Armada 2 won't install (Windows 7 64-bit)

posted on January 22nd, 2014, 6:38 pm

Hey everyone. So I have my disc of Armada 2 here, and it's in my computer working just fine to a certain point.

When I try to install the game, I put the Setup executable into Compatibility mode (I've tried it for both Windows XP SP2/3 and Windows 98/ME) and run it as an administrator. After I do this, the regular window pops up with the option to Install. I click install and every time, this window pops in the corner (I moved it to the middle under the Armada 2 Logo.)



This stays here for anywhere from 1 to 30 seconds, and then disappears, with no other action. The setup doesn't continue.

I've been trying to install this game for the past month and I've gone nowhere. Google offers no solutions other than "try compatibility mode" or "run setup.exe instead of the autorun." Help? I'll give extra information as necessary.

posted on January 22nd, 2014, 8:08 pm

welcome to the forum.

you haven't told us, but i'm going to assume you're on win7 64 bit like me.

yeah, i've recently had problems with getting old versions of the installshield installer to get past that "preparing" stage myself.

sadly i couldn't find an easy solution. there is a workaround, but you're not gonna like it. it's a bit time consuming.

you'll need to install windows XP (you could probably use 98, but that's a bit more of a chore) in a virtual machine, install a2 in the virtual machine, then copy the program files to your host OS. where the game should be playable. this is a kludgy solution, the actual game doesn't really need any registry data present and it doesn't need to actually be installed. so you won't see it in control panel. to get rid of the game when you're done you can just delete the files.

i recommend the software virtualbox, make a virtual machine with windows xp as the guest. install a2 in the virtual machine, then go to where the game is installed in the guest (by default C:\program files) and copy the entire folder to your host OS (anywhere will work). virtualbox can make a shared folder for this. you should also check in %appdata% for any stuff that might get put there on install. i don't know if anything gets put there, and if there is anything there, i don't know if it's necessary, but feel free to copy it anyway.

addendum: "%appdata%" is an environment variable (just put it in run without quotes and push enter) that points to a different location on xp than on win7, but the variable itself never changes, it's always "%appdata%". so putting that in run will always open the correct folder, regardless of windows version. you can put the a2 folder from the guest %appdata% folder in your host %appdata% folder.

posted on January 22nd, 2014, 8:11 pm

You may also try installing Fleet Ops and the Classic Mod. FO runs on everything and the Classic Mod is exactly the same as A2.

posted on January 22nd, 2014, 8:17 pm

Thanks for the suggestion, Myles, I'll try that. And yes, I'm running Windows 7 64-bit, I guess I wasn't clear enough with the thread title. You don't need a key for Windows XP to use it on VirtualBox, do you?

And cabal, the first thing I did when I realized that A2 wouldn't install was install Fleet Ops to hold me over until I could get A2 itself working. I haven't tried the Classic Mod, but that's because I want to play vanilla A2 with my friends online, and as far as my understanding goes, Classic and A2 don't mix in multiplayer.

posted on January 22nd, 2014, 8:29 pm

I guess I wasn't clear enough with the thread title.

you were clear enough, i just didn't notice it until you pointed it out my bad.

You don't need a key for Windows XP to use it on VirtualBox, do you?

depends. a standard copy of xp will ask for a serial key and internet activation even if installed in a virtual machine (as far as the win xp install is concerned, it's just a normal computer). if you have a legit copy of xp, virtualbox can pass your internet connection through to the virtual machine for activation.

2 things to note:

even if you don't activate the virtual machine copy of xp, you can still install a2 during the 30 day grace period that xp gives. so you don't need the key to do this workaround. i'm presuming you don't need the virtual machine afterwards anyway.

i have no objections to you making an independent choice to easily download a pirated copy of xp that is preactivated. this would be your own business, and no link could be placed on this forum to downloads of this nature.

posted on January 22nd, 2014, 9:10 pm

I haven't tried the Classic Mod, but that's because I want to play vanilla A2 with my friends online, and as far as my understanding goes, Classic and A2 don't mix in multiplayer.

No, the Classic Mod and A2 don't mix. However, FO has switched to Tungle and made numerous engine improvements so you might try convincing your friends to switch. Installing A2 on Win8 is also tricky, as I understand it, so the switch to FO will likely be necessary sooner or later.

Other than that, a virtual machine as Myles suggested or dual booting XP or possibly Linux with Wine may be the only ways to get it to run on your system. Just a heads up, XP and A2 are pretty old, but a virtual machine can still chew up resources.

posted on January 22nd, 2014, 9:25 pm

Just a heads up, XP and A2 are pretty old, but a virtual machine can still chew up resources.

i think you misunderstand my suggestion. i'm not suggesting playing a2 in a virtual machine. i'm suggesting installing it and copying the program files from guest OS to host OS. a2 itself should work fine on win7, it's the installshield installer that's the problem.

playing a2 in a virtual machine would suck, for one, it will still need graphics acceleration and directx. which in virtualbox is a pain.

to run xp you only need to give it 128MB of ram technically. although if you can spare more, i use 1GB of ram (out of my 8GB total). without hardware assisted virtualisation (intel calls it VT-x, AMD calls it AMD-v) virtualbox can only give one core of your processor to the virtual machine, which again shouldn't be a problem, XP runs on some right jalopy processors. even if xp runs slow, the a2 installer should still work.

posted on January 22nd, 2014, 9:47 pm

i'm suggesting installing it and copying the program files from guest OS to host OS. a2 itself should work fine on win7, it's the installshield installer that's the problem.

Which is what I just did, and it worked perfectly. It turned out that there was a problem with the disc installer (the person who sold it to me said it was just surface scratches!), so I just used an iso (sssshh, I'm pretty sure I can do that, I already own the disc,) in the XP virtual machine after it didn't work in 7, copied the files over, and it worked like a charm. The disc's exe still doesn't work, but by using the exe in the actual Armada II folder, I can play it, and the disc is undamaged enough where it'll let me play without having to do some process to remove the copy protection.

Thanks, guys. This was a problem I'd had for a long time, it's good to get it fixed.

posted on January 22nd, 2014, 10:39 pm

Which is what I just did, and it worked perfectly. It turned out that there was a problem with the disc installer (the person who sold it to me said it was just surface scratches!).

i doubt it's the disk that's damaged. the installer (called installshield) is just old and not compatible with new windows. i had the same problem with another game that uses installshield (tom clancy's rainbow six rogue spear). the installer did pretty much what you described.

virtualbox should have been able to present the physical disk to the virtual xp machine, allowing it to install in the virtual machine.

if it was just the disk that was damaged then you could have just mounted your iso in win7 and installed without using a virtual machine.

so I just used an iso (sssshh, I'm pretty sure I can do that, I already own the disc,)

almost certainly legal. you own a legit copy of the disk, and it is de facto accepted that you can have a disk image (eg in iso format) as long as you don't share it, because you're allowed to keep a copy as backup, in case the disk snaps or gets stolen by an eagle.

The disc's exe still doesn't work, but by using the exe in the actual Armada II folder, I can play it, and the disc is undamaged enough where it'll let me play without having to do some process to remove the copy protection.

using the exe in the game folder is the normal way of starting a game. i've never heard of a game playing from an exe file on its disk. i wouldn't expect it to work even with a working disk. i'd guess that armada2.exe would look in the same folder it is in for the other installed game files, which aren't laid out the same on the cd.

posted on January 22nd, 2014, 10:56 pm

using the exe in the game folder is the normal way of starting a game. i've never heard of a game playing from an exe file on its disk. i wouldn't expect it to work even with a working disk. i'd guess that armada2.exe would look in the same folder it is in for the other installed game files, which aren't laid out the same on the cd.

A lot of games, including A2, have 'play game' as an option in the disk's autorun app. It just acts as a shortcut to wherever you installed it, though.

posted on January 22nd, 2014, 11:17 pm

flicky, did you tryed go around problem ?

instal a2 on old machine with xp system, then copy entire folder on some usb and transfer it to your machine.

a2 is so old that it works.

posted on January 22nd, 2014, 11:39 pm

Alas, a new problem arises.

The disk's autorun itself has not registered that I installed the game, nor do any patches, so I can't upgrade to 1.1 - 1.2.5. Anyone have a fix?

posted on January 23rd, 2014, 12:46 am

instal on old pc, use any pach, or mod

then copy to new pc....

posted on January 23rd, 2014, 1:21 am

Or, find the required registry keys using the VM and copy them to the Win7 registry.

posted on January 23rd, 2014, 9:27 am

A lot of games, including A2, have 'play game' as an option in the disk's autorun app. It just acts as a shortcut to wherever you installed it, though.

indeed, but as you said the actual game is run from its program files folder.

Alas, a new problem arises.

The disk's autorun itself has not registered that I installed the game, nor do any patches, so I can't upgrade to 1.1 - 1.2.5. Anyone have a fix?

that's because the game isn't technically installed. that's a job the installshield program was supposed to do.

you can install the patch in the virtual machine, after installing the game, before copying the game files from guest OS to host.