guys the solution proved far more intricate. I found it at:
ubi.com support
The procedure is all there, the only thing to be careful is:
the second key they mention, the GhostRecon.exe folder, was NOT in HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE -> SOFTWARE -> Microsoft -> Windows -> App Paths. In fact, the path Microsoft -> Windows -> App Paths didn't even exist in my Registry (I am running ME tho', maybe that's why). Instead, that folder is in
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE -> SOFTWARE -> Classes -> Applications
Everything else was where they said.
We were inserted by chopper la