EA 117 Gaming Community

Ok, so I have reformatted my computer/deleted all partitions and started from a clean Windows 7, 64Bit OS. Reinstalled BF1942 using CD ROM that I purchased back in 2003, installed 1.6.19 patch, 1.61b patch, DC.7 patch, DC Final patch, Tanks update patch, server update patch off of EA117.

Now I get kicked spiractically with message "General PB Client Authentication Failure...reinstall PB is problem persists".

Attached is a ss that I have taken when the error occurs. I can text but cannot see any replies from anyone when the error occurs. Also, it's like I'm in another dimension within the game when the error occurs. Vehicles and planes move on their own with nobody in them and I can see them on the map as shaded vehicles.

I'm at a loss....HELP!

Ninja2014 wrote:Ok, so I have reformatted my computer/deleted all partitions and started from a clean Windows 7, 64Bit OS. Reinstalled BF1942 using CD ROM that I purchased back in 2003, installed 1.6.19 patch, 1.61b patch, DC.7 patch, DC Final patch, Tanks update patch, server update patch off of EA117.

Since we know Battlefield 1942 and Punkbuster work successfully on Windows 7 x64 with the combination described here, it makes me have to assume that the issue being seen relates to "something else that is always included, too."

Video card driver would be a prime example (though seemingly unlikely to be the actual issue), where you would have installed that during the Windows 7 rebuild "without giving it a second thought." Whether it's the particular anti-virus in use (which seems a great candidate for "able to interfere with Punkbuster's mechanisms"), some kind of gaming controller or joystick shim that is intending to deliver game-specific additional control or button support, or something else we don't know to mention since we're not in front of the machine.

That's the approach I would be taking if it was one of my machines in front of me: With everything you've installed on the re-built machine to this point, the issue continues to exist. I would make note of everything I've installed up to that point (which is presumably less than everything you had installed originally, before the rebuild) and then delete the machine and start from scratch again. Taking special pains to install only the barest minimum of what's required in order to do nothing other than run Battlefield 1942 and Punkbuster.

Because if the issue still exists after installing /nothing/ except Windows, the video card driver (if that's even necessary, versus just using whatever Windows Update might already be able to deliver for the purposes of your test) and then the Battlefield and Punkbuster support, for me this would point toward the issue being related to something fundamental like the video card driver, or that my Battlefield, DesertCombat and/or Punkbuster installation sources are not clean or are different from what we assume they are.

If the issue doesn't exist when you've limited the installation to only the barest minimum, then you can start working forward to determine what else has to be added or present before the issue starts occurring again.

I keep also wanting to say "maybe the network card or network card driver support", although your symptoms seem a bit too specific to be having just general random packet loss/drop, or for the issue being that Windows power management is disabling your network card in the middle of playing. Still, if power management is in play, you will see a power management tab in Windows device manager in the properties of your network card, where you can disallow Windows from trying to power manage the card.

-Trench

I was about to suggest basically what Trench said but wasn't sure how much efforts you are willing to put into solving the issue. Since it's a PB kick, I tend to think it's software related. Assuming all the source material are clean, including Win 7 (genuine or at least an ISO directly from Microsoft). Install Windows, hardware drivers, DC and PB, nothing else. Wire your system instead of Wi-Fi for internet. Play and see whether the problem still occurs. Put on the usual programs you use one by one and test play after each install. When the error happens again at some point, you'd have the idea what's conflicting with PB then go from there. The symptom you described at the end sounds like a video card driver issue. If that's the case, you should be able to repeat that with the bare Win 7 install.

You seemed to mention you have another rig with XP, tried on it? Played on different DC or BF1942 servers and got kicked too? How about servers that don't require PB? Your stays in game yesterday was much shorter then before, so the reinstall appeared to make things worse. You may want to list your hardware configurations as well.

just wondering, is this related to the PKBSTRA.EXE PKBSTRB.EXE files? i seem to recall an issue where these files were giving people problems. i can't remember if it was a permissions or a compatibility thing (xp vs win7), but you can try setting these files to 'run as admin' and compatibility with NT 5.0 (strangely this works but the xp emulation doesn't).

Thanks for the suggestions! Well I did grab another PC (Win/XP) sitting in the closet for the past 3 years and installed the game using the CDs I purchased for this game. Then ran all the patches (1.6.19, 1.61b, DC.7, DC Final from the disks I placed them on years ago) then went on EA117 server and uploaded tanks patch plus the server patch. Same issue with that older computer (Win/XP). Maybe I do have a corrupt file for the DC patches on the disk. I also thought maybe it could have been due to LAN cable going through my wireless router (Netgear R6300v2). So, I disconnected it from the router and hooked up the computer straight to the wall...NOPE, still got the PB kick. I'm going to remove/reinstall the game again and download patches through EA117 site. See how that works. More to come!

BTW, here's my setup on my PC running Win 7 Ultimate SP1 64 Bit.

ASUS P7P55D Series Mother Board
Intel Core i5 CPU 750 @ 2.67GHz
Corsair 650W Power Supply
Corsair DDR3 4GB RAM
NVIDIA GeForce 9800 GTX+ Video Card
WD 1TB HDD

Ninja2014 wrote:Well I did grab another PC (Win/XP) sitting in the closet... Same issue with that older computer (Win/XP).

Agreed, that's a great piece of investigation data which narrows the possibilities to "only that which was the same between these two computers." Like the game software itself, network connection and ISP, or something else which does happen to be installed on both computers despite the Windows XP versus Windows 7 difference.

What does "plug the computer directly into the wall" lead to? Not withstanding the local wireless router you had plugged in there (and completely bypassed but still saw the same issue), I presume there is still some other DSL modem or cable internet gateway between you and your ISP.

Given how specific your symptoms have been in the past (MD5 failure), it seemed questionable and unlikely that "you're just having communication problems" like a failing network cable or ISP router. It just seems like you should be seeing other types of failures besides just Battlefield / PunkBuster, though perhaps they are more subtle and harder to notice than the Battlefield / PunkBuster failure. But your symptoms are a bit more generic now though, i.e. lost connection.

It does seem possible that maybe, if the ISP router isn't just failing or misbehaving, that perhaps its choosing to treat the PunkBuster communication differently than the game communication, and just always has been. Maybe some update or setting change the ISP pushed to the modem or gateway accounts for why your symptoms changed.

I don't know if you have administrative access to that modem or gateway, or whether the administrative interface would even allow you to turn off their firewall temporarily to see if that changes the issue, but that's another possibility that comes to mind if re-downloading the software ends up not seeming to change anything.

(I cringe to suggest it, but just in case you already have one "for other reasons", a VPN might be another good way to test that point. Since if the ISP modem or gateway at least allows the VPN communication through without dropping it, you would then be able to send /anything/ over the VPN connection without the local ISP modem or gateway being able to see or react to it. Or even the ISP themselves, for that matter.)

-Trench

Is using Uninstall or change a program from the control panel the best way to uninstall BF1942, DC.7, GameSpy Arcade, PB for BF1942 and PB Services? Then reinstall everything again? Do I even need to uninstall BF1942? See attached/latest ss of me in a Humvee but you can't see the vehicle.

ss of General PB authentication failure message.

ninja why did u instal gamespy arcade?
maybe that is the problem
and use iobit uinstaller to unistall everything

the uninstaller
http://www.iobit.com/en/advanceduninstaller.php

and if u want this program is very good im jusing it for years and had no problems on pc whatsoever

http://www.iobit.com/en/index.php
if u dont want to buy the program i have a my version

the download page
http://www.warezturkey.net

winrar pass is http://www.warezturkey.net

Well, still there! Gonna try Mali's suggestion next.

Install this punkbuster, it might help: http://team-simple.org/download/Punkbuster42.exe

And another!

And another...Nobody flying the plane.

that's a cool mod

are you running the game as an administrator?

Yes, running as administrator. Still get the kicks/errors. I hate it! Here's another shot of when I drove to under lake after it kicked in.

Ran PB Re-Install/Test. Are these results right?

And again! I'm bent over and falling like a zombie with c4 on my left still. Last time I'll post about this.

Ok, I lied. Here's another ss. of me in truck with rpg standing by. LOL

Ninja2014 wrote:Ran PB Re-Install/Test. Are these results right?

Yes, those look the same as on a machine where Punkbuster is successful for me.

-Trench

ninja when u install windows do u update it?
dont update anything and try that way maybe works

Bad ass ss!

yup!

feet dangling in tank.