Wait .... I never heard of patch 1.04 .... all I ever downloaded was the patches that I got from the main window that pops up of Generals ZH when you enter the CD. Hmmmm.... are they the same (I hope they're not) it might actually make a difference and allow me to play. YESSSSSSS. I'll see.
The ZeroHour patches only affect your ability to play multi-player games. You need the same patch version to play.
You need to do what I duggested the first time...
Un-install ALL zerohour related content. Id uninstall generals too. then manualy delete all the Generals/ZeroHour related folders in both your ProgramFiles and under MyDocuments. Only when absolutly sure everything is gone, should you try and re-install the game. Once it is installed, put the 3 files I mentioned, where they belong. There are more files in the Contra.zip, but they arn't important to the gameplay, just loading screens and icons etc. Once the .big, the .scb. and .csf files are where they belong you should be able to play Contra with no problems.
the first time you try and play an online game it will patch automaticly. It can patch before or after it is modded. makes no difference.
