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Guys: below find my correspondence with support because I could not successfully download Mass Effect 2 since a sale last weekend(newest to oldest).

How hard is the conversion they are discussing?? What would I need to do? Does it indeed sound like the problem?

Getting a bit frustrated…Thanks.

Why wouldn’t this have updated through Windows update??
Hello,

The reason that your download is failing at the same point every time makes sense now. It seems you are using an older file system format called FAT32. In this file system, you cannot have files that exceed 4 GB. Many installers, including Mass Effect 2, exceed that 4 GB limit. You will need to install to a partition that used NTFS to get around this limitation. You can also convert the FAT32 partition to an NTFS partition in place, but this is a risky operation that could result in data loss.

Please let me know if you have any additional questions[/FONT]

Says:

The Cacls command can be run only on disc drives which use the NTFS file system.

After running and getting the above I still get a download error.

In a message dated 3/26/2010 10:55:31 A.M. Eastern Standard Time, support@stardock.com writes:
Hello,

Can you please follow this link in Internet Explorer:

[COLOR=#0066cc]http://sd.stardock.com/mike/apps/stardock_access.bat[/COLOR]

save the file, right click it and select “Run as Administrator” if you’re on Vista/Windows 7, just run it if you’re on XP. This may solve your issue.

Please let me know whether this resolves your problem or if you have any additional questions. It is not reporting anything.

I have not had any problems downloading any other games.

I paid for this game last weekend and I need to get it.

In a message dated 3/25/2010 1:48:00 P.M. Eastern Standard Time, support@stardock.com writes:
Hello,

When the SFC scan asks for the Operating System disc, it is looking to replace corrupt system files. If the sfc scan is reporting that there are system files that are corrupt beyond repair, then the problem lies deeper than any of our applications. SFC checks that Windows system files are in their original good condition and that they have not been modified or corrupted. At this point I would suggest contacting Microsoft for support with repairing your operating system.

Please let me know if you have any additional questions
Ok, This ran thru a Windows File Protection status bar, prompted me to put in my Windows XP disc so a missing file could be found but finished without generating any type of result I could see. Is there a log saved somewhere??

In a message dated 3/23/2010 4:36:53 P.M. Eastern Standard Time, support@stardock.com writes:
Hello,

These are the steps for XP

-Click Start and then Run, Type ‘cmd’ and hit enter.
-Type: sfc /scannow
-Wait for the scan to complete (this can take several minutes)
-When the scan has completed, it should give you some feedback as to the result

Please let me know the result of the scan. Thanks,
I’m on XP, so the bold below is all for me, or only this?:

For XP Users: Click Start and then Run, Type ‘cmd’ and hit enter.[/FONT]

In a message dated 3/23/2010 11:06:56 A.M. Eastern Daylight Time, support@stardock.com writes:

Hello,

All the utility does is grab files and zip them up. If it’s failing to run, then the problem may be bigger than just Impulse.

Please try the following:

-For VISTA/7 Users: click Start, in the start search field type ‘cmd’. Right-click on the search result and select ‘Run as administrator’.
For XP Users: Click Start and then Run, Type ‘cmd’ and hit enter.
-VISTA ONLY: If UAC is enabled, click ‘Continue’
-Type: sfc /scannow
-Wait for the scan to complete (this can take several minutes)
-When the scan has completed, it should give you some feedback as to the result

Please let me know whether this resolves your problem or if you have any additional questions.
Will this help since the utility does not work?

Lloyd(attached dixdiag info)

Doesn’t work, I get a message that “the process can’t access the process” and then another that “the file is in use” and even though it tells me a zip file is created, there is none there.

Lloyd

In a message dated 3/22/2010 12:21:11 P.M. Eastern Standard Time, support@stardock.com writes:
Hello,

Please download and run the following utility:

[COLOR=#0066cc]http://sd.stardock.com/SDSupportTool.exe[/COLOR]

This is a tool that we use to gather relevant log files and basic information about your computer. Once the utility finishes running, please send back the .zip file it creates on the desktop.Re Problem with Mass Effect 2 Download.
Sirs:

Purchased this today. Download keeps failing with message:

Error: Problem writing File.

Stops at around 47%.

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Lloyd, this is a garbled mess.

Are we talking about your computer?

Format your hard drive NTFS. This isn’t 1980 any more.

NTFS is the standard file system of Windows NT, 2000, XP, Vista, and Windows 7. It was introduced in 1993. It supersedes the old FAT file system (introduced in the 80s) as the preferred file system for Microsoft Windows.

Read this article to convert your hard disk from FAT to NTFS.
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb456984.aspx

This must be one old computer.

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Short answer: NTFS is how a modern computer works and yes by god you need to convert to it what in the hell is wrong with you are you using a reel-to-reel tape drive?

Long answer: FAT32 and NTFS are different systems for how Windows manages files. FAT32 is old, like Win95 old. NTFS has been the standard ever since. If you’re still using Win95/98, you shouldn’t be playing modern games and expecting them to work. If you’re using a newer OS and you still have a FAT32-formatted drive as a secondary drive, you’ll need to reformat it using a modern OS.

4

Yes, you really need NTFS.

5

This.

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Lloyd: As others have said, yes, you need to switch to NTFS.

As for the conversion, it is very, very simple. I have a 4 year old laptop that, for whatever stupid reason, uses FAT32 as the default file system if you restore it to factory settings. Every time I have restored it, I immediately convert to NTFS. Just follow these instructions: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/307881

I have never had any problems. I have not lost any data, though I have usually done this with minimal new data on the drive. However, I had been using the computer for a few weeks when I first bought it before I noticed it was FAT32, and even then did not lose any data.

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You don’t have to reformat to convert FAT to NTFS. You can follow these steps given in the Microsoft technet article:

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb456984.aspx

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your filesystem in windows rejects files larger than 4gb, which the game downloads are.

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How on earth did you last this long on FAT32 without running into other problems?

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This thread rocks.

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Yeah, but that’s like saying “I found out my girlfriend is a Scientologist, but I’ve heard that I can convert her!” - no you can’t, it’s better to completely dump the crazy and get a new one.

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What a blast from the past!

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Wow, I had no idea. I have Windows XP. I had Windows 98 and upgraded a few years back (probably well after you all:)). About 3 years ago I added a larger HD, and removed the very old one.

At no stage was I ever prompted to change or upgrade FAT32.

I’m wondering if this was my problem with Dragonage DLC a while back that support was never able to figure out, before I gave up on the game?? Other than this I have had zero problems but don’t buy many games online.

How much danger is there actually in losing data?

Thanks for the help, and you are welcome for the laugh. ;)

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So out of curiosity, if this is the same machine that ran Win98, albeit with a bigger hard drive, what other hardware is in there? Can the CPU/memory/GPU be modern enough to run Mass Effect 2?

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Well, it runs Bioshock2, Dragonage(with DLC problems), Risen, FO3,and Armored Princess fine.

I upgraded CPU and Video too a while back but it did not seem relevant to mention…

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My god… not even I would defend still running FAT32 in this day and age.

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Lloyd, the only real use for FAT format these days are for USB memory sticks. There are DVD players and car stereos that can play .mp3 music and .avi videos directly from USB memory sticks, but they can only read the older FAT format.

So for those specific instances, you would format your USB memory stick with FAT instead of NTFS.

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How much danger is there actually in losing data?

I have lots of photos…

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You should back your photos up whether you are doing a file system change or not.

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Make a backup of anything on that drive you would want to kill yourself over if you lost.

You should be doing this anyway.

*ALL HARD DRIVES WILL ONE DAY CRASH AND BURN AND MAKE YOU CRY*

Be prepared. Here’s one of our QT3 threads about backups.

Mozy is decent and backs your files up to the Mozy backup servers over the Internet.
www.mozy.com