Need tech advice not really related to my Gateway...

[chicagofan]

I know there used to be some smart people who lurked here to help folks
like me, so I'm back. Are you there, Ben, anyone? ;)

I have an old Activision game that they stopped updating with Win 98.
Some people have been able to get Shanghai II to work with XP, although
my laptop says XP in some places, it says NT... in more, which I don't
understand, and it won't install normally. It says game not for NT.

Anyway, I think the biggest problem is the graphics card I have, won't
handle 256 color resolution. Is there *ANYTHING* I can do to get this
old game to play on my laptop?

http://www.amazon.com/Shanghai-Double-Pack-Jewel-Case-Pc/dp/B00004T9C8

Some people have partitioned their drive and formatted it in DOS to play
their game, but I would still have the graphics problem, wouldn't I?
Thanks for *any* and all suggestions... I really want this game back. :)

Barbara

[Gateway MX 6440/ATI RADEON XPRESS 200M series]

[Ken Whiton]

*-* On Sat, 19 Mar 2011, at 23:17:42 -0400,
*-* In Article <im3rks$e9n$***@news.eternal-september.org>,
*-* chicagofan wrote
*-* About Need tech advice not really related to my Gateway...

User-Agent: Mozilla/5.0 (Windows; U; Windows NT 5.1; en-US; rv:1.9.1.15) Gecko/20101027 SeaMonkey/2.0.10
I know there used to be some smart people who lurked here to help
folks like me, so I'm back. Are you there, Ben, anyone? ;)
I have an old Activision game that they stopped updating with Win
98. Some people have been able to get Shanghai II to work with XP,
although my laptop says XP in some places, it says NT... in more,
which I don't understand,

That's normal. Windows XP identifies itself as "Windows NT 5.1".
See your "User-Agent:" string, which I've quoted above. Similarly,
Windows Vista identifies itself as "Windows NT 6.0" and Windows 7
identifies itself as "Windows NT 6.1".

and it won't install normally. It says
game not for NT.
Anyway, I think the biggest problem is the graphics card I have,
won't handle 256 color resolution. Is there *ANYTHING* I can do to
get this old game to play on my laptop?
http://www.amazon.com/Shanghai-Double-Pack-Jewel-Case-Pc/dp/B00004T9C8

At least four of the reviews on the right side of that page are
from people who have gotten it to run under XP, and they go on to give
instructions on how to do it. Click on the "Read more" link under any
of those truncated right-side reviews to open a page where you can
read the complete reviews and see the instructions. These four
reviews all have instructions for installing it under XP:

Published 23 months ago by little miss sure shot
Published on November 10, 2008 by J. Snellman
Published on August 9, 2008 by Kevin Murphy
Published on April 13, 2006 by Clyde Gatton

Some people have partitioned their drive and formatted it in DOS to
play their game, but I would still have the graphics problem,
wouldn't I? Thanks for *any* and all suggestions... I really want
this game back. :)

Ken Whiton

[chicagofan]

Post by Ken Whiton
*-* On Sat, 19 Mar 2011, at 23:17:42 -0400,
*-* About Need tech advice not really related to my Gateway...

User-Agent: Mozilla/5.0 (Windows; U; Windows NT 5.1; en-US; rv:1.9.1.15) Gecko/20101027 SeaMonkey/2.0.10
I know there used to be some smart people who lurked here to help
folks like me, so I'm back. Are you there, Ben, anyone? ;)
I have an old Activision game that they stopped updating with Win
98. Some people have been able to get Shanghai II to work with XP,
although my laptop says XP in some places, it says NT... in more,
which I don't understand,

That's normal. Windows XP identifies itself as "Windows NT 5.1".
See your "User-Agent:" string, which I've quoted above. Similarly,
Windows Vista identifies itself as "Windows NT 6.0" and Windows 7
identifies itself as "Windows NT 6.1".

and it won't install normally. It says
game not for NT.
Anyway, I think the biggest problem is the graphics card I have,
won't handle 256 color resolution. Is there *ANYTHING* I can do to
get this old game to play on my laptop?
http://www.amazon.com/Shanghai-Double-Pack-Jewel-Case-Pc/dp/B00004T9C8

At least four of the reviews on the right side of that page are
from people who have gotten it to run under XP, and they go on to give
instructions on how to do it. Click on the "Read more" link under any
of those truncated right-side reviews to open a page where you can
read the complete reviews and see the instructions. These four
Published 23 months ago by little miss sure shot
Published on November 10, 2008 by J. Snellman
Published on August 9, 2008 by Kevin Murphy
Published on April 13, 2006 by Clyde Gatton
Ken Whiton

I had already read and copied those solutions, to wait for answers from
my gurus here, to see what *drawbacks* might come up, that could help me
evaluate their remedies. :)

Kevin Murphy's is the one I thought I would try first, now that I've
found that my graphics card does have a hidden 256 color adapter.

*ALL THAT IS REQUIRED IS THAT YOU GET THE GRAPHICS INTO 8-bit MODE* for
the install.

*Instructions for XP SP3*:

Step 1: Use "My Computer" to find the Shanghai CD in your CD drive.
_*Open the SH2DE folder and look for an application called SETUP.EXE*_.
You may not be set up to see the ".EXE" part of the name, so just look
for the "application" called SETUP.

Step 2: Now get your graphics card into 8-bit mode. Right click on empty
desktop and choose Properties from the drop down). Choose the SETTINGS
tab. If the Color Quality choices include 8-bit or "low" of "256",
choose that. *Otherwise, click the button marked ADVANCED. Click the
ADAPTER tab. Click the "LIST ALL MODES" button. Write down the current
selection (you will come back here in step 4 and choose this). Scroll up
until you see a similar resolution with 256 colors. Choose that. Hit
"OK" until all the windows close. You will get an AWFUL color display.
Accept it for the moment*.

Step 3: _*Double click on the SETUP program from step 1. THis will
install Shanghai*_.

Step 4: _*Repeat Step 2, but choose your original resolution and color
selection, and hit OK until it's done*._ Shanghai runs just fine with
16-bit, 24-bit or 32-bit color. The stupid install program doesn't know
that, but we're now past that, forever.


I only have updated to WinXP-SP 2. What do you think? :) Thanks for
your response, and letting me know the NT identity is normal.
bj

[BillW50]

Post by chicagofan
*ALL THAT IS REQUIRED IS THAT YOU GET THE GRAPHICS INTO 8-bit MODE* for
the install.
Step 1: Use "My Computer" to find the Shanghai CD in your CD drive.
_*Open the SH2DE folder and look for an application called SETUP.EXE*_.
You may not be set up to see the ".EXE" part of the name, so just look
for the "application" called SETUP.
Step 2: Now get your graphics card into 8-bit mode. Right click on empty
desktop and choose Properties from the drop down). Choose the SETTINGS
tab. If the Color Quality choices include 8-bit or "low" of "256",
choose that. *Otherwise, click the button marked ADVANCED. Click the
ADAPTER tab. Click the "LIST ALL MODES" button. Write down the current
selection (you will come back here in step 4 and choose this). Scroll up
until you see a similar resolution with 256 colors. Choose that. Hit
"OK" until all the windows close. You will get an AWFUL color display.
Accept it for the moment*.
Step 3: _*Double click on the SETUP program from step 1. THis will
install Shanghai*_.
Step 4: _*Repeat Step 2, but choose your original resolution and color
selection, and hit OK until it's done*._ Shanghai runs just fine with
16-bit, 24-bit or 32-bit color. The stupid install program doesn't know
that, but we're now past that, forever.
I only have updated to WinXP-SP 2. What do you think? :)

You should have no problem. As getting SP2 into 8-bit graphic mode works
exactly the same way.

[chicagofan]

Post by BillW50

Post by chicagofan
*ALL THAT IS REQUIRED IS THAT YOU GET THE GRAPHICS INTO 8-bit MODE* for
the install.
Step 1: Use "My Computer" to find the Shanghai CD in your CD drive.
_*Open the SH2DE folder and look for an application called SETUP.EXE*_.
You may not be set up to see the ".EXE" part of the name, so just look
for the "application" called SETUP.
Step 2: Now get your graphics card into 8-bit mode. Right click on empty
desktop and choose Properties from the drop down). Choose the SETTINGS
tab. If the Color Quality choices include 8-bit or "low" of "256",
choose that. *Otherwise, click the button marked ADVANCED. Click the
ADAPTER tab. Click the "LIST ALL MODES" button. Write down the current
selection (you will come back here in step 4 and choose this). Scroll up
until you see a similar resolution with 256 colors. Choose that. Hit
"OK" until all the windows close. You will get an AWFUL color display.
Accept it for the moment*.
Step 3: _*Double click on the SETUP program from step 1. THis will
install Shanghai*_.
Step 4: _*Repeat Step 2, but choose your original resolution and color
selection, and hit OK until it's done*._ Shanghai runs just fine with
16-bit, 24-bit or 32-bit color. The stupid install program doesn't know
that, but we're now past that, forever.
I only have updated to WinXP-SP 2. What do you think? :)

You should have no problem. As getting SP2 into 8-bit graphic mode works
exactly the same way.

My graphics card says 256 color, but not 8 bit... is that the same?
bj

[BillW50]

Post by chicagofan

Post by BillW50

Post by chicagofan
*ALL THAT IS REQUIRED IS THAT YOU GET THE GRAPHICS INTO 8-bit MODE* for
the install.
Step 1: Use "My Computer" to find the Shanghai CD in your CD drive.
_*Open the SH2DE folder and look for an application called SETUP.EXE*_.
You may not be set up to see the ".EXE" part of the name, so just look
for the "application" called SETUP.
Step 2: Now get your graphics card into 8-bit mode. Right click on empty
desktop and choose Properties from the drop down). Choose the SETTINGS
tab. If the Color Quality choices include 8-bit or "low" of "256",
choose that. *Otherwise, click the button marked ADVANCED. Click the
ADAPTER tab. Click the "LIST ALL MODES" button. Write down the current
selection (you will come back here in step 4 and choose this). Scroll up
until you see a similar resolution with 256 colors. Choose that. Hit
"OK" until all the windows close. You will get an AWFUL color display.
Accept it for the moment*.
Step 3: _*Double click on the SETUP program from step 1. THis will
install Shanghai*_.
Step 4: _*Repeat Step 2, but choose your original resolution and color
selection, and hit OK until it's done*._ Shanghai runs just fine with
16-bit, 24-bit or 32-bit color. The stupid install program doesn't know
that, but we're now past that, forever.
I only have updated to WinXP-SP 2. What do you think? :)

You should have no problem. As getting SP2 into 8-bit graphic mode works
exactly the same way.

My graphics card says 256 color, but not 8 bit... is that the same?
bj

Yes.

[chicagofan]

Post by chicagofan

Post by BillW50

Post by chicagofan
*ALL THAT IS REQUIRED IS THAT YOU GET THE GRAPHICS INTO 8-bit MODE* for
the install.
Step 1: Use "My Computer" to find the Shanghai CD in your CD drive.
_*Open the SH2DE folder and look for an application called SETUP.EXE*_.
You may not be set up to see the ".EXE" part of the name, so just look
for the "application" called SETUP.
Step 2: Now get your graphics card into 8-bit mode. Right click on empty
desktop and choose Properties from the drop down). Choose the SETTINGS
tab. If the Color Quality choices include 8-bit or "low" of "256",
choose that. *Otherwise, click the button marked ADVANCED. Click the
ADAPTER tab. Click the "LIST ALL MODES" button. Write down the current
selection (you will come back here in step 4 and choose this). Scroll up
until you see a similar resolution with 256 colors. Choose that. Hit
"OK" until all the windows close. You will get an AWFUL color display.
Accept it for the moment*.
Step 3: _*Double click on the SETUP program from step 1. THis will
install Shanghai*_.
Step 4: _*Repeat Step 2, but choose your original resolution and color
selection, and hit OK until it's done*._ Shanghai runs just fine with
16-bit, 24-bit or 32-bit color. The stupid install program doesn't know
that, but we're now past that, forever.
I only have updated to WinXP-SP 2. What do you think? :)

You should have no problem. As getting SP2 into 8-bit graphic mode works
exactly the same way.

My graphics card says 256 color, but not 8 bit... is that the same?
bj

Yes.

Thanks, Bill!!! I may not get to it today, but I'll be trying this very
soon! :)

This is a happy day. The Great Moments games challenge your memory
about history, art, inventions, music, etc.. I really hate that
Activision abandoned it. They could have updated the pictures/events to
appeal to younger generations. <sigh>

Thanks again!
bj

[BillW50]

Post by chicagofan
Some people have partitioned their drive and formatted it in DOS to play
their game, but I would still have the graphics problem, wouldn't I?
Thanks for *any* and all suggestions... I really want this game back. :)

To add to Ken's reply. DOS usually doesn't use a video driver. So I
don't think you would see a graphic problem under DOS.

And while making a DOS partition on your system is a good way to do
this, it isn't the only way. As you can run DOS from other devices too
like CD, flash, external HD, etc. The only complicated part is making
the device bootable. Which isn't really that hard. And the method is
different depending on the type of device.

If you want to try this game under DOS. The easiest way is probably from
a Windows 9x install disc. Since it allows you to boot to DOS and to
skip the install part.

And since DOS may not see your hard drive because it may not be in FAT
format or too large or something. But you could run the game on another
CD disc instead if this is a problem.

[chicagofan]

Post by BillW50

Post by chicagofan
Some people have partitioned their drive and formatted it in DOS to play
their game, but I would still have the graphics problem, wouldn't I?
Thanks for *any* and all suggestions... I really want this game back. :)

To add to Ken's reply. DOS usually doesn't use a video driver. So I
don't think you would see a graphic problem under DOS.
And while making a DOS partition on your system is a good way to do
this, it isn't the only way. As you can run DOS from other devices too
like CD, flash, external HD, etc. The only complicated part is making
the device bootable. Which isn't really that hard. And the method is
different depending on the type of device.
If you want to try this game under DOS. The easiest way is probably from
a Windows 9x install disc. Since it allows you to boot to DOS and to
skip the install part.
And since DOS may not see your hard drive because it may not be in FAT
format or too large or something. But you could run the game on another
CD disc instead if this is a problem.

Thanks, Bill! Since I'm not very tech savvy, I think using DOS, will be
my last ditch effort, because it requires so much. I am bound to mess
something up. However, I do want this game on my laptop badly, so it
may come to that. Thanks for the suggestions. :)
bj

[SC Tom]

Post by chicagofan
I know there used to be some smart people who lurked here to help folks
like me, so I'm back. Are you there, Ben, anyone? ;)
I have an old Activision game that they stopped updating with Win 98.
Some people have been able to get Shanghai II to work with XP, although my
laptop says XP in some places, it says NT... in more, which I don't
understand, and it won't install normally. It says game not for NT.
Anyway, I think the biggest problem is the graphics card I have, won't
handle 256 color resolution. Is there *ANYTHING* I can do to get this
old game to play on my laptop?
http://www.amazon.com/Shanghai-Double-Pack-Jewel-Case-Pc/dp/B00004T9C8
Some people have partitioned their drive and formatted it in DOS to play
their game, but I would still have the graphics problem, wouldn't I?
Thanks for *any* and all suggestions... I really want this game back. :)
Barbara
[Gateway MX 6440/ATI RADEON XPRESS 200M series]

Have you tried running the game in compatibility mode? I have an old DOS
poker game that I run on XP SP3 by that method. Right-click on your game
shortcut and pick Properties. Click on the Compatibility tab and pick
Windows 98 or Windows 95 and check the box next to Run in 256 colors. Click
OK to save and exit.

If it won't install, you can also try installing it in compatibility mode
using the same method even if you're installing from CD. You might not want
to check the 256 colors, but otherwise, it should install, then you can edit
the shortcut properties.

[BillW50]

Post by SC Tom

Post by chicagofan
I know there used to be some smart people who lurked here to help
folks like me, so I'm back. Are you there, Ben, anyone? ;)
I have an old Activision game that they stopped updating with Win 98.
Some people have been able to get Shanghai II to work with XP,
although my laptop says XP in some places, it says NT... in more,
which I don't understand, and it won't install normally. It says game
not for NT.
Anyway, I think the biggest problem is the graphics card I have, won't
handle 256 color resolution. Is there *ANYTHING* I can do to get this
old game to play on my laptop?
http://www.amazon.com/Shanghai-Double-Pack-Jewel-Case-Pc/dp/B00004T9C8
Some people have partitioned their drive and formatted it in DOS to
play their game, but I would still have the graphics problem, wouldn't
I? Thanks for *any* and all suggestions... I really want this game
back. :)
Barbara
[Gateway MX 6440/ATI RADEON XPRESS 200M series]

Have you tried running the game in compatibility mode? I have an old DOS
poker game that I run on XP SP3 by that method. Right-click on your game
shortcut and pick Properties. Click on the Compatibility tab and pick
Windows 98 or Windows 95 and check the box next to Run in 256 colors.
Click OK to save and exit.
If it won't install, you can also try installing it in compatibility
mode using the same method even if you're installing from CD. You might
not want to check the 256 colors, but otherwise, it should install, then
you can edit the shortcut properties.

My understanding of this whole thing is that it runs just fine under XP
(no compatibility mode needed). The only problem is that the game
installer will fail unless you are running in 256 color mode (the only
mode which the installer will run in). Once it is installed, you can run
it in any graphic mode from there (well anything 8-bit or higher anyway).

[chicagofan]

Post by BillW50

Post by SC Tom

Post by chicagofan
I know there used to be some smart people who lurked here to help
folks like me, so I'm back. Are you there, Ben, anyone? ;)
I have an old Activision game that they stopped updating with Win 98.
Some people have been able to get Shanghai II to work with XP,
although my laptop says XP in some places, it says NT... in more,
which I don't understand, and it won't install normally. It says game
not for NT.
Anyway, I think the biggest problem is the graphics card I have, won't
handle 256 color resolution. Is there *ANYTHING* I can do to get this
old game to play on my laptop?
http://www.amazon.com/Shanghai-Double-Pack-Jewel-Case-Pc/dp/B00004T9C8
Some people have partitioned their drive and formatted it in DOS to
play their game, but I would still have the graphics problem, wouldn't
I? Thanks for *any* and all suggestions... I really want this game
back. :)
Barbara
[Gateway MX 6440/ATI RADEON XPRESS 200M series]

Have you tried running the game in compatibility mode? I have an old DOS
poker game that I run on XP SP3 by that method. Right-click on your game
shortcut and pick Properties. Click on the Compatibility tab and pick
Windows 98 or Windows 95 and check the box next to Run in 256 colors.
Click OK to save and exit.
If it won't install, you can also try installing it in compatibility
mode using the same method even if you're installing from CD. You might
not want to check the 256 colors, but otherwise, it should install, then
you can edit the shortcut properties.

My understanding of this whole thing is that it runs just fine under XP
(no compatibility mode needed). The only problem is that the game
installer will fail unless you are running in 256 color mode (the only
mode which the installer will run in). Once it is installed, you can run
it in any graphic mode from there (well anything 8-bit or higher anyway).

Thanks, Bill... I couldn't have explained it half as concisely or
intelligently. :) I don't get the compatibility option... simply a
"fail" message. That is... until I try it again... Kevin Murphy's way! ;)
bj

[BillW50]

Post by chicagofan
Thanks, Bill... I couldn't have explained it half as concisely or
intelligently. :) I don't get the compatibility option... simply a
"fail" message. That is... until I try it again... Kevin Murphy's way! ;)
bj

That compatibility mode comes up if you right click on the file (or a
shortcut) you want to run (must be a program and not a document or
something, in this case setup.exe). Then you get a menu. Select
properties and one of the tabs is compatibility.

But you don't have to do it this way if you don't want too. Windows just
has to be in 256 color mode and the installer is happy.

[SC Tom]

Post by BillW50

Post by SC Tom

Post by chicagofan
I know there used to be some smart people who lurked here to help
folks like me, so I'm back. Are you there, Ben, anyone? ;)
I have an old Activision game that they stopped updating with Win 98.
Some people have been able to get Shanghai II to work with XP,
although my laptop says XP in some places, it says NT... in more,
which I don't understand, and it won't install normally. It says game
not for NT.
Anyway, I think the biggest problem is the graphics card I have, won't
handle 256 color resolution. Is there *ANYTHING* I can do to get this
old game to play on my laptop?
http://www.amazon.com/Shanghai-Double-Pack-Jewel-Case-Pc/dp/B00004T9C8
Some people have partitioned their drive and formatted it in DOS to
play their game, but I would still have the graphics problem, wouldn't
I? Thanks for *any* and all suggestions... I really want this game
back. :)
Barbara
[Gateway MX 6440/ATI RADEON XPRESS 200M series]

Have you tried running the game in compatibility mode? I have an old DOS
poker game that I run on XP SP3 by that method. Right-click on your game
shortcut and pick Properties. Click on the Compatibility tab and pick
Windows 98 or Windows 95 and check the box next to Run in 256 colors.
Click OK to save and exit.
If it won't install, you can also try installing it in compatibility
mode using the same method even if you're installing from CD. You might
not want to check the 256 colors, but otherwise, it should install, then
you can edit the shortcut properties.

My understanding of this whole thing is that it runs just fine under XP
(no compatibility mode needed). The only problem is that the game
installer will fail unless you are running in 256 color mode (the only
mode which the installer will run in). Once it is installed, you can run
it in any graphic mode from there (well anything 8-bit or higher anyway).
--
Bill
Gateway M465e ('06 era)
Centrino Core Duo 1.83G - 2GB - Windows XP SP3

Then it may be possible to install it in compatibility mode choosing Win9x
as I mentioned in the second paragraph and choose 256 colors there, too.

[BillW50]

Post by SC Tom

Post by BillW50

Post by SC Tom

Post by chicagofan
I know there used to be some smart people who lurked here to help
folks like me, so I'm back. Are you there, Ben, anyone? ;)
I have an old Activision game that they stopped updating with Win 98.
Some people have been able to get Shanghai II to work with XP,
although my laptop says XP in some places, it says NT... in more,
which I don't understand, and it won't install normally. It says game
not for NT.
Anyway, I think the biggest problem is the graphics card I have, won't
handle 256 color resolution. Is there *ANYTHING* I can do to get this
old game to play on my laptop?
http://www.amazon.com/Shanghai-Double-Pack-Jewel-Case-Pc/dp/B00004T9C8
Some people have partitioned their drive and formatted it in DOS to
play their game, but I would still have the graphics problem, wouldn't
I? Thanks for *any* and all suggestions... I really want this game
back. :)
Barbara
[Gateway MX 6440/ATI RADEON XPRESS 200M series]

Have you tried running the game in compatibility mode? I have an old DOS
poker game that I run on XP SP3 by that method. Right-click on your game
shortcut and pick Properties. Click on the Compatibility tab and pick
Windows 98 or Windows 95 and check the box next to Run in 256 colors.
Click OK to save and exit.
If it won't install, you can also try installing it in compatibility
mode using the same method even if you're installing from CD. You might
not want to check the 256 colors, but otherwise, it should install, then
you can edit the shortcut properties.

My understanding of this whole thing is that it runs just fine under
XP (no compatibility mode needed). The only problem is that the game
installer will fail unless you are running in 256 color mode (the only
mode which the installer will run in). Once it is installed, you can
run it in any graphic mode from there (well anything 8-bit or higher
anyway).

Then it may be possible to install it in compatibility mode choosing
Win9x as I mentioned in the second paragraph and choose 256 colors
there, too.

Yes that is absolutely true. Although just the installer itself and not
the installed program. But either way (changing to 256 colors or use the
compatibility mode) should work just fine. Since this is just needed
once, it really doesn't matter much.