Will this way of installing work ?

[Legacy_apunyfly]

               Okay, after some months of waiting, I finally am able to attempt installing nwn on my computer.
There are however, various problems (I discussed some briefly on an old topic), so I shall now explain the way I wish to go about doing this, because I want to play it as soon as possible.

I lost the game cd, but I have the others as well as both expansions (deluxe edition).
However, NWN is installed (with expansions, v 1.59) on my brother's computer (XP) which has no access to the Internet.

I would like it on my computer (Vista), so... judging from the stickied topic, it seems copying and pasting the neverwinter nights directory on a usb key should work, right ?

After that, I plan to install the 1.69 patch, I've already got the files on my computer.

Is there anything wrong with this ?
               
               

               
            

[Legacy_NWN DM]

               I think an actual install is always the preferred way to go, but I seem to recall hearing somewhere that this approach works fine.

You certainly won't have any of the appropriate registry entries I don't think.  Not sure if that's an issue or not.
               
               

               
            

[Legacy_apunyfly]

               What do you mean by that ?  I don't play online, and I know I would have to change the CD keys if I wished to. Registry entries ? What are those ?
               
               

               
            

[Legacy_HipMaestro]

               

apunyfly wrote...

What do you mean by that ?  I don't play online, and I know I would have to change the CD keys if I wished to. Registry entries ? What are those ?

If you run RegEdit, you should notice an entry for BioWare in the Software folder of HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE if the installation was normal.  This is one registry area where NWN sets up keys during installation.

Essentially, it maps all the components of each app (like a game), among other organizational functions that it stores. 

During install the DLLs and other necessary files which are needed by the app are assigned keys as static index values for that installation.  A re-install, for instance, may assign a totally different key or set of keys for the same app.  This where a problem can occur.  If an installation is manually removed, typically, only the files that the end-user recognizes as being associated with that app are removed.  However, should the same app be re-installed at some point, there will likely be two sets of keys for the same app... a situation which usually confuses the CPU (i.e. two or more GUID values for a single app).  Therefore, along with file removal, all the keys for that app should also be deleted in the registry.  Sometimes these are not easy to identify since those keys associated with common processes may be lodged together under somewhat cryptic identifiers.

It's always best to let some install tracker (like the InstallShield) keep the historical record of what areas in the registry need to be modified during install and uninstall.
               
               

               

                     Modifié par HipMaestro, 07 juillet 2011 - 05:12 .
                     
                  

            

[Legacy_apunyfly]

               All right, I understand the problem (I think) ; however, I had no intention to uninstall the game from the other computer, so I shouldn't have the problem of finding the keys and deleting them. Or will I have to ? I don't really know as much about the kind of stuff you're going into than I wish I did.
               
               

               
            

[Legacy_HipMaestro]

               

apunyfly wrote...

All right, I understand the problem (I think) ; however, I had no intention to uninstall the game from the other computer, so I shouldn't have the problem of finding the keys and deleting them. Or will I have to ? I don't really know as much about the kind of stuff you're going into than I wish I did.

If you are leaving the game on the other machine, there's no need to change or delete the registry keys there.  Your issue, if any,  will be with the copied version.

If you can run the critical rebuild for v1.69, your installation method was probably fine.  If it doesn't, you may need to provide the registry keys as exist on your brother's machine (assuming he installed the game in the standard fashion) but with the path(s) on yours.

MSWindows' aim was to insulate the end-user from the actual mechanics of how applications are run so to that end they have been successful as few of us really understand how they work unless we were programming in the days before Microsoft stuck their toes in the waters of computing.
               
               

               
            

[Legacy_apunyfly]

               All right, sorry for the late reply, I shall try the transfer later today. One last question (for the time being) : is it OK to install it on my D hard drive ? The C drive is almost full, and most of my games are installed on the D drive anyway.

By the way, thanks for your replies, NWN DM and HipMaestro. You've been a great help. I love this community.
               
               

               
            

[Legacy_Guest_Lowlander_*]

               I essentially did this when I upgraded my computer form XP to Win7 with a clean install. I simply copied my NWN directory from my a backup drive.

It wasn't quite right until I ran the 1.69 patch, but that seemed to fix everything up and it has been solid since. I think it will fix you registry entries.

I may have done some combo of trying to run the in game updater and eventually just run the external standalone patch, but I did not have to manual add registry entries.
               
               

               

                     Modifié par Lowlander, 09 juillet 2011 - 01:59 .
                     
                  

            

[Legacy_apunyfly]

               Well, I've done the transfer and nothing went terribly wrong but it seems that the 1.69 patch won't work. The name of the .exe file is NWNEnglish1.69OrigUpdate and I believe it is the right version though I'm not 100% sure I have the delluxe, not the Diamond).
However, when I launch it, or run it as administrator, a message states that 'Neverwinter Nights is not found. Please reinstall the game from the original CD-ROM and try again.' I'm guessing that either this means I have the wrong version of the patch, or that the registry keys need to be modified for the patch to be able to 'find Neverwinter Nights'. Or perhaps I need to run it in a certain compatibility mode but I don't know what that entails and how things will work ouut if I do that.

By the way, the files are in my D drive (not enough space in the other one).

Actually, I just tried some other files : NWNEnglish1.69HotUUpdate. Same result.

So, what's my problem ?
               
               

               
            

[Legacy_apunyfly]

               Still in need of help here, sorry...
               
               

               
            

[Legacy_HipMaestro]

               

apunyfly wrote...

Still in need of help here, sorry...

According to the wiki, the Deluxe versions (there are 2, one is Euro Platinum and the other is Euro Diamond) are European versions that both contain SoU and HotU so you need to be sure if your brother had installed both expansions in the copy you have.  I've read that some of these commercial flavours allow a custom installation of either expansion, all or none, if selected, but my Diamond just installed them automatically AFAIK.

Therefore, if indeed both expansions were installed, I believe you should be applying the v1.69 HotU patch (the last one you tried to install).  I would use the critical rebuild version that has been posted in many of the recent threads here.

Once you are sure you have applied the correct upgrade, ask your brother to open up his registry with RegEdit and tell you how the section on NWN is organized.  It is organized just like Windows organizes everything else, with folders and the keys are listed in the applicable folder. You can create new keys easily using RegEdit and can emulate the same sort of structure as on his machine.  Of course, you will need to modify the path to reflect your installation on the D: drive but the rest appears to be boilerplate information. 

AFAIK the GUID is merely a unique identifier and it may run without one.  TBH, I have no clue how to add a new GUID and suspect the installation does it but you may find the trick reading up on it.

Then, once the registry has been adjusted to include the NWN keys, reboot and try to run it.  Too bad we are forced to reinvent the wheel without access to the legacy data that had fully documented this procedure. '>

edit:  Oh, just to check quick... you have NWN installed directly off the D: drive, not among the other Program Files, correct?
               
               

               

                     Modifié par HipMaestro, 10 juillet 2011 - 09:45 .
                     
                  

            

[Legacy_apunyfly]

               Yes. And both expansions were on the computer.

Oh, and when trying to run nwmain, even in compatibility mode, I get a message with an 'i' symbol on it and two options : retry and cancel.

I don't have RegEdit and might I just say STUPID VISTA !
               
               

               

                     Modifié par apunyfly, 10 juillet 2011 - 10:05 .
                     
                  

            

[Legacy_apunyfly]

               Erm... Never mind what I just said, I worked out how to use it, but it seems I don't have any registry keys for the game. I guess they weren't copied along with the folder.

I guess I will have to try whay you say, HipMaestro, unless anybody knows which keys I need exactly and where to put them ... ?

I suppose that also explains why none of the CDs or patches can detect the game on my computer...

Sorry about that, if I'd known how it all worked, I'd have needed less help. Thanks again.
               
               

               
            

[Legacy_HipMaestro]

               

apunyfly wrote...
I don't have RegEdit and might I just say STUPID VISTA !

That would surprise me.  I am almost certain we did some registry maintenance on my friend's Vista machine a few years ago.  If you bring up the little "Run"  text box, type in "regedit", click ok and it should open your registry organization window.  I always assumed every version of Windows provides access to the registry in case an application populates a bad key...  but I could be assuming too much there.

If you believe it would help, I would be glad to PM you a copy of the folders and keys that NWN installed on this machine.  I'm betting all the versions probably install the same way.  It's your call.
               
               

               
            

[Legacy_Shia Luck]

               Hi, I didn't get involved in this thread cos it seemed you were getting good advice, but if you are still having issues.... why not patch the game on the other computer first , then port that copy across? That is what the installation guide says *smiling*. You shouldn't have to do anything to registry. That's how I got it onto my vista machine and it works perfectly there.

Good luck '>