For those who installed Spore patch 1.04 (it comes with Galactic Adventures by the way) and have issues, you’ll be pleased to know that many solutions have been collected over at the Sporum.  SporeMasterKaliena spent a lot of time compiling this information, so drop by the Sporums and see if you can get your game to work again.  If you do, make sure you drop her a thank you note 🙂

Oh, and here’s the full thread in case the Sporums are down for maintenance:

This thread will focus on Patch 1.04 troubleshooting. Please only post about Patch 1.04 here. If you are troubleshooting Patch 1.02 or 1.03 please refer to this thread: http://forum.spore.com/jforum/posts/list/9026.page

I have a Microsoft Visual C++ Runtime Library Runtime Error run time error when trying to launch Spore after installing this patch. What can I do?
Delete or rename your preferences.prop and login.prop files in your Application Data folder, then try launching the game again. Click here to find out how to get to your preferences folder and for more detail http://forum.spore.com/jforum/posts/list/31720.page#987420

Bad_Data appearing for new Planets and Star Systems after patching
Please refer to this thread: http://forum.spore.com/jforum/posts/list/31841.page#992430

Updating Content Database Screen Appears Frozen
This screen may take several minutes to process depending on your computer. Please do not use ctrl-alt-del to end the Spore game while this process is running, just allow it to run for as long as it may take. This is a one time process and will not happen when you launch Spore the next time if it is allowed to complete.

How can I download the patch using EA Download Manager EADM?
The EADM client is needed to download and install the patch, however you won’t see the patch listed within EADM’s menu. Instead, simply have EADM installed on your computer and launch Spore. Spore automatically launches EADM and while both are running the game will ask if you want to proceed with downloading and installing the patch. If you don’t have EADM currently you can download it from http://www.spore.com/patch

My EA Download Manager is installed and yet I have not been prompted to patch to 1.04
Check to ensure your Firewall is not preventing EADM from functioning. Turning it off for a short time while downloading the patch may be helpful. Also you can reinstall EA Download Manager to ensure you have the latest version by visiting http://www.spore.com/patch

I’m having trouble downloading the Patch, can I download it directly from a website?
The patch is available for direct download from third party websites usually within a few days of being made available to the public. You may need to use EA Download Manager during the first few days until it appears on third party websites: This link has a list of websites where the patch has been made available in the past: http://forum.spore.com/jforum/posts/list/12659.page

General trouble installing the patch
You can try right clicking and Run as Administrator once it has downloaded, even if you are using EA Download Manager. The patch is located in C:\ProgramData\Electronic Arts\EADM\cache\{ Anonymous }
Filename spore_dd_patch_all_v4.exe Right click the patch file and select to Run As Administrator.

Patch Download Process Failed Error
Possible work around as follows:
Go to C:\Program Files\Electronic Arts\EADM\ and create a cache folder.
Go into the options in EADM and change the download path to: C:\Program Files\Electronic Arts\EADM\cache\
Start the download again to this new location

Unable to open new file
This can be cause by insufficient disk space. You may need to free up as much as 6 GB of space to ensure that the patch can install.

Invalid Patch File
You can try downloading the patch again from a website instead of using EADM to ensure the file is not corrupted. If that fails, the patch does not seem to work if you did not originally install SPORE to the default location. I don’t know of a workaround other than uninstalling and reinstalling to the default location.

An update directory does not exist
This error usually affects Vista users. Please right click and Run As Administrator the patch so that it can install correctly. If you used EADM the patch is located in C:\ProgramData\Electronic Arts\EADM\cache\{ Anonymous }
Filename spore_dd_patch_all_v4.exe

Old file not found
Fix 1: This may be because the config text files have been manually edited. Restore them from the disk and retry. If that does not work, please post here.
Config files are located here: Program Files\Electronic Arts\Spore\Data\Config
This link provides a more in depth look at the solution:
http://forum.spore.com/jforum/posts/list/5333.page#85074
Fix 2: http://forum.spore.com/jforum/posts/list/3328.page#27419
Fix 3: http://forum.spore.com/jforum/posts/list/5333.page#85074

The setup has detected that No version of SPORE is installed.
The patch does not seem to work if you did not originally install SPORE to the default location. I don’t know of a workaround other than uninstalling and reinstalling to the default location.

Login failure after patch
First try logging in with the colon format as follows:
email@email.com: userid
example:
myemail@yahoo.com: kaliena
If that doesn’t help try deleting the login.prop file, this will force Spore to have you retype your Spore userid and password, after which you can set it to save that information again.
Go to the Spore directory:
In Windows XP \Documents and Settings\(Username)\Application Data\SPORE\Preferences\
In Vista \Users\(Username)\AppData\Roaming\SPORE\Preferences\
The Application Data directory may be hidden. To display hidden files:
In the menu Tools->Folder Options->View
check “Show Hidden Files and Folders”
Mac: Users\User Name\Library\Preferences\SPORE Preferences\p_drive\User\Application Data\Spore\Preferences\

If you have tried the above fixes and are still unable to install the patch you may need to uninstall Spore and reinstall and then try patching again.
Back up your game data and the My Spore Creations Folder before Uninstalling.
How do I back up saved games?
http://help.spore.com/cgi-bin/easpore.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=20401

If you have tried to fix your problem with the above steps and have not had success please post in this thread, including a list of all steps you have already taken to resolve your problem and the exact error message you are receiving.

Thanks!