Laptop: Installing Games (22nd November 2011)

My main worry about a modern machine and operating system is getting Grand Theft Auto 2 multiplayer running. So I downloaded Game Hunter by Sektor because that comes with a cut-down, modernised and compressed package for the game.

(At this point I removed a couple of shortcuts from the already very tidy desktop. Noticed the recycle bin prompt, which I disable in XP. So I went to Recycle Bin Properties and unticked Display delete confirmation dialog. “Ouch, that’s some long jargon,” I thought.)

(While deciding where Game Hunter should download to, I realised Windows Explorer’s sidebar doesn’t track your location in Windows 7. (Stupid!!) So I right-clicked in a blank part of the sidebar and selected Expand to current folder. That ticks a menu item; hopefully it stays ticked.)

(The folder I want is C:\Program Files (x86)\Rockstar Games\GTA2 but that obviously doesn’t exist. So I click New Folder and get a warning message, saying I have to confirm this change. OK. Then I get a User Account Control message asking if I want to let Windows Internet Explorer 9 make changes to the computer! Huh? I click Yes and make a mental note to turn off UAC, as I’ve had to before.)

(Now the folder is created I try to save the file. A window called Save As tells me I don’t have permission and will have to contact and administrator!! I check the User Accounts area and I’m already an Administrator. Huh? There was no obvious solution, only a lousy work-around.)

(After saving the file, IE9 told me gta2gh1536setup.exe is not commonly downloaded and could harm your computer. Huh? Clicking on Actions says either Don’t run this program or Delete program. Huh? There’s an accordion called More Options at the bottom, which doesn’t open like an according but now I have a 3rd option: Run anyway. I click that.)

After several more of these “Huh?” moments I get it running. The laptop screen is clever! It runs the game in a 4:3 letterbox, so no stretching or clipping. Hooray!

  1. Laptop!
  2. Received It!
  3. File Transfers with USB Stick
  4. Full Administrator Account!
  5. Installing Firefox
  6. Installing Games
  7. Reducing Processes
  8. WiFi Gaming
  9. E-mail
  10. Backups, Old & New
  11. Desk Arrangements
  12. Migrating Music
  13. Mobile Phone Archive
  14. Web Developer Setup
  15. Printing
  16. Putting Old PC Out To Pasture
  17. Stopping the Magical Edges
  18. Disk Cleanup
  19. FTPuse Integrates Seamlessly
  20. Laptop Performance