Weird question: How do I install GameGuard manually?

[SpacePoodle]

On another account I have the following, really strange and apparently rare problem that GameGuard is not installed with the game. The bin/gameguard folder and the associated service are
missing.

The facts:
1 Game does not start.
2 common\Helldivers 2\bin\GameGuard folder does not exist.
3 Service 'nProtect GamGuard Service' not installed.

I've tried almost everything:
1 Integrity check does not lead to any improvement.
2 Start Steam and/or helldivers2.exe as admin does not lead to any improvement.
3 Reinstallation brings no improvement.
4 No antivirus installed. No anomalies in Windows Defender logs.
5 Game directory whitelisted in Windows Defender. Reinstall. No result.
6 Reinstalled VC++ Runtimes and updated to the latest version. No result.
7 Even copying the existing folder from one client to the other didn't help.
8 System updates also triggered using Powershell via winget upgrade --all --include-unknown (better safe than sorry)

So the obvious question is: Is it possible to install Gameguard manually?

Constructive help only, please. And yes, I think rootkits really suck. I really hope they get rid of the nGuard mess. But until then I need help.

Many thanks in advance.

[Squirrely Wrath]

since this is one of the main methods to replace it with a compromised version to diddle with the game as its not intendet, i highly doubt you will get a lot of answers.

[SpacePoodle]

I'm afraid you're right. I hope one of the devs sees the post.

[shiKaka]

was there ever a solution for this? everything i try wont work. i can not get the game to work.

[IndianaJones]

There is the Steam's installation script in game folder -> Helldivers 2/tools

"installscript"
{
	"Run Process"
	{
		"npGameGuard_install"
		{
			"process 1"		"%INSTALLDIR%\\tools\\GGSetup.exe"
		}
	}
	"Run Process On Uninstall"
	{
		"npGameGuard_uninstall"
		{
			"process 1"		"%INSTALLDIR%\\tools\\gguninst.exe"
		}
	}

[SpacePoodle]

Nice! Thank you very much :D

[Der Unfassbare Jan]

Same problem here, running ggsetup.exe does nothing...

[SpacePoodle]

That's right. We tried it at the very beginning because it was the most obvious. I just forgot about it. Thanks for the advice though :)

[76561199026448942]

Originally posted by SpacePoodle:

That's right. We tried it at the very beginning because it was the most obvious. I just forgot about it. Thanks for the advice though :)

What happens when you press play?
Does a small GameGuard splash window appear in the middle of the screen?
Does the entire screen turn black?
Are there any error messages?

GGSetup.exe must be run with administrator privileges.
It's normal for nothing to appear on the screen when you run it.
Is GGSetup.exe disappearing from the process list in Task Manager?
Or will it remain forever?
If you 'end task' GGSetup.exe in Task Manager, does it disappear?

Try turning off your antivirus briefly or making an exception for the game folder.

[SpacePoodle]

Hey earth5, thank you very much for your support. I'll be happy to answer all your questions.

What happens when you press play?
- nothing.
Does a small GameGuard splash window appear in the middle of the screen?
- no.
Does the entire screen turn black?
- no.
Are there any error messages?
- no.

GGSetup.exe must be run with administrator privileges.
- I tryed. Nothing. As described in point 2.
It's normal for nothing to appear on the screen when you run it.
- There is no installed service, nothing at all.
Is GGSetup.exe disappearing from the process list in Task Manager?
- It was never there (Perhaps for a wink with the eye.)
Or will it remain forever?
- no.
If you 'end task' GGSetup.exe in Task Manager, does it disappear?
- There's no task. There's no service.

Try turning off your antivirus briefly or making an exception for the game folder.
- There is no antivirus, as I wrote earlier. I have whitelisted the folder for windef (#4)

[76561199026448942]

The game seems to crash as soon as it runs.

Check the event viewer and let me know if there is any error message related helldivers2.exe.
Windows key - type 'eventvwr' and enter - Windows Logs - Application - Find helldivers2.exe errors

[SpacePoodle]

Please don't get me wrong. I certainly don't want to sound unfriendly. But have you read my summary above? The game won't start because it needs GameGuard. GameGuard should install itself as a service when the game is running. However, this does not work because the GameGuard folder does not exist.

[76561199026448942]

Originally posted by SpacePoodle:

Please don't get me wrong. I certainly don't want to sound unfriendly. But have you read my summary above? The game won't start because it needs GameGuard. GameGuard should install itself as a service when the game is running. However, this does not work because the GameGuard folder does not exist.

The GameGuard folder is created only when the game progresses to the stage of running GameGuard.
So we need to find out why the game doesn't even launch that far.
Please let me know if there is any error information related to helldivers2.exe in the event viewer.

[SpacePoodle]

Unfortunately this is not correct.
Normally '...\Helldivers 2\bin\GameGuard' is present even if the game is not running. In this case, this folder does not exist. I am pretty sure that this is the problem. The actual game can't start because GameGuard can't be initialized, because GameGuard simply doesn't exist.

On my other PC where everything works fine, this folder is also clearly visible and has many files in it.

Thanks for trying anyway.

[76561199026448942]

Originally posted by SpacePoodle:

Unfortunately this is not correct.
Normally '...\Helldivers 2\bin\GameGuard' is present even if the game is not running. In this case, this folder does not exist. I am pretty sure that this is the problem. The actual game can't start because GameGuard can't be initialized, because GameGuard simply doesn't exist.

On my other PC where everything works fine, this folder is also clearly visible and has many files in it.

Thanks for trying anyway.

Delete the GameGuard folder on a PC that runs well and try running it.
When the game runs normally, the GameGuard folder is automatically created.
I just checked it on my PC.

If it's true that helldivers2.exe isn't crashing, it doesn't seem to be running at all.
It may be because of VC Redist.
You must have both VC Redist 2012 and 2015 to run helldivers2.
You said you reinstalled VC++ Runtimes, Is it correct that you installed the 2012 version?
Check if the C:\Windows\System32\msvcr110.dll file exists.