Soapy

Out of the box I had no issues, got the game to run fine on XP with an Intel6600 quad and an Nvidia 8880Gt vid card + 2 gig Ram. Patching was my issue, 1.02 gave me the old Update 1.01-1.02\ADDONS\AIR2.PBO.UPD cannot be applied, error xdelta3 returned error code: 1 On around 8 or 9 different .pbo files. Managed to fix that by doing a re install and then copying the files from the DVD to the HD then hitting retry in the patcher. So I got a couple of weeks playing online etc, but patch 1.03 came along and the above fix would not resolve it. As you have to reinstall the game from scratch if you get errors like the above ( taking 40-50 mins btw ), my issue is not with actually playing the game, but more with the fact that you can't revert to a working version. 10-12 re installs one day, and 10-12 attempts to install the 1.03 patch did it for me. Re installing windows any time one single game doesn't work for me, I have 320 gig of data that I don't want to have to backup so I can play a game. Also not one of any other game or app has issues, my DVD firmware is UTD, and my registry is clear of errors etc. It is a shame as I really enjoyed the game when I could actually play it. But when just patching the thing becomes a major chore it takes the fun out of the equation.

I had similar issues with the 1.02 patch, all addons though, not .exe The fix I used for 1.02 was to copy the file from the DVD to the install then hit retry in the patcher, and it worked. But with 1.03 I've had to uninstall and re install the game 12 times ( as you can't go back to the previous version ) and also copied the files that would not update to my HD, then during patching, copy them to the install, then hit retry. Still no bananas. Every single other game or app works fine on my PC, and I won't re install windows for one game ( as good as it is ) So I guess I'm going to have to wait for a fix, or until I can use my retail key on Steam ( 18 steam purchases, no issues with updates there ). What annoys me most is that I actually bought this game twice, my Amazon copy was going to arrive late, so I bought another copy from Game. ( both 505 versions ) so I could play it on my day off from work, but I've spent more time trying to install the game, than actually play it. When it worked, it was pretty good, but the time investment trying to get it to run just doesn't cut the mustard, compared to every other game I've owned and played. If and when retail keys can be activated via steam, or, patch releases allow you to default back to a previous working version, I'm going to, sadly, give this one a miss.

See my post here : http://forums.bistudio.com/showthread.php?p=1362256#post1362256 ie A few friends at another forum pointed me here as I was having similar issues. My Main install was to my E drive, and the 1.02 patch would not apply, tried re installing and re dling patches, cleaning out the registry etc, still no joy. To fix it I installed on the default C drive ( after moving a lot of files so I still had plenty of space after the install, XP home, latest SP etc ) So after the re install, I ran one scenario but did not change vid options etc, then rebooted, ran the patch. On each error, I copied the file in question from the DVD to the installed folder, then hit retry, took a while longer to patch, but eventually it worked. Prior to that when I ignored the errors, I could play on some servers ( unsigned ones I guess ) but got kicked from signed servers as they assumed I had modified files. So, try to install to the default directory, play a scenario, reboot, apply patch, get error, copy the file from DVD to directory, hit retry in patcher etc. So far, no issues playing on any server, and the signed server my forum mates use is ok too Someone else posted about copying the files from the DVD to the install, kudos to them ( sorry I can't recall their name )/

With any steam error, a good fix is to delete or move the clientregistry.blob file from the main steam folder ( make sure steam is not running ) then restart steam, re enter your username/password etc, let steam update then try to launch the game. Also in steam/games right click on Arma 2 and select check integrity of files or something along those lines. Both help with a lot of steam issues and will either fix the problem, or eliminate Steam from the fault finding process. Lastly, what vid card drivers are you using for the 8800 ? The latest official Nvidia drivers solved some "receiving" ( ie blank screen for ages ) probs I had with the retail version.

A few friends at another forum pointed me here as I was having similar issues. My Main install was to my E drive, and the 1.02 patch would not apply, tried re installing and re dling patches, cleaning out the registry etc, still no joy. To fix it I installed on the default C drive ( after moving a lot of files so I still had plenty of space after the install, XP home, latest SP etc ) So after the re install, I ran one scenario but did not change vid options etc, then rebooted, ran the patch. On each error, I copied the file in question from the DVD to the installed folder, then hit retry, took a while longer to patch, but eventually it worked. Prior to that when I ignored the errors, I could play on some servers ( unsigned ones I guess ) but got kicked from signed servers as they assumed I had modified files. So, try to install to the default directory, play a scenario, reboot, apply patch, get error, copy the file from DVD to directory, hit retry in patcher etc. So far, no issues playing on any server, and the signed server my forum mates use is ok too :) Someone else posted about copying the files from the DVD to the install, kudos to them ( sorry I can't recall their name )/