game won't install on Windows 8.1

[geoffhaw]

Hi there!  Remember me?

Apart from maintaining the Texture Index, I haven't done anything SC4 related in ages.  Anyway, I got a shiny new laptop recently and I thought I'd give the old game a go.  Nice idea, but I can't get the game to install.  The install process won't even start. 

I've searched around on the site and seen a few topics on glitches when the game is being played on 8.1, but nothing (as far as I could see) on basic installation problems. 

Has anybody got any ideas?

Please help an old-timer rediscover his youth!

[mgb204]

Make sure you install the game with Administrator Privileges, find installer program, right click and select Run as Administrator to do this.

It may also help to deactivate UAC (user account control) and any Anti-Virus software you have running whilst installing too.

[joshua43214]

With all respect to mgb204, I strongly suggest NOT to install as administrator.

This is a poor band aide for a larger problem and can lead to all sorts of other game problems.
If you install the game (or any other game or software) as admin, then nothing inside any of the game folders can be created or modified by another program unless that program is also run as admin. This includes the game itself, you will have to run the game as admin in order to make a save. You can potentially run into issues with installers not having permission to write to the game folders.

The game should install just fine with out running as admin. You are most likely having a security issue.
Are you running Norton? Get a refund. The last time I used Norton, I had to re-image my disk to undo all the damage it did. Win8.1 will never run at it's potential when running Norton (or most other 3rd party anti-virus). I know some people will consider running windows defender a heresy, but it is state of the art.

If you must run your 3rd party anti-virus:
unplug from the internet (if you are paranoid)
disable all antivirus software (never run more than one at a time anyway)
install the game
restart (this should re-enable the antivirus)
plug the internet back in
You might have to repeat this process every time you install a mod.

[geoffhaw]

Thanks guys, but still no luck.  I've turned off McAfee but it didn't make a difference.  In desperation I copied the Disc 1 files to the desktop and tried to install from there.  The process actually started but I got stuck when it asked me to insert Disc 2.  Copying the Disc 2 files to the desktop didn't help. 

Any ideas?

[mgb204]

Are you getting an error or something that halts the install process or does it just sit there not doing anything?

If the drive itself is just plain not working as expected, perhaps some security process is halting the autorun of the disk. Did you try simply bypassing this by finding the install program and double clicking it manually?

Have you successfully used another disk/installer with the same drive (would make sense to check if not)?

[geoffhaw]

The install process gets to 40% or so then asks me to insert Disc 2.  I press the 'Yes' button and the dialog box blinks quickly and then remains on the screen.  Multiple pressings of the 'Yes' button doesn't help.

I have tried manually starting both the autorun.exe and setup.exe files.

I have installed other software successfully using this CD drive.

[eggman121]

I know that this may be a real pain but, have you thought about a digital copy for your new computer? I have a steam version for my Windows 8.1 Laptop and it works without a hitch except for the Intel drivers which have been updated since.

Just a suggestion

-eggman121

[mgb204]

Normally I'd not recommend it either, but it does seem the disks have more and more trouble with versions of Windows past 7.

Try running the computer in diagnostic mode and installing the game there, I wonder if something is messing with the installer inside Windows. To do this you need to open MSConfig and select Diagnosic Mode and reboot the computer. Once you've finished remember to go back to MSConfig and reset to normal startup again.

[dragonshardz]

Adding my voice to installing it via digital download, ideally Steam. Either Steam or Origin will allow you to install it in a directory other than the default Program Files directory, so you won't run into any possible issues with installing it as an administrator.

This includes the game itself, you will have to run the game as admin in order to make a save.

This is not correct - SC4 saves to the $user/Documents/SC4 directory, not to the game's install directory. The former doesn't require admin permissions to read/write to.

[joshua43214]

Adding my voice to installing it via digital download, ideally Steam. Either Steam or Origin will allow you to install it in a directory other than the default Program Files directory, so you won't run into any possible issues with installing it as an administrator.

This includes the game itself, you will have to run the game as admin in order to make a save.

This is not correct - SC4 saves to the $user/Documents/SC4 directory, not to the game's install directory. The former doesn't require admin permissions to read/write to.

It is correct.
If you install the game as administrator, then all child folders created by the game installer require administrator rights to be modified.
One issue I know for a fact that can crop up is changing the traffic simulator settings after installation is complete.
My point was that one should never install software as administrator - it just creates cascading problems.
The correct thing is to disable whatever is preventing the install (typically Norton pos software), and then fix the permissions on any folder in program files if needed.