My solution

bucketdm · Post by **bucketdm** » Wed Jun 08, 2011 5:05 am

Just purchased a license and downloaded the game today. I have not yet gotten it started, not even to a main menu or anything. When I attempt to start Evochron Mercenary, I get a black screen with a small dialog box (title spot simply says "error") reading "failed to open zip" with an OK button. I can't see my mouse pointer to click the button but pressing enter dismisses the dialog box and triggers a new one, a little larger, this time with a title of "Runtime Error". It contains the message "File Block is invalid or does not exist", again with an OK button. Pressing enter again terminates the program and returns me to the desktop.

Relevant system specifications:
- Intel Core i7-2630QM (4 cores @ 2.0 GHz)
- Windows 7 (64 bit) Service pack 1 with all security patches
- 8gb RAM installed.
- 392gb free disk space on install drive (C:)
- NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460M / Driver version 8.17.12.6776
- Microsoft Security Essentials virus scanner

Other tidbits:
- Installed to C:\\Program Files (x86)\\EvochronMercenary
- Installation seemed to go fine, no error messages or anything.
- I tried searching the forums for past discussion of this problem and couldn't find any; sorry if I goofed and this is a duplicate of an existing thread.

Workaround: Run the game as administrator.
Solution: Uninstall the game and re-install to the default location (C:\\sw3dg\\EvochronMercenary).

I still consider this a bug, because you should be able to install the game in the program files folder, but for now it's a fine solution.
[Edited on 2011-6-8 by bucketdm]

[Edited on 2011-6-8 by bucketdm]

Post by **Marvin** » Wed Jun 08, 2011 6:02 am

Which version of the game did you download and where did you download it from?

Post by **Vice** » Wed Jun 08, 2011 6:22 am

Sounds like you may have double-launched the game. Check the task manager for an additional running task of the game in the background. Once no other tasks of the game are running, launch the game using the desktop icon. If the problem persists, follow the steps outlined here: http://www.starwraith.com/evochronmercenary/faq.htm#8

bucketdm · Post by **bucketdm** » Wed Jun 08, 2011 7:04 am

From post: 108302, Topic: tid=7638, author=Marvin wrote: Which version of the game did you download and where did you download it from?

Version 1.428 from http://www.starwraith.com/evochronmerce ... ry1428.exe

Vice wrote:

Sounds like you may have double-launched the game. Check the task manager for an additional running task of the game in the background. Once no other tasks of the game are running, launch the game using the desktop icon. If the problem persists, follow the steps outlined here: http://www.starwraith.com/evochronmercenary/faq.htm#8

To be absolutely certain I came up from a reboot, double-checked task manager (Applications tab empty, nothing relevant in Processes) and unfortunately got the same result.

Following your instructions now; email should be on the way in a few minutes.

Edit: Running the game as administrator bypasses this problem. Is that a known requirement? What does it need admin rights for?

[Edited on 2011-6-8 by bucketdm]

Post by **Vice** » Wed Jun 08, 2011 3:46 pm

Did you install the game to the default location or did you put it in the program files folder? Could be that MSSE is interfering with the game's data file upon launch, preventing the game from accessing the media files it needs. So another step you could try is adding the game's install folder to the program's exception list to see if the behavior changes.

bucketdm · Post by **bucketdm** » Wed Jun 08, 2011 5:16 pm

From post: 108312, Topic: tid=7638, author=Vice wrote: Did you install the game to the default location or did you put it in the program files folder? Could be that MSSE is interfering with the game's data file upon launch, preventing the game from accessing the media files it needs. So another step you could try is adding the game's install folder to the program's exception list to see if the behavior changes.

As mentioned in the original post, I installed the program to C:\\Program Files (x86)\\EvochronMercenary ; not the default location.

I tried excluding the install directory from MS Security Essentials, that didn't seem to have any effect.

I uninstalled the program and re-installed it, this time to the default location. Now it works without needing administrator rights.

I am basically satisfied with this solution; although I would much rather have it living in the Program Files directory, it seems to create the C:\\sw3dg directory regardless of where it's installed so I might as well have it all in one place. But if there is anything I can do to help you find the bug, just say so.

Thanks for the super fast and courteous support, much appreciated.

Post by **Vice** » Wed Jun 08, 2011 6:20 pm

It's not really a bug, just the way newer versions of Windows work (Vista and 7). If you have UAC on, certain file access functions are intentionally blocked by Windows within the program files folder as a security measure. This is why the default install location is set to an accessible folder permitted for the needed file access. You can install the game to the program files folder and have it work there, but you'll either need to elevate the game's privilege level (you can set this to the desktop icon if you like) or turn off UAC. As a general recommendation though, it's usually best to keep all of the files together in the same UAC accessible folder for easier installation, updating, and backup. More details are available here: http://www.starwraith.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=3433

Maarschalk · Post by **Maarschalk** » Fri Jun 10, 2011 2:25 am

Hi Bucketdm, welcome to the game and forum. Hope to see you out there some time...

cybot · Post by **cybot** » Sun Feb 12, 2012 7:36 am

i started getting this error after installing latest version of game after bieng told an update was availible (v1.828). after new version was installed, error started occuring.
my specs:
i7
8gb
139gb free of 453gb
nvidia gt 330m
1gb of dedicated vram plus up to 3784+ nvidia turbocache memory (what ever that means)
MSSE is up to date

[Edited on 2-12-2012 by cybot]

Ooops my bad...

looks like it was a combination of that peky cyberlink service and MSSE had removed the "ignore" seetings i had setup for EM.

[Edited on 2-14-2012 by cybot]

binary · Post by **binary** » Tue Nov 20, 2012 5:44 pm

I just had same exact problem.

installed to G\\install\\evochronmercenary

and was getting "unable to open zip file" type dialogs

This thread helped quite a bit.
But really, that error message is very unhelpful

using process monitor(*sigh* had to google search ktrace for windows)
I found the exe was trying to open EvoChronData.evo read/write
and my user(just a reguler user) only had read access.

So I added write access via the propertys security tab.
and as I don't understand the windows security model(whats the difference between read+write and modify?)
I enabled modify permissions as well

Huzzah! Evochron running as plain user.