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dennytm
Game Owner
Mass Effect PC
Joined: 01 Jun 2008 |
Posted: Sunday, 01 June 2008 07:57AM |
I'm in the same boat. When I press any key it crashes giving a general protection fault (file name not found). I have a 9800 GTX.
There were some files it asked me if I wanted to replace (ini files -- but I can't recall which ones) and I chose to keep the newer versions.Edited By dennytm on 06/01/08 08:02 |
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sailingj44
Game Owner
Mass Effect PC
Joined: 01 Jun 2008 |
Posted: Sunday, 01 June 2008 05:40PM |
I am having the same problem after I press any key I get an error message:
General protection fault!
History:access = 0x1eaa0 (filename not found)
or
General protection fault!
History:access = 0x1ea9b (filename not found)
My system is an AMD Athlon 64 X2 4200, 2GB ram, GeForce 7500, XP sp2 |
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Skullguise
Game Owner
 NWN
NWN: SoU
NWN: HotU
Jade Empire
NWN 2
Mass Effect
Mass Effect PC
Joined: 21 Jun 2002 |
Posted: Sunday, 01 June 2008 06:02PM |
I kept getting the install errors when I did the default install. The first time I tried a custom install it fully installed and played fine til it crashed about 4 hours into it. FYI instead of installing to C:\Program Files\Mass Effect I installed to C:\Games\Mass Effect. Also I have an 8800 GT.
No way I want to unzip those manually so I am glad this worked for me.
Hopefully this will help others.Edited By Skullguise on 06/01/08 18:03 |
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