Bad serial number given in setup - use this thread for help

[SteveTh3Pirate]

Hello. I've got some problems because i reinstalled windows. Now,i can't start OA because i get an error saying:"Bad serial number given in setup." I know this is a registry problem because the game can't find the serial in the registry. So the question is,is there any way to fix this without reinstalling the game? I would appreciate the help,thanks. P.S:Sorry for my bad english

go to the 1st page and check the first link for the Working solution

[itsJonny]

Alright, I'm getting bad serial key when I start it up.

He said this method works... http://forums.bistudio.com/showthread.php?138564
But what do they mean by the steps? I'm so confused on regedit? Hkey?! WTF.
EDIT: Looked up regedit, figured out how to run it.
There was still 1 file in the Arma 2 folder instead of 4.
http://gyazo.com/dcccf7fee86d12bb64eb9a2c608934d6.png

Please help!

[itsJonny]

Alright, I'm getting bad serial key when I start it up.

He said this method works... http://forums.bistudio.com/showthread.php?138564
There was still 1 file in the Arma 2 folder instead of 4.
http://gyazo.com/dcccf7fee86d12bb64eb9a2c608934d6.png

He said that make sure all of your "allow" boxes are all ticked, but they ALL were already ticked so I couldn't make any changes.

Please help!
EDIT: I bought Arma 2 combined operations on steam.

[itsJonny]

Some help would be nice. Not paying $30 to have it sit here and not work.

[Placebo]

If you don't have the tech abilities to help yourself by reading advice on the forums (perfectly understandable, not meant as a slight), your best option is to open a support ticket explaining the issue and what you've tried so far: https://store.bistudio.com/index.php...id=1&Itemid=50

[cancerousanimosity]

Well guys the first link in the fix probably should work there is only one issue. The only user on this computer is automatically admin. i go through all the regedit process just to find out that i cant change any of the permissions for my user and everything is already checked anyway. so i figured i would leave you guys a message in case this has happened to anyone else and try to find some help on the issue. i got the game through steam and the cd key is there, i just dont understand the problem. thanks for any help i can get.

[Jesusofchaos]

Hi there i recently purchased ARMA II: Combined Ops from the Steam marketplace. ARMA II downloaded and installed fine but im having problems with operation arrowpoint. When I first installed I was given an error message: bin\config.bin/ctgIngameUI/MPTable.shadow and when the game was about to boot up another error showed up: compilingpixelshader.PSSpecularAlpha:0. However I solved this by running Steam as admin and pasting -mod=C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\SteamApps\Common\ArmA 2;EXPANSION;ca. This worked and Operation Arrowpoint booted up. However at the Bohemia Interactive screen the game crashed and showed error message: Bad serial number given in setup. I tried verifying the install and no files were missing, but when attempting the fix given in this thread I notice that there was only 1 file where there should be 4. My main computer account is my admin account and already has all permissions set to allow but I still cannot get the 4 files to appear. The only profile shown that does not have full permission is the CREATOR OWNER profile which I cant seem to make change from special permissions. I dont know if this is relevant. Any help would be greatly appreicated.

[Jesusofchaos]

Hi there i recently purchased ARMA II: Combined Ops from the Steam marketplace. ARMA II downloaded and installed fine but im having problems with operation arrowpoint. When I first installed I was given an error message: bin\config.bin/ctgIngameUI/MPTable.shadow and when the game was about to boot up another error showed up: compilingpixelshader.PSSpecularAlpha:0. However I solved this by running Steam as admin and pasting -mod=C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\SteamApps\Common\ArmA 2;EXPANSION;ca. This worked and Operation Arrowpoint booted up. However at the Bohemia Interactive screen the game crashed and showed error message: Bad serial number given in setup. I tried verifying the install and no files were missing, but when attempting the fix given in this thread I notice that there was only 1 file where there should be 4. My main computer account is my admin account and already has all permissions set to allow but I still cannot get the 4 files to appear. The only profile shown that does not have full permission is the CREATOR OWNER profile which I cant seem to make change from special permissions. I dont know if this is relevant. Any help would be greatly appreicated.

Dont worry about it. I found out that after a reboot everything runs perfectly. Such an idiot not to reboot

[gpvm]

Thanks for the links!

Had this problem but it's now working

[donnon]

my pro6lem is weird. same as some of these guys. i tried the 6old letter guide into regedit. my issue comes in that i dont see just 1 that says default. all 4 are already there. and the key is there. 6ut its not a complex key like what i see in the arma 2 file. i ordered the game from gamestop through its gamestop app. not steam. nor can i seem to attach it to steam to verify like people keep suggesting. i tried reinstalling. patching as i was told. and now regedit. i tried the regedit thing n turned on permissions to everything it just doesnt change anything. anytime i run oa as admin i get the error a6out the cd key in setup.