I finally managed to solve this. Chat with EA didn't help neither any of the solutions on the internet (as far as I found). The solution that worked for me.Is to create iso file from red alert folder. I used Folder2Isothen right click on the created iso file. And mount.then run red alert 2. Boom worked.The folder I created iso from, was something I copied after red alert 2 download finished on origin before installation complete.
So if iso from normal folder doesn't work, try doing the same. Which solution on that page you are referring to?
I tried them all actually. My problem is also different. It runs but it says to insert CD. Which obviously I don't own. As I downloaded it from origin. Yuri's revenge by the way still work.EA owns the game and I assume still have the source code. They can easily make sure the game still runs or not sell it on their store.
Let others like GOG sell it if they don't want to make it work. GOG doesn't own any of the old games they sell and still do a good job.
Hi NirvanaWolf,This problem seems to span over all different versions of Windows, graphics cards and versions of Red Alert 2 so you are not alone! I had the same graphics issues (I am using Windows 7 and C&C First Decade) and through some simple fixes Red Alert 2 and Yuri's Revenge now work perfectly.
I will explain which solutions worked for me and hopefully they will help you too:Firstly, in regards to 'FATAL String Manager failed to initialize properly', I would reinstall the game. The more tech-savvy might be able to explain what that means and that reinstalling may not be necessary, but it might be easiest just to start afresh in case you accidentally edited something important.Next repeat what you've already done: change each and every.exe in your Red Alert 2 directory (and Yuri's Revenge if applicable) to run in compatibility mode and select 'Windows XP (Service Pack 3)', then tick the run as administrator box and apply.Once you've done that, open ra2.ini (also in your Red Alert 2 directory. Use notepad to open it) and you should find something like this:VideoScreenWidth=1280ScreenHeight=1024StretchMovies=noReplace the above text with this:VideoAllowHiResModes=yesAllowVRAMSidebar=yesVideoBackBuffer=noScreenWidth=800ScreenHeight=600StretchMovies=yesFrom what I gather you can change the resolution here if you don't want it to be 800x600, but it's what I prefer and I know, at least for me, that this resolution works.Lastly, right click on the desktop and select 'Screen Resolution'. There should be an option called 'Multiple Displays'. Now if you don't have another monitor connected, follow the instructions on this forum:Alternatively, if you are using a separate monitor like I am, which I believe is why I don't have the option 'Try to connect anyway on: VGA', then just select 'Extend these displays' on the 'Multiple Displays' drop down menu and that should work.After many hours of scouring forums and performing each task listed above, the game finally works, and even better, the extending displays trick seems to fix graphical errors with other retro games on modern machines, such as Baldur's Gate!Hope that helps! I believe I have the same problem but have noticed something different.
I have had a working RA2 on my win7 64bit machines ( 1 laptop, 1 desktop) both stopped working after the most recent batch of windows updates. I do not have the knowledge on figuring out which one took out RA2.But here they are kb3069114,kb3074550,kb3086255,kb3084135,kb890830,kb3087918,kb3087038,kb3074543,kb3074230,kb3092627,kb3083992,kb3087039,kb3083324They were all updates installed at the same time so I don't have a clue as to which one it is if there is someone on this board who might be able to look at these with a more experienced eye I would love to play my game again.thanks. Originally posted by: Hi, you can try all my fixes in this article how to run red alert 2 under windows 8 and windows 10. Its worked for me;)This actually fixed the game for 50%. No more black screens at the beginning, and it's possible to play the game like normal, but only for like 5 minutes or so. The screen will freeze but the game will play further, the sound is still playing, but i cant do anything cuz of the screen freeze.Any one any idea how to fix it, cuz origin isn't going to help at all!
I have installed Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2 from the Command & Conquer: The First Decade bundle, and would like to run it in either a window mode (as it doesn't seem to recover very gracefully from ALT+TAB or a custom widescreen resolution. The resolutions the game supports by default are. Red Alert 2 Free Download Full Game. Red Alert 2 Free Download is a 2.5 D based strategy game developed by Westwood Pacific estate and Published by EA Games on October 23, 2000.This is basically made for the Microsoft Windows platform and easily downloaded from the internet.