The setup starts the install, then at 2% a mssg pops up:
"setup could not find a file on specified path or disk,
Check proper disk or specify new path"
Then another box comes up-if you hear music playing while installing,disable media player or something like that. (There is no media player going)
WIN XP, 2GB RAM
Any suggestions welcome-

What's N.O.L.F.?

Draclvr,
N.O.L.F. is No One Lives Forever, an old action game from year 2000. At one time it was quite popular.
http://www.mobygames.com/game/operative-no-one-lives-forever

bigmamma1,
You could try right-clicking the game Setup and choosing Compatibility mode for Windows 98. Also disable visual themes and advanced text services on the compatibility tab if you see the checkboxes for them on the compatibility tab.

Also make sure the game disc isn't dirty or with fingerprints on it, which could cause the drive to have trouble reading the disc.

Ah, thanks, Jenny. I'd never heard of this one.

Thanks Jenny-
Will try suggestion. I'm surprised that this is not installing because I'm pretty sure I played this game(same disk) on this computer a few yrs ago-but I may be wrong.

later:I did try it-same mssg.I tried installing another game I've previously played and got a blue screen error half way thru-I think its time for a new computer-Hate to give up WIN XP, but hope at least some games will still play.

It could be a problem with the DVD drive. No point in deep-sixing the computer if all it needs is a new DVD drive. You can even get one that plugs into a USB port so you don't have to take the computer apart to install it. And a USB DVD drive can be used with more than one computer.

Thanks again, Jenny-
I just now installed Anachronox-another old favorite-OK. perhaps the computer needed to be shut off and started again due to the problem with N.O.L.F.?
I was also wondering about the DVD drive.

Well, I think you might be right after all-the game installed but it won't load. Disk 2 has to be in the drive-it dosn't make the spinning noise you hear when starting up a game. I didn't know about the external drive-will look into it.

It's harder for a drive to pass copy "protection" than to read the files on the disc. That may be why it won't play. If the drive is old, and doesn't spin up to spec, it probably won't pass copy "protection" disc checks.

Hello again Jenny-
I'm thinking it's time to bite the bullet and replace this computer, as it's 10 years old and has frozen or crashed to desktop a few time during the last couple of games.I have done virus scan, disk cleanup and defrag lately, so it runs a little better. Wonder how long it would last if I did replace the DVD drive?

There's no way of knowing. But it's amazing how old computers can speed up and become more stable with a new hard drive and a fresh install of Windows. I don't know how fast the USB drives in a 10 year old computer would be. If you have USB 2.0, it would be fast enough to run an external DVD drive.

I'll almost guarantee it's USB 1.1 which is dreadfully slow. Every 10 year old computer I've worked on still has it.

Normally, hard drives are very cheap to replace, but the supply is low right now due to the flooding in Thailand and the prices are out the roof. I would normally recommend a new hard drive if you could get one cheap, but that's not going to happen in the near future and I can't see sinking a lot of money in a 10 year old computer.

I think you would be doing yourself a favor by getting a new computer. You can always keep this one as your "good old standby."

According to the Wikipedia, USB 2.0 was introduced in April 2000, so it's possible that a computer from 2001 has USB 2.0. You can figure it out by looking at the entries in Device Manager.

Right-click the My Computer icon on your desktop (or in your Start Menu)
Choose Properties
Hardware tab
Device Manager button

Down at the bottom, click the + next to where it says "Universal Serial Bus Controllers"

Look for a line that says:
"Standard Enhanced PCI to USB Host Controller"

If you have that line, all or most of your USB ports should be USB 2.0 (according to http://ask-leo.com/how_can_i_tell_if_i_have_usb_20.html ).

On older computers, the USB ports in the front of the computer were apt to be slow USB 1.1 ports, while the USB ports in the back of the computer would be the faster USB 2.0 ports. With computers today both front and rear ports should be USB 2.0 and possibly USB 3.0.

That's great information, Jenny and I did have one 2001 HP computer that had 1.1 in the front and 2.0 in the back. But every other one has been 1.1 all around. I wonder if these computers which were purchased in 2000 and 2001 were actually manufactured prior to the introduction of USB 2.0.

Like you say, it's best to check in the Device Manager.

Thanks once again for your input Jenny and Drac.
I did check device manager-yes it does have that line, "Standard Enhanced...ect"
I bought this computer in 2002, so it really is "only" 9 yrs old.
The question is if I got the ext.DVD drive, would it be worth the expense if I soon had to replace the hard drive?
Ive started to look into new Dell computers and for the same price I payed for this one(around $1000) I could get one with 12MB memory, 1MB graphics and 1TB dual hard drive.Of course that means changing to WIN 7.
decisions decisions!

The nice thing about an external DVD drive is that you can use it with any computer by just plugging it into a USB slot. You don't have to take the computer apart to install it the way you do with an internal DVD drive. So if a game's copy "protection" fails with your new computer, you have a backup DVD drive you can try the game with.


If a "dual hard drive" means two hard drives running in RAID 0, don't get that one. If either hard drive goes bad you'd lose all the data on both drives.

12 MB of system memory is probably overkill. Even the most demanding upcoming action games only need 4GB. Of course the extra RAM doesn't hurt if the price of the RAM is a bargain. The most important part of a gaming computer these days is the graphics card -- not just how much dedicated memory it has but how fast and efficient it is and how good the drivers are.

Windows 7 is unavoidable on a new computer, but Draclvr has had good luck with older games on Windows 7.

Hello again-
Thanks again for your replys-I did wind up getting another computer-the day after my last post my old Dell finally gave up the ghost. The computer guy who I do business with had a Dell XPS 210 for sale-for$500-4MB with WINXP. So I can still enjoy my 24" screen and XP for a while longer. Am still getting my files organised, but hope to finally be able to load and play a game!(I agree-12MB would be overkill)

Cool! The important item is the video card... what did you get with the new one?

Hello Drac-
finally getting back to GB after awhile. My video card is 256MB. Would probably need to upgrade it if I want to play a newer game, but now I just want to replay some of my favorites for awhile and maybe some of the other WINXP games.

BTW, the N.O.L.F. disk gets the same Mssg. on this computer. I tried cleaning the CD but no dice. It's got me baffled because I know I played this game with this disk before.

Are you able to copy the files on the CD directly to a folder on your hard drive? If not, there may be a problem with the disc.

Hello Jenny-
Thanks for suggestion-No I'm not able to copy the files on the CD, so there must be a prob. Very strange because I installed and played this same CD about 7 years ago.

Something in the CD may have deteriorated so it is no good anymore. It could have been a problem with the way it was manufactured that wasn't obvious at first, but which caused the data on the disc to deteriorate faster than normal.

Maybe I should test my N.O.L.F. discs. I bought it a long time ago, but never got around to playing it.

Hello Jenny-
I was wondering the same thing-if the disks can deteriorate over time. If you can play this game, it's a lot of fun-a takeoff on the early '60s spy movies. Glad I got to play it once.

It's too bad your copy went bad so quickly. CD's are supposed to last longer than that.

Too bad GOG isn't selling it. But you can still find copies on Amazon and eBay if you want another copy.