Schrullenhaft

You may want to run the DirectX 9.0c webinstaller and see if that helps (or possibly the Redistributable version if the webinstaller doesn't think it needs to install anything). CMBB and the other CM1 series titles are actually DirectX 5-7 type titles and I"m not sure if the DirectX 9.0c installer will add any DLL files that CM may use. This DirectX 9.0c install does NOT downgrade you, but simply provide a few DLLs that Microsoft may not have included with Windows 10. Do you know what graphics chip your ZenBook has and/or which specific model of ZenBook you have ? Some ZenBooks have Nvidia video chips in them and possibly switching to that may get the game to recognize the 3D graphics. Intel integrated video should also work, but perhaps there is a driver issue here.

CMBB uses eLicense, which allows for two concurrent activations. I would guess that you may have had it on an older computer and didn't UNLICENSE it on that computer before it became inaccessible. You could unlicense it on the laptop and then activate it on the Zenbook. You would have to unlicense one copy to play the other copy (you can go back and forth in this manner as long as you have an internet connection during the unlicensing and activation processes). You can also contact the Helpdesk and see if they would be willing to 'reset' your license key to allow for another activation. You'll of course need to provide your license key.

With Intel integrated video you MIGHT have a setting in the BIOS that mentions the amount of memory that is 'dedicated' to the video. This 'pre-allocated' video is actually not seen by the OS and is strictly used by the video chip within the CPU (in this case, much older Intel video is integrated into the chipset). However within Windows Intel utilizes their DVMT system that allocates memory on-demand. So memory could be pulled from the OS and used for the video system and when that program no longer needs it the memory can be returned to the OS to be used as 'main' memory for other programs, etc. CM should operate in this manner and be able to request the video memory that is needed. You can check your laptop's BIOS settings and see if there is anything that allocates more memory to the video system. This could be anything from 512K to 512MB (the lower amount would seem unlikely with the Intel HD Graphics). It's possible that the BIOS may have no setting what-so-ever for allocating dedicated memory for the video system or possibly it may need to have a setting to enable DVMT (not too likely with the HD Graphics). I currently have a system at work utilizing the Intel HD Graphics 4000 (Intel 3570K CPU). You can see how much memory the system may allocate to the video by going to Start Menu > Control Panel > 'Display' control panel > 'Adjust resolution' selection in the left text-based menu > 'Advanced settings' text selection towards the lower right of the 'Change the appearance of your display' panel > the 'Adapter' tab (default) should list several amounts for your video memory: Total available graphics memory (1760MB in my case) Dedicated video memory (256MB in my case - POSSIBLY set via a BIOS setting) System video memory (0MB in my case - this may also be a BIOS setting) Shared system memory (1504MB in my case - the amount of memory that the OS can utilize for either video or programs) If you have a low 'dedicated video memory', then you may want to check around your BIOS settings to see if you could possibly allocate more memory (if that is even an option). With more 'dedicated video memory' the games may work better (assuming that DVMT is not allocating enough video memory for them). Something else to try is to modify the programs' 'compatibility' settings to see it that may make any difference. Right click on your CMBO/CMBB/CMAK game icon and select 'Properties' from the popup menu. In here go to the 'Compatibility' tab. Toward the top of the tab in the 'Compatibility mode' section check-mark the box next to the text that says "Run this program in compatibility mode for:" and select "Windows XP (Service Pack 3)" from the drop down list (usually the default selection). Further down in the 'Settings' section you can also experiment with the settings of "Disable visual themes" (not sure if this would be effective in any manner), "Disable desktop composition" (this disables the 'Aero' interface to Windows 7 temporarily, can potentially provide a mild performance boost), "Disable display scaling on high DPI settings" (its really helpful for scaling text that utilizes Windows fonts - something that the CM programs do NOT utilize). You could also check-mark the box in the 'Privilege level' section' for "Run this program as an administrator". Looking through the Intel HD Graphics control panel I couldn't find anything that I would affect the behavior of CM to my knowledge, but you could experiment with some of those settings too. I'm not certain what your driver may provide for this control panel. Some options may be very bare depending on the driver. Do you know what exact CPU you have (since this will determine the exact video chip your system has) ? Have you updated your driver to the latest that is available ? Many laptops may require you to use the driver that is supplied by the laptop manufacturer, but some may allow you to use the Intel-provided driver, which is often quite a bit newer than what most laptop manufacturers will have on their websites.

I can't recall the exact differences between the CMBB and CMAK engines. To my recollection the differences were fairly minor. I think vehicle dust clouds was one of the more significant changes (that some people also didn't like for FOW reasons). Here's a discussion from 2004 about the differences between CMBO, CMBB and CMAK: A bit of this discussion mostly focuses on the difference between CMBO and the latter games, with a number of people preferring the somewhat unrealistic nature of CMBO over the latter titles. Remember that CMAK does NOT have all of the units of CMBO (different units and TOEs in each theater). So while CMAK will be quite a bit more realistic than CMBO, it will lack certain units.

I went back to look at the 'minimum' specs that are listed for CMBB and the sales page mentions '16MB video card capable of running 800 x 600 or higher'. I believe the same spec would be true of CMAK and CMBO would possibly be even smaller (though you may have to run at 640 x 480). The sales page for CMBO mentions a configuration as low as 4MB for the video card. Are you certain that your laptop only has 8MB of dedicated memory ? That seems awfully low for most computers nowadays, especially one that can run Windows 7. Many 'low power' laptops often run with video that is either integrated into the chipset or integrated within the CPU. Most of these use a 'shared memory' scheme' where the main memory is used for the video display and often these may have a minimum of 32MB upwards to a maximum of 512MB or possibly even 1GB. Some of these systems may have a small amount of 'dedicated memory' that is actually set aside for the video, while also being capable of 'sharing' the main system memory.

I don't know what the 'dedicated video memory' requirement would be for the CM1 series, however 8MB is REALLY LOW for most 3D games. I would assume you would need about 64MB minimum. In fact 8MB for the Windows 7 desktop/OS sounds very low. What is the video chip in your laptop ?

I assume that you're running Windows Vista or later (7, 8 or 10), is that correct ? If the game is installed into the 'Program Files' or 'Program Files (x86)' directory, then this directory is 'write protected' in a particular manner. To prevent writes to the program directories Windows redirects the files to be written to a 'virtual' directory. The games will see the files as if they were written to the directories you expect them to be, but if you go looking for them manually you won't find them. Open up the Windows Explorer File Manager, highlight your 'C:' drive and then go to the 'Organize' menu (below the 'File', 'Edit', 'View', etc. menu entries). Select 'Folder and search options'. Go to the 'View' tab and in here click the radio button for 'Show hidden files, folders, and drives' (below the 'Hidden Files and Folders' entry that looks like a folder). Now UNcheck the box for 'Hide protected operating system files (Recommended)' and click 'Apply' button and then the 'OK' button. Now browse to the following path: 64-bit Windows: 'C:\Users\{your account name}\AppData\Local\VirtualStore\Program Files (x86)\Battlefront\Combat Mission Afrika Korps\...' 32-bit Windows: 'C:\Users\{your account name}\AppData\Local\VirtualStore\Program Files\Battlefront\Combat Mission Afrika Korps\...' The files that would normally get written to the actual game directory within the Program Files/Program Files (x86) directory are actually located here. If you run the game by right-clicking and selecting 'Run as administrator' from the popup menu, then the saved or edited games will be stored in the actual game directory.

I believe your 'build' should work fine for CM purposes. Admittedly it is always 'expectations' that color how good something may be. For CM single core CPU performance is the key for smooth (or 'near smooth') gameplay. While AMD has gotten a bit closer to Intel in terms of IPC (Instructions Per Clock/Cycle), it is still a bit behind. This is something you'll see when 'single core' benchmarks are run. AMD somewhat makes up for this in being a bit more affordable for the horsepower you are getting. An equivalent Intel system may cost a bit more. If you are willing to spend more (and possibly wait for availability... the latest Intel 8th generation CPUs tend to sell out) an i5 8400 might be a bit better of a performer for CM. The 8th generation Intel Core CPUs had a major change in the number of cores the CPUs have, with the mainstream CPUs moving from 4 cores to 6. This would be of no benefit to CM, but it helps Intel combat AMDs latest CPUs. One other difference is that the Ryzen 5 1500x is capable of being overclocked, while the i5 8400 does not officially support overclocking (locked multipliers, etc.). So you could get a little more performance out of the Ryzen, though it is possible that the i5 8400 may still outperform the overclocked Ryzen. Motherboard-wise an Intel board (Z370 chipset) will be a bit more expensive than the AMD B350 series (around US$30 - $50 on average). I believe you could use the same RAM, though you'll always want to check any memory QVLs (Qualified Vendor List) for a motherboard to make sure you're getting something compatible. The video card should be fine. Video cards are part of the graphics performance equation for CM, but not nearly as much as CPUs. More horsepower in the video card can allow for better texture filtering and anti-aliasing. Perhaps future versions of CM can benefit a bit more from high performance GPUs than the series does currently.

I just installed the entire CMSF series on a AMD Ryzen system running Windows 10 v. 1709 and the Avast (free) anti-virus. Avast interfered at times (especially with the patches), but after each module install, activating said module the game ran fine. This includes the 1.32 patch. In my case there was no need to make any changes to the DEP settings. That may not always be true for everyone and it could vary depending on the CPU and motherboard you have. Where was the 1.32 patch downloaded from ? I suggest selecting the 'Battlefront server' for the download (which will actually come from Battlefront's Sharefile account). For now, reinstall the 1.31 patch and make sure that ALL of the appropriate boxes are checked during the patch install (i.e. - checkmarks for each module that you have and the base game). See if CMSF runs now. Hopefully it does. Disable any anti-virus you have (temporarily) and run the recently downloaded 1.32 patch by right-clicking it and selecting 'Run as administrator' from the popup menu. Again, make sure that all of the appropriate boxes are checked in the patch installation. With that finished attempt to run CMSF and see if it gives you the same error (with your anti-virus/security software disabled). You will want to launch the game again with the right-click and 'Run as administrator' selection again. Hopefully this works (and the game has been patched to 1.32 as seen at the bottom middle of the main menu screen). If it does, go ahead and exit the game and then re-enable your anti-virus/security software and add an exception for the Battlefront directory that is typically in your 'Program Files (x86)' directory (assuming you're running the 64-bit version of Windows).

You will want to open up a ticket with the Helpdesk (www.battlefront.com > 'Support' in the menu bar > 'Helpdesk' > click on the blue '+new ticket' button in the upper right). I believe that they will need to send you a file to delete your current activation(s) and allow you to reactivate. Make sure to let the Helpdesk know that you are running CMFI + Gustav Line without the 3.0 and 4.0 Upgrades since there are different files for each version. My guess is that you made some sort of change (hardware or OS or even on a rare occasion a hardware driver) that has tripped up the copy-protection system to assume that it may be running on a different computer.

Wburn - You can purchase the 'Combat Mission 4 Upgrade Big Bundle (Windows)' to upgrade the games you got for US$25.00 for the download only version. With this purchase you should have access to the 'full installer' for each of the 4.0 versions of the games. So you could backup any in-progress, downloaded scenarios, mods, etc. and then completely uninstall/delete the current games that you have and reinstall them with these 'full installers'. They will have all of the current patches and content built-in. Anything that you have activated now should remain activated and you will just have to use the new license key (or possibly the '3.0' license key in some situations) to upgrade to 4.0. When you download you will want the 'full installer', which is obviously larger. There are 'upgrade' installers that just apply the 4.0 Upgrade alone and require that everything be patched up to the current version prior to the 4.0 Upgrade.

Look for the 'Runservice.exe' file in your Windows directory. It is also listed in the 'Services' control panel (within the Administrative Tools') and look for the 'LicCtrlService' and see if it is running. This is the eLicense service that has to be running for CMSF and CMA to work. I don't think Avast messes around with this file, but you can potentially add an exception within Avast to make sure that it doesn't. Runservice.exe will only be present after a successful activation of the game (any eLicense protected game). If this file and its registry settings (to have it launch as a 'service') are not present, then you need to activate the game again. However the games should recognize that they are not activated (the 'Runservice.exe' is not present and the game is not registering with it as being activated) and prompt you to activate again if this were the case (under normal circumstances). Also, you may need to add the DEP settings for the game executables and the Runservice.exe exectuable. eLicense 0xc0000005 error. Though this gives a different error code, it MIGHT be related to what you're experiencing. Finally, are you right-clicking to launch and selecting 'Run as administrator' from the popup menu ? This may be necessary after the Fall Creator's Update (though not everyone may need to do it). There is also a checkbox within the 'Properties' > 'Compatibility' tab at the bottom that will allow you to launch the game without having to right-click it each time. Unlike CMBN and later games (that use a different copy-protection system) CMSF and CMA have not had any updates to the eLicense service (its the same version as when the games were originally released to my knowledge). Interestingly the new copy-protection software needed to be updated to be compatible with Windows 10. eLicense on the other hand didn't need this update to my knowledge. I don't think that the latest (v. 1709) version of Windows 10 would interfere with the eLicense service, but possibly it has.

There is mention of 'GS5' in the path that the error references, which appears to be related to the copy-protection system that CMBS uses. The original thread for this issue mentions the only other report of this problem (on the forums), which one user mentioned the Nahamic audio control software (that came with some MSI motherboards and laptops, among others). I can only guess that there is some software on the computer that is interfering with the copy-protection system. Perhaps post a screenshot of the Task Manager's 'Processes' tab (or multiple screenshots to show all of the loaded executables). This should be accessible by Ctrl-Alt-Del and then selecting 'Task Manager' and then going to the Processes tab. If you do screen shots, you'll need to paste the first one into some sort of document before scrolling down the list and taking the next screenshot. I believe that the Demo may have a similar copy-protection incorporated into it, but it doesn't call up any sort of licensing function. What security software (anti-virus and/or firewall) are you running ?

What was the install process that you used for CMRT ? Recent purchases should be fully patched to v. 2.00/Engine 4.0 without ANY patching/upgrading being necessary. The attached image is the file info for the 2.00 version of the executable. The 'Size on Disk' and 'creation date' can be different from what you have, but the 'Size' and 'Modified' date should be the same. I'm not aware of any settings within the Nvidia Control Panel (or other utilities that may modify the driver behavior) that would cause what you are seeing. Are you using 'Reshade' or any other utility that may interfere with OpenGL graphics ? Do you know what map you are using (if this is a Quick Battle) or what scenario/campaign you may be playing ? I'd assume that a certain building and roof type will ALWAYS appear this way in game. Have you tried multiple maps (with these specific type of buildings possibly being present) and experienced the same problem ? Strange that this issue does NOT occur within the Editor, but only within an active game.

You will need to purchase the 'CMBN Upgrade 3 + 4' (US$15) to actually upgrade your CMBN 1.x to a 4.x version. I would suggest downloading the 'full installer'. This can replace your current installation and it will actually install all of the modules, etc. However that additional content will NOT work until you purchase it and activate the license key (i.e. - Commonwealth, Market Garden, etc.).

Is your game an 'Engine 4.0' update ("v2.00, Game Engine 4") or is it just 1.03 ? Have you actually 'opened' any of the BRZ data files with RezExplode ? The attached image (which is hopefully legible) is a v. 2.0, Game Engine 4 install. If you have different or less files or possibly different sized files, then you may have some corruption. Reinstalling and patching properly should fix that (if missing files or corruption is the issue).

Usually black or missing textures indicates a patch or module that isn't installed properly (missing some textures). It's a bit strange that your house models also have the walls spread out in that manner (as if something has happened to the 3D models). Do you have any graphical mods loaded up ? It's strange that things appear fine in the 3D editor, but in game come out black. What video card/chip do you have and what drivers are installed ? Has this always been a problem or something that has cropped up recently (and it was fine earlier) ? Which particular game is this ?

Good troubleshooting. The current (original) version of CMSF uses the eLicense copy-protection system. Since CMBN Battlefront has used a copy-protection system that they call the 'Online Activation System' or something to that effect. It is a different copy-protection system that does NOT have an unlicense function. There is no external 'service' and everything is wrapped up in an encryption system (which occasionally trips up some anti-virus/security programs with false positives). I don't know if CMBN and newer games would run into the same issue with the banking security software that CMSF did. I can only guess that the banking security software may have been going out and possibly shutting down programs/services that it doesn't recognize (most likely the 'runservice.exe') in order to prevent key-logging or some other eavesdropping program from taking your banking credentials. As IanL mentioned, there are no retail copies of Battlefront games. CMSF was the last game that Battlefront allowed another retail distributor to carry and since then the games have only been available on the website.

The 'free' 1.21 patch will not be any different from the version you purchased. So it should be unnecessary to reinstall solely to see if the 'free' version would provide different results. Assuming that the base CMSF game was version 1.10 or 1.11 you would need to then install the 1.21 patch, the 1.31 patch and finally the 1.32 patch. Go to the 'Services' control panel (within 'Administrative Tools') and look for the 'LicCtrlService'. Make sure that it is started or if necessary, restart it. This is the eLicense service ('runservice.exe') and it needs to be running for the game to run. If the game is not launching, definitely use the 'Run as administrator' option with the right-click to launch it. The one major difference between CMSF and the rest of your games is that CMSF is OpenGL, while the rest are very likely DirectX. This will make a difference for the video drivers (which support both graphics APIs, but there is different code within the driver supporting each API). The CTD is likely either something with the video drivers or some other interfering program. If CMSF is able to launch, then we need to know exactly what else is loaded up that may be interfering. Perhaps a list of all the programs in the 'Processes' listing in the Task Manager may help.

The 'Office Software Protection Platform' is the licensing service for Microsoft Office (2010 or newer). I wouldn't have suspected this of causing any problems, but you can possibly go into the 'Services' control panel and disable it (and re-enable it before running any Office programs) and see if that has any effect when running CMSF again. You say that you have a license key for a 'patch'. Did you purchase the 1.21 patch ? This should have only been necessary for customers who purchased the CDV retail version of CMSF (NOT the version that comes from Battlefront.com directly). The patch for the Battlefront version is free. CDV discontinued supporting CMSF before the 1.21 patch came out and the 1.21 patch converts the game to a Battlefront/eLicense copy-protected version that can use the newer patches. Installing any of the modules for CMSF will also convert it to Battlefront/eLicense, with the exception of the NATO module which needs 1.21 installed BEFORE it is installed (and you didn't purchase either the Marines or British Forces modules). If you purchased CMSF directly from Battlefront, then only one license key was needed. I ran CMSF (with all modules and version 1.32) with the Radeon R9 290 and the 17.11.2 drivers and it worked fine playing a Quick Battle to conclusion (about 35 minutes in this case). I just used the default settings of CMSF, while running at 1920 x 1200 resolution. The thread where you found mention of the 9.11driver fixing an issue is when the bug originally existed that would crash CMSF after 5 - 20 minutes of play. DO NOT INSTALL that driver. It will not work with your Radeon R7 265, which needs a much newer driver to run (i.e. - the 9.11 driver does not support the Radeon R7 265).

The 'Switchable Graphics' is typically a laptop-only function. Laptops with Intel CPUs that also have a GPU (AMD or Nvidia) will often run most day-to-day tasks with just the integrated video of the Intel CPU. The AMD or Nvidia drivers typically have a function within them to automatically determine when the GPU itself should take over and run the application (typically 3D games and other programs that benefit from the power of the GPU). All of this comes out of a shared video connection (VGA, DisplayPort, HDMI, etc.). On a desktop there are discrete connections for both the video card and the integrated video. A monitor hooked up to the GPU will only be driven by the GPU, while a monitor hooked up to the video connections of the motherboard will be driven only by the Intel integrated video. One product allowed for a GPU to run some of the graphics coming out of a motherboard connection (Lucid Virtu), but I'm fairly certain you're not running that. So in your case I assume that the Radeon is what you are connected to and the Switchable Graphics likely will not even appear as an option within the Radeon Crimson controls. So the CTD is most likely either some sort of interfering software or a driver issue with the Radeon or some sort of hardware problem. Since you play other games on this computer that don't seem to have a problem, then it would seem a bit unlikely that you're having a hardware problem. The intro video would be unlikely to be the problem. If it were, then I would assume that the game would crash each time it played that video (just a still of the Battlefront logo). I wouldn't think that just playing the video would cause a problem awhile later, but if you want to experiment with that, I believe you can simply delete or move the video from the CMSF folder (I can't recall what that exact file is at this point). The 'Realtek HD' control panel shouldn't be a problem to my knowledge (its a pretty simple utility). I'll have to experiment with the Radeon R9 290 that I have, however it is on a motherboard with an AMD FX CPU rather than an Intel i3.

If you have not overclocked your CPU or videocard/GPU (with a software utility or via the BIOS/UEFI), then they should be fine ('stock' speeds) and that generally shouldn't be the issue here (other than the possibility of overheating). Are you playing on a laptop or a desktop ? If it IS a laptop, do you know if the game is playing on the AMD Radeon or the Intel HD Graphics ? The Intel Graphics MIGHT be unstable with CM and that MIGHT be the cause of the CTD issue. I'm not sure how the 'switchable graphics' is operating. Often a lot of these functions may auto-detect what is needed, but CM games often don't fit exactly what these drivers are looking for and assume that the 3D capabilities of the GPU are not needed (and thus the game ends up running on the Intel Graphics). Sometimes you have to tell the video utilities to 'run with maximum performance', which will usually involve running programs on the Radeon instead of the Intel. This YouTube video shows some things to possibly change in the AMD Crimson drivers for Switchable Graphics. Most of these settings will have the video/GPU running with no power savings. Adding the CMSF executable to the 'Switchable Graphics Application Settings' MIGHT be enough to get the game to run, but you might need to change all of the power settings here just in case something is happening on that front that is causing a CTD with CMSF: A 'cracked' game typically has the copy-protection system removed. With CMSF there shouldn't have been any hidden files to my knowledge and if you had deleted it I wouldn't think that anything would be left over to cause problems with your current install of CMSF. However torrents of cracked games may contain other malware, so they're not a good idea. I have no idea if there is any sort of malware on your computer. You may want to download one of the free anti-virus/security programs and possibly scan your computer (though I would somewhat doubt that any sort of malware is causing the issue you're seeing with CMSF).

With the game running and only crashing after awhile it does not seem like it would be any sort of security or DEP issue. If you purchase any modules, you will probably want to add the module executables to the DEP list too (not a current issue, of course). Do you play any other games on this computer ? I'm wondering if there is a possible hardware issue here. I haven't heard of any issues with the AMD drivers (Catalyst or Crimson - simply a naming system with Crimson the current incarnation) and CMSF or any of the other CM2 games. I have an R9 290 at home I can check out with the latest AMD driver and see if that runs into any issues. What is your CMSF version (usually seen on the screen at the main menu at the bottom center) ? What other programs are possibly running in the background as you attempt to play CMSF (including utilities, etc.) ? I'm not particularly aware of any incompatibilities, but you might run into something that is interfering. I can't remember off-hand if the Nahimic audio controls (for some on-motherboard sound systems) cause problems with all of the CM games or not. If you're overclocking anything (CPU, video card, etc.), you may want to down-clock to the default clocks of those devices and see if that makes any difference. The CM series can be fairly 'hard' on CPUs and if there are any issues with the CPU cooling CM may aggravate that and overheat the CPU. When the game locks up/crashes, if you perform a Ctrl-Alt-Del and 'start task manager', do you see the CM executable still listed (in the 'Processes' tab) ? If so, you can attempt to 'end' that process and see if CM will run again without rebooting.

DEP settings will typically be needed for eLicense (the copy protection system). If you got the game initially activated and it ran, then DEP usually isn't the problem. When you have an issue with DEP it will usually prevent the game from running at all, which is your current situation, but it wasn't your original situation. Here is the Knowledgebase article on DEP settings for Battlefront games. Here's another Knowledgebase article about startup problems with CMSF. What security software are you running ? You may want to add exceptions within it to prevent it from interfering with CMSF and eLicense. This includes possibly making an exception for the 'Runservice.exe', which is the eLicense service (found in the 'Windows' directory). Security software can potentially interfere with CMSF and its modules. Sometimes quarantining the game executables and/or preventing them from running properly. Your problem originally sounded similar to a problem with AMD drivers back in 2009/2010. There was an OpenGL bug that would crash the game after 5 to 20 minutes of play. This was only fixed in 2010 with an updated driver. I'm not specifically aware of the return of this bug (which is always possible). Do you know what you did wrong with your video driver installation earlier ? An internet connection is ONLY necessary when you initially activate the license key. The copy-protection system does NOT go out and check your activation each time you run the game. Even if you uninstall the game the activation is still in place (unless you perform a 'clean install' of Windows or otherwise make significant changes to your computer). If you decide to remove it from this computer ('unlicensing') then you WILL need an internet connection to accomplish that. If your computer did not have an internet connection, then CMSF wouldn't care (as long as you have it activated already or do not need to unlicense it). Do you know what version your CMSF install was at when it was somewhat working ? Even though it is no longer being developed/patched, it is still possible that your base CMSF installation may have only been version 1.10/1.11 (the current/last version is 1.32). If you intend on purchasing modules, then you will need to repatch the game (since the modules are at certain 'patch levels' themselves). Here's the Knowledgebase article on patching CMSF and installing modules. Patches mostly fixed data bugs in the game and corrected certain behaviors, etc. They usually didn't affect the actual running of the game.

Is your resolution in the CM games set to 'Desktop' ? Typically the CM games should run at most of the available desktop resolutions that you may be running at. I assume your 55" Vizio TV/Monitor is running at 1920 x 1080 (HD resolution). If you've set the CM games to run at something else, then the monitor may not support those other resolutions. As a last resort you could potentially edit the 'display size.txt' file (within each CM game's main directory). Replace the "0 0 0" with something like "1920 1080 60" and save it (as a simple text file with no 'carriage return / enter' at the end). There will be a single space between each number.