Have you followed the instructions to the letter, watched the tutorial video and read through the solutions provided below?
If these solutions have not helped you with your issue, please use this thread to report your issue and in order for us to help you, please be as detailed as possible! Once a solution has been found, we will add it to the Q&A's below for others who may encounter similar issues.
Q: What are the specifications to run this game?
A: It doesn’t really matter as this is now a very old game indeed, so any Windows platform will be able to run the game. However, these are the specifications that were required as of 2001:
Minimum System Requirements
OS: Windows 95/98/ME/2000/XP
Processor: Pentium @ 133 MHz
Memory: 16 MB
Video Memory: 8 MB
Sound Card: DirectX Compatible
DirectX: 7.0
Keyboard & Mouse
CD/DVD Rom Drive (actually no need if you use virtual CD drive)
Q: How do I play without a disc?
A: You can download the game as a .iso file, which you can then ‘mount’ as a virtual disc drive.
Q: What is an .iso file?
An .iso is a disc image of an optical disc. So it is an image of the original disc itself of Championship Manager 2001/2002. Converting this to an .iso file has allowed us to mount the game as a virtual drive instead of using a disc, which is becoming less commonplace in technology.
Q: I get the following error message: 'Ensure that you have installed Service Pack 3 on your system as Championship Manager 01-02 requires DirectX'.
A: Do not worry. DirectX is no longer a requirement for devices since the game was released in 2001.
Q: My game asks me to 'Insert CD'.
A: You will need to find the location where you have saved 'cm0102.iso', right-click on this and click 'Mount' or just double click 'cm0102.iso'.
Q: Nothing happens when I click on ‘autorun.exe’ or 'setup.exe'?
A: Go into 'This PC', and right-click your disc drive (or virtual drive if you are using the .iso file) and click 'Open'. Then right-click 'Setup.exe' and click 'Open'.
A: Run Task Manager (CTRL + ALT + DEL, then click 'Task Manager'), click on 'Setup.exe' and then ‘Go to details’. Then right-click on 'Setup.exe' again in the 'Details' tab and click ‘Analyse Wait Chain’. This will tell you what other processes may be stopping 'Setup.exe' from running. Close down these processes and try again.
A: Your anti-virus could be blocking the executable from running. Temporarily turn it off and try again.
A: Close down your browsers.
A: Try right-clicking on 'Setup.exe' then click ‘Properties’. Click on the 'Compatibility' tab, tick ‘Run this program in compatibility mode for:' and choose Windows XP (Service Pack 3). Also, ensure that you have ticked ‘Run this program as administrator’.
A: Run Task Manager (CTRL + ALT + DEL, then click 'Task Manager') and kill any other tasks running in the background which could be causing a conflict.
A: Run Task Manager (CTRL + ALT + DEL, then click 'Task Manager') and if there are more than one instances of 'Setup.exe' appearing, kill them all and try again.
A: Try turning off User Account Control in the Control Panel if you are able to.
A: It could be that your Windows profile is playing up somehow. Try creating a new profile on your computer and running the installation in that profile. If it works, then switch back to your normal profile and the game should already be installed for you.
Q: How can I change the language of the game?
A: Load the game and click ’Game Settings’. There is an option there called ‘Language’ where you can change the language.
Q: I get a ‘Not Enough System Memory Error”?
A: Go to your Championship Manager 2001/2002 directory (This PC > Local Disk (C:) > Program Files (x86) > Championship Manager 2001-2002), right-click 'cm0102.exe' and click 'Run as Administrator'.
A: Go to your Championship Manager 2001/2002 directory (This PC > Local Disk (C:) > Program Files (x86) > Championship Manager 2001-2002), right-click 'cm0102.exe' and change the compatibility mode to Windows XP (Service Pack 3). If this doesn't work, try a different compatibility mode.
A: Right-click on 'This PC' and click 'Properties'. Then click 'Advanced system settings' and 'Environment Variables'. In this section, delete anything related to Championship Manager 2001/2002 then re-install the game.
A: Install the SI Games Patch v3.9.68 as this can also solve the system memory error.
Q: I have an error saying "16 bit graphics cannot run"?
A: Go into your 'Control Panel' > 'Display Settings' for your device and underneath 'Change the size of text, apps, and other items', change it to 100%.
Q: I get this error when trying to start the game: “v3.9.60 Langlib..cpp 389".
A: This means you are trying to start the game from your virtual drive or disc but the game has not actually been installed to your computer. Try running 'cm0102.exe' from your Championship Manager directory or the shortcut that you made during the installation process if you chose to create one. If you cannot find this, go through the installation instructions again to install the game correctly.
A: If you have actually installed the game, then 'cm0102.exe' may be trying to look for it in the wrong place. Go to your Championship Manager directory (This PC > Local Disk (C:) > Program Files (x86) > Championship Manager 01-02) and right-click on 'cm0102.exe' and click ‘Properties’. There, check that the ‘Location’ of the file is set to the location that you have installed the game in (by default, it should be in This PC > Local Disk (C:) > Program Files (x86) > Championship Manager 2001-2002). This is where you should be running 'cm0102.exe' from.
A: Run your CM exe as admin and compatibility mode as Windows XP (Service Pack 3) .
A: Check if your data folder name is 'Data' . Unless you specified otherwise during the installation of the game, it is like : 'This PC > Local Disk (C:) > Program Files (x86) > Championship Manager 01-02> Data .
A: Check if your Data folder is empty or if any missing necessary files in Data folder by comparing it with a working data or original data. Probably you did not copy Data update files onto original data files. Copy Data files again, check if it works.
A: If not, right click on my computer (this PC) > properties > advanced system setings > environment variables > Find the variable relating to CM3 and delete it. Also, delete game.cfg file in your CM0102 folder (unless you specified otherwise during the installation of the game) in 'This PC > Local Disk (C:) > Program Files (x86) > Championship Manager 01-02 ) . Check if it works.
Q: I get this error when trying to start the game: “v3.9.60 game_config..cpp 84".
A: This means you are trying to start the game from your virtual drive or disc but the game has not actually been installed to your computer. Try running 'cm0102.exe' from your Championship Manager directory or the shortcut that you made during the installation process if you chose to create one. If you cannot find this, go through the installation instructions again to install the game correctly.
A: If you have actually installed the game, then 'cm0102.exe' may be trying to look for it in the wrong place. Go to your Championship Manager directory (This PC > Local Disk (C:) > Program Files (x86) > Championship Manager 01-02) and right-click on 'cm0102.exe' and click ‘Properties’. There, check that the ‘Location’ of the file is set to the location that you have installed the game in (by default, it should be in This PC > Local Disk (C:) > Program Files (x86) > Championship Manager 2001-2002). This is where you should be running 'cm0102.exe' from.
A: Run your CM exe as admin and compatibility mode as Windows XP (Service Pack 3) .
A: Check if your data folder name is 'Data' . Unless you specified otherwise during the installation of the game, it is like : 'This PC > Local Disk (C:) > Program Files (x86) > Championship Manager 01-02> Data .
A: Check if your Data folder is empty or if any missing necessary files in Data folder by comparing it with a working data or original data. Probably you did not copy Data update files onto original data files. Copy Data files again, check if it works.
A: If not, right click on my computer (this PC) > properties > advanced system setings > environment variables > Find the variable relating to CM3 and delete it. Also, delete game.cfg file in your CM0102 folder (unless you specified otherwise during the installation of the game) in 'This PC > Local Disk (C:) > Program Files (x86) > Championship Manager 01-02 ) . Check if it works.
Q: I have installed the game but when I start 'cm0102.exe', it will not load and crashes, giving the 'Windows experienced an unexpected error' message.
A: Go to your Championship Manager 2001/2002 directory (This PC > Local Disk (C:) > Program Files (x86) > Championship Manager 2001-2002), right-click 'cm0102.exe' and click 'Run as Administrator'.
A: Go to your Championship Manager 2001/2002 directory (This PC > Local Disk (C:) > Program Files (x86) > Championship Manager 2001-2002), right-click 'cm0102.exe' and change the compatibility mode to Windows XP (Service Pack 3). If this doesn't work, try a different compatibility mode.
A: Go to your Championship Manager directory (This PC > Local Disk (C:) > Program Files (x86) > Championship Manager 2001-2002) and delete the following file from inside the 'Data' folder: Cpuinf32.dll.
Q: My shortcut for cm0102.exe has disappeared?
A: It’s possible that your anti-virus has detected it as a threat and removed it. You can go into your anti-virus settings and add the game to a safe/white list so that it doesn’t happen again.
A: Check your Recycle Bin in case you accidentally deleted it.
A: Go into the Championship Manager directory (This PC > Local Disk (C:) > Program Files (x86) > Championship Manager 2001-2002), right-click ‘cm0102.exe’ and click ‘Create shortcut’. Copy and paste this back to your desktop or your preferred location for the shortcut.
Q: I get this error when playing the game: “v3.9.60 Utils cpp 648”?
A: Go to the Championship Manager directory (This PC > Local Disk (C:) > Program Files (x86) > Championship Manager 2001-2002), right-click on 'cm0102.exe', click 'Properties', click 'Compatibility' then tick the option to 'Run this program as an administrator'.
A: If you are planning to use a database or patch, you should upgrade anyway to the SI Games Patch (v3.9.68).
Q: My game crashes when I use Manager Notes?
A: This is a known bug from the 3.9.60 database which is the original version of the game. Unfortunately, it is only solvable if you upgrade to the SI Games Patch (v3.9.68).
Q: How to speed up 'Updating Game Data' (and new game creation) ?
A: Disabling any antivirus and disabling windows defender real time protection speeds up the game by more than 30%.
If starting a new game or updating game data takes long time, all you need to do is add your Championship Manager 01/02 folder to an exclusion list in Windows Defender. Instructions for Windows 10 and 11 here:
https://support.microsoft.com/en-gb/win ... Windows_11
Q: I'm buying a new computer, is it possible to transfer my save game?
A: Yes, just copy the Championship Manager 2001/2002 directory (This PC > Local Disk (C:) > Program Files (x86) > Championship Manager 2001-2002) to a memory stick or something similar. Then, install the game on your new computer, before then pasting the copied data on to your new computer.
Q: The French league calendar has suddenly stopped working in my game?
A: This is unfortunately a bug that was present in both the original release of the game and also in the early version of the Tapani Patch. The only known solutions is to use the very latest saturn patch to resolve it.
Q: I get this error: "v3.9.60 Database..cpp 6360"?
A: This appears to be an issue with your version of the game. Try installing the SI Games Patch v3.9.68 to resolve it.
Q: I get this error: "v3.9.60 index.. cpp 5773"?
A: You are trying to install a database, which is only compatible with v3.9.68. Install the SI Games Patch v3.9.68 to resolve it.
If you need more help >>> [TUTORIAL] How to install and run the game Championship Manager CM0102 ? FAQ and Support >>>
