Personalized trainers suddenly crashing during the authentication process? Odds are you have upgraded your operating system to Windows 8 or Internet Explorer 10. With this software release, Microsoft changed a core piece of functionality that has been in place since IE1 was released. Our authentication process relied on this component and this is why the trainers are crashing. We have gone through and updated the most recent version of most trainers to be compatible with this update. All trainers released after around July of 2012 are already compatible. You can find the compatibility status on each trainer download page. There is more information on how to get older trainers to work and the process for requesting a trainer to be updated on our FEEDBACK message board.

Using a BETA or Pre-Relase Operating System? While some trainers may work on these operating systems, they are not supported and are not guaranteed to work 100%. Operating systems go through many changes before release and it too time consuming to try and troubleshoot issues on an OS that is in BETA and/or in an unstable format. If you are experiencing problems using trainers on a BETA or pre-release OS, it is recommened that you go back to an officially released OS. Once operating systems have been officially released to the public (in a FINAL RETAIL state), support for those operating systems will begin.

Make sure you have the right version. If the trainer is written for v1.1 and your game has been patched to v1.2 then this is a good reason for the trainer to fail. Trainers are looking for very specific places in memory or the executable and updates tend to shift these locations around. Many times you can reinstall the game back to the level needed to get the trainer to work. Otherwise you will need to wait for a new version of the trainer to be released.

Disable any third-party programs you may be using such as FRAPS. These third party programs sometimes cause issues with the video system or with the memory space the trainer is trying to occupy. Disabling them while playing can many times cause the trainer to start working.

Have you disabled your Anti-Virus, Firewall and other security software?? It's very typical for antivirus and security applications to flag trainers as a virus or malware simply because of the way they are designed. This can cause problems such being unable to download trainers, extract trainers or successfully use trainer. Many antivirus products will simply block a trainer from injecting into the game and never even tell you. CHEAT HAPPENS scans all files with multiple scanners before uploading them to the website so that you can be sure our trainers contain no real viruses. You can read here for more information. You can usually add the trainer to your security software's exception list which will make it ignore the trainer and cause it to start working. Sometimes you may have to disable your security software while the game/trainer is in use. This can also include software such as Punkbuster which is designed to disable software such as trainers.

Always read the instructions that are included with the trainer. Usually this is in a readme or .nfo file. Open these files with Notepad to read them. You can also download and install the DAMN NFO FILE VIEWER. Some trainers need to be run AFTER the game has started (by pressing ALT+TAB to go back to the desktop) and some need to be loaded BEFORE the game is started. Some need to be placed in the same directory as the game and others can be placed anywhere. Using the wrong method can cause the trainer to fail. Some trainers require additional files before they can work and may be noted in the readme/nfo files.

Sometimes the game's copy protection itself can interfere with the trainer's functions. If you have LEGALLY purchased the game, you can visit sites such as megagames . com or gameburnworld . com and download a game 'fix' that will disable the protection and allow the trainer to function properly. Always make a backup of your original files so you can return the game back to it's original state after the necessary cheats have been applied. Just like with trainers, make sure the fix you download matches the version of the game you have.

Are you trying to use the trainer in multiplayer mode? Most trainers are made to work with SINGLE PLAYER MODE only. Here at Cheat Happens, we never intentionally create or post cheats that work in a multiplayer environment. Cheats (in our opinion) should only be used for single player modes and trying to use them in multiplayer will cause the cheats not to work and may possibly get you banned from that game's multiplayer servers.

Are the keys the trainer has assigned to cheats also mapped to controls in the game? If so, this will cause the trainer to fail as the game's control keys will almost always override the trainer's hotkeys. If this happens, re-map your game's controls to different keys and then the trainer keys should work fine.

Are you using any type of multimedia keyboard that has software running which makes the special keys work? Some people have trouble with these types of programs as they overwrite the trainer's built-in hotkeys. Try disabling any software like this before running the trainer/game.

Are your F-LOCK and NUMLOCK keys on? Trainers that use F1 (or any F-KEYS) require that the F-LOCK be turned on. Some keyboards have this and some do not. If you're pressing the F-keys and get no response, this is typically the reason. Trainers that use the NUMPAD keys require that NUMLOCK be turned on. Make sure you're using the actual NUMPAD keys and not the number keys at the top of the keyboard. If you're using a CHEATHAPPENS trainer and do not have a NUMPAD (like on a laptop) you can use our TRAINER CUSTOMIZER to change the keys.

Are you using Windows Vista or Windows 7? Try running the game and trainer in compatibility mode. You can also try running the trainer as Administrator. Also, make sure you're using 32-bit mode and not 64-bit. Some newer trainers may work fine on Vista 32-bit and 64-bit without the need to run in compatibility mode. You will almost always have to run the trainer as Administrator however.

Did you download the game from Direct2Drive, STEAM or another digital download service? Many times these digital download services sell a slightly modified version of the game in order to make them compatible with downloading and playing without a CD/DVD. Trainers rely on very specific memory locations or game files in order to work. The slightest change in the game's code could cause the trainer to fail. If you're using one of these downloaded versions, this could be the case. Always mention if you have one of these versions if you're reporting a problem with a trainer. Sometimes applying a no-cd "fix" to these downloaded versions will make them compatible with the trainer and is always something to try. Many of our trainers list the digital download services they are compatible with in the description.

Where did you put the trainer file? Sometimes trainers need to be run from the same folder that the game is installed in. Sometimes it doesn't matter. For the sake of troubleshooting, it's always best to put the trainer in the same folder as the game and run it from there.

Is your sound card functioning? Some trainers, especially those produced by our site, require windows sounds to be functioning correctly or the trainer may crash or fail to run. Make sure your sound card is working properly, not muted, etc. You may also need to download and install the Combined Community Codec Pack (search Google), espeically if you are getting an on/off sound when activating the trainer or its options.

Been using h4x0r trainers? If you have been using trainers by a person named h4x0r then you may need to delete these trainers and any .dll files associated with them. These trainers have been known to drop suspicious .dll files in the root of your C:\ drive and also in the Windows/System32 folder. You may need to show hidden and system files to see them. Some of the names include h4x0r.dll, SCS.dll and SCX.dll. These malware .dll files interfere with some other trainers and should be avoided at all costs.

Have you tried running the trainer different ways? Some trainers need to be run BEFORE the game is started and others AFTER the game is started (using ALT+TAB once in the game to go back to Windows). If you're having trouble always try both ways to see if it makes a difference.

At the end of the day, sometimes trainers just simply won't work with your version of the game. Sometimes game publishers put out multiple versions of the same game (international, etc) with slight changes to the code, but they use the same version number.

We always try to associate the correct version with the trainers that we post, but sometimes it isn't available and we don't know how many versions are out there.

Good luck everyone and we hope you appreciate all of the hard work that goes into creating some of these trainers (some take days and days of programming). We certainly do and we appreciate everyone that works hard to find and/or create these cheats.

How To Use a PC Trainer

 Read the readme or .nfo file included with the trainer. The .nfo files can be opened using Notepad or Wordpad. These files usually contain important instructions or information regarding the trainer.

 Extract the trainer to the game folder on your hard drive. This location is not always important, but some trainers will not work without being in the same folder as the game.

 Depending on the trainer, you should either run the trainer BEFORE you start the game or after the game is already running. Most trainers are run AFTER the game is loaded (by pressing ALT+TAB while in the game to go back to the desktop -- run the trainer then press ALT+TAB again to go back to the game). Try it both ways or check the .nfo file if you're not sure.

 Use the keys assigned by the trainer to activate the trainer's cheats while playing. Sometimes the keys used by the trainer are already mapped to functions in the game. You may need to re-map game controls to other keys in order for the trainer to work properly.

 Do not close the trainer until you have closed the game. Sometimes the cheats stop working or the game will crash.