When you try to start a campaign in Microsoft Combat Flight Simulator 3: Battle for Europe, you may receive the following error message: Note You may receive this error message when your campaign includes any type of headquarters (HQ) or squadron. For example, you may receive this error message if you have an American squadron, a Japanese squadron, or a British squadron.

This issue may occur if one of the following conditions is true:

• The Combat Flight Simulator 3.0 folder that contains saved game information is corrupted.
• The Combat Flight Simulator 3: Battle for Europe installation is corrupted.

To resolve this issue, use the following methods in the order that they appear in.

Note Because there are several versions of Microsoft Windows, the following steps may be different on your computer. If they are, see your product documentation to complete these steps.

Method 1: Create a new folder for Combat Flight Simulator 3: Battle for Europe

To create a new folder for Combat Flight Simulator 3 saved game information such as pilot profiles, follow these steps:

1. Rename the current folder that contains the Combat Flight Simulator 3 pilot profile files. To do this, follow these steps:
   1. Open the My Documents folder.
   2. Right-click the Combat Flight Simulator 3.0 folder, and then click Rename.
   3. Type Cfs3.old, and then press ENTER.
2. Start Combat Flight Simulator 3: Battle for Europe. When you start the game, you must create new pilot profiles. The Combat Flight Simulator 3.0 folder is re-created automatically when you start Combat Flight Simulator 3: Battle for Europe.
3. Start a campaign.

Note If you continue to receive the error message that is mentioned in the "Symptoms" section, go to Method 2.

Method 2: Remove and reinstall Combat Flight Simulator 3: Battle for Europe

To remove Combat Flight Simulator 3: Battle for Europe and then to reinstall the game in clean boot mode, follow these steps:

1. Remove Combat Flight Simulator 3: Battle for Europe. To do this, follow these steps:
   1. Click Start, click Run, type appwiz.cpl, and then click OK.
   2. In the list of programs that currently are installed, click Combat Flight Simulator 3, and then click Change/Remove.
   3. Click Uninstall, and then click OK.
2. Delete the Combat Flight Simulator 3.0 folder. To do this, follow these steps:
   1. Open the My Documents folder.
   2. Right-click the Combat Flight Simulator 3.0 folder, and then click Delete.
   3. When you are prompted to delete all files and folders, click Yes.
3. Start your computer in clean boot mode. To do this, follow these steps:
   1. Click Start, click Run, type msconfig, and then click OK.
   2. On the General tab, click Selective Startup, and then click to clear the following check boxes:
      • Process System.ini File
      • Process WIn.ini File
      • Load Startup Items
   3. Click the Services tab, click to select the Hide All Microsoft Services check box, and then click Disable All.
   4. To restart your computer in clean boot mode, click OK, and then click Restart.
   Note For more information about how to start your computer in clean boot mode for different Microsoft Windows operating systems, see the "More Information" section.
4. Install Combat Flight Simulator 3: Battle for Europe. To do this, follow these steps:
   1. Insert the first Combat Flight Simulator 3.0 installation CD into your computer’s CD drive or DVD drive. If the Setup Wizard does not appear, follow these steps:
      1. Click Start, click Run, type drive:\setup, and then click OK. In this example, drive is the drive letter of your computer’s CD or DVD drive.
      2. Click Custom Install, and then click Next.
   2. Click Change, delete the existing path in the Path box, and then type drive:\Program Files\Microsoft Games\CFS3 in the Path box. In this example, drive is the drive letter of the hard disk where you want to install Combat Flight Simulator 3: Battle for Europe.
   3. Click OK, and then click Yes.
   4. Click Install, and then follow the directions that appear on your screen to install the game.
5. Start Combat Flight Simulator 3: Battle for Europe, and then start a campaign.
6. Restore the computer to Normal Startup mode. To do this, follow these steps:
   1. Click Start, click Run, type msconfig, and then click OK.
   2. On the General tab, click Normal Startup, and then click OK.
   3. When you are prompted to restart your computer, click Restart.
7. Install the latest updates for Combat Flight Simulator 3: Battle for Europe. To do this, visit the following Microsoft Web site:
   http://www.microsoft.com/games/combatfs3/downloads.aspx (http://www.microsoft.com/games/combatfs3/downloads.aspx)

For additional information about how to clean boot a Microsoft Windows XP-based computer, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: For additional information about how to clean boot a Microsoft Windows Millennium Edition (Me)-based computer, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: For additional information about how to clean boot a Microsoft Windows 98-based computer, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: