M2TW Gold Edition Re-Install problems

[TroubledViking]

Hi guys, I have been wanting to go back to M2 for a while now with all these lovely mods that are available. Sadly my game does not want to reinstall. I insert disc 1, setup starts, I check all addon boxes (Britannica, Crusades etc.) and then the launcher prompts me to install disc 2. Odd. Do that and game of course doesn't work (missing half the game files....). So I went into regedit to see if there were any weird files left behind from last time and nope (followed the guide posted on another total war site). I also enabled hidden folders and tried to install shield route and no files were present there either (that related to M2 anyway).

I'm at a loss as to why this is happening. Any ideas?

Quick specs;
Windows 7 64bit
i5 2500k
All drives functioning properly

Thanks for any help

[irishron]

Uninstall medieval2 in Control Panel > Add/Remove Programs Starting with the Kingdoms campaigns.
Delete BOTH Medieval II total War folders, the one in Program files (x86)\Sega and the hidden one in Users\username\appdata\roaming\the creative assembly or there abouts.
Run a good free registry clreaner to clean up CA's mess the uninstaller does not.
Reboot.
Disable the UAC.
Install in C:\Games.

[TroubledViking]

Roger, I will get back to you (btw, you are everywhere on this board, champion of the people)

*edit* These have all been done with 0 results. All the file locations you mentioned had no files pertaining to M2, Creative Assembly, Sega etc. Also, I tried installing from the .exe file as admin and no luck. My UAC is turn off. Other ideas?

[irishron]

Can you post pics of the contents of the discs?

[TroubledViking]

So you want me to just open each disc in explorer and post a screen grab? One sec.

http://imgur.com/a/1WFjQ

[irishron]

It looks like it should work.
Do any of the icons show up on the desktop?
Are there any in Start > All Programs?
I don't have the Gold Edition so I'm trying to match against the original discs.

[TroubledViking]

Nothing in start. I have check all 3 of my drives just in case there was a stray file/folder. I have even used the search function with key words like Sega, Medieval, Activision etc. with no results. It's just really weird...

[irishron]

A chance in the dark.
Are you logged in as Administrator?
Have you tried it "Run as Administrator"?
Have you done this starting with the C: drive icon? http://www.twcenter.net/forums/showthread.php?t=397636

[TroubledViking]

A chance in the dark.
Are you logged in as Administrator?
Have you tried it "Run as Administrator"?
Have you done this starting with the C: drive icon? http://www.twcenter.net/forums/showthread.php?t=397636

I have admin and I tried to run the .exe as admin (via right click) and got the same results. With the link you mentioned, which version of instruction should I follow (1, 2 or 3? I can't really do 3 because that folder doesn't exist to even modify)

Thanks

[PoleCat]

Just so we're clear - it's not even accessing Disc One and moving to the Disc Two install without any files being installed?

Also after looking at your screengrab I noticed that Windows has configuration files queued to write to the discs. That's odd and outside what I'd normally expect. Do you have any automatic backup software installed on that system? Good luck!

EDIT: BluRay drives have problems with M2. Have you updated the drivers or firmware? When you last installed did you use this exact same drive or an older drive?

[TroubledViking]

Just so we're clear - it's not even accessing Disc One and moving to the Disc Two install without any files being installed?

Also after looking at your screengrab I noticed that Windows has configuration files queued to write to the discs. That's odd and outside what I'd normally expect. Do you have any automatic backup software installed on that system? Good luck!

EDIT: BluRay drives have problems with M2. Have you updated the drivers or firmware? When you last installed did you use this exact same drive or an older drive?

Hey thanks for the detailed reply. I shall answer in order. Your assumption is correct, the install asks for disc two just after I check the options for the addons.

Yes I only just noticed that it had files queued and that is indeed strange (not something I did).

No I don't have any auto-backup software

I used that Blu-Ray reader before to install the game the first time (Strange right?)

My last install was to the same drive, but back then, that drive was my only drive (hence OS), now C:/ is on the SSD.

[PoleCat]

...My last install was to the same drive, but back then, that drive was my only drive (hence OS), now C:/ is on the SSD.

Again let me ask for clarification. You say the old install was to an old HDD (that was your OS drive presumably) and now you have an SDD that is running your OS - correct? You have since recycled your older HDD as a data drive - correct?

irishron is still on the right track - Registry corruption. But the problem may be in tracking where everything fits in the puzzle.

When you added the SDD and made that the main OS drive did you do a full format of your old HDD and clean the slate before adding it back into your computer? If the older drive still has remnants of the Registry you had on that drive then I'm guessing that you're looking in the wrong place for bad Reg calls.

Again this hinges on good housekeeping - did you blank your old drive before re-adding it to your system? Good luck!

[TroubledViking]

Sir, I cannot answer that fully. I did not build the machine myself The HDD was indeed my only drive a long time ago, then following a recent upgrade (performed by someone else) the OS was installed on the SSD. Is there someway I can check the registry of individual drives?

[PoleCat]

Sir, I cannot answer that fully. I did not build the machine myself The HDD was indeed my only drive a long time ago, then following a recent upgrade (performed by someone else) the OS was installed on the SSD. Is there someway I can check the registry of individual drives?

That's what I feared. From this end it sounds like whomever upgraded your system didn't bother to format your old drive. That would mean you have fragments of an older Windows install on that drive that would complicate new installs - there would be a full Registry on that old drive that would hamper new installations.

Here's a quick test - navigate to that drive and look for [drive\:..Windows\] in the file tree. If you see it then the disk hasn't been formatted.

Your best bet would be to format your old OS drive and start over. What drive letter designation are you trying to install M2 to? That would help us to pinpoint which drive needs your attention. Good luck!

[TroubledViking]

I'm heading to bed now. But I will get back to you in the morning, thanks for the help so far

[irishron]

I have three drives in my computer. Each has a copy of Medieval2 installed when I installed the OS. The present copy of Windows does not "see" the other two copies of Medival2 because they are not in the registry.

Right-click the C:\drive icon,
click Properties,
Click the Security tab,
Click Advanced,
Click the Owner tab,
Be sure the account you are logged in is in the box,
If not change it,
Click Okay,
There is a box, bottom left to ckeck for all all child files and folders, check it,
Click OK, and click ok everytime it finds a file it won't let you have ownership of.

[TroubledViking]

I have three drives in my computer. Each has a copy of Medieval2 installed when I installed the OS. The present copy of Windows does not "see" the other two copies of Medival2 because they are not in the registry.

Right-click the C:\drive icon,
click Properties,
Click the Security tab,
Click Advanced,
Click the Owner tab,
Be sure the account you are logged in is in the box,
If not change it,
Click Okay,
There is a box, bottom left to ckeck for all all child files and folders, check it,
Click OK, and click ok everytime it finds a file it won't let you have ownership of.

It comes up in the box as 'TrustedOwner' and won't let me change it. Do I need to stop UAC for this?

[PoleCat]

I have three drives in my computer. Each has a copy of Medieval2 installed when I installed the OS. The present copy of Windows does not "see" the other two copies of Medival2 because they are not in the registry....

But that's not quite right. You may have three distinct installs of M2 on three different drives but each has its own Reg path. The reason they don't interfere with with each other is that you know how to install the game and each install is delineated to its own Registry path. I guarantee that Windows sees all of those installs - the M2 installer mandates it in both the Registry and the Installshield folders.

That may be another avenue to check - maybe he still has old Installshield folders on that old drive that is interfering with a fresh install. In any case something is preventing him from seeing Disc One in a fresh install. That really sounds like old install files preventing the installer from recognizing that the game isn't actually installed.

[irishron]

That may be another avenue to check - maybe he still has old Installshield folders on that old drive that is interfering with a fresh install. In any case something is preventing him from seeing Disc One in a fresh install. That really sounds like old install files preventing the installer from recognizing that the game isn't actually installed.

Not likely but always a possibility.

[irishron]

I have not had the UAC enabled since I found it in vista 1.0 but it is possible.
You do have to be logged in as Administrator to do this.