CD/DVD Problems

General CD/DVD Read Problems

There are a few things that could be wrong with CD/DVD read problems, as such, we have a few things for you try.

First, try holding down the left shift key when inserting the game disc. This should prevent the AutoPlay splash screen to come up.
Next, try another CD/DVD disk in the same drive to make sure that Windows^®can properly read this other disk.

If that does not work, make sure you have 32-bit drivers for your CD-ROM drive, this applies only to Windows 98/98se/ME^*. Those using Windows 2000 and XP^* can skip this part.

You may have older 16-bit CD-ROM drivers which need to be replaced with newer 32-bit drivers.

Right-click on the My Computer icon.
Select Properties from the menu.
Click on the Performance tab.
Look for the line that says File System and make sure it says 32-bit to the right of it. If it does not, this could be causing the problem.
You should contact the manufacturer of your computer or of your CD-ROM if you do not have 32-bit drivers.

If that does not work, check the CD/DVD Cache size and access pattern

For Windows 98/98se/ME^* only

Click on the Start button > Settings > Control Panel.
Double-click the System icon.
Click on the Performance tab.
Click on the File System button.
Click the CD-ROM tab.
Move the Supplemental cache size slider over to Small.

If that does not work, try changing the DMA setting on the CD/DVD drive

For Windows 98/98se/ME^*

Right-click on the My Computer icon and select Properties.
Click the Device Manager tab and click the plus sign next to the CD-ROM entry.
Double-click on your CD-ROM drive.
Click the Settings tab on the CD-ROM Properties window.
Change the DMA setting. If it is checked then uncheck it. If it is unchecked then check it.
You may need to restart your computer for the change to take affect.

For Windows 2000 and XP^*

Right-click on the My Computer icon and select Properties.
Click the Hardware tab and click the Device Manager button.
Go down the list and find IDE ATA/ATAPI controllers.
Double-click on Primary IDE Channel.
Click the Advanced Settings tab.
From the Transfer Mode drop down menu, select DMA if available and click OK.
Repeat steps 4-6 for the Secondary IDE Channel.

Example for^*

Windows 2000/XP

(Click for larger picture)

For Windows Vista^TM*

From Task Bar > Click Start.
Select Control Panel from the Start Menu.
Double-click System icon.
At the top left of the window click Device Manager button.
Scroll down the list and find IDE/ATA/APTI controllers.
Double-click the Primary channel. (IDE/ATA)
Click the Advanced Settings tab and verify that “Enable DMA” is checked.
Repeat steps 5-7 for the Secondary IDE Channel.

If that does not work, try turning off Auto Insert Notification

Windows 98/98se/ME^*

Right-click on the My Computer icon.
Select Properties.
Click the Device Manager tab.
Click on the plus sign next to the CDROM entry.
Double-click on the CD-ROM drive.
Click the Settings tab on the CDROM Properties window.
Uncheck the Auto insert notification box.

For Windows 2000 and XP^*

Click the Start button > Run.
Type in the field: gpedit.msc and click the OK button.
Highlight System from: Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > System.
Highlight Turn Off Autoplay.
Right-click and select Properties.
Click Enabled.
In the drop-down menu next to Turn off Autoplay on: select CD-ROM drives.
Click the Apply button and then OK. You can close down all opened windows

Example for

Windows 2000/XP^*

(Click for larger picture)

For Windows Vista^{TM *}

Click the Start button > Type “Autoplay” in the search field.
Click “Autoplay” in the top of the window.
Scroll down to “Software and Games”.
In the drop down menu, select “Take no Action”.
Click save at the bottom of the window.
Close all open windows.

Additionally, if you have burning software Alcohol 120%^® installed you may need to turn off all of the emulation options.

Go to File > Options.
Click on Emulation in the menu to the left.
Uncheck all options in the window to the right.

Also, if you have CloneCD^TM you may need to turn off the Hide CDR media setting. This setting is accessible from the task tray icon for clone CD. Right-click on the icon and uncheck Hide CDR media.

If you are experiencing the following error:

“Please login with administrator privilege and try again”

The game must be installed by an account with administrator privileges. Please re-install the game. Run the game the FIRST TIME within an account with Admin or Power User privileges. The program must install Win2000/XP/Vista^* drivers onto the system, which requires administrator privileges. Subsequent plays are allowed from any account level.

If you are having any additional problems that are not solved by using the steps provided above, please contact Activision Customer Support.

*All Operating Systems may not be supported by your game, please check the minimum system requirements here or look for it to be printed on your game box.