Vista Tutorial - Call of Duty 2 acting weird

These are the three screens I get when I try running Call of Duty 2:

Pleae help, cause I love the game and haven't played it since I got Vista.

Amplid

Have you tried it in win XP SP2 compatibility mode?

What's that?

...or maybe try re-installing it in it's own folder outside Program Files (X86)

if you right click the COD2 icon there should be a compatibility tab. Within this you have the option to select WinXP and disable Vista functions that may create problems with a program.

Ok, I saw what you mean and changed it, but now it says that I have got the wrong disk inserted...

Amplid

What do you mean by installing it in it's own folder outside program files? (sorry for the many questions...)

Thanks so far

Amplid

No worries matey.

The default location for most games is in the Program Files folder. Vista 64 bit uses Program Files (x86) folder to store all 32 bit programs/applications and games. I have noticed that there can be some conflicts when installing older games to Program Files (x86) as vista can limited the read/write access as a security measure to prevent unauthorised changes - on some games I have noticed crashes during level loads etc.....instead of turning off the security ( a big NO NO in my book ) I find it easier to change the installation location when you install the game. You usually have to confirm or change this location during the install - when prompted I'd recommend using something like c:\games\call of duty2


I hope that makes sense.

Even when I was still using Windows XP (or Windows ME and Windows 95 before that), whenever I installed a game, I usually changed the install location to "C:\Games\WhateverGame" to make it easier to find save game files and such. It also made it easier to instantly determine how much space is being taken up by games so that it was a breeze to know what to uninstall in the event that I needed to free up some space for something else.

When I moved to Vista x64 over a year ago, this routine of always installing my games to "C:\Games\WhateverGame" has helped tremendously, and in some cases has let the game work without requiring compatibility mode.

When installing a game, don't blindly click Next all the time. Read what the screens say, and when you get to the "Install To" or "Install Location" screen, you should have a button that you can click to browse for an alternate folder to which you want the game installed. Install to any folder you like, as long as it's outside of the "Programs Files (x86)" or "Program Files" folders...

Happy gaming!

I have also found when installing games for my kids to use, sometimes turning off the UAC & install , then turn it back on after install helps, also set shortcut to always "run as administrator" sometimes helps too.