Attempting to re-install BGII, major error, help requested.

Zandur · Post by **Zandur** » Tue Mar 25, 2008 1:52 pm

Hello, I'm kind of re-purposing this thread, as I've solved my original problem (Thanx again). Currently I'm having trouble with my ToB Installshield wizard. Basically, I put the disk in, I hit "install", it gets about halfway through the "installshield wizard" and gives me this:
http://www.maj.com/gallery/Aramir/Ar...tallshield.png

Na'er seen such a thing before. I tried opening the installer 3 different ways, (autorun, baldur.exe, and setup.exe) and got this every time. I cleaned off the disk thoroughly, but I think the disk itself may be toast; it has one very deep scratch and 2 "muddled" spots where it looks like it may have been rubbed against something. This is very odd, since this disk hasnt been removed from its package more than a couple of dozen times. But, if you guys dont have any ideas, I'll just replace the disk; I'm attempting to build myself a Jack Sparrow sound pack before I replay it anyway, so I'm in no rush, particularly if I plan on installing the Ease of Use pack.

Cheers,

- Zandur

Below is the original problem, which I was luckily able to fix.

If this forum was the Copper Coronet, my character would be standing between Nalia and Anomen asking for someone to help him.

Heres my story; I have had Baldurs Gate II - SoA installed for a couple of years now, and I have not played it in over a year. A couple of weeks back I decided to take it up again and play through it again. Unfortunetly, the game has been glitchier then I remember, such as always asking me to configure settings on startup, loot bin menus - such as chests and corpses - dissapearing after only a few seconds, forcing me to hit pause to pick up loot, a broken record dialogue from Jaheira that wont go away without going to a previous save, and Aerie randomly stopping every few seconds while the rest of the party walks on, and Throne of Bhaal not working at all.

I remember the last time I hadnt played in a long time and I tried to play it, I needed to do a re-install because it simply wouldnt function; it wouldnt even load.

Well, this time, when I went to un-install it, I found that there was no un-install option - anywhere.

So, I deleted both the SoA folder from Program Files and its shortcut in the menu, and attempted to re-install it from Disk 1.

It got about halfway through installation, said it encountered an intro video error, and then closed, without asking for disks 3 or 4. It never installed a folder or a shortcut in the start menu, and when I put disk 1 in, it comes up with the normal start menu, but even clicking on the CD Drive in My Computer doesnt load the folder with the setup.exe., and none of the other disks load anything at all.

So, as near as I can tell, I simply have no way to re-install it - and thus play it -, but I thought perhaps you folks might have some ideas. For the record, the SoA folders are still in the recycle bin, so I can extract them back out of there at any time... but that wont help the startup menu icons.

Thank you for your time,
Give a beggar a gold piece next time you play for good karma, (I didnt and you can see where it got me... never try to play an evil character...)

- Zandur

chef3416 · Post by **chef3416** » Tue Mar 25, 2008 2:40 pm

I don't think you should've just deleted the folder since an installation probably made some registry entries on your machine. Try going into Control Panel > Add/Remove Programs and see if you can still remove it from there? If that doesn't work, try a regcleaner.

fable · Post by **fable** » Tue Mar 25, 2008 3:01 pm

I've removed a post that was essentially nothing more than a bump. This forum doesn't allow that. Plus, it's kinda silly when a thread is second or third on the first page.

Please don't do it. Thanks.

1) See if you de-install, again.
2) Do a backup of your registry.
3) Run regedit.
4) Do Finds on every mention of Baldur, Bioware, and Interplay. (I'm assuming you have no other game from Bioware or Interplay installed.) Delete all these entries.
5) Exit. Reboot.
6) If all went well, you should now be able to reinstall.

a hygh guy · Post by **a hygh guy** » Tue Mar 25, 2008 5:37 pm

My b, it won't happen again.

Could you please go into a little more detail on steps 2 and 3 though, I'd really appreciate it.

fable · Post by **fable** » Tue Mar 25, 2008 5:48 pm

When you use Regedit, click under File/Export to save to your registry content to a specific file and location. Later, you can use File/Import to reload that content.

I can't emphasize enough always making a backup of your registry (via export) before making changes.

Regedit itself is the standard registry editor on XP. I think it's Regedt32 on Vista, though I don't use it, myself.

Hope that helps.

Nightmare · Post by **Nightmare** » Tue Mar 25, 2008 5:56 pm

Actually, on the Bioware support page for the game, they have a method of removing the game manually. BioWare: Baldur's Gate I and II Frequently Asked Questions

1.11: [BGII/ToB] - How to manually uninstall BGII:

1.) Uninstall using the shortcut in the BG2 Start menu or the Add/Remove Programs utility in the Control Panel. The game files should be removed from the user's hard drive and the shortcuts removed from the Start menu.

2.) If step 1 failed, run "baldur.exe" from the CD. It should notify the user that the previous installation attempt failed and that they should try reinstalling the game using the program's Install button.

3.) If step 2 failed, edit the "baldur.ini" file in the directory where the game was installed. Look for the "Installing" key under the "Program Options" section, set it to 1 ("Installing=1"), save the file and repeat step 2.

4.) If step 3 failed, edit the system registry using the regedit / regedit32 utility. Remove the following keys: - HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ SOFTWARE \ Microsoft \ Windows \ CurrentVersion \ App Paths \ BG2Main.exe - HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ SOFTWARE \ Microsoft \ Windows \ CurrentVersion \ Uninstall \ {8DAE4336-2B71-11D4-9A6C-006067325E47}

5.) Go to your Program Files directory and find the hidden directory "InstallShield Installation Information" and delete the directory labeled "{8DAE4336-2B71-11D4-9A6C-006067325E47}"

6.) Manually delete all the files and directories created by the previous installation attempts (this should return the system to its state before the original installation attempt) and try again to install from the CD.

As for the regedit tool, it edits your system registry. You can run it by typing in "regedit" into Run... in the Start Menu.

Definitely back up the registry first before messing around with it though.

Zandur · Post by **Zandur** » Tue Mar 25, 2008 6:07 pm

Thanx for the input, guys

I'll likely try Nightmares methods tomorrow, when I'm not falling asleep. I'm *extremely* hesitant to mess around in the registry - I am not all that computer literate - but if I follow instructions it should be alright, no?

Thanx again,
- Zandur

fable · Post by **fable** » Tue Mar 25, 2008 6:39 pm

I think you've already tried a few of the early steps, and step 4 is essentially what I'm suggesting--so you will be messing with your registry. Sorry.

But feel free to try and retry them all, and good luck.

Zandur · Post by **Zandur** » Wed Mar 26, 2008 7:25 pm

Booyah!

Well, what I did was completely eradicated the Black Isle folder and everything in it - I deleted it for real this time. Then, I did a search, and deleted everything with the word "Baldur" in it - mostly .ini and .GAM files, which were "last modified in 2005".

After that, I ran the registry cleaner twice, and re-booted the computer. It then allowed me to do a complete and clean re-install of SoA. Huzzah!

Only one issue left. When I went to install ToB, it gave me this error:
http://www.maj.com/gallery/Aramir/ArtDu ... shield.png

Na'er seen such a thing before. I tried opening the installer 3 different ways, (autorun, baldur.exe, and setup.exe) and got this every time. I cleaned off the disk thoroughly, but I think the disk itself may be toast; it has one very deep scratch and 2 "muddled" spots where it looks like it may have been rubbed against something. This is very odd, since this disk hasnt been removed from its package more than a couple of dozen times. But, if you guys dont have any ideas, I'll just replace the disk; I'm attempting to build myself a Jack Sparrow sound pack before I replay it anyway, so I'm in no rush, particularly if I plan on installing the Ease of Use pack.

Thanx alot for the help again, guys

I'm just SO relieved it didnt come to having to muck around in the registry.

Cheers,

- Zandur

CTBlack · Post by **CTBlack** » Wed Mar 26, 2008 7:39 pm

What OS are you using on your computer? Vista or XP? I had been uninstalling and reinstall on my (running XP SP2) more than 5 to 6 times already and it is all trouble free. If you are using Vista try using the Vista, XP compatibility mode on the ToB installer.

As for the possible bad ToB CD, you can try to make a ISO image of it using your CD burning software to see if it can be read without errors, or just use a CD testing program to check it (I use CDCheck). If it turn out the CD is bad due to the scratch, you can get a CD repair kit from places that sells CDs/DVDs or take it to a place that can repair them. Good luck.

fable · Post by **fable** » Wed Mar 26, 2008 8:24 pm

I'm moving this over to the Tech Support area, but leaving a stub in SoA: two forums for the price of one. Hopefully, a few new heads will make something of that "incorrect function" error.

Zandur · Post by **Zandur** » Wed Mar 26, 2008 8:53 pm

@Fable: Thankee

@CTBlack: I run XP; I likely wont "upgrade" to Vista for some years to come. Though good advice, I would be unable to select "Vista" since it doesnt get past the initial installshield thingy.

I'll try yer other tips in the morning, when I have more time. Thanx

Editing first post so as to not be misleading...

- Zandur

Zandur · Post by **Zandur** » Thu Mar 27, 2008 7:04 pm

Well, nevermind. I took a good look at the disc, and the scratch is on the DATA side, not the shiny side. You can see daylight through it, ie, the disk is toast. I'll jus' have to drop 10 bucks and buy another one. Oh well, thanx for the help anyway

- Zandur