Hell Yes!!! Here is the manual install for Fallout2!

S

scruffpuff

First time out of the vault
So I've finally gotten Fallout 2 to work using a manual install technique similar to the Fallout 1 technique. Here's how:

First copy the following files from the CD:

Fallout2.___
CRITTER.DAT
MASTER.DAT
PATCH000.DAT

Put these into a folder (mine was on my C drive and called fallout2)

so

c:\Fallout2

change Fallout2.___ to Fallout2.exe

now, install the game from the CD and do the humongeous install (you have to do this in order to get all of the right stuff in the DATA folder)

go to wherever you installed it and copy the entire DATA folder. put this in c:\Fallout2

you can either create your own config file using notepad or copy the one from the INSTALLED version of Fallout2. Either way this is what the final .cfg file should look like (depending on your path)

[sound]
music_path1=C:\Fallout2\data\sound\music\
music_path2=E:\data\sound\music\

[system]
cdlock=E:\cdlock.dat
critter_dat=C:\Fallout2\critter.dat
critter_patches=C:\Fallout2\data
master_dat=C:\Fallout2\master.dat
master_patches=C:\Fallout2\data

that's it.
the E: is the name of my CD rom drive, I'm not sure if you can take this out entirely but for now I would suggest you just point that to YOUR cd rom drive.

Finally create a shortcut to Fallout2.exe and under properties set the shortcut to run in Win95 compatible mode.

As for the patch, well I figure I'll have to unpack that and just manually install it as well but for now...I CAN PLAY FALLOUT2!!! HOORAY

I hope this helps some of you, my main problem was when I started the game it just gave me a black screen and then quit to the desktop. I tried all of the fixes and nothing worked until now. Also make sure to RUN->dxdiag and turn off the sound acceleration or else when you die or during the eplogues it'll crash (or so i've heard).

I'm running Win XP Pro with an NVIDIA 5900 FX, Sound Blaster Audigy, Pentium 4.

PEACE!



:lol:
 
Excellent work, and glad to hear you got it running! Stickying this since a lot of people are having similar trouble.

As for the patch, you should be all set - it's just an updated .exe file and the patch000.dat file, iirc, so if they were on your CD you don't need to do anything else.
 
I have tried to run this method for installing, and I am still unable to get the game to run. I get the "Please stand by" test pattern screen, and then the game crashes.

my system specs are:
Pentium 3 1.7ghz
704mb ddr
Radeon IGP 340m (same as Radeon 8500 32mb)
Windows XP pro

Any other info you need please ask.
 
Funny. Fallout 2 works fine for me on WinXP Pro with a Radeon card.
Every game using a 3D engine on the other hand seems to freeze after five minutes and switch off my screen or change to an exotic refresh rate (which usually has the same effect but allows me to kill the game without rebooting) after anything from two to thirty minutes.

Which reminds me: Once I got money again, I need to buy an nVidia card and stick to it. The G4Ti4200 may have prevented some games from starting, but at least it didn't make any freeze at random.
With Stalker coming up I guess a new CPU would be a good idea as well, but first I'd double those 512MB RAM of mine.
Because I'm unlikely to be insane enough to try installing the CPU on my own again (in other words: to have someone to blame if it doesn't work), I'll better upgrade my motherboard along.
Not to forget that I need a new tower.
Why am I even talking about upgrading? I could as well buy a pre-configured computer!
 
KJB said:
I have tried to run this method for installing, and I am still unable to get the game to run. I get the "Please stand by" test pattern screen, and then the game crashes.
Click to expand...

Have you tried changing the compatibility setting? If not, right click on fallout2.exe or it's shortcut, go to the compatibility tab and check it off.
 
yes make sure that the shortcut is set to win95 compatible mode. also, when you run the game are there any new folders created within the fallout 2 folder? if you don't path it right in the cfg this'll happen.
 
yes I have tried it in win95 mode. Also in 98 mode, 2k, and NT4 sp5 mode.

I looked through some of the other troubleshooting guides, and one of them suggested I change the fallout.cfg file. I did this (just copy and paste from the thread) and now I get the "cannot find/load text fonts" error.

Another thing I just noticed. When I get the autorun window from the cd, it looks like the game is not installed.

After looking on the CD, I don't have a Patch000.dat. I do have a Patch000.___ though, in the same folder as the fallout.___ file.
 
did you follow all the steps in my walkthrough exactly?

the cfg file needs to have the right paths to the files it is looking for. the reason you are getting the cannot load error is because you have set the config locations incorrectly. since I put everything in a folder directly in my c: drive the path is simpley C:\Fallout2

where have you copied your files to?
 
KJB said:
After looking on the CD, I don't have a Patch000.dat. I do have a Patch000.___ though, in the same folder as the fallout.___ file.
Click to expand...

Copy it to the main fallout folder and rename it to patch000.dat - that's all the installer does anyway. For the fonts, just copy whatever files it needs from the CD to your harddrive.
 
Scruff:
I did it exactly as I understand it. copy the four files to c:\fallout2, humongous install the game in the default directory (c:\program files\black isles\fallout 2), then move the data directory to c:\fallout2. then I cut and paste your cfg from this thread and put it in that directory. only thing I changed in the cfg is the identifier for the cd rom drive.

Montez:
What are the filenames, and where do they go on the harddrive, because I can't find font files on the cd.
 
KJB said:
Montez:
What are the filenames, and where do they go on the harddrive, because I can't find font files on the cd.
Click to expand...

I think that the fonts are located in the critter.dat file, so make sure that file is where it's supposed to be and make sure the cfg points to it correctly. Other than that I'm at a loss, I'm not sure that anyone has solved this error yet.

If you're willing to do the whole un/reinstall thing, you could try setting the setup.exe file on the CD to Win95 compatibility then installing, that seems to work for some people.
 
I did begin to try your "install guide" but i had to stop almost direct
because, when i try to copy the critter and master files it stops and says "Unable to copy CRITTER(or master, i tested both). Computer-(wrong or something cant translate it correct) (CRC-(miss wrong whatever) Cylic Redunancy Check.

Do any one else have experienced this to? and do anyone know any solution?
I've managed to copy the Fallout2___ file and the PATCH000.DAT
does not exist on my cd.
 
you can do the same thing with fallout, and if you do the humongus install on your comp, you can send either one file by file to a friend using yim
 
Eventually, in 2000 use the apcompat.exe from Windows installation CD to tell the F2 setup that it's working on 98.
At my PC (PPro/200, 64RAM, Win2000SP4 Polish) works ideally at all types of install.
 
Ok i did everything of the above, however still got problems. If the 2nd introduction movie is finished my screen freezes. I wonder why i can start fallout see the movies but nothing after that. I did get it to work before but that was on win98. I'm running 2k now.

Can someone help please? I really want to play again.
 
One reason for my problem might be that i don't have a video card on thid computer, however i din't had one on my other machine where fallout did work on.
 
Uhh? No video card? I think that's your problem. How are you seeing the opening movies, though (or for that matter, anything)?

Anyhow, I'm going to assume you have one and it's just invisible. Set your display to 800x600 and color depth to 16 bit and try running Fallout again.
 
*coughonboardcough*

Try looking in your hardware profiles to see what your video card is listed as, or check the motherboard/PC's manufacturer's site for specs. I have a hunch that the drivers are hopelessly out of date. :)

Also try setting your 3d Sound to No Acceleration in dxdiag, as that might have something to do with it.

PS: Edit next time before you double-post, please.
 
Thx for the advice. However it seems that my computer doesn't have any video hardware or drivers to be able to play games. Lets say it;s a anti game computer. I get my laptop back soon which should be able to run fallout!
 
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