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BASIC GUIDE TO INSTALLING & CLEANING UP
COMMAND & CONQUER: THE FIRST DECADE
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                                            by Nyerguds



or How To Get TFD Working While Freeing More Than 1.5 GB Of Hard Disk Space In The Process (*)

(*) compared to a normal patched installation. Though compared to a bare install it's probably still over 800 mb.



Note that this guide has been made somewhat obsolete by NathanCNC's unofficial TFD 1.03 patch. Since Nathan's patch is basically an automated version of all of the following fixes packed together, I strongly recommend using the full patch instead of the separate fixes mentioned in this guide. The only reason this page is still available is to show people where it started, and to help out people who have problems using the 1.03 patch for some reason.




1. Getting Started

Before getting started:
  1. Make sure your DVD-ROM supports dual layer DVDs.
  2. BE ADMINISTRATOR. No exceptions. If you're not on an administrator account you will have LOADS of problems.

Okay, now... install C&C: The First Decade. Shouldn't be too hard.

For all patches and fixes in this guide, keep in mind that unless you choose custom install and change the installation path, TFD will be installed in this directory:
C:\Program Files\EA Games\Command & Conquer The First Decade\
If it's not there, simply right-click on the TFD launcher link on your desktop, go to Properties and see which directory it launches from. That should be the subfolder "Launcher" of the main TFD install folder. There should be a "Find Target" button to go right to that location. If you go one directory up from there you'll end up in the main install folder.

Since I'm a C&C1 and RA1 modder/hacker, this guide is mainly focused on these 2 games, so most of it will be useless if you don't install them. So install them. They're awesome.
Note that in this guide, I will refer to the first C&C from the TFD pack as "C&C95", since it's the Win95 remake of the original DOS C&C1.

After installing, let's get to the patching! The following patches and upgrades should be executed / added in the order written in this guide:


2. The official patches & fixes

There are 2 official patches for The First Decade, but I no longer advise people to install the second official patch, since the fan fixes (RA1 main.mix patch & XCC Shortcut Installer) do the same thing in a much cleaner way.

patch 1.01: http://www.ea.com/official/cc/firstdecade/us/news.jsp?src=Patch101 (408 kb)

Video mode settings error: On most systems, the default C&C95 and RA1 resolution of 640x400 causes problems. RA1 will show an "Unable to set video mode" error box. On unpatched C&C95 you'll get an error box without any text on it.
To fix that, go to your C&C95 and RA1 directories and run their respective setup tools CCSETUP.EXE and RASETUP.EXE to put the games in 640x480. Note that the C&C95 v.106 patch (see below) automatically fixes this, by setting the game resolution to 1024x768.

If you still got problems, lower your screen refresh rate to 70Hz or less.


3. The unofficial patches

Now here's the real stuff. Don't worry about the "unofficial" label too much, all of these fixes are tested very thoroughly.

TFD fast launcher: No more waiting for logos to disappear on startup!
http://www.cncforums.com/new/local_links.php?action=ratelink&linkid=49&Catid=4 (97 kb)
Just replace the original TFDLauncher.exe in the Launcher folder with this modified one.

TFD C&C1/RA1 Full Cleanup: Will remove some 770 mb of junk files which were unnecessarily installed by TFD and/or extracted by patch 1.01.
http://nyerguds.arsaneus-design.com/cncstuff/tfd_fullcleanup.zip (2.8 kb)
Unzip in the main TFD folder and run from there.

Nyerguds' Red Alert main.mix cleanup: Takes 500mb off the main.mix file, and cleans up the loose movies in the RA directory. (ENGLISH VERSION ONLY)
http://nyerguds.arsaneus-design.com/cncstuff/tfd_ra_main_patch.rar (40 mb)
Unrar in your Red Alert folder, and run patch_main.bat (don't run patchra1main.exe, it won't work without extra parameters).
After executing this patch, you can delete patch_main.bat and patchra1main.exe.

XCC shortcut Installer: not only adds the game shortcuts to the start menu, but also fixes a lot of registry errors.
http://xhp.xwis.net/utilities/XCC_TFD_Shortcut_Installer.exe (72 kb)
The installer is completely silent, so just check your Start Menu after running it.

C&C95 patch 1.06:
See http://nyerguds.arsaneus-design.com/cnc95upd/cc95p106/
Vital patch with tons of upgrades and fixes. Instructions are included in the patch program.

Red Alert 1 (and C&C95) LAN play patch:
http://www.understorm.net/cnc/lan/cnc95_ra1.php (23 kb)
Download the zipfile, and put the dll inside it in your RA1 directory, overwriting the original file. The C&C v1.06 patch already applies this to C&C95.

Tiberian Sun and Red Alert 2 LAN play patch:
http://www.understorm.net/cnc/lan/ts_ra2.php (24 kb)
Download the zipfile, and copy the dll in it to both your TS and RA2 directories.

C&C95 no-CD fix: This allows you to run C&C95 without needing the TFD Launcher, and gets rid of any "Insert CD-ROM" errors.
http://nyerguds.arsaneus-design.com/cncstuff/cc95nocd.zip (19 kb)
Drag & drop your C&C95.exe onto the program icon to disable the CD check. This fix works on the exe of the unofficial version 1.06.

Red Alert 1 Ant missions fix: This fixes the error where the hidden ant campaign keeps giving "Unable to read scenario" errors, and adds the ant mission briefing video from the Playstation version.
http://nyerguds.arsaneus-design.com/tools/AntBriefing.rar (7 mb)
To play the hidden ants campaign in Red Alert, simply start the game, tap the [Shift] button on your keyboard, and click on the speaker in the upper right corner of the main menu background.

Internet components fix: Not always necessary except if you're on Vista, but hey, better not take any chances and do it anyway.
http://nyerguds.arsaneus-design.com/cncstuff/wolregister.zip (0.5 kb)
Put the extracted file in the Internet folder of your TFD installation and run it from there. It should give two confirmations that "DLLRegistryServer succeeded".
If it doesn't, I refer you back to Before Getting Started note #2.

(optional) Westwood Chat for C&C95 and RA1 online play:
http://xwis.net/downloads/Westwood_Chat-4.221.exe (978 kb)
Full online play guides can be found here:
C&C95: http://strike-team.net/nuke/html/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=82
RA1: http://strike-team.net/nuke/html/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=84


4. Additional support and cool stuff

For more fixes, upgrades and help with common problems, check out these pages:

Nyerguds' TFD Fixes page:
http://nyerguds.arsaneus-design.com/cncstuff/0_files.html

TFD Common Problems thread on the EA Forums:
http://forums.commandandconquer.com/jforum/posts/list/345.page

Command & Patch, home of the TFD 1.03 patch:
http://commandandpatch.com/

XWIS' C&C Games FAQ:
http://strike-team.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=43340


Have fun!