Chessmaster 9000 does not work with all XP users ?

[stanabadie]

Customer (Stan Abadie) - 08/05/2004 08:25 AM
I installed Chessmaster 9000 on a PC running Windows XP logged in as "Stan". The data files were automatically installed in C:\Documents and Settings\Stan\My Documents\Chessmaster 9000. When I am logged in to the computer the program runs, but when logged in to Windows XP as another user I get a critical error and the program immediately ends.

I tried moving the files to C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Shared Documents\Chessmaster 9000, but that did not work.

How do I get the program to work for all Windows Users ?

This was their answer:
Unfortunately this game was only designed to work when it is being played under the same Windows user account that it was installed under. This is because many critical data files for the game are stored in My Documents folder, as you mentioned. There is no way that I'm aware to play it under another user account. You might want to try asking this on the Chessmaster 9000 forums @ www.ubi.com (http://www.ubi.com) and see if some user is aware of a way to do it that we're not familiar with.

Does anyone if this can be done
Thanks, Stan
stanabadie@yahoo.com

[stanabadie]

Customer (Stan Abadie) - 08/05/2004 08:25 AM
I installed Chessmaster 9000 on a PC running Windows XP logged in as "Stan". The data files were automatically installed in C:\Documents and Settings\Stan\My Documents\Chessmaster 9000. When I am logged in to the computer the program runs, but when logged in to Windows XP as another user I get a critical error and the program immediately ends.

I tried moving the files to C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Shared Documents\Chessmaster 9000, but that did not work.

How do I get the program to work for all Windows Users ?

This was their answer:
Unfortunately this game was only designed to work when it is being played under the same Windows user account that it was installed under. This is because many critical data files for the game are stored in My Documents folder, as you mentioned. There is no way that I'm aware to play it under another user account. You might want to try asking this on the Chessmaster 9000 forums @ www.ubi.com (http://www.ubi.com) and see if some user is aware of a way to do it that we're not familiar with.

Does anyone if this can be done
Thanks, Stan
stanabadie@yahoo.com

[maxjasper]

Movig the CM files to another folder will NOT solve this problem because XP registry enteries must be changed too. Best is to install CM while logged as admin and install for all users.

"Chess is the art of human reason." [â"”Agustus]

[stanabadie]

Once I put in a couple of users I have been unable to find a way to log in as Admin. How do you log in as ADMIN?

Stan

[maxjasper]

in XP control panel goto Users and see if you can give yourself admin status, otherwise if you are not the owner of the computer then contact him/her.

"Chess is the art of human reason." [â"”Agustus]

[stanabadie]

I have Admin status but when the program installs, it installs the main portion of the software in C:\Program Files\Ubi Soft\Chessmaster 9000 and the remaining software in C:\Documents and Settings\ Stan \My Documents\Chessmaster 9000. I am not sure but I think if it could be installed somewhere in C:\Documents and Settings\All Users, it may work, but how do I force it to do that ?

Thanks
Stan

[Grim_O]

From the Chessmaster 9000 FAQ:

Question
Since I can only install this game under the administrator account, can Chessmaster 9000 be run on an account that does not have admin privileges in Windows XP?

Answer
With Chessmaster 9000, you must play the game under the same administrator account it was installed under. You cannot play the game under other user accounts. The reason for this is that many data files are stored in the My Documents folder, which are exclusive to each user.

I havent been able to find any alternative ways to play the game from a non-admin account on other forums so I think the above is final http://ubbxforums.ubi.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_frown.gif

[stanabadie]

Actually, the game will not run under any account other the account it was installed under. I have tried everything I can think of and everyone else came up with and can not get it to run under the other accounts. At this point I believe Ubi Soft should take the XP compatibel off the box because it is surely not XP compatible. I can not return it to the store so I guess I am stuck with another piece of software that don't work.
Thanks very much to all who responded with help.
Stan

[IcedMochaJava]

Here's a couple suggestions to try - Assumes XP SP2:

1 - In the account that has CM installed, right click properties on the "\Documents and Settings\<user>" folder. Go to the sharing Tab and verify an unchecked "Make this folder private box". Unchecking will allow other users to see this users MyDocuments files. (BE CAREFUL! This could be a security issue depending on what you have in that admin account).

2 - In the limited access accounts, create a shortcut to chessmaster on the desktop. Then select properties on that shortcut. Click the Advanced button, and check "Run with different credentials". This will cause CM to prompt for a user account when launched. Select the admin account where CM was installed.

This means the admin user will need to provide the password to the CM admin account for the limited user.

For my kids, this is good as they must ask me when they want to play chess. This a least alerts me to their computer usage.

The clean way to do this is to create a GAMES user account on XP as and admin, then install CM under the GAMES User. Then follow the steps above. This povides a little protection from accidents with your important files. Note that the GAMES account is and admin account and could be used for other bad intentions.

If you have XP Pro - you may want to lock a few things down using the group policy editor, and other firewall tools. Your on your own for those tips.

Godd Luck.

[zeroality2]

Simple solution: Install it under the XP user account that you will be using and don't log on any other user accounts if you wanna play CM http://ubbxforums.ubi.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif

Zero

"His strength is unreal. He is far stronger in reality than any story you might have heard about him."