Play Generals & Zero Hour Campaign and Multiplayer on Windows 10 and Windows 11

How to play Command & Conquer Generals on Windows 10 and Windows 11

C&C Generals is now playable on Windows 10 and 11 | Campaign and Multiplayer Online!

Know your Generals and Zero Hour version

Generals and Zero Hour are available in 3 main versions:

• Retail version (original CD version, this includes the Deluxe Edition)
• The First Decade version (TFD)
• The Ultimate Collection Version (also known as the EA App version)

Versions not listed here are unofficial and are not supported by our group. It is best to only use the official versions of the game to prevent issues and to support the developers.

Step 1: Get Generals and Zero Hour

You can now buy a digital copy of all 12 Command & Conquer games from the EA App. 

Purchase the C&C Ultimate Collection via EA App.

If you already own Generals and Zero hour, skip this step.

Step 2: Install Generals and Zero Hour

Retail & TFD: Install the Game from the Discs

EA App: Install the game via the EA App Client

Step 3: Download GenPatcher and Apply Fixes
 

GenPatcher is an all-in-one application for updating Generals and Zero Hour to run correctly with Windows 10 and Windows 11.

• It is recommended to switch off your anti-virus and real-time protection to prevent your anti-virus from interfering with GenPatcher. See why.
• Download and launch GenPatcher.
• Click the Apply Fixes button to apply a number of fixes to the game and get it working flawlessly on Windows 10 or Windows 11.
• You can also install GenTool using GenPatcher (Highly Recommended).
  • GenTool will allow you to play on C&C-Online and provide features such as widescreen support, extended single-player zoom out support, anti-cheat for online, and more.

For help and support, head over here.

Step 4: Borderless Fullscreen Mode (Requires GenTool)

Generals and Zero Hour regularly crash when you attempt to Alt+Tab out of the game. Enabling Borderless Fullscreen using the following instructions will make the game more stable. Note: Playing in borderless fullscreen will disable cursor edge-scrolling.

• It is recommended to switch off your anti-virus and real-time protection to prevent your anti-virus from interfering with GenPatcher. See why.
• Download and launch GenPatcher.
• Go to the Additional Content tab.
• Click on GenTool on the left.
• Enable Borderless (fullscreen) window mode.

You should now have Generals running with borderless fullscreen, which is incredibly smooth and compatible with Alt+Tabbing. Just make sure you launch the game from the Windowed shortcut on your desktop.

Step 5: Play Singleplayer!

You are now able to play Generals and Zero Hour campaigns in singleplayer!

Step 6: Play Multiplayer!

C&C Online is a community-made-and-managed online server for Generals & Zero Hour.

Note: You will need to have GenTool installed in order to play Generals & Zero Hour online. This is bundled with GenPatcher, which has been covered earlier in this guide.

Here are the steps to get your game online!

• Sign up for a C&C Online Account here.
  • Be sure to activate your account via email.
  • Your C&C Online account is also a Revora forums account.
• Once your account has been activated, login and create Server Login information on the C&C Online page:
  • Server Username
  • Server Email
  • Server Password
• Launch Generals or Zero Hour.
• In Network Options, your IP must be like it is on your Home Network in order to connect online, i.e. 192.168.x.x.
• From the game's main menu, navigate to the online multiplayer menu and login using the C&C Online details that you created earlier.
• Enjoy playing Generals and Zero Hour online!

Note: If you have trouble connecting to other players online, launch GenPatcher and go to the Playing Online tab. Now activate Network optimizations to help connect with other players.

Click here for more info on common issues and solutions with C&C Online.

GenPatcher and Anti-Virus Scanners

There is a chance GenPatcher gets flagged by your anti-virus as either a trojan or a virus. This is a false positive. GenPatcher is completely safe to use.

The reason anti-virus software may flag it is because GenPatcher applies fixes to your game's Windows registry entries, as well as moving and deleting files that could cause game instability. Therefore, to be on the safe side, the anti-virus software will block GenPatcher and prevent it from running. That's why it's recommended to switch off your anti-virus before downloading GenPatcher to ensure you won't run into any problems.

You can find more information about this on the GenPatcher support page.

Known Issues

Generals & Zero Hour Crash when Alt+Tabbing in Fullscreen Mode

If you run the game in regular fullscreen (not borderless fullscreen), the game will sometimes crash when you attempt to Alt+Tab out of it. The fix for this is to use d3d8to9-wrapper, which alleviates this issue by converting all Direct3D 8-API calls and low-level shaders to equivalent Direct3D 9 ones. Note: Do not use this if you would like to play online, as using the d3d8to9-wrapper will result in increased chances of a mismatch.

1. Download the latest version of d3d8to9.
2. If you also use GenTool: rename the downloaded d3d8.dll file to d3d8x.dll to make sure you don't overwrite GenTool's d3d8.dll.
3. Place the file in the game directory of both Generals and Zero Hour.
4. Play the game.

Zero Hour is Censored in Germany

The German version of Zero Hour is censored. To remove the censorship:

• It is recommended to switch off your anti-virus and real-time protection to prevent your anti-virus from interfering with GenPatcher. See why.
• Download and launch GenPatcher.
• Go to the Additional Content section.
• Click on German Uncut on the left.
• Install the German Uncut mod.

Alternatively, you can download and install it manually.
 

C&C Generals Zero Hour Mods

You can find plenty of mods for Generals and Zero Hour over at ModDB:

• Generals Mods
• Zero Hour Mods

However, if you're only after the more popular mods, GenLauncher is the recommended way to go.
 

GenLauncher

The easiest way to install mods for Zero Hour is through GenLauncher (official Discord). GenLauncher allows you to download and install multiple mods at the same time, while keeping your original Zero Hour game installation intact.

To install GenLauncher:

• It is recommended to switch off your anti-virus and real-time protection to prevent your anti-virus from interfering with GenPatcher. See why.
• Download and launch GenPatcher.
• Go to the Additional Content section.
• Click on GenLauncher on the left.
• Install GenLauncher.

After that, it's as simple as running GenLauncher from the shortcut on your desktop, and downloading the mods you want. When a mod is downloaded, launch it through GenLauncher.

Here's a list of popular mods for Generals and Zero Hour that are currently available on GenLauncher:

• Rise of the Reds - Adds two new factions: The Russian Federation and The European Continental Alliance, and overhauls the existing factions with tons of new units and features.
• C&C: ShockWave - Adds 3 new generals: USA Armor, China Special Weapons, and GLA Salvage, and adds new additions and improvements to the existing generals.
• Contra - Adds a vastly expanded tech tree that adds powerful units and abilities that can only be acquired by reaching a certain rank. The mod also overhauls the graphics changing nearly every model and texture in the game.
• Operation: Firestorm - Adds a new generals roster by adding new faces and overhauling some of the existing ones. The mod also features a remade Generals' Power menu, as well as high-quality models, textures, and effects to create a familiar but fresh experience.
• The End of Days - Adds a new faction: Russia, and overhauls the existing factions with improved graphics and effect to bring an authentic real war feeling.
• NProject Mod
• Zero Hour Reborn
• C&C Untitled
• Shockwave Chaos Mod
• The Power of the West

There are also other mods which are not on GenLauncher, so it's always worth checking out the Generals Mods and Zero Hour Mods sections of ModDB.

One popular mod is the Generals Evolution mod. Generals Evolution is a total conversion mod for Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3 that aims to recreate Generals in the updated SAGE engine.