Games Won't Install

  • Thread starter Thread starter Peter A.
  • Start date Start date
In
Peter A. said:
I just tried to install a game or two, but for some reason,
they
won't install. The second game I tried, I know can be
installed
under Windows XP. Can anyone help me with this?
Click to expand...


Please help us to help you. It's very difficult to help when you
tell us so little. What are the names of the games? Tell us about
your hardware and software configuration. XP Professional or
Home? Are you running as an administrator? Can you successfully
install other applications? What does "they won't install" mean?
What happens when you try? If you get an error message, please
quote it verbatim.



For information on how to make a good newsgroup posting, read
http://www.dts-l.org/goodpost.htm
 
Peter said:
OS is XP Pro
Games like Star Wars Rebellion, Star Trek Starfleet Command, etc.
For the most part, when I put the CD in, the autoplay start. When I
hit install, it looks like it starts loading the install process, but
it
doesn't. When I try to access the intallation process from My
Computer > CD Drive, it does the same thing.
Click to expand...

Once again, you don't provide enough information for us to help you. Now
you've given us the names of some of the games, but no details about
your computer, your setup, whether you've ever been able to install
games, if you are trying to install in a Limited Account, etc. Please
go here for help in making good newsgroup posts:

http://www.dts-l.org/goodpost.htm


And then do come back with enough details so that people who can't see
your system can help you.

Malke
 
OK, let's see if this helps at all.
I do have Administrator privliages (this is my own computer)
I have Windows XP Pro SP2
I have been able to install programs (not just games), but when I recently
went to install a game, it won't install. I have lots of room on my
computer and a DVD+RW drive.
I know that most of my games (if not all) can be installed & played on an XP
machine.

what else can I say? I think that's about it.

_______________________
Peter A.
Nickels
http://www.freewebs.com/rockyandnickels/
http://www.freewebs.com/rockyandnickels/emma/
 
Peter said:
OK, let's see if this helps at all.
I do have Administrator privliages (this is my own computer)
I have Windows XP Pro SP2
I have been able to install programs (not just games), but when I
recently
went to install a game, it won't install. I have lots of room on my
computer and a DVD+RW drive.
I know that most of my games (if not all) can be installed & played on
an XP machine.

what else can I say? I think that's about it.
Click to expand...

OK, now we're getting somewhere. The only thing you left out is if you
get any error messages. Both Starfleet Command and Star Wars Rebellion
are very old games (in computer years) and were designed for Windows
98. I know because we had them both. Sometimes with older games, you
can install and run them on XP with no problem. Sometimes you need to
install/run using Compatibility Mode. Look in XP's Help & Support for
specific instructions about using Compatibility Mode. Sometimes the old
game just won't run on XP - the game is expecting certain hardware and
without it, it's a no-go. My son just tried to install Rogue Squadron
last night. He said it installed but crashed Big Time when he tried to
run a mission. He didn't feel it was worth t-shooting it on XP,
installing it on the machine running VirtualPC, or dragging a Windows
98 box out of the closet. He fired up Warcraft Frozen Throne
instead. ;-)

The other alternatives if you are just dying to play these old games
again are:

1. Dual boot Win9x/XP - clunky and annoying if you only want to play a
few games.

2. Run virtual operating system software like Virtual PC or VMWare -
expensive, and not all games will run on the simulated hardware,
particularly games that required state-of-the-art graphics hardware for
the time they were made.

3. Keep an older box around running Win9x. If you don't want to invest
in a second monitor/keyboard/mouse, get a KVM switch.

Malke
 
That's the thing. I don't get a error message. I know that a little over a
year ago, I had it on my computer (which is this computer) and I reformated
my computer to make sure that my computer runs good.
But for some reason, this week, when I tried to install these things, it
starts loading the set-up into memory, but doesn't start it. Then when I
try to access it VIA My Computer > My DVD Drive, it does the same thing.

_______________________
Peter A.
Nickels
http://www.freewebs.com/rockyandnickels/
http://www.freewebs.com/rockyandnickels/emma/
 
Peter said:
That's the thing. I don't get a error message. I know that a little
over a year ago, I had it on my computer (which is this computer) and
I reformated my computer to make sure that my computer runs good.
But for some reason, this week, when I tried to install these things,
it
starts loading the set-up into memory, but doesn't start it. Then
when I try to access it VIA My Computer > My DVD Drive, it does the
same thing.
Click to expand...
Look in Event Viewer - Start>Run eventvwr [enter] to see if there are
any clues from Windows' point of view. Sometimes there is an error log
in the game's Program folder. You reformatted and therefore reinstalled
drivers and did updates. Maybe the video driver you used to have worked
better with the old games. I'm just guessing. Obviously there is
something different now, but tracking it down and changing it will be
really hard. I'm sorry that I don't have a definitive answer for you as
to why these old games played once and now won't. Look around for a
Win98 box that has a decent video card (maybe a TNT2!) and keep it for
your old games. I have a 486 running DOS of which I'm very fond - it
just keeps chugging along and I fire it up when I have the urge to play
some of those old DOS games.

Malke
 
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