I messed up in the installation by not entering a cd key.
The program runs, but I can't join any servers without it crashing immediately.
The BF2 hub says my CD key is "Not found".
How do I fix this? Is there some way to enter the key once the program is installed? If not, then where is the uninstaller so I can redo the installation? I can't find it anywhere.
Or do you just delete the games folder?

Just found a little program from BF2 hub called "invalidcdkeyfix" and it kinda took care of my problem. It gave me a product key that seems to work, at least the bf2 hub wasn't bellyaching about that anymore. Instead, the hub put a little question mark on the profile icons and when I click on it it says:

"code 2400 - account pending The profile is scheduled for account checking, but the actual account check has not occured yet.

If this situation lasts longer than 10 minutes you should consider checking your firewall.

The BF2Hub Client uses port UDP 29940 for the account checks - this means that your firewall must allow outgoing traffic on that port."


When I play the game I can join the servers now, but nobody else is in the game.
I think I've allowed all the necessary programs through the firewall and I certainly waited long enough to amount for the 10 minutes.
Did I miss something? Why isn't the bf2 hub validating my account?
Is there a list of things that must be allowed through the firewall?
Can I play with a VPN on or does that effect the "validation process"?
I would appreciate some assistance on this perplexing matter.

You're good to go already, just play; you're joining empty servers with fake clients (they're needed for the match to start, otherwise you need 8 humans to idle; unfortunately some Clans prefer to put deceiving names for these bots essentially, and it's deceiving). You can use https://bf2.tv/ to sort the server list by real players.

Enjoy the game,
Staff Officer S_h_a_r_k_93 

Unfortunately, the game is not good to go, for my little profile icons in the bf2hub do not look like the final ones shown in: https://imgur.com/a/0rj5cjK
(I wish I knew how to attach image files to these posts, then I could show what they look like and give a better image [pun intended] of what's going on).

Today, when started the bf2hub, it said my CD key wasn't registered and my profile icons were crossed off with a red X. So maybe the "invalidcdkeyfix" application I used yesterday didn't actually work.

In spite of all this, I took your word for it and tried the game, checking https://bf2.tv/ first to make sure I had a valid server. When I tried to join the server it popped up the message "your connection to the server has been lost", and I was unable to join. I tried multiple times.

How do I change my CD key or get one that will work?

Yeah, they say images speak a thousand words right? So definitely would make it easier you can upload a picture on https://imgur.com/upload and then share the link here.

Anyway, what I meant to say is that those red crosses on the BF2Hub Client aren't a problem, you can actually ditch the program altogether once installed (stop it from running on startup too) and just boot the game through the shortcut to BF2.exe that is on the Desktop.

What is important, though, is that a license code is applied. In your opening post you mentioned that you skipped that part of the installation (it comes at the very end, with a "Key Manager" program popping up), and so you were experiencing crashes on server join.

But then you mention that you could join servers so I figured you somehow applied a CD-Key? The invalidcdkeyfix.exe from BF2Hub doesn't provide you with a key, it just fixes some problems in case you already have one applied (but written wrong, or in the wrong location).

Red crosses next to your profiles aren't important, you can dismiss them, what is important is that next to the CD Keys icons you have black CD-Rom icons (not greyed out); that means you have a license applied and readable. What server did you try to join yesterday, multiple times?

Well, actually, I just ran the "invalidcdkeyfix" and assumed it had fixed the problem by providing a CD key, but apparently that's not what it does.

Unfortunately, I did not enter any CD key during the installation. I just dumbly clicked "close".


Here is the picture of the bf2hub before I used the "invalidcdkeyfix": https://imgur.com/a/QdRtb9N
After I used the "invalidcdkeyfix" there were red X's on the icons. (I didn't screenshot that).
I then clicked "backup accounts" and followed the appropriate instructions. Not knowing any better, at that time, I thought everything except the icons looked fine: https://imgur.com/a/IYu4Qga
Then next day on startup: https://imgur.com/a/rayemX8

Is it possible to enter a key after its already been installed? Or will I have to delete the program and install it again? (I haven't been able to find an uninstall.exe).
What do recommend?

The servers I tried to join were: "First-Legion" and "SUPER@ - S1 Strike at Karkand Infantry Only"

I think I'm also running into the same problem. On the BF2 Hub, 'keys are not found. When going through the installation, I too was not able to input in any cd-key. The program that is suppose to appear after the download, I guess to enter a key-code is not popping up. I tried manually clicking 'BF2keyman' application to run. The icon shows but no actual window for the program pops up.

ItsBrandyBro, that's not quite the same thing.
In my case, all the correct screens came up (including the CD key input screen) and I also ran the BF2keyman, which functioned properly. But, unfortunately for me, I didn't use either of them. I just hit "close" on both boxes.
For me, I think the files and programs are working correctly. I just bungled the installation.

Potatoe- you can go into the downloaded folder Battlefield 2 Complete collection and then into the Redist folder. Inside you shall find BF2Keyman. Doubleclick it to run, click random at least once, then click apply to insert the shown key into the registry. Try playing again. It should be all good now.

ItsBrandyBro- Your issue is either anti virus stopping it from running or you have a secondary monitor installed, but not in use. Check your anti virus and make sure it hasn't stopped or quarantined bf2keyman. Most key generators are flagged by anti virus, so they can't get into trouble for allowing copyright material to run. If you have keyman shown in the toolbar, but can do nothing with it, you need to disable the secondary monitor or have it turned on. The program is starting but it starts desktop center, which is between two monitors, if another is installed. If this doesn't fix the issue, see rotblut or me on discord and ask for the fixed version of bf2keyman. Basically the fix is this line Self.Position := poDesktopCenter changed to be like this Self.Position := poScreenCenter Very subtle change but it doesn't give an issue with two monitors

PvtStandOn- Sounded like it might work, so I tried it. It didn't work The same message comes up in the BF2hub. See here: https://imgur.com/a/rayemX8