[SOLVED] Can't Install Multiple Copies Of BZ2

[bornlibra23]

I have installed 3 copies of BZ2 for different patches & consequently different mods. Now I can't install any more. The installer executes but doesn't open any window for me to interact with. Any suggestions?

[GSH]

This is addressed in the 1.3 Readme13 (alternate link), which is installed with BZ2, and also available at the master Battlezone 2 patch site. It says this:

Installing Battlezone II from CD on Windows XP/Vista/7
The Battlezone II CD does not contain the best installer, as many have noticed. Especially for 64-bit versions of Windows, the setup.exe in the root folder of the BZ2 CD does NOT run, because that setup.exe is a 16-bit application. Battlezone II (the game) is a proper 32-bit application that runs on 32 or 64 bit versions of Windows. But, the CD's initial installer does not run well on modern systems. The best thing to do is to try this first:
1. Insert BZ2 CD. Do not run anything if prompted
2. In Windows, go to 'My Computer' (Windows XP), or 'Computer' (Windows 7)
3. Find the BZ2 CD entry, click on it
4. Go to the setup directory in the BZ2 CD
5. Run the setup.exe (shown simply as the application called 'setup' if you use the Windows default of hiding file extensions)

Hopefully, the above steps work. However, it will sometimes put up a dialog box saying that Windows NT is not supported. For some, click 'ok' to dismiss that message, and the installer works perfectly well after that. If the installer crashes, the following steps may help:
1. Open the BZ2 CD
2. Go to the Setup directory
3. Right-click on Setup.exe, and drag it onto the desktop.
4. Right-click on the shortcut, and select Properties.
5. Select the "Compatibility" tab.
6. Check the "Run in compatibility mode" box.
7. Select "Windows 95 Compatibility Layer" in the popup.
8. Click "OK" to close the Properties dialog box.
9. Double-click on the shortcut to install BZ2.

-- GSH

[Red Spot]

Something I did.
Install BZ2, remove pilots from the pilot folder (probably only there if you logged in), zip the entire folder.
Next time I need a BZ2-install I just unzip the package and do whatever I want .. like drop the lastest PB on it.

You can do the same with your 'current PB game', just copy it several times to create more specific versions of the game. That being said, there should not be a need to have more than 1 copy(beyond your 'clean' copy), except if your modding, than I would create a second copy for that just to prevent creating false assets.

[Nielk1]

I have an install of version 1.01b2 (the version of my disk, basically 1.0) in a 7z I use as the seed of any of my installations.

I also put my BZ2 installs in "D:/Program Files (loose)" since they are loosely dropped in rather than actually installed. Personal preference.

[bornlibra23]

Unfortunately none of the compatibility settings work.

[General BlackDragon]

You can just copy an existing BZ2 folder. (earliest is preferable)

[DarkCobra262]

You can just copy an existing BZ2 folder. (earliest is preferable)

This. Have a 1.0 installation that you can then copy and paste if mods you want to play are compatible with different patches. You can run the game from any place tbh, even just pasting it to the desktop.