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If a game disk won't install?
Posted By: Reenie
If a game disk won't install? - 09/17/13 08:18 PM
Do I assume I just got a bad copy? I put the disk into the driver, and it blinks and fusses, then nothing. It doesn't crank up, begin its AutoRun sequence -- just never goes through the process all other disks do when you insert it.
It is "Eternal Journey: New Atlantis." Got it through Amazon. Before I send it back to Amazon, just checking to see if there are any known problems with this game. The other two Mystery Master games I ordered at the same time have installed and have run flawlessly.
Thanks!
Posted By: Draclvr
Re: If a game disk won't install? - 09/17/13 08:37 PM
Have you checked the disk for flaws and given it a good cleaning anyway? I know it's supposed to be new, but it does happen.
Posted By: Reenie
Re: If a game disk won't install? - 09/17/13 09:07 PM
Yeah, Drac. It is as clean as glass. I'm just afraid it is bad, but I'm putting off the hassle of sending it back.
Posted By: Reenie
Re: If a game disk won't install? - 09/17/13 09:11 PM
I just opened the disk under Windows to see if anything looked wonky. It says "(3) Files are installed" and "(1) File is waiting to be installed." I have not seen that message before. I take it to mean they may have left off one file that is needed to run the game?
Posted By: InlandAZ
Re: If a game disk won't install? - 09/17/13 09:11 PM
It could be your AV software - try disabling it when you try to install the game.
Have you tried opening the disk in My Computer? Is it assigned a drive letter? Is there a SETUP.exe on the disk?
Posted By: InlandAZ
Re: If a game disk won't install? - 09/17/13 09:13 PM
I just opened the disk under Windows to see if anything looked wonky. It says "(3) Files are installed" and "(1) File is waiting to be installed." I have not seen that message before. I take it to mean they may have left off one file that is needed to run the game?
Can't say I've ever seen that message before. How many files are on the disc?
Posted By: Reenie
Re: If a game disk won't install? - 09/17/13 09:22 PM
Here is a screen shot. I've never tried loading a screenshot. Hope this works.
[img]
http://s137.photobucket.com/user/SFBayGal/media/Eternal.jpg.html?sort=4&o=0[/img]
Posted By: Draclvr
Re: If a game disk won't install? - 09/17/13 09:32 PM
Ah, that helps. It doesn't say 3 files are installed - it says 3 files are on the disk. I would open up that autorun file and see what it tells you to do. The one below it about files waiting to be written, not installed, has nothing to do with the game disk - ignore it.
Posted By: Reenie
Re: If a game disk won't install? - 09/17/13 09:54 PM
Yes, I did that. At first, it looked like it was going to install the game, but not in the usual way (through AutoRun). It ran a green "Progress" bar across the top of the dialogue box in that Window, rather than on my screen. (It gave none of the usual messages you get when you start a new download.) This got my hopes up, but in the end, it just hung up, unresponsively. If I listened to my DVD player then, it was making a repetitive "kachink" sort of sound, like the disk was caught in some sort of loop. I have not heard that before with a game.
After the DVD player hangs up like that, I can't even close the window on my screen. I have to press the button to eject the disk from my CPU. As the disk ejects, it THEN asks if I want to run the program. LOL
Posted By: Reenie
Re: If a game disk won't install? - 09/17/13 10:12 PM
And just in case my DVD player decided at that moment to go belly up, I tried downloading another game. No problema. Went like clockwork. So it is not my player or computer.
Posted By: InlandAZ
Re: If a game disk won't install? - 09/17/13 10:35 PM
Wait a sec - It says Files Ready to be Written. Are you burning a Disc, or trying to install a game?
Edit - I see Drac replied, but I'm confused... Why is there a message indicating you're writing to the Disc?
Posted By: Reenie
Re: If a game disk won't install? - 09/17/13 10:49 PM
Exactly! That is what is weird. I am trying to install the game, not write to the disk. I've never seen this message before.
Posted By: Draclvr
Re: If a game disk won't install? - 09/17/13 11:13 PM
I get this all the time in Windows 7. Not sure where it comes from, but I just delete it. I've seen it on a lot of other Windows 7 computers too.
The setup information file looks like it's a text file... does it say anything in there?
Posted By: Reenie
Re: If a game disk won't install? - 09/17/13 11:39 PM
Note much. Just:
[autorun]
open=EternalJourneyNewAtlantisCollectorsEdition.exe
icon=VM.ico
Posted By: Jenny100
Re: If a game disk won't install? - 09/17/13 11:50 PM
What happens if you right-click the listing for EternalJourneyNewAtlantisCollectorsEdition and choose "Run As Administrator" ?
If that doesn't help, what happens if you create a folder on your desktop and copy the files on the game disc to the folder on your desktop? I think you can just drag the files to the folder in Windows 7. (this is not the same as installing the game, but it tests whether your drive can read the disc)
If it's a bad disc, you won't be able to copy the files to the folder on your desktop. You'll get a CRC error or some other message that means your drive can't read the disc (or some portion of the disc).
If your antivirus is blocking the installation, you may not get any message at all.
Posted By: InlandAZ
Re: If a game disk won't install? - 09/17/13 11:53 PM
I'll bet you selected a file with the "Send To" option and sent it to your optical drive.
[autorun]
open=EternalJourneyNewAtlantisCollectorsEdition.exe
icon=VM.ico
See if you can locate the "EXE" file on the CD and double click it to start the install.
Posted By: Draclvr
Re: If a game disk won't install? - 09/18/13 12:09 AM
Here are several reason why this desktop file appears as "to be written." There a tons of hits on the question as it's really common.
http://superuser.com/questions/275797/wh...-dvd-inserted-u
Posted By: Reenie
Re: If a game disk won't install? - 09/18/13 12:23 AM
Yes, I already have tried double-clicking on the
exe to start it, and even tried to OPEN it as "Administrator." Still zilch.
I put the disk back in again and tried to copy the contents to another file on my desktop, as Jenny suggested. That worked! I just started up the game to see, and it runs as though nothing had ever been wonky. Thanks, Jenny. You did it again, girl!
Posted By: Draclvr
Re: If a game disk won't install? - 09/18/13 01:23 AM
Another one for me to remember too!
Posted By: InlandAZ
Re: If a game disk won't install? - 09/18/13 03:06 AM
Glad you got it sorted out
Posted By: Jenny100
Re: If a game disk won't install? - 09/18/13 02:27 PM
As long as it works.
Eternal Journey: New Atlantis has excellent reviews at Big Fish. Enjoy it.
Posted By: Reenie
Re: If a game disk won't install? - 09/18/13 07:51 PM
Yes, I jumped right into the game. Mystery Masters always has a great cut scene entry. Wow. From Atlantis to Mars in 40 seconds. ha ha But what I like about MM games is they aren't so much an HOG with Adventure elements as they are an Adventure game with HOG elements. Love the mini-game puzzles.
I had to laugh, though, when I encountered an HOG scene in this 22nd Century game scenario and it featured an Eight Ball, a hand-crank coffee grinder, a STOP sign, a seahorse, a cowboy hat and a CFL bulb. Oh, and did you know there still will be coin-operated vending machines in the year 2250? LOL
Posted By: Jenny100
Re: If a game disk won't install? - 09/19/13 04:06 PM
But what I like about MM games is they aren't so much an HOG with Adventure elements as they are an Adventure game with HOG elements. Love the mini-game puzzles.
Yes I like that better as well. I'm not too fond of the straight HOG's, though I usually like mini-games (unless they're dexterity-related).
I had to laugh, though, when I encountered an HOG scene in this 22nd Century game scenario and it featured an Eight Ball, a hand-crank coffee grinder, a STOP sign, a seahorse, a cowboy hat and a CFL bulb. Oh, and did you know there still will be coin-operated vending machines in the year 2250? LOL
Maybe they're into retro in the 22nd Century. At least it makes more sense than hot dogs and blenders in ancient Egypt.
Posted By: Reenie
Re: If a game disk won't install? - 09/19/13 04:52 PM
At least it makes more sense than hot dogs and blenders in ancient Egypt.
That's for sure! LOL
Posted By: Homer6
Re: If a game disk won't install? - 09/20/13 07:23 PM
There's always a "hot" dog somewhere.
Posted By: Reenie
Re: If a game disk won't install? - 09/20/13 07:28 PM
Yes, Homer! I just found one deep in a cave on Mars. LOL
Posted By: Collector
Re: If a game disk won't install? - 09/22/13 04:06 AM
Even though Reenie managed to get this game installed, I thought that I would explain a little about what was going on with this installer. If you look at the CD from the attached image you can see that the installer is a very large (600 MB) single file installer. Depending on what installer system they used, there are several things that need to happen before you will see the GUI of the installer. If is just a self extracting EXE that will start the installer after extraction, it will probably just extract to the temp folder then run. This is not that common anymore. It is more likely that it is a single file installer, which may first copy itself to the temp folder then if it is compressed as a solid archive, be expanded before the installer initializes. Add to this any integrity checking that the installer may do on launch and any scanning that Windows and/or security software may do. I suppose that it is possible for something to time out if any of these things take too long.
It is common for such large installers to appear that they are hung. I have had this happen to some of my installers. Often just waiting long enough is enough, but the delay is a design consideration when writing an installer and needs to be weighed against other factors. Solid compression can make for a considerably smaller package, but exacerbate the slow initialization. This was a factor in my SQ2VGA installer. It was 472 MB, but I needed to also keep the download size as small as possible.
Copying the installer to the hard drive first helped because to took the slowness of the optical drive out of the equation. It also confirmed that there was no read or CRC errors as you would not be able copy it if so. Additionally it would seem faster since it is no longer being copied from the disc. It may still copy itself to the temp folder, but at hard drive speeds.
One last note, the desktop.ini is just something that is in the CD Burn Area that shows on the disc if the Windows built-in burning abilities is enabled. Not all burning software disables this. You will also see any files that are accidentally dropped on the drive. These can be safely ignored if not intentional.
Posted By: Draclvr
Re: If a game disk won't install? - 09/22/13 06:04 AM
Thank you, Collector. That helps me understand what happened here so much more.
Posted By: Jenny100
Re: If a game disk won't install? - 09/22/13 08:08 PM
Very interesting information, Collector.
Thank you for posting.