Please help install Civ4 on Aspire 1

[absolutFANatic]

I'm trying to install civ4 complete onto my aspire1 notebook (no disc drive)...

How can i copy the installation to a storage device (external drive or a "stick"), to then be able to transfer it to the acer?

When i tried a stick, i get the message that it isn't authurized to do so... when i installed it to the external drive, then tried to play off that installation... it was horribly corrupted

I'll end the way i started...

Please HELP

PS
This is a purchased disc (with receipt) for my PC... shouldn't i be able to put it on my laptop?

 

[GVBN]

Create disc images, transfer and mount. Civ4 might be too much for Aspire One though

 

[absolutFANatic]

Unable to understand (talking to a computer illiterate) Could you help with a "walkthru"? It would be much appreciated

Oh, and it claims it has "min. system req.s"

EDIT; In researching, i find the need for an ISO creation tool (is this what you're referring to?). If this is what i need... any recommendations? Howto.com refers to MagicISO and PowerISO... what about infrarecorder 0.44.1?

Am i on the right track?

 

[LucyDuke]

You're on the right track.

Because you don't have a CD drive, and Civ needs to be in a CD drive to play, you are going to need a virtual drive. An ISO is an image of the CD. You "mount" that ISO file to your virtual drive.

You are going to need to make the ISO, obviously, on a computer with a CD drive. You can transfer that ISO with a USB stick, or over your network, to your notebook's hard drive. Then you use the software to mount that file. Your computer will think it has a CD drive with that CD in it, and you can install as usual from there.

Here is software to create the ISO on your computer with a CD drive, and to mount the ISO on your notebook. You'll need to install it on both computers.

http://www.daemon-tools.cc/eng/downloads

The "lite" version is free.

You know, of course, that it's illegal to make copies this way. If you own the CD and you're only using the one copy, I think it falls under fair use. I'm not a lawyer.

 

[Zelig]

You know, of course, that it's illegal to make copies this way.

Only in the USA.

You can also share a cd drive over a home network and install the game from that.

 

[absolutFANatic]

So... from what i gather, i download the ISO thing and install it onto my PC. Then i install the disc and "copy" it to the ISO? if this is correct... i then "copy" the ISO thing onto a "stick", and then "copy" from that to the aspire's hard drive

As previously stated, I have the receipt... so i believe i can make as many copies as i wish, as long as they're all for my personal use. Then again, i'm no lawyer either lol

Not trying to profit in any way... just want it on 2 computers to play multi-player games with my nephew (who resides in the same household)

 

[absolutFANatic]

Only in the USA.

You can also share a cd drive over a home network and install the game from that.

Oh... this sounds so much easier. both computers run the internet thru the same router, so i can probably set that up a lot easier/quicker?

 

[LucyDuke]

Daemon tools will let you make an ISO file from the CD. You install the software, then use the software to make the ISO file. You move the ISO file to a different computer. You install the software on that computer, then use the software to mount the ISO file to a virtual drive. Then, you install Civ from the virtual CD.

I would make a virtual drive instead of using a networked drive, because then you can play the game even if you're not at home.

I'm sure your intentions are honest, I just wanted to cover my own ass with respect to CFC's anti-piracy policy.

 

[LucyDuke]

Step by step:

download and install daemon tools lite on your cd-drive computer
put the cd in your actual cd drive
run daemon tools
in daemon tools, make an ISO from the cd

copy the ISO to the notebook
download and install daemon tools on the notebook
run daemon tools
use daemon tools to mount the ISO to a virtual drive

now your computer thinks it has a cd drive with the Civ disc in it
install Civ from the virtual disc the same way you would install it from the physical disc

 

[absolutFANatic]

You keep losing me with "virtual drive".

Will Deamon or whoever walk me thru how it all works?

 

[absolutFANatic]

When you say "make an ISO from the CD", i don't get it... am i right to believe that deamon tool will ask "what would you like to do" (or something) and i select the make an ISO, option?

 

[absolutFANatic]

Step by step:

download and install daemon tools lite on your cd-drive computer
put the cd in your actual cd drive
run daemon tools (wouldn't run from desktop shortcut, but window in lower right gives me options... one of which is "disc imaging" so that's what i clicked)in daemon tools, make an ISO from the cd (seemed to work)

copy the ISO to the notebook (when i try to "copy" deamon tools images to "stick", i get ""error copying file or folder"" headlined w/ cannot create or replace daemon tools images: access is denied. Make sure the disk is not full or write-protected (i'm thinking this is the hitch) and that the file is not currently in use)
download and install daemon tools on the notebook
run daemon tools
use daemon tools to mount the ISO to a virtual drive

now your computer thinks it has a cd drive with the Civ disc in it
install Civ from the virtual disc the same way you would install it from the physical disc

Did i need to select the "virtual devices" option and then "add SCSI virtual drive", instead of the disc imaging option (to copy the disc)... as i thought the "add virtual drive" option is what i used from the laptop

 

[absolutFANatic]

What if...

Seeings how you don't actually need the CD to play the game once it's installed... would it work to connect both computers to a network just to get it installed on to the laptop? Then we could play via the internet when we're not both at home?

I don't know... i'm beginning to think it would be much more cost effective to just buy the D2D version for the laptop (read colonization support forum for more insight into my headaches trying to get this accomplished)

 

[LucyDuke]

I'm not sure off-hand, and I don't have the software handy right now. When you copy the file, you want to do it through Windows Explorer, and copy just the file with the .iso extension. You could try closing the daemon tools software so that the file is not in use before you copy the file, but I can't tell exactly what the problem is.

There may be a copy-protection (which is different from write-protection) issue, too. If that's the case, I'm pretty sure we can't discuss circumventing that here.

If you haven't figured it for yourself out or if nobody else has jumped in in the next day or so, I'll try going through those steps myself to see what you might be running into.

You do need to have the CD in the drive to play.

 

[GVBN]

No, the latest BTS patch removes the disc check

 

[absolutFANatic]

I truly appreciate all your effort thus far. Anything further would be a blessing...

I played at least 8+ hours of colonization on my think-pad this weekend, without the disc. Trust me, shocked me as well.

Unless you're talking on-line?

 

[absolutFANatic]

No, the latest BTS patch removes the disc check

OK, i'll bite.

Huh?

 

[Mise]

Yeah, my suggestion would be to share the CD drive over the network, and install it like that. You probably just need to right click the CD drive in Windows Explorer and enable sharing, then go to your laptop, find the shared drive on the network, and install it over the network.

 

[Padma]

As previously stated, I have the receipt... so i believe i can make as many copies as i wish, as long as they're all for my personal use. Then again, i'm no lawyer either lol

Not trying to profit in any way... just want it on 2 computers to play multi-player games with my nephew (who resides in the same household)

I don't want to close this thread, but I feel I must point out that, according to the EULA, you must have purchased a separate copy of the game for each machine you install it on (unless you remove it from one before installing on another).

I don't have a copy of the EULA handy, but that is what it used to say, at least. If someone can prove me wrong, I'm more than happy to withdraw that statement.

 

[LucyDuke]

No CD? Seriously? Nice.

Considering the EULA, I think your best bet is probably to get the D2D version for your laptop, and use the CD on your nephew's computer.