Windows Vista shortcut problem

[Tellos Athenaios]

1) UAC = User Account Control, and overrides certain specific admin rights such as the right to run programs automatically etc. etc. Basically it is a security feature which prevents programs from adding data in certain sensitive locations (such as program files); prevents programs from running programs; and often asks you for giving permission when you run a program.

Since you did not know about this, let's forget about the UAC for now - it only applies to the system as a whole; and not to the user account. (In other words, it limits your admin powers to your own account.)

2) My sig! Or: the list of stickies in this subforum.

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I should've noticed before. This problem of yours is probably not Vista related after all, but simply a matter of "You messed up": you have most likely installed EB in some non-existing folder...

Please read my guide (it covers that issue quite extensively) and pay particular notice to the bit about where you should install EB into.

Please note that there is no default location which will always work: the reason is that EB is not a piece of software on its own, but rather more like a fan-made extension to the game (better still: modification of, aka mod). This means that its correct install location depends on where you have chosen to install RTW, and more specifically: where you have your copy of RTW 1.5 (should you have various versions of RTW on one system).

[PoorModNub]

So you're saying I should delete all EB files, reinstall and this time make sure that I save the mod in an existing place?

[bovi]

Not any existing place. The RTW folder. Follow the instructions of the guide.

[PoorModNub]

I just checked and right now the EB folder is in C:/Program Files/Activision/Rome - Total War...is that correct?

(I did not reinstall yet)

[PoorModNub]

And by the way my target and start in paths are as follows:

Target:"C:\Program Files\Activision\Rome - Total War\RomeTW.exe" -mod:eb -show_err

Start In: "C:\Program Files\Activision\Rome - Total War\"

[Tellos Athenaios]

Only you can know whether or not it is correct for you. At this moment your primary goal is to make sure that where-ever_you_installed_RTW_1.5 = where-ever_you_installed_EB. If both paths are not equal you have not done things properly.
(And we already know that at the time you posted your problem, this was not the case for your OS informed you of the mismatch.)

Since you use Vista your second concern is laid out in Note2 of the guide.

Finally, whatever the details of the shortcut are - they do not matter now: the shortcut itself points towards RomeTW.exe (a non-existing thing) inside the folder you choose to install EB in.

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So:

The easy-but-timeconsuming fix:
1) Uninstall EB.
2) Re-install EB, as per guide-instructions.

The laborious-not-as-foolproof-but-quick fix:
1) Manually drop the entire EB folder on top of some folder which contains a clean install of RTW 1.5 i.e. it contains the RomeTW.exe version 1.5 (the version number can be verified in-game in the options menu)
2) Manually adjust your shortcut to point -or create a new shortcut- to aforementioned RomeTW.exe with the required additional parameters -mod:eb -show_err

[PoorModNub]

I reinstalled EB. It loads correctly this time but when I try to load a battle (a custom battle or a campaign) it gives me a message that says it encountered a problem and Windows is going to close the program and notify me if there's a solution available.
It DOES boot up correctly though...