Unable to Install Vanilla SHIII

[Grumbling Grognard]

Hello All,

I have owned SHIII for a couple of years now and my son and I enjoyed the heck out of it on my old PC. Well, it has gone the way of all old PCs and I built a new PC. Firstly, I am not a total newb. This is not my first box I have built (nor the second or third or fourth...you get the point). My drivers ARE current (let's just not go there, okay). Secondly, I am in information technology. I have been for 15 years. I can find my way around WinXP just fine. My box is rock solid stable, except for this game which will not even install...

I have attempted to install/reinstall the game literally more times than I can count (only for my son would I do this!)

When I try to install SHIII the new installation fails every time with the same error message:

"Error 1305.Error reading from file C:\Program Files\Ubisoft\SilentHunterIII\data\NavalAcademy\Na val Artillery\English\Naval Artillery\Naval Artillery.wmv. Verify that the file exists and you can access it."

...Well, sure it exists, but hell no I can't access it because the damned installation program has it locked! So, it seems to me that this great prog can not even decompress its own files consistantly?! Gee, might this have something to do with copy protection (again)?!?!?!

SH3 does 'not' always fail on the same file, but it does always fail with the same message and it does always fail while trying to read/copy *wmv files from-to ...SilentHunterIII\data\NavalAcademy directory.

Sometimes a retry works, generally not. IF it works on the first file, it will always fail at on this particular file (I don't even want the damned tutorials!)

The PC works fine. Tons of disc space, lots of memory and other games work fine.

Now, before anyone tells me it is my disc, it is not. I have been able to install and play this same cdrom on my Father's PC (he has an off the shelf HP we got a few months ago). Performace blows due to his lack of a vid card, but it installed fine and runs. My Dad's pc has a DVD drive... 'but' it is not a R/W drive, just a ROM...

I will be honest, I work in software development and I have just completed spending about 40 hours of my spare time trying to get ANOTHER G-damned game working for my son (yes this is for him as well). That "free time" was wasted because of issues with their copy protection software VS my DVD drive.

Now, after a bit of reading about StarForce and considering the symptoms, I am practically postitive it is this copy protection on SHIII that is preventing me from installing SHIII.

If this is truely the case, and it is not resolved damned soon I 'will' never, NEVER buy another G-damned UBI game again, period. I kid you not. Ask Atari how many of their games I am buying after the issues I had with Securom and thier total lack of support?

Considering my boy's b-day is in March (when SH4 is due), and at least a dozen family members continously come to me for "computer help" and "game reviews" for their kids/themselves (sorry, I 'am' the family computer geek) and my boy and I tend to buy about three dozen games a year that would be too bad for us all.

Can anyone help me get this damned game reinstalled on my new box before I swear off UBI forever (literally)?

A very, very frustrated and equally tired,
GG

P.S. My frustration, anger is not directed at anyone on this forum, unless you own Sony, Starforce or UBI stock. In that case, it is all yours!