Trouble installing old(ish) games: Command and Conquer 3 and C&C Red Alert 3

[pompeyfan]

I've just stumbled across 2 old games, command and conquer 3 and C&C Red Alert 3. I've just tried to install them both to my laptop (running 64-bit windows 10) but both just sit in the install window at about 75% and 50% respectively.

I've tried playing with the compatibility modes and even switching off windows defender. I've had a quick look on google but had little luck.

I'd really appreciate any help!

 

[headshot119]

You classify Red Alert 3 as old..... And here's me still playing Red Alert!

I've got it installed on my copy of Windows 10 and it's gone on fine (Red Alert 3 that is)

 

[Peter Mugridge]

I can top that - I have Columns on my computer... ( as a standalone file, not an embedded feature )

 

[Searle]

I'm not sure what to advise, I don't know windows 10, and it's hard to say without any more details.

I can say however, that if you can't make them work at all, then you can buy them both on Steam, for £10 each, or if you fancy waiting for a while, they'll probably be on sale at Halloween or Christmas (I'd expect them to go down to £2.50 in the sales).

 

[pompeyfan]

You classify Red Alert 3 as old..... And here's me still playing Red Alert!

I've got it installed on my copy of Windows 10 and it's gone on fine (Red Alert 3 that is)

Haha okay it's young compared to the 1st red alert or even the original C&C, but it's still about 7 years old.

Did you have any issues at all? I'm guessing not, as otherwise you'd likely have already mentioned them.

The installation window guides me through all the usual, and then 'begins' the installation where it jumps straight to about 50/75% and then just sits there. The DVD drive runs, but checking the source location for the installation shows that it's not actually writing any files.

 

[Crossover]

Try running the installation as an Administrator (right click on the setup file and select it) - I imagine (though I haven't played with Windows 10 much yet) that you'll get the User Account Control prompt.

Whilst it all seems a little perverse, even if you are an administrator, if you are not the Administrator, you don't get full rights by default

 

[SpacePhoenix]

I can top that - I have Columns on my computer... ( as a standalone file, not an embedded feature )

Used to play that on the Game Gear, used to be the main game I played on it

 

[TheNewNo2]

My suggestion is install it on an old PC and copy the files across. I've been doing that with 1999 vintage Space Empires III. Great game, works fine on modern PCs, but the installer doesn't work in 64bit.

 

[Clip]

My suggestion is install it on an old PC and copy the files across. I've been doing that with 1999 vintage Space Empires III. Great game, works fine on modern PCs, but the installer doesn't work in 64bit.

This was my thought too - 64 bit seems to have issues with lots of old stuff. Or just find a ROM of it and use that

 

[SpacePhoenix]

If you've got an old Windows install disk from around the time them games game out then maybe you could look into setting up a virtual machine. How much RAM have you got on the computer? One of the Star Trek Armada games doesn't like it if you have more then a certain amount of RAM

 

[TheNewNo2]

You may be able to find a version of your game on http://www.gog.com, which has a lot of old games. I personally recommend Constructor and Outlaws.

 

[krus_aragon]

I can top that - I have Columns on my computer... ( as a standalone file, not an embedded feature )

I recently saw several copies of the Game Gear edition of Columns on a display shelf at a local video game store. Scandalously, they were arranged in a row rather than a column!

 

[SpacePhoenix]

Anyone ever get the TV cartridge for the Game Gear? I think they were as rare as gold dust

 

[mikeg]

The reason 64 bit has issues with old games is to do, as far as I know with the amd64 (x86_64) processor architecture. Put simply, these processors operate in one of two modes, depending on the operating system. If a 64 bit operating system is installed, the CPU operates in 64bit mode and support for certain 16bit instructions is deprecated.
Hence, no DOS or Windows 3.x programs will run and some earlier 32bit Windows programs will also not work as they call some 16 bit libraries, even if the app itself is 32 bit. The only solution would be to run in a 32 bit OS (which maintains full compatibility with the 16bit instruction set as the CPU operates in 32 bit mode) or to emulate a 16bit or 32 bit Intel architecture processor. There was an article in The Register recently aimed at sysadmins (I'm having trouble finding it but will post it if I do) using Windows on whether they should make the jump to a 64 bit version of Windows. Believe it or not, a lot of servers are running outdated 32 bit versions to maintain compatibility with legacy 16bit apps, for which if there is no source code cannot be easily ported to 32/64 bit.

Even some purely 32 bit programs I've come across are wrapped in a 16 bit installer, rendering them needlessly useless on contemporary systems! I personally have largely jumped the Windows ship, but keep a copy of Windows 10 to play some games I bought for Windows. Most of the time I find it easier to use Arch GNU/Linux, I get complete control over my system and in addition to the freedom there's usually also source code available for my apps: Case in point, I found on some old floppies programs written in an old dialect of COBOL. The GNU-COBOL compiler had no problems compiling these 30 year old apps, written on a DOS machine by a friend's mother for deployment on mainframes that probably filled rooms. Mainly some custom databases, though. Nothing of use to me with the exception of curiosity of the code. COBOL is a language I'd very much like to learn, the Latin of computers... But I digress...

Just a thought, maybe if you use WINE on a Unix-like system it might work? WINE isn't a full emulator, rather an API implementation though so you may run across similar problems. If anything WINE is better at running old software than new.

 

[pompeyfan]

Thanks for the in depth post. I think the biggest frustration is that other users have got Win10 and the game is running seamlessly, which suggests it's my end as apposed to compatibility issues, still, when I get the chance I'll give a few of the suggestions a go.

 

[319321]

If you like Command and Conquer, check out OpenRA.net. Its now very stable and available for modern platforms!
Dune 2000
Command and Conquer
Command and Conquer Red Alert
Command and Conquer Tiberium Sun

I remember being very miffed at the fact my mighty P75 with 40MB RAM wasn't enough to run Tiberian Sun! (at a playable speed, anyway).

 

[Clip]

Well if you're still having issues try looking at the links from #5 down and get yourself an ISO rom which should be easier for you to use

 

[pompeyfan]

Cheers for the suggestions gents, I'll give them a go when I get a sec.

 

[yorkie]

If you like Command and Conquer, check out OpenRA.net. Its now very stable and available for modern platforms!
Dune 2000
Command and Conquer
Command and Conquer Red Alert
Command and Conquer Tiberium Sun

I remember being very miffed at the fact my mighty P75 with 40MB RAM wasn't enough to run Tiberian Sun! (at a playable speed, anyway).

I've not yet tried an internet game on this, but if anyone is interested, I know a few people who play OpenRA most Mondays between approximately 3pm-4.15pm, if anyone wants to give it a try...

 

[BestWestern]

Does anybody run the truly superb Rollercoaster Tycoon/2 on a recent machine? I was once very into PCs, but haven't run one for a decade or so now. I recall when (I think) Windows 7 appeared, there were considerable changes which prevented older stuff from running on it? It was around that time I moved onto using my mobile for most things 'tinternet. I'd love to get RCT/RCT2 up and running again though!

 

[Clip]

https://www.google.co.uk/webhp?sour...&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=rollercoaster tycoon 2 rom

Try one of those.

 

[najaB]

If you have access to an install disk for older Windows version, I highly recommend the virtual machine route. I've got Windows 3.1, 95 and XP installed in VMWare virtual machines for running old software. They work okay, though 3.1 was more for giggles than actually running anything useful.

 

[TheNewNo2]

Does anybody run the truly superb Rollercoaster Tycoon/2 on a recent machine? I was once very into PCs, but haven't run one for a decade or so now. I recall when (I think) Windows 7 appeared, there were considerable changes which prevented older stuff from running on it? It was around that time I moved onto using my mobile for most things 'tinternet. I'd love to get RCT/RCT2 up and running again though!

Try www.gog.com for RCT, stuff from there usually works fine, though Interstate 76 was somewhat iffy. RCT I have downloaded on this pc, and it worked fine at some point, though I haven't played it for several years, but it would still be a 64bit win7 machine.

 

[BestWestern]

Thanks for the pointers