Mass Effect: LE refuses to install

EvaGolden 

Please clear your temp files:

• Press the Windows key and "R" at the same time
• Into the new window, type or copy & paste:  "%temp%"  (Without the quotes.) > hit "ENTER"
• Now your Windows Explorer should have brought you to the "C:\Users\>your user name<\AppData\Local\\Temp" folder. > Delete all files and folders in it.  
  (If some files or folders can't be deleted, reboot and try again.)

Then:

• Go here and download "Revo Uninstaller. (The freeware version, Portable version works too.)
• Run "Revo Uninstaller" > EA app.
• At the end of the main uninstall, Revo will ask you which cleaning method you want to use. > Select "Advanced" > Browse.
• If "Remaining registration content found" is displayed > Select All > Delete > Next
• When "Remaining Data and Folders" is displayed > Select All > Delete.
• Restart the PC
• Download a new EA app setup exe from here. (Do it even if you already have the installer!)
• Install EA app.
• Run EA app as Administrator > Click the EA app shortcut on your desktop > Run as Administrator. 
• Test. 

Hi! Sorry it took so long to answer, I had to find a time to apply the solution you provided.

So, on the one hand, thank you for answering and trying to provide an answer. Also, thank you for the step-by-step solution; my compuer skills are sub-par, so that was helpful!

But on the other hand... It didn't work. The game still refuses to install itself... :(

If you (or anyone else) have any other solution that might solve this problem, it would be greatly appreciated! Also, a step-by-step of the solution, like the one holger1405 just gave because, again, my computer skills are pretty bad! lol :p

Nevertheless, thanks again for trying!

EvaGolden 

EvaGolden wrote:

Hi! Sorry it took so long to answer, I had to find a time to apply the solution you provided.

No problem, we are still here. 😉

How much space do you have on the drive you try to install on?
Is that a internal or a external dive? 
Did you uninstalled the game before you removed it from your Steam library? 

Please add a DxDiag to your next reply.

A DxDiag is an overview of your PCs technical features and recent software errors.
There is no personal info in it except for the “Machine name” in the second row.
(You might delete the “Machine name” line if you wish too.)

How to create a DxDiag:

1. Press the Windows key and "R" at the same time.
2. Copy and paste or type "DxDiag" (Without the quotes) into the new field. > ENTER
3. Wait until the green bar is gone > Click on "Save all information"
4. Save the file to your desktop.
5. Here at EA Forum > Click Replay > Click the paper clip icon at the bottom of the replay Window.
6. Navigate to the "DxDiag.txt" on your desktop > select the "DxDiag.txt" > click on "Open".
7. Reply.

Hi! Thanks for answering! So, to reply to your questions: I currently have 384 go of space, it's an internal drive. I do have an external drive as well, and did try to install the game on it when it wasn't working, to see how it'd go, but that did nothing different. As for whether I uninstalled the game from Steam before removing it or not, well, unfortunately I don't recall; it's been a while ago. I do believe I did: I'm usually thorough and, knowing who I am, it's what I would do. But I can't guarantee it.

As for the whole DxDiag thing, well, like you asked, I added it to this reply (I did remove the machine name line, so there's that). Hope you can find something useful! Thanks!

Please Run REVO again and see if it can find the MELE. 

If yes remove it as described above. 

Nope, there's no Mass Effect Legendary Edition in there.

However, I do have the old versions of Mass Effect 1 2 and 3 in there. Would that cause a problem? I didn't want to remove them until I manage to get MELE running, and even then I'd prefer not to remove ME3 to keep access to the multiplayer mode, but if that's the problem...

EvaGolden​ 

EvaGolden wrote:

However, I do have the old versions of Mass Effect 1 2 and 3 in there. Would that cause a problem?

No, they should not interfere at all. 

EA_Shepard​ 
Could you have a look at EvaGolden​ account to rule out problems on this side? 

EvaGolden​  Did you ever have EA Play? Can you log into EA.com and under connections check and see if your Steam amount is linked to the right EA account?

EA_Shepard​ 

Hi! First thanks for looking into this. But to answer your questions: 1- No I never got EA Play! At least I don't recall ever getting it, plus I checked my online receipt as well as my Steam connection, and no EA Play in there. Which brings up to your second question: Yes I got the right EA account linked to my Steam account.

Speaking of which, I figured I might share a bit of history there? I don't know if any of it is gonna be relevant or not, but it might, so why not? So here's the thing: I bought Mass Effect Legendary Edition almost immediately on release, on Steam. And back then, it worked! But backed then, Origin was a thing. Anyway, I played the Legendary Edition, completed it, then uninstalled it, since it takes a lot of room in a PC. But then I wanted to replay it last N7 day, so I re-installed it, again on Steam. The installation went correctly, but when I was trying to play the game, it would open up the EA app (Origin was no longer a thing), and would then fail to actually open the game. Whether I was pressing "play" from Steam or the EA app, it wouldn't work. Tried all the tricks I could find online, clearing cache, running as admin, etc. Nothing worked. Eventually I made the (apparently wrong) guess that the link between the Steam and the EA app was malfunctioning for some reason, so when ME: LE went on sale, I rebought it from the EA app (which also means I had to completely remove it from my Steam account: The EA app wouldn't let me buy it otherwise), and, well, now, trying to just install it, from the EA app, doesn't work. Hence why I am here today! :p

My guess is that the issue that prevented me to play the game when I had it on Steam is the same that causes it to refuse to install right now, but I could be wrong; my computer skills are not so great. A few extra stuff to note: While I haven't tried with all of my EA games, I tried with a few: my other games seem to be able to get installed just fine. But I never owned any of those games on Steam before; Mass Effect Legendary Edition is the only one I ever bought through Steam. And finally: Like I said, I was able to play the game back in the Origin days, right? Well, as of right now, on the EA app, it does display all the achievements I earned when I got to play it, but it also says I played it for 0 hrs 0 min (again, because back then it was through Origin).

So... that's all the details I can think of. Plus everything I wrote before, of course. Hopefully it will be enough to find a fix but, if you got more questions, feel free to ask.

EvaGolden​ Thank you for all the info. It does help. So, having it in the EA app or Steam wouldn't matter, honestly. I have it owned in both (on sale thankfully), and I reinstall it quite often just for troubleshooting issues like this. Since Steam and the EA app save in different Windows folders, there has to be something preventing it from working. I am going to take a look at the account, but this is more PC related than account-related. I am sure you have done a lot of steps from what I see, but I am going to list a few I would like you to try, as they would take about 10 min. and are super easy. 

Once those are done, let me know. I am going to install it on both and see what happens without doing any of the steps. Let me know once those steps are done.

Just in case, will you send me a PM with your EA ID and Steam ID, and any case numbers if any so I am looking at the right account?