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Having just built a new PC because my old one was a little low specced to play games like V:TM I cannot now install the game because it doesn't recognise the 64 bit version of XP as XP. Anyone any sensible ideas?

A Thorn's Tale

That's a thorny one. Having never seen a 64-bit CPU yet, I have to operate purely on past experience. Both Intel and Microsoft have always been in the eternal land of backward compatibility.

Consequently, I would look for three specific possible solutions:

1) A 32-bit compatibility mode in your 64-bit XP that might, for example, provide a 32-bit Virtual Machine that will run VTMB. I know most people equate "Virtual Machine" to "impossibly slow", but I've seen 16-bit VMs for 32-bit machines that are faster than anything that existed back in The Day. There is a caveat here. In XP, there is a '95 CM that only exists in shortcuts, so one of the things you might want to try is to create a 32-bit CM shortcut to the setup file on the installation CD to install, and then another 32-bit CM shortcut to VTMB. There are a number of different ways this could play out.
2) A 32-bit compatibility mode in the CPU that would allow you to install a 32-bit Windows XP partition for 32-bit programs.
3) Install a 32-bit XP partition on the 64-bit system to see if it'll work.

After that, anything else I might say would be sheer speculation.

I actually solved this in a completely different way.

I already had the game installed on my old system so I just copied the entire C:\program files\Activision\Vampires... directory over to my new PC.

It didn't work at first as I had copied it so that the game directory was at C: level i.e. C:\Vampire... but when I copied it so that the path was identical running the game exe worked as long as the CD is in the drive.

Incidentally I tried various CM settings but the problem is that the Setup.exe specifically checks the operating system and doesn't recognise it as XP.

Finally for anyone thinking of building a new PC using XP x64 a word of warning:
All of the hardware I purchased came with drivers incompatible with x64. I had to download new ones for many items. I still cannot get a driver for my printer from Epson although their website says one will be available May 05!! I have only started to process of installing my games collection and so far have:
VTMB - see above
Roller Coaster Tycoon 3 - no problems
Tiger Woods 2k5 - installed but will not run
Custom Play Golf - no problems

That has fixed your immediate situation, but it didn't solve the problem, that being that the X64 version of the OS wouldn't even run the X32 installation program. I'd still like to see how that plays out.

I would certainly prefer to be able to install the game properly but I'm not sure that there is anything else I can do.

I had this problem with certain games when I first moved to XP. Certain titles specifically examined the operating system when starting the install and thought XP was NT and refused to install. This is a similar problem where the setup program checks the OS which presumeably returns a value that is not recognised and causes the "This game will only run on Win 98, 98ME, 2000 and XP" message to be displayed.

This can only be fixed by a patch to the setup program - not going to happen as Troika no longer exist
or by MS patching XP to return a code that would be recognised. I did try and log a call with MS but stopped when I discovered that they would charge me £35 + VAT for doing so . MS' knowledge base contains an article which basically cops out of responsibility for compatibility by saying that you must contact the manufacturer of the software and get them to patch it.

If you have any other ideas let me know and I'll give them a try

[QUOTE=simon_moss]I had this problem with certain games when I first moved to XP. Certain titles specifically examined the operating system when starting the install and thought XP was NT and refused to install.[/QUOTE]

The work of over-zealous and under-trained programmers who check too many things. I think I'll lay off x64 until the world gets a decent grasp of it.

[QUOTE=simon_moss]I did try and log a call with MS but stopped when I discovered that they would charge me £35 + VAT for doing so[/QUOTE]

Nay. You don't want to talk to Bill Gates unless you're Donald Trump. They charge beaucoup bucks for conversation. Done there, been that.

[QUOTE=simon_moss]If you have any other ideas let me know and I'll give them a try[/QUOTE]

If I do, I will. I have a few friends in The Community. Some of them are Heat Seekers.