Login issues

This is a lengthy post so I apologize but I could really use someones help here.

I have been trying to solve this issue for about a month now. I've been on the blizzard hotline several times with different employees and still the problem persists. So just know that I have tried a lot of the quick fixes to this problem already without any luck.

I have windows vista (Which has many issues running diablo 2 I know)

I have already changed my compatibility setting to windows xp service pack 2/ and switched over the colour to 256/disabled visual themes/ disabled desktop composition

as suggested by blizzard.

I can log into battle.net where it brings me to the character select and here's where the issue takes place.

It started out by not being able to identify my version and I knew this was a patch issue and I did everything I could to make the patch recognizable. I let battle.net download it first automatically, then I went and retrieved it via blizzard.com then i reinstalled the entire game about 12 times and tried different combinations of the two and finally I don't get that problem anymore.

NOW, I am getting the infamous "Your Cd key is in use by..." and it says me.

I know it's not an actual cd key error but something else at work here.

After about 2 weeks of getting this error without any sign of a fix I decided to download diablo onto my desktop (it has XP) and I have been happily playing diablo 2 without much of an issue. But I still want to be able to play on my laptop(the vista one). I always try my laptop first and I get the cd key issue then I hop on my desktop and it can play freely without cd key issues. (yes it is the same cd key as my laptop but i never try loading both at the same time.)

ANy idea whats going on here?

Keep in mind I had been getting this error long before I loaded the game onto my desktop and it was purchased new through blizzard.com at the time I first loaded it onto my laptop with the 24 digit key and everything.

Please help...

-MattPokno|||I see posts about problems similar to yours all the time on these forums. I'll try my best to help you the best I can, so here's my advice.

First off, keep the box saying "Run this program in compatibility mode for..." checked, and either select Windows XP Service Pack 2 or Windows XP Service Pack 3 from the dropdown menu. I recommend Service Pack 3 if it's available, but I don't run Vista so I'm not sure if it's an option.

Second off, from my own experience, you don't need any of the other compatibility boxes checked, save for one. At the bottom of this window, where it says "Privlege Level", check the box next to "Run this program as an administrator..." and hit apply.

Now, we aren't done yet. I've personally found that people run into less problems when they run the game in windowed mode. It fixes issues with messed up colors and scaling that people often have. Switch to the shortcut tab where you see "Target:" and something that looks somewhat similar to this:


Code:

"C:\Program Files (x86)\Diablo II\Diablo2.exe"

(This might differ slightly, but that shouldn't matter.)

Now add " -w" to the target line, without the quotes, and hit apply. When you're finished, it should look somewhat like this:


Code:

"C:\Program Files (x86)\Diablo II\Diablo2.exe" -w

Then, try to launch the game, and let me know how it goes.