Battlefield 2 Update 1.50 Troubleshooting

[[RC]Hunter]

So far collected problems and issues from various boards around the world. I am posting and possibly extending them step by step, if I would spot new items to be added.


I am unable to install Battlefield 2 Update 1.50, what is wrong?
You must have Battlefield 2 version 1.41 already installed. You can do this by installing any of the Battlefield games and running the 1.41 installer. You will find the installer at our local download database.



The installer says it can not find the install directory, what do I do?
First backup your registry!! If you don´t know how, you may check - How to back up and restore the registry in Windows - .
Click START, type regedit. go to Battlefield 2 entry (on Vista it is at HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Electronic Arts\EA Games\Battlefield 2 ). There you should have 5 keys (Default), Distribution, InstallDir, Language, Locale, MemberName, Registered, Version.
The one you need most is InstallDir. If you have that already then make sure that it is set to the BF2 install location (Default for Vista is C:\Program Files(x86)\EA GAMES\Battlefield 2).
If you don't have it, Right Click and Add new String Value
Name it InstallDir
Double click that entry and a box will appear.
In Value Data box add the location of your install without the trailing \
Close regedit.

Run the installer again



I have installed Update 1.50 but the game crashes when loading single player, multiplayer or Local games, what is wrong?
Nothing is wrong, go to My Documents\Battlefield 2\mods\bf2 and delete the folder: cache .

Also make sure your graphics card, sound card, motherboard and any other drivers are up to date



Where do I get the Booster Packs from?
If you have downloaded and installed Update 1.50 then thats it, you have them and can play them on any ranked server.



None of this worked for me what do I do?
If in doubt, REINSTALL
When you uninstall make sure the Battlefield 2 install directory does not exist and also delete the Battlefield 2 directory from My Documents (including profiles). Also delete Battlefield 2 references from your registry.



I don't have Special Forces but if I click a Special Forces server the game CTD's. What is wrong?
Nothing is wrong. As Battlefield 2 and Special Forces run seperately, clicking on a Special Forces server in the browser list will close Battlefield 2 as part of the change process. If you do not have Special Forces the game will keep you on the desktop as Special Forces isn't present to load.
So do not click Special Forces servers if you do not have it (servers have a GREEN number 2 next to them in the server browser), if you do and you go back to desktop just load BF2 again.

Note: When working with regedit make sure you are comfortable with using the tool. EA/DICE is not responsible for anything that may go wrong with your machine by manually editing registry entries.


Hunter