WB & Punkbuster
I've been busted!
Tuesday, August 5, 2008 by Astyanax | Discussion: Stardock Support General
Normally to avoid the issue I've set the particular games executable to the excluded list for Windowblinds, but no! Battlefield 2 refuses to let me play a game in peace when I have a wb skin applied (Vista 32bit). I can play for maybe a minute or two and then I am booted off a server for "Unknown Windows API Function [131152]".
I did some searching and it appears that I am not the only one getting this problem. It seems very strange that it only happens with bf2 regardless of it being excluded or not. I play a few other games with punkbuster, one of them is Battlefield 2142 and I don't even have to set that game to the excluded list at all. Call of Duty 4 also HAD the issue but excluding it worked.
Does anyone happen to know how I can fix this, other than unloading WB everytime I want to play bf2 that is, which so far seems to be the only solution. I've tried everything, including updating Punkbuster on BF2 which didn't change a thing.
My WB Config for anyone curious:
Your computer has a Windows Experience Index base score of 5.9
Your Windows Graphics Experience score is 5.9
WindowBlinds version : WindowBlinds 6.2 (build 102 x86 - Vista Edition)
WindowBlinds is installed correctly on this PC
WindowBlinds appears to be activated on this PC
(LG W2252(Digital)) 1 is attached to ATI Radeon HD 3870
Wblind.dll 2008/07/22 10:08:20
Wbsrv.dll 2008/07/22 10:11:10
Wbconfig.exe 2008/07/22 10:10:32
Wbload.exe 2008/04/28 11:35:14
Wbhelp.dll 2008/04/28 11:35:07
Tray.dll 2008/04/28 11:35:21
Wbload.dll 2007/11/04 17:50:28
Screen.exe 2008/07/22 10:10:09
Reply #3 Thursday, August 7, 2008 11:48 PM
Reply #4 Friday, August 8, 2008 3:01 AM
EDIT: Support ticket has been filed, Ticket ID OTS-725534 - For some reason its listed under Support - Activation, I knew I should have logged in rather than sending an email in.
Reply #5 Friday, August 8, 2008 10:38 AM
Reply #6 Friday, August 8, 2008 1:49 PM
They update their software regularly, since this has been an issue for a long time I highly doubt a recent or most recent update did this.
Reply #7 Monday, August 11, 2008 2:35 PM
Reply #8 Monday, August 11, 2008 3:31 PM
Yes, 2142 was the only game to NOT have a problem. It was BF2 that no matter what I did would kick me unless WB was unloaded. I had a problem with Call of Duty 4 but that was resolved by setting the EXE to the excluded list in WB, BF2 still doesn't seem to want to play nice even if I try adding it to the excluded list.
I heard that BF2 they had to modify the way Punkbuster worked due to a latency issue with servers that many people had been getting - basically people where getting kicked or losing connection from servers and the issue was semi related to Punkbuster. As far as I know 2142 didn't have this happen which makes me wonder if this change in the way PB behaves in BF2 is the reason I keep getting booted.
Reply #9 Monday, August 11, 2008 3:37 PM
Reply #10 Monday, August 11, 2008 7:32 PM
Reply #11 Tuesday, August 12, 2008 1:01 PM
In all likelyhood, there's probably nothing that can be done other than to unload WB at the time or get Punkbuster to look for wblind.dll being i there.
Punkbuster looks for unrecognized things that are part of the game process. Wblind.dll gets inserted into every process on creation. Punkbuster flags it as being suspect.
Reply #12 Friday, August 22, 2008 7:20 AM
Reply #13 Friday, August 22, 2008 2:23 PM
Reply #14 Thursday, October 9, 2008 11:29 PM
I have the same problem, but i have it with battlefield 2142. Have you found any solutions?
Reply #15 Thursday, October 9, 2008 11:56 PM
Other than unloading WB when I play BF2, nope..
Reply #16 Wednesday, September 2, 2009 3:58 AM
Excuse the bump for such an old thread but this is off a freshly reinstalled game, all the patches, PunkBuster updates, and WindowBlinds 7 Beta2. Here are some info thus far:
Windows 7 x64 RC, WindowBlinds 7 Beta2, BF2 1.50 w/ latest PunkBuster files, Call of Duty: World at War is also installed which I will refer to later.
I have gone through the hassle of reverting my theme to Vista's Aero Glass just to play BF2 but after a while, I stopped playing altogether. Since then I do not know of any PB updates. However, this is a fresh install, with all the updates, and nothing really out of the ordinary. I reinstalled the game due to the 1.5 update and I tried to play on a server to test the water. About a couple of minutes into running around, I get kicked for the ol' Unknown Windows API error. Once I had reverted my theme back to stock, I was able to play on the server without any issue.
I have already added the BF2.exe file into the Per App list and told it to not skin it. Yet I am still getting kicked. By comparison, I have played Call of Duty: World at War without issue and without any problem, and PunkBuster plays nice with it.
I know that Even Balance can be a pain in the rear for not actively supporting pre-release version of Windows. But I kinda wish they would be more open to the notion that people can use RC builds as a temporary stay until the retail build is available to all. I have tried to google for solutions but so far, I cannot find a definitive solution that can resolve this one and only lingering issue. I am at a loss and I do not know what else to try. I'd send a ticket to Even Balance but once they get wind that I am running Win7 RC, they'll spout their usual BS of not supporting pre-release versions of Windows. I am hoping that someone out there may have an answer or that someone at Stardock could help get in touch with Even Balance to have them get off of their high horse and help resolve an ancient issue.
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Reply #1 Thursday, August 7, 2008 4:09 PM