Ok something is seriously wrong with my Borderlands 2 Handsome Collection copy

[Alucard †]

As a follow up of this thread:
https://steamcommunity.com/app/49520/discussions/0/4288061719898542140/

I noticed that my Handsome Collection version of Borderlands 2 does not recognize the "Premiere Club" and the "Creature Dome" DLCs.

I do not get the Contraband Rocket , Gearbox Weapons and Vault Hunter Relic when starting Level 1 character.

Nor can i access/unlock the Natural Selection Annex.

And i am losing my mind trying to fix this.
Both of these used to work for me in the past.

I own these DLCs they are shown "In Library and Installed" when managing BL2 DLCs in my Steam Library and ingame in Downloadable content they are shown as "Purchased" but "Not Downloaded"

Can someone who has a clue what the heck is going on tell me how to fix this?
I tried verifying , reinstalling , wiping my save and configs , restarting PC and Steam , unticking and ticking the 2 broken dlcs , praying.

Nothing works.
My game does not recognize these DLCs as installed.

[Nakos]

Do you have another machine you can try installing them on?

Dunno what else to suggest, you've pretty much already done all the things I'd suggest.

The only other thing I can think of is trying to file a ticket with Gearbox, they might be able to make some alternative suggestions.

I assume you're running Windows? Maybe try running in Compatibility mode? Or trying to swap to an older version of DirectX? (No idea if any of that would have the slightest impact on what you're seeing, but it's all I can think of to suggest).

[Alucard †]

Originally posted by Nakos:

Do you have another machine you can try installing them on?

Dunno what else to suggest, you've pretty much already done all the things I'd suggest.

The only other thing I can think of is trying to file a ticket with Gearbox, they might be able to make some alternative suggestions.

I assume you're running Windows? Maybe try running in Compatibility mode? Or trying to swap to an older version of DirectX? (No idea if any of that would have the slightest impact on what you're seeing, but it's all I can think of to suggest).

Tried various compatiblity modes running as admin (both the BL2 and Steam aswell)

And this is worrying back when my copy of BL2 was the GOTY version i could access these. On this same PC.

In fact on my backuped GOTY saves the Annex is accessible in those.

Not so much on my current playthrough i started some time ago (I did the Wildlife Preserve mission and i am appropriate level for the Annex the door to it is a dead end - not interactable)

I made a ticket on their SHIFT site with as much details as possible.
Maybe the'll answer in a week or two ... :( hopefully with something helpful.

EDIT: Nope don't have any other device to try installing BL2 on.

[Wiesshund]

right click game, click properties, click DLC
make sure boxes are checked

if already check, try unchecking, wait for steam to update, then recheck them
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3171855661

[Alucard †]

Originally posted by Wiesshund:

right click game, click properties, click DLC
make sure boxes are checked

if already check, try unchecking, wait for steam to update, then recheck them
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3171855661

Did that already few times both for the offending DLCs and every single one of them.
No luck :(

The game doesn't recognize or let me access the contents of "Premiere Club" and "Creature Dome" DLCs despite these being "Purchased" and "Installed"

[Wiesshund]

Originally posted by Alucard †:

Did that already few times both for the offending DLCs and every single one of them.
No luck :(

The game doesn't recognize or let me access the contents of "Premiere Club" and "Creature Dome" DLCs despite these being "Purchased" and "Installed"

What happens if you install on another machine?
Even some crap laptop

[Alucard †]

Originally posted by Wiesshund:

Originally posted by Alucard †:

Did that already few times both for the offending DLCs and every single one of them.
No luck :(

The game doesn't recognize or let me access the contents of "Premiere Club" and "Creature Dome" DLCs despite these being "Purchased" and "Installed"

What happens if you install on another machine?
Even some crap laptop

No idea. I don't have any other PC or even Laptop that i could try this on.

[Fluffy Chops]

I really would love for you to enjoy in this great shooter game once again its shame its hard to really know why this is happening to you tho.

With reinstalling have you tried reinstalling steam it self, or using a uninstall tool or done it yourself that wipes every part the game from your device leaving no trace of a connection to the game? You know like the reg keys of the game all left over folders etc etc. I now and then use Revo uninstailer pro if i really really need a fresh install of a game or software to get running what sometimes has worked out for me, not all the time but i normally do it when running out of options to try.


Other then that above, the last and final thing i could think of to do is exactly doing what we all seem to suggested in mind of trying on something else other then what you have now, either that be on a brand new SSD (or HDD if your like me and still on those in 2024) or on a whole new pc rig even if its isn't yours but a kind buddy letting you run a test on theirs.

If the problem still persists over what good chance it shouldn't and if your BL2 problem doesn't carry over to the other storage device/whole other rig then it sort of shows that the data of installing the game along with the DLCs is failing on that storage device in some strange way or might go even deeper then just hardware fault and might be somethings so wrong with your pc that perhaps a fresh OS install might be in order but the fresh OS install is something to not fully consider at least yet.




Oh btw you don't have to keep making newer threads you could of just said this in your past thread aka bumped it by yourself, there isn't anything wrong with bumping up your own you know unless its like 2 years old.

But oh well lets just stick to this thread from now on rather then breaking the chain where for other users to keep up with the context of what you've done and haven't and what has been going on has to go to multiply threads to follow along. Clearly Wiesshund has made quite clear not knowing others have already told you all of that on a whole other thread, not their fault.

[Alucard †]

Haven't tried messing with the registry keys.
On side note every other DLC seems to work fine so do the bonus cosmetics from all the skin packs.

It's just the 2 DLCs "Premiere Club" and "Creature Dome" that are marked ingame as Purchased but "Not Installed" - I read that's normal for those dlcs yet my game fails to recognize these as actually activated.

This does sound maybe like it might be my copy's license issue that happened for some reason after upgrading to Handsome Collection or maybe it is something with the leftover registry keys after i upgraded from GOTY to Handsome Collection. Idk.

I think i'll wait and see what they will reply in the support ticket first before i proceed with more drastic options like messing with Registry or the nuke option (Reinstalling OS)

EDIT:
I have my doubts that it's hardware problem. I would notice other issues aswell in other games or on the OS itself if it was the case and according to CrystalDisk drive is in good condition and there are no abnormalities in the SMART values (idk how accurate that might be)

[Radiowavehero]

The creature slaughter DLC can sometimes show up in game as downloaded but not installed , but if you go to the in game location (Wildlife Exploitation Preserve) and check it will be there , try doing this to rule it out first.

If you have any mods , disable them , some mods can disable the spawning of contraband rocket and other starting items. Make a new character and test.

After that you can try checking to see if the DLC themselves are actually there and configured properly.

    
• For the contraband rocket not showing up on start you can try checking your DLC manually , go to
  C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Borderlands 2\DLC\POCollectors\Lic
  
  open the file WillowDLC.ini with notepad , inside it should say
  
  
  [PromotionalUnlocks]
  +UnlockId=3
  
  Next , open the PreorderBonus.txt it should say
  
  collectors
  
      
• The Creature slaughter dome DLC is located at
  
  C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Borderlands 2\DLC\POGamestop Folder
  
  Likewise the willow INI should say
  
  [PromotionalUnlocks]
  +UnlockId=1
  
  and the PreorderBonus.txt should say
  
  gamestop
  
      
• And Gearbox weapons DLC are located at
  C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Borderlands 2\DLC\POPremierClub\Lic
  
  Willow Ini should say
  
  [GoldenKeys]
  +SourceId=254
  +NumKeys=1
  
  [PromotionalUnlocks]
  +UnlockId=2
  
  SeasonPass.txt should say
  
  2
  
  2 means it's disabled , strangely enough but I guess the season pass is worthless now so it's turned off by default.
  
      
• If the DLCs look normal the problem is most likely something preventing the game from detecting them properly.
  
  Since reinstalling and verifying doesn't work (Usually that is the solution for this exact problem) my suggestion would be moving your steam folder outside of the "Program Files x86" folder , just cut the entire steam folder (not just borderlands) and paste it in a new location , like make your own Games Folder on C drive , don't put it in Documents or "My Games" inside Documents though.
  
  Both Program filesx86 and Docutments are protected system folders , this can cause problems with video games in these locations.
  
  Which might be causing problems for the game detecting your DLC but this is just a guess.

[Alucard †]

Originally posted by Radiowavehero:

The creature slaughter DLC can sometimes show up in game as downloaded but not installed , but if you go to the in game location (Wildlife Exploitation Preserve) and check it will be there , try doing this to rule it out first.

If you have any mods , disable them , some mods can disable the spawning of contraband rocket and other starting items. Make a new character and test.

After that you can try checking to see if the DLC themselves are actually there and configured properly.

    
• For the contraband rocket not showing up on start you can try checking your DLC manually , go to
  C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Borderlands 2\DLC\POCollectors\Lic
  
  open the file WillowDLC.ini with notepad , inside it should say
  
  
  [PromotionalUnlocks]
  +UnlockId=3
  
  Next , open the PreorderBonus.txt it should say
  
  collectors
  
      
• The Creature slaughter dome DLC is located at
  
  C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Borderlands 2\DLC\POGamestop Folder
  
  Likewise the willow INI should say
  
  [PromotionalUnlocks]
  +UnlockId=1
  
  and the PreorderBonus.txt should say
  
  gamestop
  
      
• And Gearbox weapons DLC are located at
  C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Borderlands 2\DLC\POPremierClub\Lic
  
  Willow Ini should say
  
  [GoldenKeys]
  +SourceId=254
  +NumKeys=1
  
  [PromotionalUnlocks]
  +UnlockId=2
  
  SeasonPass.txt should say
  
  2
  
  2 means it's disabled , strangely enough but I guess the season pass is worthless now so it's turned off by default.
  
      
• If the DLCs look normal the problem is most likely something preventing the game from detecting them properly.
  
  Since reinstalling and verifying doesn't work (Usually that is the solution for this exact problem) my suggestion would be moving your steam folder outside of the "Program Files x86" folder , just cut the entire steam folder (not just borderlands) and paste it in a new location , like make your own Games Folder on C drive , don't put it in Documents or "My Games" inside Documents though.
  
  Both Program filesx86 and Docutments are protected system folders , this can cause problems with video games in these locations.
  
  Which might be causing problems for the game detecting your DLC but this is just a guess.

The Wildlife Preserve door where the warp zone to Natural Selection Annex was is just a uninteractable door on my current save. On boosted characters it does not work either. It does work fine on my pre-Handsome collection saves tho.

And from what i read it only requires completing the Wildlife Preserve story mission and owning the "DLC".

I checked the files in text editor as per your instruction.
Everything seems to be correct and matching.

I always had Borderlands 2 installed in Program filesx86 and saves and configs in Documents. Wasn't an issue for the GOTY version to detect these DLCs for some reason the Handsome Collection now has problems with those.

And wouldn't having BL2 and Steam opened as administrator solve any issues with protected folders access?

This is such a weird and obscure issue .. I don't think i even seen a single article with even remotely similar issue to mine. I'll try later today to move the install directory and i'll reply if that helped with this problem.

[Alucard †]

Actually i have no clue how to move the installation folder without completely breaking Borderlands 2 and other Steam games aswell.

EDIT:
It recall it was possible before on older Steam client to pick custom install older for specific games in client settings.

I had Just Cause 2 set to be installed on C/Games while Steam was still in Program Files and it worked. It was long time ago tho.
Now i can't seem to find any option to set custom install folders for my games.

[Fluffy Chops]

Originally posted by Alucard †:

I think i'll wait and see what they will reply in the support ticket first before i proceed with more drastic options like messing with Registry or the nuke option (Reinstalling OS)

That's understandable not forcing you to do or anyone forcing you to really go out and do stuff if you prefer to wait then wait you shall do for that reply.


Also excises me if am wrong about this part only going off what my dad told me about crystaldisk like 12-14 years ago. Crystaldisk only collects the info of the time you open it up meaning the info displayed to you could change the longer the pc is on and well had quite bit of uses. But i assume it already has been running quite long and you've used it a bunch, so its good to hear its good after all.

If crystaldisk has changed or my dad has been wrong all along about how crystaldisk operates then oh well, sorry for this misinformation. Back then didn't know much of pc's and spite knowing lot more now days, i've to this day never looked into crstaldisk that deeply to figure out if he was right along. I just took him at face value after all his been working with pc's for years way before i was even thought of.

[Wiesshund]

Originally posted by Alucard †:

Actually i have no clue how to move the installation folder without completely breaking Borderlands 2 and other Steam games aswell.

EDIT:
It recall it was possible before on older Steam client to pick custom install older for specific games in client settings.

I had Just Cause 2 set to be installed on C/Games while Steam was still in Program Files and it worked. It was long time ago tho.
Now i can't seem to find any option to set custom install folders for my games.

You can not pick per game paths
You also can not pick arbitrary library folders
You can not move locations unless you have multiple HDD's or partitions

Now that being said
Steam should not be installed in program files
Doing so puts it under the heavy OS restrictions on that folder
And, in turn, places ALL your games under them as well.

What can you do?

Exit steam app fully.

Create a folder made by you
c:\steam
c:\games\steam
c:\whatever you wanna name it
Anything that is user created and owned and no part of the OS at all and is in the root of your C drive (assuming you only have one drive)

Ok now for to your current steam folder, and take the ENTIRE steamapps folder
and MOVE, not copy, it to your desktop.

Once it has moved, UNINSTALL steam.

Once uninstall has finished, download steam installed
Install steam to the NEW LOCATION you made for it above

Once install is finished EXIT steam, do not so anything in it yet

Ok now go take the steamapps folder from your desktop
and MOVE it, not copy, to your new steam location, replacing the contents of the entire steamapps folder from the new install.

Once that is finished, fire up steam and log in
Now just pick a game and have steam verify the files, it will locate the already present game and ensure it is intact.

You have to repeat that for each library title
but it is much much faster than redownloading and reinstalling.

[Alucard †]

Actually i was able to move Borderlands 2 directory to C:/Games and it properly launched from a shortcut and Steam properly tracked the game.

However the two DLC issue remained. I might try moving the entire Steam install like you instructed but i'm honestly ready to give up and just accept that these 2 minor DLCs for some reason refuse to work in my game. I spent too much time trying to troubleshoot this.

[sokolov]

Originally posted by Alucard †:

I might try moving the entire Steam install like you instructed..

You don't have to do that, you can simply disable the Protected / Controlled Folders feature in Windows Defender, all that the feature does is make things read-only to 'non-trusted' apps in specific locations on your PC which is a big nuisance as it seems to only consider Windows Store apps to be trusted.

Basically, Steam is likely allowed to write and move new files but not allowed to actually change them or delete them, so your DLC is detected but not actually installed due to the security feature being enabled.

Other methods of protection like Realtime and others from Defender is more than enough most of the time.

Have you also tried toggling the DLC in Steam's game properties so it tries to "uninstall & reinstall" them?