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PC Gamer free trial problems

13 Apr, 2006

Getting the client to install from the PC Gamer cover disc.

As we announced earlier this week, the current issue of PC Gamer (No. 161) features a 14-day free trial of City of Villains, with the full game client on the cover-mounted DVD. Unfortunately for any potential Arachnos recruits in the UK, though, it turns out that there is a problem with the DVD and the client will not install correctly.

The good news is that our elite Arachnos boffins have come up with no less than four solutions to the problem! If you have the current issue of PC Gamer and have had any trouble installing the client for the free trial, read on for details…

The Problem

The problem with the cover-mounted DVD is that the City of Villains installation files are in a folder, and the setup program can only install them from the ‘root’ directory of a disc.

The Solutions

As mentioned above, there are four solutions to this problem, each of which is detailed below. Please take the time to read through the details of all four solutions before deciding which one you want to use. We strongly recommend the first or second approaches, but all should work. In all cases, please follow the instructions carefully and you’ll be starting your villainous career before you know it.

Solution 1 (requires a DVD writer)
If your PC has a drive capable of writing DVDs, you’re in luck, as this allows you to use the easiest method of installing the City of Villains client:

  1. Copy the contents of the ‘Demos - City of Villains’ folder from the PC Gamer DVD (it’s inside the ‘Content’ folder) to your desktop.
  2. Remove the PC Gamer DVD from your drive and replace it with a blank, writeable DVD.
  3. Write the contents of the ‘Demos - City of Villains’ folder to the new DVD. Do not copy the folder itself - just the files and folders inside it.
  4. Open the newly-written DVD and double-click on the ‘Setup.exe’ file to install the City of Villains client to your PC.

Solution 2
If you don’t have a DVD writer, this is the best way to install the client:

  1. Open ‘My Computer’ and then your hard drive (normally the ‘C:’ drive). Create a new folder called ‘covtemp’.
  2. Open the PC Gamer DVD, then the ‘Content’ folder, then the ‘Demos - City of Villains’ folder inside it, and copy all the files and folders inside it to the ‘C:\covtemp’ folder on your hard drive.
  3. Click on ‘Start’ in your Windows Taskbar and select ‘Run’. Type in ‘cmd’ and click ‘Ok’ to open a command window.
  4. In the command window, type ‘subst z: c:\covtemp’ (if you already have a Z: drive, pick a different, unused letter), then close the command window.
  5. Open ‘My Computer’ again and you should see a Z: drive. Open it, then double-click on the ‘setup.exe’ file inside it to install the City of Villains client.
  6. When the installation is complete, open a new command window (as in Step 3, above), and type ‘subst /d z:’ to get rid of the Z: drive mapping.
  7. Delete the ‘C:\covtemp’ folder.

Solution 3
If Solution 2 seems too complicated, there is a simpler way to install the client, but you must be very careful when deleting the installation files:

  1. Open the PC Gamer DVD, then the ‘Content’ folder, then the ‘Demos - City of Villains’ folder inside it, and copy all the files and folders inside to your hard drive (usually the ‘C:’ drive). Do not put them in a folder, just copy them straight onto your drive.
  2. Open your hard drive and double-click on the ‘setup.exe’ file to install the City of Villains client.
  3. When the installation is complete, delete the following files and folders from your hard drive. Be very careful not to delete any other files or folders:


    Folders:
    assets
    DirectX90c

    Files:
    autorun.inf
    City_of_Heroes.exe
    CohData1.exe
    CohData2.exe
    CohData3.exe
    CohData4.exe
    cov.ico
    FinishSetup.exe
    launcher.exe
    ReadmeFrench.rtf
    ReadmeGerman.RTF
    ReadmeUK.RTF
    Setup.exe
    start-DE.exe
    start-EN.exe
    start-ES.exe
    start-FR.exe
    start-IT.exe

Solution 4 (requires a large download)
If you’re not confident creating and deleting files and folders or burning new DVDs, you can download the entire client using the instructions on this page. Please be aware that this will involve a large download - over 2GB of data - but it’s fairly simple and easy. Just follow the instructions step-by-step.

Getting further help and advice
If you have any questions or need help with the game, be sure to visit the New Players section of the Official Message Boards, where many of our long-term players will be happy to help, or use the ‘Leave a comment’ feature on this page and we’ll do our best to advise you.

Posted by Crater at 10:12
 

0Posted by Some guy on 17 Apr at 13:44

i have a problem getting the code to i can some one tell me were to get it?

0Posted by Rayman on 18 Apr at 08:11

plz give me the code

0Posted by Pellonia on 20 Apr at 15:50

My question is why can I not create a forum account?

It validates my logon asks me to enter screen name and password and then crashes with ~

LWP will support https URLs if the Crypt::SSLeay module is installed. More information at .

0Posted by Dan Gregg on 20 Apr at 21:28

OH THANKS I was thinking that i couldnt play COV then woot thanks again.!
DAN GREGG

0Posted by David Kinnin on 21 Apr at 09:02

I have already started this thread in Help section but I’m starting to get desperate as the weekend will soon be upon us, My problem is that I bought the PC Gamer with the Trial game but it wasn’t in it, some1 had stolen it so now I’ve downloaded the client but I am without the Serial code needed for the game can any1 help me this is urgent, Please.

0Posted by chris on 23 Apr at 05:33

can u give me a trail code??

2Posted by Crater on 24 Apr at 11:38

Pellonia: Are you still having this problem?

2Posted by Crater on 24 Apr at 11:42

David Kinnin: You should contact PC Gamer. Please see this post on the PC Gamer boards.

0Posted by Chris9 on 24 Apr at 12:31

Ive followed all the steps given to install city of villians and have installed it and regisered a play account but for some reason everytime i go to play i get past the point when you download the updater from the site and click next to go to the game menu but all it does is come up with loading message and NEVER loads up. hat is going wrong with it.  Ive wanted to play this game for ages but never can, can you help me?

2Posted by Crater on 24 Apr at 18:44

Chris9:  I’m afraid that, as explained in our comments policy, we are unable to offer technical support via website comments.

If you’re having a technical problem with the game, please contact our Customer Support team.

(That said, I’d check your Firewall settings and make sure you have the most up-to-date drivers for your graphics card first.)

Hope this helps.

0Posted by Mighty on 26 Apr at 00:23

Hi ! why i cant log in with my trial account? i’ve recieved an email, it says that my trial account has been activated,but when i try to login it says that my password or account name is wrong, but its not. whats the problem? help me please !!!

0Posted by Mogge77 on 26 Apr at 08:28

I have registered and created an account.
But.
When I fill in the account name and password in the city of villians log in site it just says that it is an invalid username or password..
wich it is not according to the Play NC site.

2Posted by Crater on 26 Apr at 12:38

Mighty 26 and Mogge77M: I’m afraid that, as explained in our comments policy, we are unable to offer technical support via website comments.

If you’re having a technical problem with the game, please contact our Customer Support team.

The two things that sound most likely are that either you’re attempting to log into the game with your PlayNC Master Account details, not your Game Account details, or that you have a US trial and are trying to access the EU servers (or vice versa). Customer Support should be able to help you in either case.

0Posted by Not registered yet on 26 Apr at 14:58

Solution 4 - download the client doesnt seem to work for me, do i have to registrate first then download? When i open the link it says page not found. when i choose “Save target as” a error message occours and says: “Cannot download [name on file] from ftp.cityofvillians.com - Logginnattempt wasnt accepted”

2Posted by Crater on 26 Apr at 16:48

Not registered yet: Hmm. It seems to be working for me.

I believe the FTP site has a maximum number of connections allowed, so it may be that too many other people were attempting to download the Updater at the same time.

Try it again now?

0Posted by dominique on 30 Apr at 21:25

i cant log in to COV. it keeps telling me that my name and password are incorrect. im new. can anyone help me please?

0Posted by jedi on 11 May at 19:48

i have registered and i dont know where is trial code ?

0Posted by Metroplex on 14 May at 00:45

I think that i have a intel gma 900. graphics card. Firstly copy to Dvd i could do that ?
Second not everyones got a dvd rewiter. But i got one. dvd rw dvdr cd rw cd r. so how to play it with my non technical mind. If thats a real good thing then great i got cd rw 700mb is that good enough?

i hope everyones got a good idea to play this game.

0Posted by Ian H on 20 May at 00:26

I need a key. Mine expired before I could use it. Please email it to ian(at)rockriver(dot)net.

0Posted by Jeffrey on 24 May at 16:14

I’ve got the client, and an account
but
whenever i put my details in it never loads the next page so i ctrl alt and del, it says that it is not responding after i click next
any ideas?

0Posted by Steven on 13 Jun at 13:54

Hi,
I have played CoV alot before this error occured but it says “cannot connect to login server” when i fill in my login info...can someone please help me, email me on:
thanks

2Posted by Crater on 14 Jun at 10:52

Steve: I’m afraid that, as explained in our Comments Policy we are unable to offer technical support for the game via comments on the site. If you have a problem with City of Heroes or Villains, you should contact Customer Support. Hope that helps.

0Posted by Pedro on 19 Jun at 23:11

Hey there, I downloaded the CoV Trial but when I start unzipping files it looks that cohdata3.exe and cohdata4.exe are corrupt and I cant run them =S Could anyone tell me where can I download these files specificly, without needing to download the 2,35gb file again :S:S

0Posted by Pedro on 19 Jun at 23:28

btw, sry about double posting but I forgot to mention, I’m also missing the setup file. Anyway, if you can help me in any way, please reply me or email me.

0Posted by Dixon on 25 Jun at 16:46

I have a problem where I can not download the file, I also came here yesterday and could not download

0Posted by SaEfT on 29 Jun at 18:00

i got the same problem like pedro i downloaded it the third time and i hate it Oo CORRUPT all the time ahh! can someone give me a ftp link or something else ?

0Posted by Calvin on 21 Aug at 23:36

city of villains is the perfect game

0Posted by FlipTopJam on 08 Sep at 18:08

I know it’s several months ago, (I’ve only just got around to installing!) but here is a simplier method on Windows XP that worked for me :

open a command prompt (start | run | cmd)
and type:
subst V: “D:\Content\Demos - City of Villains”

(where D: is your DVD-ROM drive
and V: is the virtual drive mapping to create)

install from the V: drive

and then afterwards delete the mapping:
subst V: /d

I’m now waiting for the 430M patch to download…

0Posted by BOB on 05 Mar at 02:24

I WANT A SERIAL CODE! FOR CITY OF VILLAINS!

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