No Games will install, and D:\ is somehow messed up

Hey

I've got a Toshiba Satellite L30-101 laptop with XP and Ubuntu. It previously had Vista Home on there but I decided to take Vista off because I don't like it.

Everytime I try using my DVD-RAM drive in Windows Explorer it says

So far I've gone to the Properties of this and Enabled writing to the disc so I ca open the files in WE.exe and also disabled it in the Admin Tools > Services menu which was suggested on some websites but this has only allowed me to read the disc...

Another thing which I thought was related is that no games are being installed.

I've downloaded Red Alert 1 from their website and been trying to install that but couldn't the write the files to the discs in XP so I had to use Ubuntu to write onto the discs. So when this was done I tried running the setup.exe's for the game on the discs and none of them work...

As it's an old game I've tried running the setups in compatibility for Win 95 mode which was suggested in the README.text but it didn't work.
Also I tried to install Theme Hospital from the proper disc and when I click Install it does nothing. The laptop continues like I pressed nothing.

Another thing I tried is downloading and installing the newest driver for DVD-RAM drive but it was the same one I already have.


I can't figure out what's wrong with it at all.

If someone could help me and it works, I'd happily kiss you!

 

Have you tried the program Unlocker (Freeware)? http://ccollomb.free.fr/unlocker/
It helps you unlock things, or could show the things that are locking it.
As I see it, Ubuntu is a sort of mini operating system in an operating system. Could this be messing something up? Do you already have files on D:? Was it working in Vista?

 

Hey,

I've tried them but they don't seem to work and I don't think it's being "locked" by something as I can do things with it.

I went onto the Microsoft website to look to see if they have a support forum, to no avail, they don't but they do have this thing where you can ask for assistance, join that, download a RAT and this person will help you.

I done that and we tried to see if a normal movie DVD would work but it didn't as I didn't have a decoder or something and because XP doesn't come with DVD drivers it wouldn't work so if I downloaded something like Nero then it would.

I've downloaded Nero's trial version because I don't want to pay for it... Still doesn't work.

It worked in Vista, yeah. Don't know why though.

 

I don't think it's neccesarily the drive that's the problem now...

It reads the files on the DVD discs but won't open them.
When I open a movie in WMP it says I don't have the proper decoders for it and it's just the installing of games.

 

Hi Hbkai,

I think we need to step back and establish or clarify a few things, otherwise known as going on a fishing expedition.

I noticed your laptop comes preinstalled with vista home oem and you have opted to down grade to xp. Has this dvd/cd player ever worked from the get go with xp or is this a recent problem?

1] What version of media player do you have?

2] Can you play store bought movies? Install and play store bought cd/dvd's that are rated for windows XP?

3] Is the problem just with compatibly/older programs meant for win95/98?

4] Is the problem just with burned cd/dvd's or sporadically, meaning some work and some don't?

5] Any problem burning cd/dvd's? If burned will they open/read/copy on another computer?

6] what sp* version of xp are you running?

7] Device manager show any problems related to dvd?

8] Any windows services related to cd burning showing up as disabled or stopped?

9] Any thing in event viewer that may offer a clue or shed further light on what may be a problem related to dvd/cd.

10] Have you installed any third party players? Any codec packs?

11] and just for my own curiosity, what is we.exe?

---------------------
And as a side note, I have downloaded the red alert (iso's) and have got them running on my system. It was a bit tricky at first because I chose not to burn these to cd but follow instructions and use the freeware suggested on the site:
MagicISO Virtual CD/DVD-ROM.
http://www.cncworld.org/?page=features/tutorials/rafree

MagicISO Virtual CD/DVD-ROM

Regardless, if you burned these or used the virtual cd/dvd rom the key factors to to making this recipe work was making sure you right clicked the setup.exe and chose compatibility mode win95. Once the program was installed, you make sure to apply the patch by following the above cncworld sites mentioned instructions.

I made a mistake myself by moving the patch into the correct directory and executed it, not realizing, at first, that this patch is a three step process.
once patch (ra108usp.exe) is moved to
> the *:\westwood\redalert and
>executed you must then
>execute the patch.exe which was created.

I failed to execute the patch.exe. After figuring this out, running the game worked according to plan.

By the way, magiciso virtual dvd/cd was user friendly easy to install and run. Caution: I have not done my homework here. I haven't checked to see if this program is xp fussy or has known compatibility problems. As I don't intend to use it or the game for any length of time. I installed it only to see what was involved and to find out if it worked as stated by cncworld. It does.

 

Hi Pete,

Just making double sure. Google showed references to we.exe and links virus/Trojan's hits. While I didn't click through to see what was up, I did make a mental note to ask Hbkai.

 

Yeah, I meant Windows Explorer.

1. 11

2. I can play DVD/CD's now.

3. I don't know as I've only tried a couple old games but I'd have thought it'll still be the same.

4. It was official discs and copied.

5. I've not tried writing on XP yet, but I might do so.

6. SP3

7. Says it's working fine.

8. No, but I disabled IMAPI at once as it was suggested through a Google search.

9. No clue at all. It's just the installers now that aren't working properly.

10. I've not installed any 3rd-party codecs yet but I was recommended to try VLC so I'll download it shortly.

I said WE.exe as I couldn't be bothered to type it and thought you'd know what I meant.

I've tried running it with Windows 95 compatibility already and it doesn't work.
But when I click them and run Task Manager the process is there it's just not running at all, using any RAM or CPU.

I've managed to get one of the games to install but only through the DOS installer, so it's the .EXE files that aren't working.

 

Hi again HbKai,

Yah, I figured you meant we.exe= windows explorer but now adays when you get google hits that specifically name a file and tie it into an executable name for a critter, it pays to make double sure.

I think we caught a fish...
Well it looks like this may not be a hardware issue but an installshield 16bit compatibility issue with setup.exe. This happens with older 16 bit programs.

Causes/Fixes can vary, workarounds may also be found. I will look for a write up that includes a list of things to check, or write one up myself. This may take some time though. In the mean time you may wish to do some hunt and pecking yourself to see if something rings a bell. Here's a google hit list:
problem with 16bit setup.exe

xp cannot install program using its setup utility

Please keep this post updated with your progress and let me know if you find something that works for you, in case you fix this before my write up is done.....

======================
On a slightly different but similar note and as a person who loves her games, particularly rpg, you may find this helpful: Requires a tiny bit of a leaning curve and some reading but worth it in the end.

http://sourceforge.net/projects/dosbox

http://www.bestoldgames.net/eng/dosbox/

abandonia

http://www.google.com/search?num=100&hl=en&q=abandon+games&btnG=Search

 

Hey,
thanks for that. I thought it may be something to do with the InstallShield being old but didn't quite think why.

I've got no idea how to fix this though but I'll try and also keep you all updated with my progress. Thanks.