[SOLVED] Gmod 10 doesn't launch (and neither do other 2006 mods)

[hs_doubbing]

Not your fault, but I can't seem to get useful help anywhere else.
Verified cache, reinstalled game, all that jazz.
No matter what I do, I get a message that says "Failed to load the launcher DLL." I've checked if the SDK base launches by itself, and no, it does not.
Launcher.dll exists and appears to work just fine, but no matter what I do, it seems to think it's invalid.

[hs_doubbing]

Um...perhaps nevermind? It runs perfectly fine on my laptop.
But I still haven't solved the issue on my gaming PC.

[Danct12]

Odd, have you tried to delete clientregister.blob in the steam folder? This let steam thinks it needs a update and validate steam files.

[hs_doubbing]

Originally posted by Danct12:

Odd, have you tried to delete clientregister.blob in the steam folder? This let steam thinks it needs a update and validate steam files.

I haven't tried that, however I have manually deleted files and forced them to be redownloaded.
Manually running steamapps\common\Source SDK Base\hl2.exe causes an even more interesting error... Something along the lines of "The entry point ConVarIF could not be located in the dynamic link library d:\steam\steamapps\common\source sdk base\bin\launcher.dll." and then it continues on to give me the other message in addition to this one.
Fortress Forever and the original Insurgency are both affected as well. I'm not sure what the deal is.

[Danct12]

Is that on Windows XP? Because that error will never show on anything newer than it.

[hs_doubbing]

Originally posted by Danct12:

Is that on Windows XP? Because that error will never show on anything newer than it.

Windows 10, build 1709. That's what I thought too.
My laptop is running the same version of Windows, but it works there.

[Danct12]

Weird problem, are you sure that you have installed correct redistributes (Visual C++ 2005, 2008)?

[hs_doubbing]

Originally posted by Danct12:

Weird problem, are you sure that you have installed correct redistributes (Visual C++ 2005, 2008)?

Yes, this Windows installation is two years old and I've never had problems with other Source games.
Might ought to try that anyway, although I have other games from around that time installed and they work just fine.

[Juesto]

Are you sure it is source sdk base 2006 and not 2007? GetCvarIF is a error common to see when trying to launch old engine binaries on 2007

[hs_doubbing]

Originally posted by Juesto:

Are you sure it is source sdk base 2006 and not 2007? GetCvarIF is a error common to see when trying to launch old engine binaries on 2007

I am also getting this error when just launching Source SDK Base 2006 by itself.
2007 is not affected.
I'm thinking I just need to reinstall Windows... This is far from the only thing wrong with my games, and I don't have any of these problems on my other computers.

[Juesto]

perhaps you could download original episode one and put the mods there

[hs_doubbing]

Okay, so problem solved. Very, VERY strange problem, though, seeing as I haven't had to do this on any other system.
My solution was to install Smod Standalone, and copy its hl2.exe to the Source SDK Base folder.
The copy of hl2.exe from Smod Standalone is a modified version of the one from Source SDK Base 2007 that is designed to work with Source 2006 binaries. It's characterized by a file size of 120 KB, as opposed to 104 KB for Source 2006 and 96 KB for Source 2007.

But I can play all of my Source 2006 mods now! Yaaaay! :D

[Juesto]

the exe size is irrevelant since that's just launcher_main, it is not the engine nor the real launcher.
smod standalone is technically a cracked version.
good it worked for ya!

[hs_doubbing]

Originally posted by Juesto:

the exe size is irrevelant since that's just launcher_main, it is not the engine nor the real launcher.
smod standalone is technically a cracked version.
good it worked for ya!

Yeah, I know. I was just making it clear that it was different from Source 2007.
I can also confirm that the EXE modification is undetected by VAC as long as Steam is running, so all is good.

[Danct12]

Locked due to solved. If you have any issues after this, please create a new post.