Red Alert 2 Gamemd.exe
Jacinto Dieujuste
When i launched game in skirmish,campaign and multiplayer a message will pop-up, it reads Fatal Error: Could Not Load Executable File:"gamemd.exe". Can anyone tell me how to fix this. My game version is 3.3.0.
Even though you, in this case, were missing the gamemd.exe completely, it is also possible that you do have gamemd.exe but access to it is somehow prohibited. A friend of mine had this issue yesterday.
If this does not fix your problem, try disabling your antivirus / internet security software. If that does solve it, you could consider enabling the software again and fiddling around with your antivirus's whitelist.
In my friend's case, he had to unblock gamemd.exe to get Mental Omega to work. As far as I know this has not been mentioned anywhere else, which I guess makes sense since you wouldn't necessarily get those files directly from the internet as opposed to via a (downloaded) installer. Still, this might help others experiencing the same issue.
I bought RedAlert 2 YR from origin.com and my "gamemd.exe" file are in 1.0.1.1 version and I get plenty of weird errors when trying to play. Is there any way to use Omega with origins game or downgrade gamemd.exe?
Did you encounter any issues such as a black screen when you launched the game? I bought it from Origin too, and I figured out what you guys mean 1001 and 1011, but I still cannot play it cause I keep getting black screen.
Hi there xd
Did you encounter any issues such as a black screen when you launched the game? I bought it from Origin too, and I figured out what you guys mean 1001 and 1011, but I still cannot play it cause I keep getting black screen.
Thx for your post btw.
The graphics system patch DDWrapper is known to solve the "black screen" issue for many people.
Download the zip file and extract "ddraw.dll" and "aqrit.cfg" into your game folder. Then, open the configuration file "aqrit.cfg" in Notepad, change the "ForceDirectDrawEmulation" option to 1, save the file, and the game should work.
If you still have problems with RA2 even after this, I advise installing the CnCNet installer for RA2/YR. It comes with a bunch of automatic fixes, and has a configuration tool which offers more choices in graphics fixes than just DDWrapper, so if one doesn't work you can just try if some of the other options do the trick.
This problem usually happens if you have a custom install/mods or any of the original game files in the folder is missing/renamed (should not happen with the ultimate collection), kinda strange it happens for you.
Windows detects red alert 2 and applies compat settings automatically, that fails on custom installations. You could try to apply them on your own using the application compatibility toolkit from microsoft, here are the settings you need to apply (game.exe / gamemd.exe):
OK so i found a temporary solution. you can play this in windowed mode and it will work. right click on the icon and select the last option "Properties". Then go to "Compatibility" tab and on "Reduced color mode" select 16bit. Now go to "Shortcut" tab and, where it says Target, add:
-win
in the end. add it AFTER the quotation marks (these: " ") and a space before it, like this:
The game works otherwise well for me, but when I minimize it and then restore it back, the screen stays black and nothing but the cursor is visible. Voices of the game are still working so I think that this is just some kind of graphical issue. The game performed perfectly with Windows 7.
Graphics card: Ati Radeon x1950 Pro (This very same issue also occurs on my other pc with Win 8.1 & Intel HD Graphics so don't blame my old graphics card for this issue)
Running The First Decade with 1.03 rev. 4 patch.
Any fixes?
1. Copy the directory Red Alert 2 (Typically found in C:\Program Files (x86)) to somewhere outside of Program Files
2. Download the graphics patch from and extract it into the directory that you just moved
3. Rename Yuri's Revenge to gamemd.exe, then run the patch to patch the game (for ra2, rename to game.exe)
4. Download zip file and extract the files to the directory that you've patched the game in
5. Edit aqrit.cfg in notepad and change these two settings to 1 as in below:
NoVideoMemory = 1
forcedirectdrawemulation = 1
6. Create a shortcut to the game and move it to your desktop
7. Go to properties and in 'Target' add at the end after " add -win
example Target: "C:\Users\Roberto\Desktop\Red Alert 2\gamemd.exe" -win
note the space between gamemd.exe" and -win
8. In the same Properties Tab:
Compatibility : Win Xp Service pack 2 (Seems to be most stable)
Reduced colour mode : 16bit
Run as Administrator
9. (Optional) Edit .ini file to change the resolution
10. Play the game
Unfortunately it didn't help. My issue just changed it's form. Now when I try to restore the game I can hear the voices as before but instead of seeing the game itself or a black sreen, I just see my desktop at Yuri's gaming resolution.
Is your firewall/antivirus software blocking the game or asking what to do with it? COMODO products tend to do that, for example, so you need to add RA2/YR EXEs to the exception list before running the games. I had a total lockup when trying to run Heroes of Might and Magic IV on Windows 10 just because COMODO didn't know how to treat it.
My god, that guide has a ton of conflicting information. The -win isn't necessary at all; the ddwrapper patch itself with ForceDirectDrawEmulation enabled should do the job just fine. And instead of installing outside Program Files you can just make sure to run the game in WinXP SP3 compatibility and Administrator Mode.
In addition to the points the blog mentions, I would also make sure you move your "Westwood/RA2" folders or whatever folders contain your Red Alert 2/Yuri files OUT of the "Program Folders" (the usual install location for Win Vista +) and place it (the RA2 folder) directly under your "C: Drive" (the usual install location for RA2 with WinXP).
Lots of blogs have different fixes for different versions of Windows, system types (32bit Vs. 64bit), and issues depending on whether you are using a laptop or desktop. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem as simple as a "1 or 2 things fix all" solution, just because of all the variations of issues between different systems.
In your case I wouldn't worry about gamemd.exe for now...it may have a different name for your version (otherwise, your download may be incomplete and you may have to re-install yuri's revenge...but try the stuff below before that).
Also, don't worry about the ".ini" files you can't find... the game auto-creates those AFTER you have run the game the first time, so those fixes are specifically for lag-reduction and resolution after you've already got the game to turn on.
But first, change each and every ".exe" (Application-type) in your Red Alert 2 directory (Yuri stuff should automatically be in there as well) to run in compatibility mode and select "Windows XP (Service Pack 3)", then tick the run as administrator box and apply. If you are running a widescreen/laptop, it is advisable to set your screen resolution to 800/600 or as close as you can just to help the game open the first time. You can then adjust the ".ini" resolutions to your preferred sizes later.
Nope! I think some of the newer packages that include RA2/YR have the updates with the initial install. Generally, the only people who need these patches are the ones using the old, original CD installs.
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Seems like the reason I did not manage to get DxWnd work the way it was supposed to work, came down to various different factors. For once, in my mindset I thought I was supposed to make the game run in windowed mode before using this app (typically launch the game with -win or -windowed after it's filename).
FunkyFr3sh made a point when he questioned my decision to open the .lcf files in the RA2 folder and edit -win at the end to make the game natively run in windowed mode. He also questioned my decision to use the built-in compatibility modes on the .exe files of RA2/Yuri in Windows 10, so I thereby unflagged all compatibility settings before continuing.
I then used DxWnd once more and flagged: "run in window", "modal style", "send WM_ACTIVEAPP message" and "anchored". In the Path tab I selected game.exe / gamemd.exe and in the Launch tab I selected Ra2.exe / Ra2MD.exe. Beneath the "Position" section under "Main", I had to select "Desktop". I also had to unflag both the boxes under "AERO handling" under "DirectX" in DxWnd (without doing that, the game ran very slow). Everything else was in it's default settings.
I can now run both Red Alert 2 and Yuri's Revenge without alt+tab and the Windows key breaking the game. I only notice two issues as of now. The first one is that the cursor blinks when I highligh units (both RA2 & Yuri). The other one is that the main menu window stretches all over the screen in Yuri's Revenge. It does not happen in vanilla RA2, but it is in my opinion just a minor thing.
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