Punkbuster Issues, Common Frequently Asked Qestions Options

[MonkeyFiend]

A quick post on common PB violations that result in kicks, if you receive one of these you may want to try out some of the suggestions below:

Q: I'm using Windows Vista and keep getting kicked by Punkbuster with the message

"You have been kicked via PunkBuster (for 0 minutes)...
RESTRICTION: Inadequate O/S Privileges"

A: To run PunkBuster under Windows Vista, you may need to run the game as an administrator. To do this, right click the icon you use to launch the game. Select "Properties", then the "Compatability" tab. From that tab, check the box labled "Run this program as an Administrator" and click ok.

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Q: Why do I get kicked for a "Service Communications Failure: PnkBstrA.exe or PnkBstrB.exe"?

A: The issue is a communication failure, which means a security application is blocking the A service from talking to the B process or blocking the services communication with Even Balance. Please make sure you add the A and all B locations to your firewalls.

The A service is called from your "C:\WINDOWS\system32\PnkBstrA.exe"
There is also a copy of the B executable in "C: \WINDOWS\system32\PnkBstrB.exe" this probably should be granted access as well as any games copy which will be found in the PB folder inside the games root folder. i.e. BF2 default path is "C:\Program Files\Electronic Arts\Battlefield 2\pb\PnkBstrB.exe"

If granting access to these via your firewall doesn't fix the issue. Try reinstalling the services with the PBSVC installer found http://www.evenbalance.com/index.php? page=pbsvcfaq.php

Run it as "Administrator" every time you run it by right clicking and choosing Run As.

Do the same with the PBSetup program found
http://www.evenbalance.com/index.php? page=pbsetup.php

If that doesn't work, then you'll need to open a Support Ticket with Even Balance. http: //evenbalance.com/troubleticket/new_ticket.php? game=bf2

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Q: I keep getting kicked by PunkBuster for "Blocked O/S Privileges"?

A: Please temporarily disable other security type programs you have running such as anti-virus, process guard, SDProtector, etc. to find out which of them is blocking PB's access to resources on your computer. You either need to run PB without the blocking program(s) or play on non-PB servers.

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Q: I keep getting kicked by PunkBuster for "Insufficient O/S Privileges"?

A: BF2 and Punkbuster must be played form an administrator account windows XP and Vista - users with limited access cannot play. If you already are a computer admin, download and run this file from any location, it will check for adware that stops you from being able to play on PB servers. The VX2 adware edits your user rights when it infects your computer, and many programs do not repair this when they remove it.

http://www.greyknight17. com/spy/VX2Finder(126).exe

Click the "Find VX2.betterinternet info" button to make sure that you don't have this adware. If there are no files listed, go on to the last step. If you find the adware files, (it is usually 3 random named dll files) Select all the files found.

Press 'Delete These Files'. The program will delete all files but one that will be deleted on reboot. Allow program to reboot. Once Restarted:

Press 'Guardian.reg'.
Press 'User Agent'.
Press 'Restore Policy'.

Clicking on "find vx2. BetterInternet info" again should show all fields blank.
If you have no adware files, just click on the "Restore Policy" Button

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Q: I keep getting kicked for "Losing Key Packets"

A: If you Right click on "My Computer" > Manage > Services & Applications > Services > (look for 2 services PnkBstrA & PnkBstrB) Make sure they are NOT disabled and are started.

If one or both of those are missing, you can download this program: http://www.evenbalance. com/downloads/pbsvc/pbsvc.exe
It will reinstall both services and fix the problem.

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*** PLEASE NOTE ***

These are just a few commonly asked questions about PunkBuster kicks. If you're getting kicked by PunkBuster and the solution isn't listed above, please open a support ticket with PunkBuster through the link below.

http: //evenbalance.com/troubleticket/new_ticket.php? game=bf2