Battlezone 2 CD won't install on Windows 7

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Calculon88
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Battlezone 2 CD won't install on Windows 7

Post by Calculon88 »

Hi, I had a problem installing Battlezone 2. Here are the steps I took.

1. I went to the BZ2 Maps website to buy an actual CD of BZ2 - http://bz2maps.us/phpBB/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=4527
A few weeks later the CD arrived in good condition.

2. Attempted to install on my HP Pavilion laptop, which still has Windows XP service pack 3. Read the sticky from GSH called "How to install BZ2 from CD", skipped the installer window and went to the directory D:/bzii/setup/setup.exe. Nothing happened.

3. Tried to install on my Windows 7 desktop, using the same instructions. Clicked open. I got a message that says "Do you want to allow a program from an unknown publisher make changes to your computer?" The cursor was spinning as if it was trying to load, but nothing happened. I tried to run as administrator but got the same result.

4. Clicked on Troubleshoot compatibility, and it recommended that I use Windows XP Service Pack 2. When I clicked start the program, again nothing happened.

Here are my system specs:
Windows 7 Home Premium
Service Pack 1
64-Bit Operating System
Processor: Intel Core i5-3550 CPU @ 3.30GHz
Ram: 8.00 GB
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Ded10c
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Re: Battlezone 2 CD won't install on Windows 7

Post by Ded10c »

I've discovered recently that there are some programs that interfere with the 32-bit Setup Launcher used by BZ2 and various other games from the mid-90s to early-00s. In my case it's foobar2000 - if I have that open, the setup won't run. Try closing a few other apps and you might find the one responsible. Failing that, install from Safe Mode.
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Calculon88
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Re: Battlezone 2 CD won't install on Windows 7

Post by Calculon88 »

I was able to install BZ2 on Windows XP by going into the Setup directory and clicking "Run as Administrator" instead of "Open."

So I tried to do the same with Windows 7. After closing other applications, I clicked "Run" and instead of the BZ2 install message, nothing happened.

Also, clicking "Run" changed the desktop's resolution and inverted the colors. I stopped this by ejecting the CD and restarting Windows.
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General BlackDragon
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Re: Battlezone 2 CD won't install on Windows 7

Post by General BlackDragon »

You have to "Explore" CD, go to the Setup folder, and manually run Setup.exe from the disk. the "autorun" is a 16bit app and it will not run on 64bit OS.
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Calculon88
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Re: Battlezone 2 CD won't install on Windows 7

Post by Calculon88 »

On my laptop which runs Windows XP, I clicked "Explore" and went to the setup folder. From there I successfully installed the game on Windows XP.

But on my desktop which runs Windows 7, after I clicked "Explore" and clicked "Run" on Setup.exe, the game did not install and I got weird inverted colors on my desktop.
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Re: Battlezone 2 CD won't install on Windows 7

Post by Red Devil »

from GSH's sticky:
Quote:
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.
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Re: Battlezone 2 CD won't install on Windows 7

Post by blue banana »

Try installing on another computer, preferably 32-bit architecture or an older OS. If it works, you can compress the installed files/folder, copy it onto a USB or the cloud, and then put it on the computer you're having issues with. I did this, and it works. :)
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