BF2 Demo error; Please help

[RedAlert]

Ok, when I try to install the BF2 demo, it does the install sheild wizard thing. Then as you all know, a little picture comes up saying "Battlefield 2". As soon as that picture loads, an error message comes up saying: "You need to have administrator privileges to run setup."

 

What is that all about? I am running a Windows ME, and there is no administrator for my home computer.

 

We have two computers. One is my parent's, the other is mine and my sister's. I play all my games on my computer. I never set up any sort of multiple user thing at all on my computer.

 

Just to test things out, I downloaded the Empire Earth 2 demo, and installed it. It worket out fine. No error messages, no nothing. Something else is messed up here, but I would still like to know how to make up an administrative account.

[RedAlert]

Ahhh....please help people.

[CurvKyle]

I'd say the problem is you're running Windows ME. Quite possibly the worst OS to date, even MS themselves admit it to being a failure. Get XP if you can.

[5614]

Battlefield is specifically desgined and only works on Windows XP... check the spec for the game (it's only XP in the UK version of the game anyway).

 

What you are running into is the fact that in winXP you can have a admin/user/guest account and only the admin (unless specified) has ability to instal programs, the game is verifying that you are an admin, as you don't have winXP the game is probably a tad confused as to what the heck is going on and so won't instal!

[Dak]

how does it check if the system has admin status? could you trick it into installing by adding a reg entry (summit like HKCU/blah/blah/blah/UserAccountType=administrator).

 

of course, this could possibly bugger your system up a bit, and/or the game may not work at all on ME even if you get it to install.

[5614]

I'm not sure Dak... tricking an ME computer into thinking you're running XP is impossible, making it believe you are an XPadmin is unlikely, I suppose the registry idea is a miniscule posibility, but I'm not going through all the XP registries to find one which will probably be coded so I couldn't read/edit it.

 

Furthermore if XP users were a simple registry change away from being an admin then it'd be a serious security flaw... whilst I wouldn't put it past MS to do this, it would have been detected and exploited and in the news by now!

[Dak]

but I'm not going through all the XP registries to find one which will probably be coded so I couldn't read/edit it.

me either... and trying to google "reg key administrator privellage" just brings up about a squillion results to do with non-related reg keys on sites that happen to remind you that you need administrator privellages to access regedit.

 

Furthermore if XP users were a simple registry change away from being an admin then it'd be a serious security flaw...

yes, but were not talking about an XP user, were talking about an ME user: its unlikely that ME will attempt to stop him adding a reg entry that has absolutely no relevence to the ME OS (except possibly allowing him to install the game).

 

the fact that the install program referenses administrator privellages makes me think that its coded to check for user status (the ME OS wouldnt mention the admin privvelages, what with ME not being aware of them)... it should be relatively simple to trick the install exe (if we knew how).

 

although id reccomend setting up a restore point and backing up the reg before trying any cunning jiggery-pokery. Like i said, if this prog isnt desighned for ME it might break it (ME)

[5614]

I was saying if the "im an admin" data could be sucessfully added into winME by changing a registry then the data must normally be stored in the registries. If this is so it will be stored in the registries in winXP in which case there's a security issue.

[Dak]

dunno... the reg entry, if it exists, might just be an indicator, or there might be systems in place on an XP machine to stop the reg entry being changed from 'user' to 'admin'... and dont forget that were talking of a system were you can bypass someone elses password by loging on as another user, turning on show... well, im sure you know how to do it and im not going to give detailed instructions just in case anyone reading this hasnt figured it out, but it really wouldnt surprise me if it was just a reg entry. (theres another, easy way to upgrade yourself to an admin account using the F8 key, so XP, as shipped, isnt that secure against people with phisical access to the machine anyway)

 

all of which is a cows oppinion. either the reg key doesnt exist, or we dont know what it is. either way, my plan is redused to poopness.

[5614]

You can remove the admin account (or password protect it) which appears when you boot in safe mode. And logging onto a non-passworded account (even if it is in safe mode and not normally accessable) is not quite the same as giving yourself admin rights on a non-admin account.

 

I still doubt it's as easy as "edit registry --> admin rights" although I see where you are coming/were coming from.

[Dak]

ahh, but you forget that if you can access an administrator account, then you can give your own account administrator privelages

[5614]

That has got nothing to do with changing the registries though!!!

 

Anyway as far as the OP is concerned you are playing an winXP only game on a winME system... sorry but it aint gonna work... unless there's some kinda winME patch/update available on the net, but as far as the company is concerned it's probably not worthwhile for them... and what am I talking about, a patch would only work once the game is installed, you'd need a whole new CD to fix your prob!