Recently I tried to explain you how to fix Red Alert 3 freezes and lockups, but I forgot about another error which might occur: the game crashing to the desktop after the splash screen. Fortunately, the folks over at Electronic Arts have a solution for that, too, and I’m going to share it with you. So, if you’re still wondering how to fix Red Alert 3’s crashing to the desktop after the splash screen, here’s the deal:

Crashing after the first game screen or splash screen can be caused by a few different things, including (but not limited to) an incompatible video card, older drivers for a compatible video card or sound card, or a corrupted version of DirectX. There are several steps you can take to try and resolve this issue:

– First, ensure that all of the game’s minimum requirements are met.

– Second, be sure you have the latest drivers available for your video and sound card.

– Next, make sure any unnecessary background tasks are terminated. These tasks could interfere with the running of the game.

– The crash could be caused by various CD-ROM reading errors. While most times the game will display an error about reading the CD, in this circumstance it does not necessarily display such an error.

– Also, anti-virus software can cause conflicts with the game; it is recommended that you disable or configure your anti-virus software to minimize conflicts with the game. Anti-virus software can cause errors when your games try to open files or establish connections because of the active scan and similar settings. EA Download Manager, PunkBuster, etc. are all programs sensitive to active scan and anti-virus filtering.

Hope this solves your Red Alert 3 crash problems!