PA Launcher not doing anything

Discussion in 'Support!' started by gilbotx, May 30, 2014.

  1. gilbotx

    gilbotx New Member

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    I reformatted my PC today, installed Windows 8, upgraded to 8.1, installed the latest Nvidia drivers for my graphics cards, and downloaded the latest PA_Setup.exe. I ran it and it said it installed successfully. The only files it installed were:

    "C:\Games\Uber Entertainment\Planetary Annihilation Launcher\UberLauncher.exe"
    "C:\Games\Uber Entertainment\Planetary Annihilation Launcher\D3DCompiler_43.dll"

    Running UberLauncher.exe makes the PA icon appear on my taskbar. UberLauncher.exe appears in Task Manager. But I cannot see the window. If I click on the taskbar icon, for a fraction of a second I see the outline of a Window which then immediately disappears. The thumbnail preview of this taskbar icon is blank.

    Makes so difference if I run it elevated (i.e. Run As Administrator) or not.

    I can't see any log files anywhere, and there is nothing in event viewer.

    My DxDiag is attached.

    Attached Files:

  2. gilbotx

    gilbotx New Member

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    Forgot to mention, my antivirus is Symantec Endpoint Protection 12.1.3. I created an autoprotect exclusion for the C:\Games\* folder, and the heuristic components (Proactive Threat detection) are not installed, so it is not my antivirus software causing this.
  3. JosefStalinator

    JosefStalinator New Member

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    I'm having this exact problem, and don't see a solution.

    Installed C++ redistributable 2012, directx, updated drivers, the whole bit.

    Also tried reinstall.

    Attached Files:

  4. SXX

    SXX Post Master General

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    Can you clarify how exactly you installed it?

    Try to install it this way: download this package:
    http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=8109
    Then run it, extract to accessible directory, open this directory, find and run "DXSETUP.exe" installer.
    After installation finished try to run launcher once again.

    PS: I also need to warn you that if you bypass problems with launcher then you'll likely met problems with by 32-bit OS memory limitations:
    Code:
    Operating System: Windows 7 Professional 32-bit (6.1, Build 7601) Service Pack 1 (7601.win7sp1_gdr.120830-0333)
    Memory: 4096MB RAM
    Available OS Memory: 3582MB RAM
    For more information and workaround check this topic:
    http://steamcommunity.com/app/233250/discussions/2/648816742979172000/
  5. cwarner7264

    cwarner7264 Moderator Alumni

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    Do you have a screenshot / recording of this? I believe I've identified similar issues with the launcher but have never been able to replicate it effectively.
  6. JosefStalinator

    JosefStalinator New Member

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    Attached is a screenshot of what appears.

    I downloaded and ran the directx thing as recommended, with no change. The launcher still refuses to do anything other than appear in the taskbar.

    While 32 bit might cause me problems later (and you're 100% right), I really doubt that's what is crashing it now.

    Attached Files:

  7. cokecookie

    cokecookie New Member

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    does your Windows user name contain any non-english letters ? I had similiar issues and that
    was what caused the problem for me.
  8. JosefStalinator

    JosefStalinator New Member

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    Does the default dash (-) count? Cause that's all it's got that would be a non standard character.
  9. cokecookie

    cokecookie New Member

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    Hmm I don't know if that counts or not. I'll give you the little workaround I use when I get home. Maybe it works for you as well
  10. cokecookie

    cokecookie New Member

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    Okay so here is my little "workaround" that allowed me to run the Launcher even though my user name contains non-english
    characters. Basically it's just a little AutoHotKey Script (only 6 lines of code) which redirects the Launcher's calls to the user
    directory to a subdirectory (in this case "Temp") inside the Launchers folder to avoid any conflicts with unsupported letters.
    I included the compiled .exe and the "source code" (haha), so you can compile it yourself if you don't want to use my .exe .

    Simply put the compiled script into the directory which contains "UberLauncher.exe" and run it. Solved my problem and I can
    play totally fine. Let me know if it doesn't work for you (I don't know if it works on win8)

    Edit : do you have the latest verson of .net framework installed ? if not, maybe that's what is causing your problems

    Attached Files:

    Last edited: June 24, 2014
  11. Cont3k

    Cont3k New Member

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    hello ! same kind of problem here when i wanted to install PA on my new laptop running win8,

    PA launcher in task bar, process was in task manager but nothing on screen
    windows accout with "normal" letters

    PA launcher finaly appears after re-installing direct X
  12. JosefStalinator

    JosefStalinator New Member

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    We have a winner! This fixed it. I guess the problem was the dash "-" in my PC's username. Using this workaround seems to have fixed the problem (at least so far, as the launcher is now working).

    So Uberrent be aware - you need to allow non-standard characters in PC names, or deal with considerably more headaches. The default naming convention for windows 7 PC's is to ask for your name and then add a "-PC", so I guarantee I won't be alone.
  13. cokecookie

    cokecookie New Member

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    Well, that shouldn't be a problem because what you mean is the default setting for the computer name and not the username
    itself (at least that is how I remember it). But think of all the people who have non-english characters in their names (probably
    quite a lot !). This should be fixed asap, especially since PA's launch date is coming closer.
  14. gilbotx

    gilbotx New Member

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    My problem is now resolved. In my case it was nothing to do with lack of RAM (I have 64GB DDR3) and not to do with using invalid characters in my install path or username. I resolved the issue by:
    • converting my Ubernet PA key to a Steam PA key
    • Playing a game of PA via Steam on my machine
    Now the PA launcher works. I presume that when I installed PA via Steam it must have taken care of any software requirements that were still outstanding.

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