Red Alert 2 Black Screen

[rptyner]

Hello! So I’ve seen this question asked but I recently downloaded RA2 from the C&C ultimate package off of Origin. However when it opens all I have is a black screen, sound, and my mouse. Im running it on Windows 10. I have tried downloading a couple of the things mentioned elsewhere and I’ve tried adjusting the settings in the properties menu. I’m not looking to download anything further. Is there anything I can do setting wise or does anyone have a more direct way to contact EA/Origin to request a fix. I saw in another thread that someone (after posting there question) was prompted by Origin to update the game and it worked fine. Thanks!

[Nyerguds]

@rptyner You might want to mention what the things you downloaded were.

Generally, I advise installing the CnCNet online play installer for RA2/YR. Even if you're not interested in online play, it comes with a bunch of automatic fixes. It should automatically take care of the "black screen" issue, and has a configuration tool that allows further tweaking of the game's settings.

These are issues that were never fixed by EA, but are fixed through community patches, so honestly, going to EA tech support with them is fairly useless.

[seansterp7]

Fixing the red alert 2 black screen took me a while to figure out but now that I have done it I am going to  share what actually worked without you having to actually download some client and run in some separate window.

1. Download this zip file to your pc. http://www.bitpatch.com/ddwrapper.html

2. Open the zip file and using windows explorer copy the agrit.cfg and ddraw.dll files to your red alert 2 installation folder.

3. Go to the agrit.cfg file that you just put in your Red Alert 2 folder and double click on it to edit and open notepad. 

4. Change the ForceDirectDrawEmulation = 0 to read ForceDirectDrawEmulation = 1.

5. Exit the file and save it and you are done.

6. Enjoy your game and don't forget to go outside once in a while and get some of that free vitamin D!