C&C Zero Hour Instant Defeat problem / my solution to invalid serial number

So... You have several options. First one is the registry edit:

its simple follow these steps

1.On your windows machine click on start and in the (Search for programs and files) box type in regedit and open regedit.exe

2. Next click on the little arrow next to the folder named HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE and make your way to ergc directory the full path is

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE -> SOFTWARE -> Wow6432Node -> Electronic Arts -> EA Games -> Command and Conquer Generals Zero Hour -> ergc

Note: If you cannot find Wow6432Node then ignore it and procees to Electronic Arts -> EA Games Command and Conquer Generals Zero Hour -> ergc. Thanks to Khalilz for pointing this out.

3. Click on the ergc directory and right click on Default (located on the right side under Name) and Modify it.

4. Now simply add the - between the serial numbers.Write it exactly how its written on the game you bought. if you notice It only displays your serial number without the - between the code so you will just need to add them in

for example change it from 123A5678B8CDD3D3P0P0 to 123A-5678-B8CD-D3D3-P0P0 now try playing the same you should be able to play it online

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

If you try playing and your buildings blow up 30 seconds into the game there is another fix for this.
This is a built in feature EA added to help prevent anti-piracy

[Make sure you read the steps above then continue reading this]

Have the regedit open on ergc directory copy the serial that you have modified (the serial number that you included with the -) and uninstall zero hour keeping the regedit still open on the ergc directory.

Now heres the trick, we will need to reinstall zero hour BUT as it is installing zero hour we quickly replace the registry with the modified serial number that included the dash's. So put the CD in and start up the installation process when it will prompts you for the serial number type the serial number as you normally would and as soon as you put the serial number click next and stop there, dont install zero just yet!

Now go to the opened regedit.exe and click on ergc directory using and modify the default registry key by adding the dashs in the serial key. And then proceed installing zero hour. this will help bypass the built in anti-piracy glitch and it will work!

If that doesn't work then you'll have to contact EA customer support again. It's a pain, I know, but that's life...

HOLY ****

it works. but u have to remember to refresh the regedit (F5) after you've entered the code to see any changes. Skirmish and campagin now works fine, no buildings blowing up. Hooray!  :D 

BUT

Now multiplayer stopped working. That annoying "Invalid serial Number" error is back, even without the compatibility option.  Thanks for the solution, U were more help than the EA support. I've already contacted them about this problem AGAIN but they seem to be not bothered to reply back. Anyways, your a life saver 

OK, I've solved the "Invalid Serial Number" error.

Here was the problem in regedit.exe:

- "123A-5678-B8CD-D3D3-P0P0" : adding slashes will let me play skirmish and campaign but will pop the "Invalid Serial Number" when you login 

- "123A5678B8CDD3D3P0P0" : without slashes will let me bypass the "Invalid Serial Number"  and play multiplayer matches, but blows up all my buildings at the start of the game.

So after doing your steps, I did the following:

1) Make sure the game is patched

2) Make sure I've got regedit.exe open in the egrc to see the ZH serial number (with the slashes in)

3) Rerun the game with disabled compatibility. This bit is not too improtant but it might help, since it solved my "Invalid Serial Number" error in the past with my windows 7.

4) Enter your multiplayer details after clicking on multiplayer in the main menu. Do not hit the login just yet.

5) Go back to regedit and take off the slashes from the serial number (added from your instructions lajakl)

6) Login and you should be able to play online, without buildings blowing up at the start of matches. Skirmish works fine as well

However, when you exit Zero Hour and rerun the game, the anti-piracy thing will kick in and start blowing up your buildings again. To solve this, before you exit the game go back to regedit and add the slashes back into your serial number. When you rerun, skirmish should be fine and multiplayer should not becuase the "Invalid Serial Number" error would've come back. To play multiplayer again, simply follow steps 4, 5 and 6 again.

I hope this will help you in future posts, and please show some appreciation as ths took me 3 hours to work out.

HOORAY :D

(for anyone reading this, please read the whole post to understand what im talking about)

DigitalGeo

EA has fixed the issue for The Ultimate Collection users. I'm not sure about TFD and original versions, though... but TFD and original problems will not be fixed.