HM&M Complete : can't install games | Forums

[pooiyx]

Heroes of Might and Magic Complete Edition - can't install Heroes 1, 2, 3, 4

I've tried to install Heroes 1 to 4 from the DVDs in the Complete Edition set, but nothing happens when I click on the game that I want to install. The DVDs do autorun, but nothing happens when you try to install the games. Heroes 5 installs normally though.

[Sorceresss]

Heroes 1, 2, 3, 4 were programmed before 2001, before the release of Windows XP, Vista, and 7. A relatively recent version of Windows can experience compatibility issues when trying to execute a programme which was coded prior to the release of Windows XP, in 2001.

One approach that might work to solve your problem is to launch a game's installation process from its setup file.

Instead of relying on the installation screens which have been presented following the autorun, after exiting them, go to your DVD drive (on your My Computer list of drives), right-click the Heroes content of that drive, and select "Open" or "Explore" in the menu that will then appear.

Once you can see the inner files of the DVD, you have to find the "setup.exe" (or simply "setup", if the file extensions are not visible) which can launch the installation process without having to rely on the autorun. I do not have your edition of HM&M, but I am certain that each of the Heroes version on the DVD has its own "setup.exe", probably in its own folder. You have to hunt for those 4 "setup.exe" files.

When you find one, double-click on it, and the installation of the version of Heroes it corresponds to should launch. If nothing happens, or the process fails, right-click on the "setup" file, select "Properties" in the menu, then the "Compatibility" tab. Check the box which states "Run this program in compatibility mode for:", and in the menu of modes, select "Windows 95". Click "Apply" to enforce the change, and when the Properties have closed, double-click again on the modified "setup" file.

This trick should work for each of the 4 setup executables. When a game will have been successfully installed, if it does not launch from the autorun, you will have to edit the Properties of the game's launch executable, to make it compatible with Windows 95. You find it by exploring the contents of the folder where the game has been installed : the files will appear with colourful icons (in the case of H2, it is a shield divided in two), and will have a name such as HEROES2, or Heroes2.exe (or slight modifications of that, when more advanced, patched, versions have replaced the original executable).

I have 2 computers at home : one runs on Windows XP, and the other one on Windows 7. By using the compatibility-mode trick, I have succeeded to install and run all 5 versions of Heroes, from 1995's H1 to 2006-08's H5.

In some cases, I had to use a compatibilty mode which was different from Windows 95. If one mode does not work, try them all, in the Properties/Compatibility tab, until one works. By patiently tinkering with the executables, I have succeeded to install and run all versions of Heroes on my 2 twenty-first-century computers.

In such cases, there is no quick fix that will easily & universally work for everybody. A gamer has to tinker by himself until it works.

Also, when programmes have difficulty installing and/or running, some users solve their problems by temporarily suspending some background processes, such as antivirus programmes. I use the freeware "ProcessExplorer" to rapidly obtain a detailed & clear list of which processes are running (in the case of Windows 7, there are a lot!), to spot the non-essential ones (such as an antispyware) and to temporarily suspending them before launching a problematic game. In the case of Heroes 5 (version 3.1), I do not even have to do that : it runs fine, on Windows 7, simply by using one of the Windows-XP compatibility modes, in the Properties of the "H5_Game" executable.

[JoeKollodge]

I have tried installing heroes 4 from my disk of heroes 3 and 4 complete and when i get to the heroes 4 screen and i click on install (or click on play) it freezes there and doesnt begin to install, i have tried running as administrator and i have changed the compatibility to windows 95, 98ME, vista, XP (SP2 and SP3), NT 4.o, 2000, and i still get to the same point, the 'game' opens and when i click to install it freezes there, any suggestions?