Myst III Exile - Windows 10 - Installs But Won't Run | Forums

[kevinuplaynow11]

Just in case someone was curious about this information:

The antivirus software/firewall that I used during this install/to play Myst III: Exile is the Windows 10 built in security program: 'Windows Defender'.

The graphics card I use is a GeForce GTX 770 (using the latest driver version: 388.43) and my processor is an Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-2700K CPU @ 3.50 GHz.


-Kevin

[Dabih63]

I tried all the above mentioned steps but would not work for me. I thought maybe because I had manually installed on D drive rather than the usual C drive path so I wasn't sure if the patch had installed in the correct place. I tried to uninstall to start again but now I cannot uninstall the game either. Can't see an uninstall option in the game files, launch play screen and couldn't uninstall from windows uninstall because it says something is missing.

Any idea's?

[Heimdall_G]

Welcome to the Forums!

In general,
-- a. Install Exile to your C: drive.
----- 1. If you have a very small C: that's reserved for system files only, install Exile to D:.
----- 2. Do NOT install the game to an external drive, either USB or E-SATA.
-- b. Start Exile from a fresh boot.
----- 1. Reboot, log into Windows with full Administrator privileges, and close all open applications. (Open the Control Panel, and select User Accounts. Your User Name should show Administrators under Group.)
----- 2. Disable all anti-virus/spyware/adware/pop-up programs running in the background.
----- 3. If you have only a software firewall (ZoneAlarm, for example), do NOT disable it!
----- 4. Do NOT run any other programs before starting Exile.
-- c. Do NOT boot up with a CD or DVD in any drive.
-- d. If the Exile disc autostarts when you insert it into the drive, cancel back to the Desktop.
-- e. Start the game using the Exile icon on the Desktop, NOT the menu item on the Exile disc.

Try the following:
-- a. Reinstall Exile to your D: drive.
----- 1. Reboot after installation is complete.
-- b. Using the Add or Remove Programs utility, uninstall Exile from your D: drive.
----- 1. Reboot after uninstallation is complete.
-- c. Install Exile to your C: drive.
-- d. Install the patch, then reboot..
-- e. Start Exile from a fresh boot as detailed under In general, above.

[Dabih63]

To eranDov: YOUR POST HELPED ME IMMENSELY IN GETTING THIS GAME TO WORK ON MY COMPUTER AGAIN. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR ADVICE: I CAN NOW ENJOY THIS WONDERFUL GAME AGAIN BECAUSE OF YOU. MY SINCEREST THANKS.

I have been trying to get Myst III: Exile to work on my Windows 10 computer after encountering a seemingly unending series of errors for over a year and a half now. Today marks the day where everything works flawlessly! My thanks to this entire thread, and especially eranDov, for helping me solve all of my issues in getting this game to run. My only wish now is to help all others who may be on the path of trying to get this game to run effectively. To help, I would like to share the steps I took to get my game running smoothly:


*Note: I am running Windows 10 on a PC using DirectX 12. I have the original 4 CDs for the game, so I think this goes without saying, but I'll say it anyway: I'm not sure that these steps will work for those who do not have the CDs or are not running Windows 10 on a PC with DirectX 12. My condolences to you lot.


1. Search on your computer for any file or patch relating to Myst III: Exile that you may have previously installed and delete it off of your computer. Delete it from the Recycle Bin too. Now, using the 4 Original CDs (Starting with #1, of course), perform a full installation of the game. I have not tried making this game work using the 'Typical Installation' option, so for the purposes of recreating my method, go with the Full Installation. The only thing you need to make sure of is at the end to check the 'Create Desktop Shortcut' box.

2. Once installed, go to this glorious website (http://www.residualvm.org/downloads/) to download the hard-to-find-and-especially-a-version-of-it-that-doesn't-kill-your-computer Original Patch v1.22 (English CD) (6.5M) for Myst III: Exile. It should be a little down the page under the Myst III: Exile section of this website. Once this file has been downloaded, run it so that it can install the necessary files for the patch. During the installation, I encountered an error message that informed me that one of the files of this patch was 'Read-Only' when it shouldn't have been. I had the option of allowing the installer to look for the correct non-read-only version of the file again by hitting 'Retry'. I did this and the installer finished doing its business with no issues. Don't worry if this happens to you.

3. Once you have done both of these things, right click on the Desktop Shortcut that was created and choose the 'Run as administrator' option from the right-click context menu. This should launch the Myst III: Exile menu where it allows you to play the game among other functions. What follows is an important part in making this game run the way you want it. When you click the 'Play' option from the Myst III: Exile menu, hold the CONTROL button on your keyboard. This tells the game to check what type of graphics you would like to run for this game. When this menu appears, make sure the 'DirectX' checkbox is checked, NOT the 'Software' option. You also have an option to bypass the Myst III: Exile menu every time you choose to play the game (which I chose to check because I had encountered previous problems in getting to the actual game through this menu. You may choose to check this as well).

4. Making sure CD #1 is inserted into whatever CD drive you use on your computer, you can now play the game flawlessly!


AND VOILA! There you have a proven method of gaining a working version of Myst III: Exile on your Windows 10 PC with DirectX 12! I sincerely hope this helps anyone in desperate need of playing this game. May luck be with you, and happy problem solving when you start playing!


-Kevin

Managed to uninstall the game and reinstalled using Kevin's instructions. Now working fine. However, I would really like to play without the CD drive as I have an external CD drive so it's a bit of a pain. Did anyone find a No CD patch that doesn't have a virus?

Also, I had to install the game on my C drive and I would really prefer to have the game on my D drive but when I installed in on D drive something when seriously wrong when I downloaded the patch. I wonder if anyone can help with this. My problem is I don't really know wlhat I am doing when it comes to installing things on the D drive.

My computer has a dual drive so C drive is an SSD 128 GB and D drive is a 1 TB HD. As the SSD drive is so small I only really want essential system stuff on there. I was advised to download and install stuff on D drive by choosing "save as" then go to D drive and download folder. However, i then don't know where to put the patch. When i direct it to the download folder it doesn't appear to install.

[TheBlade996]

The problem you're encountering is because, for Windows Vista, 7, 8, and 8.1, a security update from Microsoft in 2015 de-activated a copyright protection method called SafeDisc, which Myst Exile needs to start. Since it was just de-activated, it is possible to re-activate it again for these versions. This might not work on Windows 10, however, where SafeDisc has apparently been completely removed?

If you're interested, there's the following great article on the site "How-To Geek" which gives more details:
howtogeek.com/230773/HOW-TO-PLAY-PC-GAMES-THAT-REQUIRE-SAFEDISC-OR-SECUROM-DRM-ON-WINDOWS-10-8.1-8-7-AND-VISTA/

Rather than using NoCD patches or ResidualVM or a utility called unSafeDIsc, any of which might contain viruses or other malware, How-to Geek gives a link to a Microsoft Support webpage which shows simple instructions to re-activate SafeDisc by yourself directly in the Command Prompt of Windows.

Here are the steps I followed to re-activate SafeDisc in Windows 7 (**NOTE: The How-to-Geek article is missing ESSENTIAL Steps 3 and 8 below**):

1) Open the Start menu, search for or type “Command", right-click the Command Prompt shortcut ("Invite de Commandes" in French) , and select Run as Administrator.

2) Make sure the Command Prompt shows C:\Windows\system32>. If not, repeat step 1 as Administrator.

3) Type: sc config secdrv start= demand

(don't forget the space after the "=" sign)

You should see a message that the ChangeServiceConfig was successful. For those who have never used a Command Prompt, remember to press Enter after each new command.

**NOTE: You will get an error message at the next step if you don't type this command first**

4) Type: sc start secdrv

You should see a ten line message in table format showing "STATE: 4 RUNNING" on the third line.

5) Close the command Prompt window.

Now try starting Myst Exile from the desktop or start menu shortcuts and it should start normally! I'm now able to play it in Windows 7 without even using Compatibility Mode.

When you're finished, you can do the following to deactivate SafeDisc:

6) Run Command Prompt as Administrator (same as step 1 above) if not already running.

7) Type: sc stop secdrv

You should see a seven line message in table format showing "STATE: 1 STOPPED" on the third line.

8) Type: sc config secdrv start= disabled

(don't forget the space after the "=" sign)

You should see a message that the ChangeServiceConfig was successful.

NOTE: Microsoft recommends that you deactivate SafeDisc when you no longer require it to be running. According to Microsoft: "This workaround may make a computer or a network more vulnerable to attack by malicious users or by malicious software such as viruses." Nevertheless, I prefer this solution rather than running potentially dangerous patches or other programs with unknown content found on unsecure websites! At least this way, I know what instructions I'm giving my PC. And if it makes it possible to play this fantastic game again, I'm personally prepared to take this lesser risk!

[jasonfarmer5]

You can find a user manual on vztimg. Hope this one help you with your problem. Go2top Mad Max.

[shauns01]

hi have it installed and opens threw the add on, residualVM getting an error. it starts teh game but when press new game i get a crash and error.
ERROR: Unable to open archive TOHOnodes.m3a

Anyone got any ideas, have uninstalled and then reinstalled.
Is my copy of this awesome game no good?

[Heimdall_G]

Welcome to the Forums!

In general,
-- a. Install Exile to your C: drive.
----- 1. If you have a very small C: that's reserved for system files only, install Exile to D:.
----- 2. Do NOT install the game to an external drive, either USB or E-SATA.
-- b. Start Exile from a fresh boot.
----- 1. Reboot, log into Windows with full Administrator privileges, and close all open applications. (Open the Control Panel, and select User Accounts. Your User Name should show Administrators under Group.)
----- 2. Disable all anti-virus/spyware/adware/pop-up programs running in the background.
----- 3. If you have only a software firewall (ZoneAlarm, for example), do NOT disable it!
----- 4. Do NOT run any other programs before starting Exile.
-- c. Do NOT boot up with a CD or DVD in any drive.
-- d. If you have Exile on disc and the disc autostarts when you insert it into the drive, cancel back to the Desktop.
-- e. Always start the game using the Exile icon on the Desktop.

Questions:

a. Is your copy of the game an electronic download, or is it a commercially-avalable disc?
b. If it's an electronic download, from where did you download it?
c. Is your PC a desktop or a laptop?
d. Which Operating System are you running?
e. How much Random Access Memory (RAM) does your PC have?
f. Is your hard drive almost full?
g. What is the exact wording of any errors you get when trying to start other programs?
h. Are you intentionally running ResidualVM, and if so, why?