Article ID: 833534 - Last Review: September 29, 2011 - Revision: 4.0

The screen turns black or the game quits unexpectedly when you start Freelancer

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SYMPTOMS

When you start Microsoft Freelancer, the screen may turn black or the game may unexpectedly quit.
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CAUSE

This problem may occur if the codecs are out of date or have been corrupted or if Microsoft Windows Media Player is out of date or has been corrupted.
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RESOLUTION

To resolve this problem, follow these steps:
  1. Update the codecs.

    To download the latest codecs, visit the following Microsoft Web site:
    http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/forpros/format/codecdownload.aspx (http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/forpros/format/codecdownload.aspx)
  2. Start Freelancer.

    If the problem continues, go to the next step.
  3. Update to Microsoft Windows Media Player 9.

    To download the latest Windows Media Player, visit the following Microsoft Web site:
    http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/player/9series/default.aspx (http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/player/9series/default.aspx)
  4. Start Freelancer.
If the problem continues, follow the steps in the "Workaround" section to avoid the problem.
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WORKAROUND

To work around this problem, disable the movies in the Freelancer.ini file. To disable the movies, follow these steps:
  1. Locate the Freelancer.ini file in the following folder:drive:\Program Files\Microsoft Games\Freelancer\EXE
  2. Open the Freelancer.ini file.
  3. Edit the [Startup] section. Type a semicolon (;) in front of the three lines that start with movie_file = --for example: 
    [Startup]
;movie_file = movies\MGS_Logo_Final.wmv
;movie_file = movies\DA_Logo_Final.wmv
;movie_file = movies\FL_Intro.wmv
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MORE INFORMATION

For more information about how to troubleshoot video problems, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
303032  (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/303032/ ) Games: The game stops responding or quits unexpectedly
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APPLIES TO
  • Microsoft Freelancer
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Keywords: 
kbconfig kbprb KB833534
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