Thursday, August 9, 2012

Let's Get Battle for Naboo Running on Windows 7

obligatory

Like a number of games I've tried since I switched to Windows 7 64-bit, Battle for Naboo itself runs perfectly on it, but its 16-bit installer doesn't. To get it up and running with only the game's CD-ROM to hand, we need to both create an installation directory for it and add an entry for it to the Windows registry. So let's get started.

1. First we need to go to C:\Program Files [not C:\Program Files (x86)] and create a folder called Battle for Naboo.

2.  Now go to the Battle for Naboo CD-ROM and copy BattleforNaboo.exe from the root directory (D:\) and paste it into C:\Program Files\Battle for Naboo.

3. Next we need to build the rest of the installation directory by copying files from the Install folder on the CD-ROM and pasting them into C:\Program Files\Battle for Naboo. Here's what your finished installation directory is going to look like (folders are bolded):


  • C:\Program Files\Battle for Naboo\
    • BattleforNaboo.exe
    • data_pc\
      • saves\
      • bfn.exe
      • data.bin
      • data.hdr  
    • Install\ 
      • back.wav
      • click.WAV
      • doc.exe
      • launch.bmp
      • LecSetup.dll
      • license.txt
      • messages.tab
      • open.WAV
      • Product.tab
      • readme.rtf
      • readme.txt
      • setup.ini
      • Setup.tab
      • start.WAV
      • syscheck.exe
      • trouble.rtf
      • trouble.txt
      • url.exe
Again, all the files you need are in the Install folder on the Battle for Naboo CD-ROM.

4.
With the game's directory created, we now need to add an entry for the game to the registry. Normally this wouldn't be necessary, but unless the Battle for Naboo launcher detects that the game is installed on your machine, you'll get an "Install" option instead of a "Start Game" one, which is of course totally useless to us.

This is what we need to see.

5. So, open Notepad and paste the following into it:

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\LucasArts Entertainment Company LLC\Battle for Naboo\Retail]
"Analyze Path"="D:\\Install\\SysCheck.exe"
"CD Path"="D:"
"Executable"="C:\\Program Files\\Battle for Naboo\\data_pc\\BFN.exe"
"Install Path"="C:\\Program Files\\Battle for Naboo"
"Launcher"="C:\\Program Files\\Battle for Naboo\\BattleForNaboo.exe"
"Source Dir"="D:\\"
"Source Path"="D:"
"UninstallString"="C:\\WINDOWS\\uninst.exe -f\"C:\\Program Files\\Battle for Naboo\\Install\\DeIsL1.isu\" -c\"C:\\Program Files\\Battle for Naboo\\Install\\LecSetup.dll\""
"InstallType"=dword:00000001
"Installed"=dword:00000002
"Registration"=dword:00000002

6. Save the file as something.reg, making sure to select All Files from the Save as Type drop-down menu before you save it. I've called mine naboo.reg here:


7. Next we need to open the Registry Editor.
  • If you're using the 32-bit version of Windows 7: Go to the Start Menu, type regedit into the search box and hit enter.
  • If you're using the 64-bit version of Windows 7: Go to the Start Menu, type %SystemRoot%\SysWOW64\regedit.exe into the search box and hit enter. Just typing "regedit" here won't work for this. (The 64-bit version of Windows 7 has two different versions of the Registry Editor. Just typing in "regedit" here will only open the 64-bit one. It's the 32-bit version we need to use for this.)
You can check which version of Windows 7 you have by going to Control Panel>System and Security>System. It will be listed as System Type in the window that comes up.


8. Drag and drop your .reg file into the Registry Editor window and that should be it.



9. Launching C:\Program Files\Battle for Naboo\BattleforNaboo.exe show now present you with a "Start Game" option. Hooray! It's probably a good idea to make a shortcut to this now so you don't need to go poking around in Program Files every time you want to play the game.

And we're off. You'll probably need to switch the controls from inverted too. Who on earth thought that was a good default for Mouse and Keyboard?

Well, hopefully that should do the trick. Bear in mind though that I've only tested this out on Windows 7 Service Pack 1. Who knows what will and won't work on Windows 8 and beyond.

40 comments:

Keszthelyi Dani said...

Thx man, you are great!
Its works, but the controlls are unbelivable horrible! :S
Anyway, i enjoxed these 10-15 minutes before i left the game :D
Oh, dont forget this cheap (but funny) midi music in the background!

Thx again! Maxbe this reg stuff can help with the other old games too!

Keszthelyi Dani said...

Almost every star wars fan have a big problem! We cant play with Star Wars racer on PC! :/
I have am original disc, but but the same 16bit oproblem, ia cant install it. And if i try an portable version, the new windows versions cand do anything with this game.
Do you have eny idea, how to fix this?
You can save so many people with this!! :D

JiliK said...

Well, it may not be a very practical solution, but you could probably get it running by installing it on an old version of Windows (like 95 or 98) and then copying the install folder and the relevant registry entries to Windows 7. That's actually what I had to do first in order to figure all this stuff out.

Anonymous said...

I don't have the saves\ folder or the data_pc\ folder in my disc (or for some reason I can't find it) will that be a problem or should I just make one manually and put it in the Program Files/Battle for Naboo folder.

JiliK said...

Yep, neither of those folders are on the disc, so you need to make them manually. You'll find the the three files you need for the data_pc folder (bfn.exe, data.bin, data.hdr)in the Install directory on the disc. Good luck!

Ish said...

I have followed this word for word, and later attempted installing the game on an XP Virtual Machine, and copying all files over to the drive on the host computer. I also copied the registry file and added it to Windows 7 registry, but it fails to recognize that the game is installed. I have double-checked all the file paths and they match up. I also get an error that I need the CD-ROM inserted, even though it is.

JiliK said...

Hey Ish. Is there any chance your optical drive is using a letter other than D? That would definitely cause this to not work.

Anonymous said...

Hey! I am trying to install Star Wars The Gungan Frontier and I am experiencing a similar problem. It requires that Quicktime 3.0 installed, however that version isn't compatible with windows 7. I have read it is possible to use a QuickTime.qts file and a registry key to bypass this. But how?

Link to the site:
http://www.fixya.com/support/t9493383-install_star_wars_episode_1_gungan

JiliK said...

Huh, never even heard of The Gungan Frontier before. I'm downloading the shareware version now. I'll have a poke around with that and I'll see if I can get it running.

JiliK said...

Right, I've just gotten The Gungan Frontier running. All you need to do is to add the key to the registry. That'll fool the game into thinking QuickTime 3.0 is installed and it'll run. Here's what you need to do:

1) Open up Notepad and paste this into it:

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Apple Computer, Inc.\QuickTime\3.0]

2) Save that as something.reg. Make sure you've selected All Files from the Save as Type drop-down menu first though.

3) Go to the Start Menu, type regedit into the search box and hit enter. That will open the Registry Editor.

4) Drag and drop your .reg file into the Registry Editor window.

The game should run now. Bear in mind that you will still need to have a version of QuickTime installed or it will probably crash. The current version (7.7.4) seems to work fine though.

Anonymous said...

I have quicktime 7 installed and I tried doing what you said with regedit. Though it didn't say anything about QuickTime not being installed either.

Anonymous said...

I have quicktime 7 installed and I tried doing what you said with regedit. Though it didn't say anything about QuickTime not being installed, the game wouldn't load.

Anonymous said...

Never mind, it works now. I wasn't the person who asked you about the problem initially, but thank you regardless.

JiliK said...

No problem. :)

MrLaf said...

Can you help me please the game run perfectly but i can't save anything its really annoying im on windos 7x64 thank you

JiliK said...

Hey MrLaf,

I'm not really sure what the problem is there. I'm running it on Windows 7 64-bit too and it saves fine.

It might be worth logging into Windows 7 as an administrator if you're not already. Beat in mind too that the game only saves after you've finished a level.

Anonymous said...

I followed every step and when I go to click BattleforNaboo (to get it started) I get told "LEC setup_getup(g_"Env[DataDir"],&m_pLecSetup)"! Abnormal Termiantion. Hit Retry to dump environment.

I hit retry, nothing happens. What do? Help me techno-wizard.

JiliK said...

Blimey, "techno-wizard" might be taking things a bit far. :D

I don't think I can be of much help here to be honest. If I were to guess, it looks like the game isn't able to locate whatever folder "DataDir" (probably) refers to. All I can really recommend is to check that the folders in the Battle for Naboo directory are all spelled correctly and to make sure that your disc drive is on D and your hard drive is on C (otherwise you'd need to make some changes to the Battle for Naboo registry entry).

Anonymous said...

I have followed the steps exactly and my folder looks exactly like yours does except every time i go to play the game it says "please insert the Battle for Naboo CD-Rom disk into your CD-Rom drive to proceed" or something along those lines, any suggestions?

JiliK said...

Well, that could be happening because your disk drive is using a letter other than D. If so, you'd need to change all the instances of D: in the registry file to match that letter.

If that's not the case, it's more likely the fault of a disk check that some versions of the game seem to be using. When you install the game like this, the DRM it uses to verify the disk never gets installed with it. Without that, the game won't recognise your disk as being valid.

So to get the game running you'll need to bypass that disk check somehow. You might be able to do that by applying a NoCD patch. There are a few out there for Battle for Naboo, but not one for every version by the looks of things.

Unknown said...

helpp i set up th directory perfectly but when i click on BattleForNaboo.exe it still says install and i dont know what to do... i downloaded the iso and mounted it to BD-ROM(F:) with Daemon tools

JiliK said...

Right. Well, if the ISO is mounted as F:\ you'll need to change every instance of D: in the registry entry for the game to F: so that it'll be able to find the disc. If you don't want to go messing with the Registry Editor directly to do that, you can just repeat steps 5-8 above, just make sure to change every D: to F: before you save the file in step 6.

Unknown said...

Nevermind! I think I solved it.

So get this, evidently someone else had the "no thrust/brake" bug too and I had an epiphany last night after trying everything yesterday (registry tweaks, drivers for my inputs, video configurations, etc.). I realized that my monitor was set to a 120hz refresh rate and that the game was actually running in 120hz. Now given this game/engine has had the history of issues that it has I decided to set my refresh rate to 60hz this morning and suddenly I can play! I already got all silver and gold medals between my last post and now :D

If anyone else runs into that bug I hope this comment is helpful. Even if your refresh rate isn't 120hz, make sure it is as low as 60hz to ensure the game runs properly!

JiliK said...

Hey Nicholas.

Glad to hear you got it sorted out. Sorry I couldn't get back to you sooner; internet's been out for most of the last week. Just got it back yesterday.

Gold and silver medals eh? I feel bad now; I haven't even gotten around to beating the first level since I put this up. :D

Rob said...

I followed all of your steps, including changing all of the root directory references in the registry addition from 'D' to 'E', since my RW Drive is 'E'.

When I run the program, it does not show an option to play the game. Is there something else that I could be missing?

I am using Windows 7, 64-bit.

Thanks!

JiliK said...

Hey Rob,

As far as I know, once that file's been added to the registry, even if nothing else works, the "Start Game" option should appear in the launcher.

Is there any chance you added it using the 64-bit version of the Registry Editor? Because it'll only work by adding it using the 32-bit version ( To open that go to the Start Menu, type %SystemRoot%\SysWOW64\regedit.exe into the search box and hit enter.)

Unknown said...

Hi, I'm French so i'm sorry for my possibles mistakes.
My problem is that my game works correctly but when I start a mission, my ship doesn't roll.
However, when I press the Windows key and I return in the game after this, my ship rolls but then stops 30 seconds later.

JiliK said...

Hi Mathieu,

Not really sure what the problem could be there. Is there any chance you're running another program that might be using the roll key for something, like Fraps maybe?

Anonymous said...

Same as Rob - I've followed all the steps, changing the D: to G: (my daemon tools virtual disc) and the game keeps going with "Install". The dragging procedure does nothing for me - no information that I've changed registery or anything like that. It's quite frustrating.

JiliK said...

Yeah, I don't know. Is there any chance you saved the file you're dragging into registry editor as a text file by mistake?

Anonymous said...

Yeah, I'm pretty sure it's a registery file. You can even check it's content.

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\LucasArts Entertainment Company LLC\Battle for Naboo\Retail]
"Analyze Path"="G:\\Install\\SysCheck.exe"
"CD Path"="G:"
"Executable"="C:\\Program Files\\Battle for Naboo\\data_pc\\BFN.exe"
"Install Path"="C:\\Program Files\\Battle for Naboo"
"Launcher"="C:\\Program Files\\Battle for Naboo\\BattleForNaboo.exe"
"Source Dir"="G:\\"
"Source Path"="G:"
"UninstallString"="C:\\WINDOWS\\uninst.exe -f\"C:\\Program Files\\Battle for Naboo\\Install\\DeIsL1.isu\" -c\"C:\\Program Files\\Battle for Naboo\\Install\\LecSetup.dll\""
"InstallType"=dword:00000001
"Installed"=dword:00000002
"Registration"=dword:00000002

The game itself is located in
C:\Program Files\Battle for Naboo
with two folders and exe file. The folders are named and arranged like in the instruction: data_pc with subfolder saves and Install.

JiliK said...

Yep, that all seems to be in order. Providing you definitely dragged that into the 32-bit version of the Registry Editor, it really should work.

Hmm, I suppose it wouldn't be a bad idea to have a look in the registry to make sure the entry for BFN is definitely there and hasn't gotten messed up somehow.

Open up the Registry Editor again (remember, %SystemRoot%\SysWOW64\regedit.exe for 64-bit Win 7, regedit for 32-bit Win 7), then on the left hand side of the window navigate your way to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\LucasArts Entertainment Company LLC.

When you expand the LucasArts Entertainment Company LLC node there should be a Battle for Naboo node and when you expand that there should be a Retail node. When you click on that Retail node you should see a list of registry keys on the right of the window that should correspond to your registry file.

If you get that far, and if it wouldn't be too much trouble, could you take a screencap of the window there so I can take a look at the values of those keys?

Anonymous said...

Guess we've got the culprit. There is no "KEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\LucasArts Entertainment Company LLC" folder. Any solutions for that aside from manually creating folder(s) for that?

Anonymous said...

And by no folder I mean LucasArts Entertainment Company LLC folder

JiliK said...

You definitely could create the registry entry for the game manually, but the registry file should create those folders, as well as setting up all the keys the game uses automatically. And it really should work.

I'll tell you what: I just made a registry file file and put it up here on MediaFire. Try opening the Registry Editor just like you did to check for the folder (make sure it's the 32-bit version). Then drag and drop this file into the Registry Editor window.

If it works, a dialog message will pop up saying: "The keys and values contained in the .reg file have been successfully added to the registry on Computer.". Plus, once you close that dialog message you should see the LucasArts Entertainment Company LLC folder show up in the Registry Editor immediately. Once that folder's there, you should be good to go.

JiliK said...

Gah! Stupid MediaFire. :D After you open the link above, you'll need to click Download on the top right to actually download the file.

Anonymous said...

Sorry for keeping you waiting for so long, it was a long weekend here. And I told you already. The dragging does nothing for me. Nothing happens after I try to drag the reg file anywhere. And installing them into registery does so, but for 64-bit version.

JiliK said...

Well, I guess that means you'll have to create the LucasArts folder manually, I'm afraid. I'm a bit busy at the moment, but I'll do a bit of experimenting on it and get back to you.

JiliK said...

And I'm back! Sorry for the long delay, I got struck down with freaking chickenpox of all things not long after my last post.

So, I've managed to set up the registry entry manually. Just tested it out by running the game and it seems to be doing the trick. It's not exactly simple and there's quite a bit of scope for error, but here's what you need to do:

(Oh, and for anyone else reading this later, replace the instances of G: below with the letter of your own disk drive).

1. Open the 32-bit Registry Editor again and expand the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE folder/key.

2. Right-click on the SOFTWARE folder and create a new Key, call it
LucasArts Entertainment Company LLC.

3. Right click on the LucasArts Entertainment Company LLC folder that you've just named and create another Key called Battle for Naboo.

4. And finally, right-click on the Battle for Naboo folder and create another Key called Retail.

5. Now, right-click on the Retail folder and create a new String Value; call it Analyze Path.

6. Right-click Analyse Path, select Modify and enter G:\Install\SysCheck.exe as the Value data. Click OK.

7. Now you'll need to repeat steps 5 and 6 another seven times to add seven more String Values to Retail as follows:

Name: CD Path Value data: G:\Install\SysCheck.exe
Name: Executable value data: C:\Program Files\Battle for Naboo\data_pc\BFN.exe
Name: Install Path Value data: C:\Program Files\Battle for Naboo
Name: Launcher Value data: C:\Program Files\Battle for Naboo\BattleForNaboo.exe
Name: Source Dir value data: G:\
Name: Source Path value dta: G:
Name: UninstallString value data: C:\WINDOWS\uninst.exe -f"C:\Program Files\Battle for Naboo\Install\DeIsL1.isu" -c"C:\Program Files\Battle for Naboo\Install\LecSetup.dll"

8. Phew! That's not the end yet though. You'll also need to add three D-Word (32-bit) Values to Retail. For each one, right-click on the Retail folder, create a new D-Word (32-bit) Value, then set them up as follows. Again right click on them and select Modify to set their Value data.

Name: Installed Value data: 2
Name: InstallType Value data: 1
Name: Registration Value data: 2

The Base should be Hexadecimal for all three, which it should be by default anyway.

9. Hopefully the game should now register as being installed.

Now, if the Registry Editor won't let you add new keys to it, then you're probably logged into Windows with an account that doesn't have administrator rights, so you'll need to login with an account that does. See here for more info: http://windows.microsoft.com/en-ie/windows7/how-do-i-log-on-as-an-administrator.

JiliK said...

Well, it's been over three weeks so I hoping the last guy managed to sort things out okay, but I'm still going to go ahead and do what I was just about to before he posted in August and close the Battle for Naboo support line down for business. :D

I hope some more people managed to the game up and running thanks to the comments here, but I just don't have the time to troubleshoot everyone's issues individually, whether it's here or by email. Sorry guys.