Why is my serial number suddenly invalid?

[igor7111]

It started out with the laptop. Going along fine (Jan-Feb 1917) when I try to play and it won't let me because it says my serial number is invalid. So, ok,
I'm in the process in re-formatting my hard drive. I install the game and,
my serial number is invalid again? Do these have an expiration date?
Am I allowed to use with both laptop and desktop? Can you help?

Greg
gregb143@tds.net

[Badcat]

It started out with the laptop. Going along fine (Jan-Feb 1917) when I try to play and it won't let me because it says my serial number is invalid. So, ok,
I'm in the process in re-formatting my hard drive. I install the game and,
my serial number is invalid again? Do these have an expiration date?
Am I allowed to use with both laptop and desktop? Can you help?

Greg
gregb143@tds.net

I'm also having the same problem with the game. I am trying to install on my desktop computer and the game states that my serial number is invalid.

Wayne
wburn1353@aol.com

[calvinus]

Ok, the question is: did the serial become invalid after the installation of a patch?

Check quickly the content of the following files:

WW1.ini
Serial.ini

You have to find the following section:

[SERIAL]
SerialKey="????-????-????"

If you don't find the serial key, here is the reason!
So type manually the serial key and save the file(s).

Probably there's some problem in overwriting the files, so the WW1.exe does not find the serial to check for.
In fact, there's no expiration date for the full version of the game, provided you have installed the full version, of course. But, even if you have installed the Demo version, if you type correctly the serials, the game should run like if full!

Another idea... mmmm... maybe your serials are in the black list... don't ask me why please (refunded customers or cracked/stolen serials)... Send me a PM with your serial and I will check tonight if you are in the black list.

[igor7111]

Thanks Calvinus, you nailed it. For some reason, the serial number in WWI.ini was " " , so I just stuck the number in there and away we go (went).

Thank you. Talk about withdrawal, almost as bad as missing my heroin
hit. This has become my favorite game of all time (but I'm a WWI wonk,
so what do I know). And your support has been nothing short of heroic.
So take a year or so off, don't quit!!! Then come back and tweak to your hearts content.

I know I asked you long ago if the army by army mode was worth playing and, at the time, you suggested using the turn based mode. Is that still the case? I'm dying to give the army by army mode a go.

Anyway, thanks for the help with the serial no., thanks for the game and thanks for the support. You've created a classic.

GB

[calvinus]

I know I asked you long ago if the army by army mode was worth playing and, at the time, you suggested using the turn based mode. Is that still the case? I'm dying to give the army by army mode a go.

As you can see in some threads, a lot of players are already enjoying the army-by-army mode (patrat, anthropoid and others). So... go! It's for geeks, but it gives some pleasure. There are still a few little bugs to fix and improvements to bring to the game, but this mode is playable.

And... thanks for your support!

[Badcat]

Ok, the question is: did the serial become invalid after the installation of a patch?

Check quickly the content of the following files:

WW1.ini
Serial.ini

You have to find the following section:



If you don't find the serial key, here is the reason!
So type manually the serial key and save the file(s).

Probably there's some problem in overwriting the files, so the WW1.exe does not find the serial to check for.
In fact, there's no expiration date for the full version of the game, provided you have installed the full version, of course. But, even if you have installed the Demo version, if you type correctly the serials, the game should run like if full!

Another idea... mmmm... maybe your serials are in the black list... don't ask me why please (refunded customers or cracked/stolen serials)... Send me a PM with your serial and I will check tonight if you are in the black list.

HI Calvinus,

The serial number was in the right place but the game is still claiming the number is invalid. I'll go ahead and delete the files and try to reload and see if I can get it to run. One question, I bought the game as a pre-purchase and had to load the patch on Nov. 11. Do I still need to load that paticular patch or can I load the latest patch to get the game to run?
Thanks,
Wayne

[calvinus]

HI Calvinus,

The serial number was in the right place but the game is still claiming the number is invalid. I'll go ahead and delete the files and try to reload and see if I can get it to run. One question, I bought the game as a pre-purchase and had to load the patch on Nov. 11. Do I still need to load that paticular patch or can I load the latest patch to get the game to run?
Thanks,
Wayne

No particular need. Simply install the latest patch is enough. If you still have problems with the serial even if typed correctly in both .ini files, send me the serial key via PM, so that I can check it in the list.

Thanks,
Calvinus.

[igor7111]

<Thanks Calvinus, you nailed it. For some reason, the serial number in WWI.ini was " " , so I just stuck the number in there and away we go (went).>

I spoke too soon Calvinus. It worked on my desktop, but on the laptop,
the number WAS in there. I checked to make sure it was correct, but
it still tells me the serial number is invalid.

[Aphrodite Mae]

I'm afraid that you're in for a long wait, Igor, since it's zero-dark-thirty in Sicily!

So...
this is a long shot, but it's worked for me before with other software.

Try copying and pasting the serial code from one file to the other. I know that it sounds like superstitious voodoo... but for some strange reason, it has worked for my "loser", when he was installing something complicated in multiple seats. (I think it was AutoCAD, but don't quote me on that.) Anyway, what have you got to lose with the effort? The alternative is uninstall-reinstall.

AM

[calvinus]

<Thanks Calvinus, you nailed it. For some reason, the serial number in WWI.ini was " " , so I just stuck the number in there and away we go (went).>

I spoke too soon Calvinus. It worked on my desktop, but on the laptop,
the number WAS in there. I checked to make sure it was correct, but
it still tells me the serial number is invalid.

The serial must be at least in one of the files WW1.ini and Serial.ini, but if present in both it must be the same, of course. So check this. Check also the file version of the WW1.exe file. Finally, copy the working WW1.exe (that one on the desktop) somewhere (on a storage key?) and paste it on the laptop, so that you have the same config (serial & exe) on both PCs.

[igor7111]

Made sense, but it didn't work. I got the intro videos ok
but then instead of the game I got a windows error.......
"windows has encountered a fatal error and must close".....
so, I'm at a loss.

[calvinus]

Made sense, but it didn't work. I got the intro videos ok
but then instead of the game I got a windows error.......
"windows has encountered a fatal error and must close".....
so, I'm at a loss.

If the Intro video started, it means you passed successfully the Serial Key check.

Then the crash is probably caused because the version of the .EXE file is not compatible with the version of the .bn files of the graphic engine. In simple words the versions of the game installed on the laptop and the desktop are not the same. It happens the game tries to load all graphic elements of the game and crashes because the version is not good.

The concerned files are:

Data/DefWin.bin
Data/ResDef.bin
Data/WinStr.bin
Data/Dictionary/ExternalStringsUK.txr (if you play in English)
Data/Dictionary/ExternalStringsFR.txr (if you play in French)
Data/Dictionary/ExternalStringsSP.txr (if you play in Spanish)
Resources/ResId.h
Resources/ExternalStrings.h
Resources/GuiTypes.h

All these files must be the same on both the laptop and the desktop, otherwise the EXE crashes.

I hope this will solve the mess in your installations...

If this is too complex, the quickest solution is to uninstall and remove physically all game files from the laptop and do a fresh installation from zero of the full installer 1.06A on your laptop. In such a case, I'm sending you a PM containing the URL for the download of the Full Installer 1.06A.

[Yzab]

hello, i've just bought and installed the game. It worked. (gold version 1.01)
Then i upgraded to 1.08k. Now my key is invalid.
I checked and it is the same in the WW1.ini and serial.ini
What can I do?

[calvinus]

hello, i've just bought and installed the game. It worked. (gold version 1.01)
Then i upgraded to 1.08k. Now my key is invalid.
I checked and it is the same in the WW1.ini and serial.ini
What can I do?

Absolutely normal. You bought the base version of WW1 (1.01) and then you applied the patch 1.08K that requires the Gold version of WW1 is installed.

So you have two options:
a) buy the Gold Upgrade Kit, download it, install it and finally apply the 1.08K patch... or
b) download and install the free patch 1.07K that is compatible with the base version of WW1 (that's to say your serial key is accepted!).

Edit: no gold version 1.01 exists... the gold version is 1.08.

[PhilThib]

at the moment,there is a super promotion on our website, so you can get the update for very little

[Badcat]

I updated gold to 1.07 and now it claims my serial number is invalid! I tried deleting and reloading the game going with the base version and then the gold upgrade. The serial number is right and I can find it in config, serial ini. and WW1 ini. files. is there anywhere else I should look? I can't find it in the register, so there has to be another file where the serial number is corrupted.

Thanks,
Wayne

[calvinus]

You updated gold to 1.07 ??? Why???

1.07 is the pre-Gold and seeks only the old serials! It's the free patch for the owners of the base version of WW1.

This is why now the game does not accept anymore the serial of the gold version.

You should instead upgrate to 1.08K.

[Badcat]

You updated gold to 1.07 ??? Why???

1.07 is the pre-Gold and seeks only the old serials! It's the free patch for the owners of the base version of WW1.

This is why now the game does not accept anymore the serial of the gold version.

You should instead upgrate to 1.08K.

What can I say...

[suediarra]

hi!

I bought, downloaded and installed the game. Without entering the serial I installed the latest patch. After that I entered the serial in the configurator and I checked that the same number was found in serial.ini and wwi.ini files. Despite of thisthe game won´t start ,it keeps saying that my serial key is invalid! But I got it together with my download.

I have also tried other things sucha as turn UAC off,running in compatibility mode with XP, running as an administrator... nothing seems to work

Help please? Thanks.

[PhilThib]

I am sorry, but it may be possible that you need to enter the serial after the original installation and only After that you patch the game . Could you try that?

[suediarra]

thanks but I managed to fix it myself. In fact, I thought that I hade added the serial to the serial.ini and wwi.ini files but I forgot to save! So when I tried to launch the game the serial was still not in the files.

When I tried to save I couldn´t, the computer wouldn´t let me so I moved both files outside the game folder into the desktop and there I could add the serial, save and move them back to the game folder. So you can enter the serial after having patched the game.

I´ts a great game by the way.and very good and fast technical support.

[uk4caster]

hello, i've just bought and installed the game. It worked. (gold version 1.01)
Then i upgraded to 1.08k. Now my key is invalid.
I checked and it is the same in the WW1.ini and serial.ini
What can I do?

I also recently got out my old WW1 and freshly installed version 1.01 (on the original CD). Then I downloaded the Gold update Kit and the latest patch 1.08L.

Everything was accepted fine and as far as I know it is fine........the terrible niggle though is that the opening screen (which seems to only start after I press the ESC key) still shows version 1.01! Is this a real problem or just an oversight. Would installing a pre-Gold patch after installing the original CD again sort it out?! Thanks.

[calvinus]

Gold Version requires a new serial key as compared to base WW1. That's why when the game is upgraded to Gold edition, the old serial key is not accepted anymore. You are supposed you did buy the gold upgrade and so received a new serial key, so simply use that new serial key, not the old one.

[calvinus]

I also recently got out my old WW1 and freshly installed version 1.01 (on the original CD). Then I downloaded the Gold update Kit and the latest patch 1.08L.

Everything was accepted fine and as far as I know it is fine........the terrible niggle though is that the opening screen (which seems to only start after I press the ESC key) still shows version 1.01! Is this a real problem or just an oversight. Would installing a pre-Gold patch after installing the original CD again sort it out?! Thanks.

Be sure the gold upgrade has been installed in the right folder. Win7 makes a mess!

[uk4caster]

Stupidly instead of waiting for a reply I went ahead and uninstalled the game and reinstalled it as above.

First of all the game seemed to know the Gold serial # it was in the configurator and so said it was the wrong serial and wouldn't play before I installed the upgrade! I ran the pre-Gold 1.7 patch, then the Gold upgrade. There were some error messages along the way which I can't remember. When I try to run it now it gets to the first screen (still shows as version 1.01). Then it crashes with a message about :

Microsoft Visual C++ Debug Library
"Debug assertion failed.

Program C:\Program Files (x86)\World War One\WW1.exe
File e:\progretti\games\WW1\sources\interface\startwindow\startwindow.cpp
Line: 1060" ........so I'm in a mess! I am going to try to uninstall and remove all traces at the moment.

[calvinus]

Mmmhhh... it seems really a mess.
No need to install first the 1.07 patch, then the 1.08 gold upgrade.
You can install the 1.08 gold upgrade directly over the base WW1.
Anyway, the best thing to do is to send a PM to PhilThib asking the download link of the Gold version full installer, so you have only one setup to do, no mess.