Bug - game requires administrator rights

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All Forums >> [New Releases from Matrix Games] >> Empires in Arms the Napoleonic Wars of 1805 - 1815 >> Tech Support >> Bug - game requires administrator rights

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Bug - game requires administrator rights - 12/8/2007 5:41:25 PM

Jimmer

Posts: 1968
Joined: 12/5/2007
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The game, after installation is complete, will not function properly unless the user running it has admin rights. So far, I found three errors. The first is that you get two error messages after hitting "play" on the opening screen. These can be bypassed, seemingly without error.

The second error is a show-stopper. When you are in the Options box, and you try to hit the OK button, you get "Cannot create file .\Data\wgs_default_settings.dat." The only option is an OK button, which brings you right back to the options window. The only way out is to open task manager and kill the game.

There's a third error when you are trying to set up the initial units, but it only happened to me once, and I didn't catch the exact text. However, it mentions that there is a file which is denied access because the user does not have sufficient access to the file.

I suspect the game simply forgot to apply "all users" write permissions to the entire directory structure when it asked whether to allow the shortcuts to be available to all users.

Jim

Post #: 1

RE: Bug - game requires administrator rights - 12/8/2007 5:43:50 PM

Jimmer

Posts: 1968
Joined: 12/5/2007
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Oh, and I forgot to mention that all three problems do not happen from a user account with admin rights.

Also, I'm running Windows XP Pro (SP2, fully patched) on a no brand PC that exceeds all of the system requirements for the game. I suspect that if I installed it on my Vista system, it would experience the same behavior. However, the license prevents me from trying ("only on one computer ...").

(in reply to Jimmer)

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RE: Bug - game requires administrator rights - 12/8/2007 7:26:11 PM

bresh

Posts: 936
Joined: 8/8/2005
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Weird, problem would sound as if you run Vista.
If you run vista, always install a game as admin if you want it to work.

I dont have vista, but even i heard that as one of Vistas flaws.

Regards
Bresh

(in reply to Jimmer)

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RE: Bug - game requires administrator rights - 12/8/2007 10:13:37 PM

Jimmer

Posts: 1968
Joined: 12/5/2007
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It's not a "flaw" in Vista. It's a security feature, and a darned good one. It's one of the very first rules of "safe computing": Don't operate day-to-day as a privileged user. Always create a second user name that does not have admin rights, and run "normal" stuff from that user account. Any computer security book will have this as one of the first recommendations.

(in reply to bresh)

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RE: Bug - game requires administrator rights - 12/8/2007 11:18:10 PM

Erik Rutins

Posts: 37503
Joined: 3/28/2000
From: Vermont, USA
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Jimmer,

Thanks for the report.

quote:

ORIGINAL: Jimmer
I suspect the game simply forgot to apply "all users" write permissions to the entire directory structure when it asked whether to allow the shortcuts to be available to all users.

As far as I know, the installer does do this, but we will investigate this based on your feedback.

Regards,

- Erik

_____________________________

Erik Rutins
CEO, Matrix Games LLC

For official support, please use our Help Desk: http://www.matrixgames.com/helpdesk/

Freedom is not Free.

(in reply to Jimmer)

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RE: Bug - game requires administrator rights - 12/9/2007 12:23:00 AM

Jimmer

Posts: 1968
Joined: 12/5/2007
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Thanks, Erik!

By the way, there are probably more than just the three things I mentioned. I suspect one has to get through those in order to see the others, though. Also, it may not be permissions on folders that are the trouble. It could be registry permissions, user rights, all kinds of things. Let me know if you want me to test something out for you (since I have a "clean" setup with a non-admin already on my system).

(in reply to Erik Rutins)

Post #: 6

RE: Bug - game requires administrator rights - 1/8/2008 12:40:59 AM

Jimmer

Posts: 1968
Joined: 12/5/2007
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I did some troubleshooting on this, and I now know how to work around it (the fix will have to come from Matrix).

The permissions on the "Matrix Games" folder grant members of the "Users" group onlyl "Read & Execute", "List Folder Contents", and "Read" permissions. Then, there are two "Special" permissions: "Create Files / Write Data" and "Create Folders / Append Data" permissions.

I extended "Modify" permissions to the "Users" group (this also includes "Write" permissions), and this solved the problem.

I did not check subfolders for permissions issues, so this may have been overkill. But, it DOES solve the problem.

NOTE: I suspect things are really dicey on Vista. Do any readers have Microsoft's Windows Vista installed in default mode (i.e. non-admin for "typical" users)? If so, can you comment on whether there is a deeper or different problem on Vista?

2nd NOTE: Because there is a workaround, I believe this problem can wait until a later release to be fixed.

_____________________________

At LAST! The greatest campaign board game of all time is finally available for the PC. Can my old heart stand the strain?

(in reply to Jimmer)

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RE: Bug - game requires administrator rights - 4/9/2008 1:27:07 AM

Tribune

Posts: 4
Joined: 4/8/2008
Status: offline

quote:

NOTE: I suspect things are really dicey on Vista. Do any readers have Microsoft's Windows Vista installed in default mode (i.e. non-admin for "typical" users)? If so, can you comment on whether there is a deeper or different problem on Vista?

It is indeed "broken" on Vista. Something insidey provokes User Account Control (UAC) to require an Over-The-Shoulder
admin password activation to run (on a standard non-admin user account).

I installed on Vista, subject to UAC and other security features. I installed from the system's admin account -- the correct
procedure -- but attempted to play the game from a standard user account. It then opens a command window which
induces the UAC request for the admin password. I haven't yet used tools like Sysinternals' Process Explorer to see
what's happening inside.

After its security has been "improperly" elevated, the game program works.

I will continue to run it this way to remind me of the security cost inherent in running stuff that breaks even the
pre-Vista rules of XP. Every other non-Vista program, I've been able to 'virtualize' away the naughtinesses from (e.g.)
writing from a user account into the "Program Files" directory. [But I installed EiA to where it "wanted" to go, its very
own C: [root] folder "Matrix Games\Empires in Arms," so this isn't a case of one of the usual suspects].

(in reply to Jimmer)

Post #: 8

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