Hi. I am playing the original version of The New Adventures of the Time Machine on my one and only computer that plays that version. Problem is that this "original" version has one glitch - the character cannot climb certain boxes; he just keeps trying to move it, even though the box is already where it is supposed to be! Is there a patch for this problem? If so, please let me know as soon as possible. I should note that I really LOVE this game; but this glitch is the only thing that prevents me from enjoying it, every time I replay the game.

I am not positive, but I believe this may be a patch for the game:

Time Machine patch

And this is a reputable website for patches.

Thanks for the prompt reply, Marian. I really appreciate it. But is there any way to be sure? I mean that old computer, the only one that plays this game, is not attached to the Internet, has no anti-virus... But you did indicate it should be safe? But you have doubts that it will fix my particular problem?

What can you tell me about this patch? And what does it mean no-CD/DVD patch?

Hi Zurreen, I removed your link because it's a site that can promote piracy.

In your case, though, being as you have a legitimate copy of the game, that site can be used such that if you download the file, you won't need the CD/DVD in the drive to play the game. I don't know if a patch would be incorporated or not.

I am pretty confident that the link I provided above is indeed a patch for the game - I just wasn't positive, being as it said Time Machine and not The New Adventures of the Time Machine. If you have two computers, you could download the patch to your computer linked to the internet and then transfer it to the other machine.

I have used that site many times for patches and have never had any problems with it.

Piracy?! I thought it was just the download for the patch??? I thought "no cd" meant that the *patch* came without a cd, and could be directly installed. What DID it mean then??? Or is it just the site itself that promotes piracy? But then it can't be a safe site?

But, after posting my question, noticed they said the patch was for version 1.20 and higher. My cd says it is version 1.1 - as I said, when the game was first released. So the site is no good for me anyway, right? Because mine is the original version.

Also please let me know: WAS a later version of the game released that I can now buy from somewhere??? If so, it might be the version that has NO glitches at all!

Oh, one thing. I always BUY games and install them from a CD. Don't feel very comfortable downloading even patches, let alone games. I would rather get a patch directly from the developers but, in this case, DreamCatcher is gone now. So do please advise me of what site is safe, and any cautions I need to observe in downloading patches.

Thanks again for all your help!

I just downloaded the patch from the link above and the readme file says it is for the game from Cryo, which confirms that it is the patch that you need. The readme file also says that the update improves game play, so hopefully it will address your problem.

Oh, and no CD means that the game can be played without the original CD in the drive. Although that site that you posted has its uses for legitimate users, it is also used as a way of promoting piracy, and that is why we do not post links to it or similar websites here.

I don't know how many versions of the game were released.

Oh, thank you SO VERY MUCH!!! You're a Godsend indeed! And the patch you downloaded it's the one YOU recommended, right? The one you weren't sure about initially - one that said "Time Machine" only? I sure hope so because, now that you tell me about the site I'd posted about, I wouldn't want to use that at all. In fact, that was why I'd pasted the link, to get your thoughts on it. I just don't like to go to, let alone use, ANY sites with ANY dubious/nefarious dealings. If you associate with thieves, you might be mistaken for one yourself, you know, even though you were actually a legitimate user!!!

And, yes, I can't play my game without a CD at all. The game came with 2 CDs, one of which was clearly marked and is required as the Play cd.

Yes, I downloaded the patch that I recommended initially and took a look at the files. You are most welcome for the help. I hope the patch makes the game more playable for you.

I hope so too. So I download the file on the computer connected to the Internet, copy it on a flash drive and then paste it on my old computer, and then just click on the file on my desktop to install the patch, right?

If you unzip the patch, you'll see it has a bunch of files including a Setup.exe file in it.
Unzip the patch to a folder, then double-click the Setup.exe file to start the install of the patch.
Depending on what version of Windows you're using, you might have to run the Setup.exe of the patch as an Administrator.

Thanks, Jenny! As you might have read in my conversation with Marian, I have installed the game on an old computer that is NOT connected to the Internet, nor has any anti-virus. It's the only computer that plays my old games that I bought way back in 2001-2002! It's the FIRST version of XP. I *think* I might have had to use the compatibility mode, but it is the only computer I have that allows me to play The New Adventures of the Time Machine (version 1.1). Marian recommended downloading the file to the newer computer (the one connected to the Internet, of course)and *then* transfer the file to the old one that actually has the game installed on it. So I copy the zipped file on to a flash drive or cd, then paste it on (I would prefer the desktop of) the old computer, unzip it, and then double-click on the Setup.exe file *in* the unzipped folder, to install the patch?

PS. Sorry for the possible redundancy but, as I explained to Marian, I have always bought games in their original packages and am not too versed in downloading stuff. (Big Fish games is an exception, of course, since you can't get many of their games in stores anymore and the customer service has assured me that it is safe to pay for and download their games; and they *are* supposed to be reliable, of course - it's *their* games, after all!)

Once again, thank you so much for the help.

Okay, Marian, I downloaded the patch, but it was nothing like any patch I've dealt with before. For instance, the EIDOS tech had actually emailed me a patch file for the Thief game. But here, there was no single folder. Rather, a bunch of files. I had to make a folder myself, named it the Time Machine patch, and then specified that folder as the destination for the site to download the several files.

Is this how your own download experience of the patch went? A bunch of files, but no single zipped folder.

Please, let me know. Thanks.

What you want to do is this:

Download the file.
Then right click on it.
A menu will pop up, and choose: extract
Then a window will pop up asking where you want to extract the files to, and you will want to navigate to the folder where you have the New Adventures of the Time Machine installed. That path should show in the window box before you proceed.
Then say "yes," and the files will be extracted into your Time Machine folder.
Then open up the Time Machine folder and you will see a file that says "setup." Double click on that and a window will pop up to install the Time Machine 1.20 patch. Follow the prompts and then the game should be patched.

I actually went through these steps myself, but extracted the files to a test folder I created, being as I don't have the game installed. I clicked on the setup file and the window to install the patch popped up.

If I haven't explained this properly, hopefully someone else will be able to help you.

You can also try copying all of the files that you extracted over to your Time Machine folder, and then you can find the setup file, click on it, and install the patch.

I don't have this game. If Marian says you need to have the files in the Time Machine folder before running the patch Setup, she's probably right.

Some games were like that in the late 1990's to early 2000's -- you had to put the patches in the game folder before running them.

To be honest, I am not sure that the downloaded files *have* to be in the game folder, but due to my uncertainty I thought it best that Zurreen copy them all over into the game folder just to be on the safe side. It only takes a few moments to do this, and I wanted to make sure that the patch was successfully applied. There were several files in the download apart from the setup file. As you pointed out, Jenny, some games from the early 2000s and late 1990s required this.

Thanks, guys. But, Marian, that is not how it went when *I* tried the download. As I mentioned, the Time Machine game is actually installed on my old XP. And you suggested downloading it on the computer which is connected to the Internet (this one I am using right now - Win 7). When I clicked on download, it just gave me a whole bunch of files that I was supposed to "Extract." It also picked a default location - USERS (perhaps because the game is NOT installed On this computer). I had to make a new folder myself in order to make sure all the files would be in one place, and not all over my desktop (where I like to download patches and other temporary stuff, so I won't forget to delete them later). I was following your original suggestion - to later move the files to my old XP.

Now usually with patches (as I mentioned I worked directly with the developer EIDOS tech for Thief: The Dark Project), you download the patch OUT of the game folder, and then click on the Set Up file in the patch, which then modifies the game's own Set Up.Exe file. But if I move the files directly in the game's own folder, then won't the computer ask me whether I want to replace the game's own Setup.Exe with that of the patch, in which case it would not be actually installing the patch???

Also, I noticed you said that this patch you found is 1.20. I remember there was a warning on the site I had found (which we are NOT using now), and it said that there could be a problem if the patch is for a higher version than that of our game, and my game is Version 1.1. Now you guys - Marian *and* Jenny - are the experts. So please tell me whether it would be advisable to use this patch, given my obviously original version of the game???

Once again, thanks again, both you guys.

Btw: I have entered my email in both the internal and public spots in my profile, as suggested. But I am not getting any email notifications when you guys respond. This makes it a little difficult since I have to keep coming to this thread to see when and if you guys responded. How can I start getting email notifications any time anyone responds to my queries on any thread? In other words, how can I make it (or maybe YOU guys can set me up) so that I would get an email notification any time anyone responds to any of my queries (new or old)?

Thank you for all your help.

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Hi Zurreen, that warning you got on that other site was in reference to the no-CD patch, not the patch for the gameplay. I understand that might be confusing to some people, but that is what they are talking about. So, no worries there.

I would suggest that you don't copy the extracted files into the game folder - I took another look at the patch and don't think it's necessary. Just execute the setup file from where you have it now (in your folder somewhere along with the other files). A window will pop up asking you where you want to install it to, and just point it to your Time Machine folder.

Sorry I did not reply to your post sooner, but I had an internet outage lasting several hours. Hopefully it is now fixed for a good long while.

I haven't seen a game that copies it's "Setup.exe" to the game folder. Usually the "Setup.exe" is left on the game CD and is only used during installation. But as I said before I don't own this particular game.

If there is a "Setup.exe" file in the game folder, you can

• Temporarily rename the Setup.exe file in the game folder to Setup.exe.old (or some other name)
• Copy all the patch files to the game folder
• Run the patch's Setup.exe to do the patching
• Delete or rename the Setup.exe that belonged to the patch to something else.
• Rename the game's Setup.exe from Setup.exe.old (or whatever you called it) back to Setup.exe

A NoCD is only meant to allow you to play the game without the CD in the drive. On games as old as "New Adventures of the Time Machine" (year 2000), it has no effect whatever on gameplay glitches like "character cannot climb certain boxes; he just keeps trying to move it"

In later games from 2003 or later, there is something called "trigger functions" which deliberately introduces bugs into the game if the CD isn't detected properly. This happens with legitimate CD's, not just illegal downloads. There are multiple disc checks during the game, and the copy "protection" doesn't tell you it failed -- instead it glitches up your game. There are all kinds of reasons why fusspot disc-based copy "protections" fail to detect legitimate discs. Copy "protections" are far from perfect at detecting legitimate discs -- the discs themselves can be slightly off-spec or the CD drive can be spinning or reading slightly different from listed spec (well enough to read normal CD files but not well enough to consistently pass the copy "protection" checks). Even if you have a legitimately purchased game, if it fails the disc check, it's always assumed you are using an illegal download when the disc check fails. So not only do they take your money for a game that doesn't work, they call you a thief when you try to get help.

A NoCD can help you eliminate glitches caused by DRM "trigger functions." But as I said, this only applies to newer disc-based games than Time Machine -- and only to those infected with "trigger functions" (which was not all games).

NoCD's are very specific about versions. The patch at patches-scrolls.de that Marian linked to would not be so specific, or it would have been described appropriately.

Thank you, Jenny. I love the way you respond to questions with such comprehensive answers - I have learned so much over the years from reading your posts.

Me too !!

And the best bit is that Jenny100 always couches her replies (certainly to me, anyway) in terms that even the dunce that I am can understand

Thanks for the help, Marian. I hope the Internet outage *is* fixed for a good long while. Why the problem though? You are in CA, right? I thought we in Texas were the only ones having problems because of Harvey. So your outage must be related to something else, right?

Thanks, Jenny. But now you got me worried that the patch will not be helpful because my problem *is* climbing those boxes - at three locations actually: the one with the Sandscraper on it right of the washing machine area; the box we need to move and get up on to fix the washing machine; and the last (and most horrible!) one when Wales, as a boy, has to climb on *after* Ashamira helps them escape the prison.

Oh, but you've not played the game, so you probably don't know what I'm talking about...

Yes, my game is definitely legally purchased. Given as a birthday gift to me by my brother in late 2001, back when you could get these games in local stores and got then in huge cardboard boxes. The boxes were big, and the game itself would come in a jewel case with an instruction booklet. Remember those "good old days"?

Back to the patch question though: you don't think this patch will help me with my box-climbing problem? :(