Re: Sims 3 - "There is a problem connecting to the server..." installation error

I approve the solution indicates if it only concerns TS3

however, I quote:

"Now you should be able to load your game. Please let us know whether this works for you. If not, you can try the .dll files from any of the other folders except TS3EP01 and TS3SP01—at least, these didn't fix things for me."

IT IS IMPORTANT TO MAKE A BACKUP OF THE PAUL.DLL FILE WHICH IS IN THE GAME BEFORE ANY MOFICATION (otherwise a resintallation of the game may be necessary to recover the original file if necessary)

all Paul.dll files do not necessarily work! So we can not take any one even if the risks are low and will only waste time if it does not work! So if we have not made a backup of the paul.dll file before the modification, we will have to download or reinstall the game to recover the file paul.dll ....
And the recovery of this file may become necessary if EA repairs or has already corrected the problem.

f we take a version of Paul.dll older than the one already present in the game, then it is possible that the key of installation is not even more recognized and it will not advance the resolution of the problem

So it's better to take a more recent version of paul.dll!

but an update of the winui.dll file that works in conjunction with paul.dll to allow securom to display any errors on the user's screen will also be necessary, otherwise the game will refuse to start if we use a file paul.dll too recent with a winui.dll file too old.

so it is better to compare the versions of the files with any modification and useless attempt and for that it is necessary to make a right click on the file, then properties in the contextual menu which appears and finally the detail tab and you will obtain the version of the file.

for information files paul.dll 4.1.1.20 and winui.dll 2.0.0.1 are able to activate the online games that have the problem if it still persists.

Medalo of honor 2010 uses his files if you own the game, they can be found in the game installation folder and more specifically the "binaries" folder


😉

manifestation :

Crysis Warhead with paul.dll 4.1.1.14   (the problem was identical just before replacing the file on NFS shift and mirror's edge)

2:20 on the video 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4so1xWhvSpM

with paul.dll 4.1.1.20 an winui.dll 2.0.0.1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GIEaYdQWl7U

😉

@beerxced79000  Dear Gods, THANK YOU so much for this information! Copied my 'paul.dll' and 'winui.dll' from one of my Sims 3 expansion files over to my Mass Effect binaries folder (after making a back up of course, ALWAYS make back ups, never skimp on your back ups people, they save so much time and pain) and it works! You're awesome for finding and sharing this information with us, all the internet hugs to you ❤️

Now, DISCLAIMER: Obviously, this isn't a fix that is going to work for everyone. I'm lucky that I have another EA game that has these files, others may not be so lucky. While we have a work around now, that's all it is, the actual problem persists on EA's end and really needs fixing properly

Beerxced79000, you mentioned in your first post that this problem has been dated since 17/07/18? While looking through the forums of games related to this authorization system, I noticed the Dragon Age: Origins forum has been having issues connecting to their servers since July. Now, the link over on this page seems to point towards the Mac version of the game (and is a broken link... 🤔 ) so I'm not sure if it uses this same authorization system across all operating systems. But if it does, it might be worth letting them know about this too, in case it helps there. I skimmed through a few of the recent pages here, and a server move on EA's end was mentioned, so I wonder if the authorization servers have been moved recently, and the 'road' for 'paul.dll' got broken that way? (I'm just guessing, I have no idea how servers work.) Maybe it's totally unrelated, but the fact that you mentioned July specifically makes me wonder.

This worked for me! The game loads up now. Thank you so much for working hard to find a solution!!!

I realized the problem on Friday 12/10/18 by putting all my software system in the factory and installing the games.
I bought crysis warhead on origin 17/07/18 and I activated it without problem on that date! By logic the problem has arrived in the meantime! it's just deduction and common sense😉

Friday I contacted EA support to explain the problem and report that I suspected a problem on their side on their server securom license.

After checking their side (check what? I do not know ... maybe only that the server was well plugged into the socket power ) they answer me that the problem comes from my internet connection.

After checking my parameters, in case my internet provider has made a bad joke in the meantime with an update, I see no problem on my side.

Knowing that I worked in the computer maintenance and that the problem can not come from my computer returned to the factory I found that the game "medal of honor 2010" in my original library also made its activation online with securom and that precisely, he had succeeded! I also know how securom works in broad outline.


from there, I think I do not have to explain the rest! The technical support has received all the information from me as well as on the french forum. I made it clear that anyone who will buy the games affected by the problem could only download and install it but not be able to start it and I was right!

Normally EA is working to solve the problem from what I understood.

for me there are only two possibilities:

- a modification on the license server, to correct.
- a certificate of validity implemented in the file paul.dll and which has just expired. (yes it's silly as situation)


so much so, that the second case will be more boring to solve than the first! but personally I do not care, after all I am a simple customer who buys his games and wishes to benificier ...

But all of this is only guesswork from my knowledge and I do not work at EA and I can be wrong.

I have simplified the explanations on paul.dll so that it is within reach of the largest number of readers and also for security reasons with this copy protection because we are on a public forum.

You're right on one point, my method of resolution is only temporary and you need the right files to apply it and therefore the good game that has its files. However his files have not been put on the french forum for reasons of validity and security, but can be provided by private message (me or moderation) history of depanner meanwhile!

Good Game all 😉

there is another way for customers who have bought their boxed game with a disk installation and not in dematrialized Origin.

Just rename the paul.dll file to anything and leave the installation disk number 1 in the drive!

The game should normally be able to start because instead of proceeding to an online activation of the license, securom will rather verify that you have the original disc of the game and not a copy and thus authorized the start of the game.

it also works in reverse normally for those who bought a game box protected by securom 7! adding the paull.dll file must allow online activation of the game's installation key and the one should no longer need the original disk in the drive to boot. But also all versions of paul.dll will not work on all games so it may be a little complicated.

if it is an older version of securom or another protection, all this will not work of course! 

why paul.dll name ? because Product Activation User License

But it was just for information !you know everything  😉

@Jocobai

I do not have dragon age and can not say anything! Desolate! I do not know if securom is MAC compatible! i just know that securom is windows 32bit compatible only !

after I only know the hardware and software part of IT! programming and code are not part of my skills!

thanks for the hugs

@puzzlezaddict 

the method works on the entirety of games currently using online activation with securom PA and especially the file paul.dll 4.1.1.14 which causes the problem.

therefore if the activation can not be done and the user checks the presence of paul.dll 4.1.1.14 file in his installation folder of his game, he can apply the method.

😉

@beerxced79000  You're absolutely right, and thank you for sharing all this extra information.  (I linked your post in mine; if there's anything I should add, please let me know.)  I wrote my previous post as a guide for TS3 players, as it's the only game for which I've been troubleshooting this issue.  And so far, no one testing has reported any consequences from not keeping the original paul.dll file.  However, you bring up great points about the other affected games, and players of those games should absolutely heed your advice.

(By the way, TS3 for mac has Windows files due to the way it was ported into mac OS, but that—and the neverending joys of Cider—is a completely different discussion.)

@Jocobai  Thanks for adding your information, throughout this discussion.  In case you're wondering, I first noticed the TS3 problem on Thursday evening (Oct. 11) and hadn't yet seen any other reports of the error.  The first person to post here was @deejcake on Friday morning (well, morning in my time zone), and then the reports started trickling in.

You might be curious to know that the packs with non-working paul.dll files were released on Nov. 17, 2009, and Feb. 2, 2010, whereas the oldest pack with a working file was released on June 1, 2010.

good work !

I do not trust too much the date of publication of the files but rather to their version!

I just made the rapro that all those using paul.dll 4.1.1.14 had the problem.

I think the problem is very recent.

That does not mean that there are no other games with another older version of paul.dll that are not concerned! the first one that comes to mind is NFS undercover! but it's up to EA to check!

What's fun is that the community is more responsive and quick to get around than EA between their different service and I do not say that especially for me and my temporary solution, but just to put some clock back on time friendly !

@grubol13  Unfortunately, there might not be a solution for you, at least not until EA fixes whatever underlying change caused this problem in the first place.  The dll files are program files, so they can't be shared here, directly or otherwise.  You might try posting in the Other NFS Games forum, to see whether anyone else has a workaround.  Otherwise, I'll pass along your comments to EA people, and hopefully they'll have a better answer for you.

crack = virus risk and illegal

That fix worked, thank you very much! I'll let you know if some other things break in the meantime! (hope not)

@beerxced79000  Thank you for all the extra information, it's very interesting 😃

"I bought crysis warhead on origin 17/07/18 and I activated it without problem on that date! By logic the problem has arrived in the meantime! it's just deduction and common sense😉"

Ahh, ok. Nevermind then, it's a coincidence, the issues here and with DA:O may not be related. I'll leave that for EA to figure out.

"for me there are only two possibilities:

- a modification on the license server, to correct.
- a certificate of validity implemented in the file paul.dll and which has just expired. (yes it's silly as situation)"

I really, really hope it is the first case, and not the second. That's worrying if EA has some DRM that has expiration dates. I'm with you on the guesswork though, this is the first time I've had to look into things like this. My games usually work, then I'm the one who breaks them from modding them! Thank you for simplifying the explanations with the 'paul.dll' 🙂

I'll just add, I think the 4.1.1.13 of paul.dll is also problematic. When I look at the details tab under the properties for my Mass Effect one, that's the version it shows (unless I'm looking in the wrong place?).

Hopefully the community's fast detective work will mean EA has an easier time fixing this problem, if we've done some of the search work for them 😃

@puzzlezaddict  Thank you for encouraging me to make my own thread for this problem over in the Mass Effect forum. I needed that boost, it helped a lot! With beerxced79000's information about where they got the 17/07/18 date from, I don't think it's related to what's going on with DA:O, just hoped we might be killing two birds with one stone if these discoveries helped their ongoing server problems too. It's good to get an idea of when our problem started though, might help EA figure out what the servers were doing at that time that's ended up breaking things.

I used the TS3EP03 paul.dll as you suggested in your post to get Mass Effect working. As beerxced79000 said though, the version is what to look at there. TS3EP01's paul.dll is the 4.1.1.14 version, while TS3EP03's is version 4.1.1.18. Thanks for the information though 🙂 (By the way, the cat in your avatar is adorable!)

I know that for the integration of some copy protection on a software, there can be different methods of integration so that to add a certificate of validity until a specific date! example for software usage services with a subscription (this is just an example)

For securom I do not know if it is possible, I have never had his tools in the hands but I know that it exists so I'm only supos possible causes.

I share my knowledge because I think that when it does not affect the publisher or the security of it, the consuser has the right to know what he installs on his computer and that he can possibly do everything in remaining in a legal framework.

you actually find the version number of paul.dll on mass effect and therefore there are several versions that pose the problem! It does not really surprise me 🙂

@lidiaCirrone

good game 😉

Hey guys, what about Mirrors Edge? Im having the same problem.

this fixed my issue! thank you!

@Xentik95  IT looks like there are a couple of different issues with Mirror's Edge, and this workaround may only work for one of them.  Here's a thread about the more complex fixes; feel free to ask for more specific advice there.  Responders will want to know how you're installing (disc or Origin), as well as your OS.

https://answers.ea.com/t5/Mass-Effect-1/PC-There-is-a-problem-connecting-to-the-server-ME1-authorization/td-p/7106837

actually for mirror's edge 2007

-purchase on origin : no activation with securom apparently / origin activation ?

-box purchase : securom activation and paul.dll problem

-dematerialized version of origin with the box installation key : securom activation and paul.dll problem 

😉

I can't find the right click? I don't know how to do that on a mac?

@design2018  Just hold down the control key when you click.  If you have a laptop, you can also click with two fingers at the same time instead of one.