Topic: Half Life

[Pwilsonscott]

Hello.
I am trying to play half life on my system which is running windows xp. The game says windows 95/98 required.
I have installed the game, but when i try to play it, i am asked to put the CD into the drive, even though its already there. Is it incompatible with my system ?

[Dack]

Assuming it's an original disc (as there was some nice protection on it that gave a similar message IIRC) then it should run. Just check for updates on the valve website.

I bought Half Life 'generations' [The Half Life and Counterstike pack] for someone a few weeks ago and they are running it under XP with  no problems.

[Pwilsonscott]

Thank-you. It is an original disk. I have tried un-installing and re-installing the game and the same problem occurs.

[Robotochan]

The only thing I can think of is the CD Key window   Had Halflife for 5 years now, had a copy (for a week to try it out) then I bought the original then last Xmas I bout Generations 3, all work fine

[Simon]

Don't know if this might be any help:

Getting older programs to run on Windows XP

Most programs run properly on Windows XP. The exceptions are some older games and other programs that were written specifically for an earlier version of Windows. To run your program on Windows XP, try the following:

Run the Program Compatibility Wizard. As an alternative, you can set the compatibility properties manually.
 
Update your program, drivers, or hardware.
These options are covered in detail below.

The Program Compatibility Wizard

This wizard prompts you to test your program in different modes (environments) and with various settings. For example, if the program was originally designed to run on Windows 95, set the compatibility mode to Windows 95 and try running your program again. If successful, the program will start in that mode each time. The wizard also allows you to try different settings, such as switching the display to 256 colors and the screen resolution to 640 x 480 pixels.

If compatibility problems prevent you from installing a program on Windows XP, run the Program Compatibility Wizard on the setup file for the program. The file may be called Setup.exe or something similar, and is probably located on the Installation disc for the program.


To start the Program Compatibility Wizard, click Start, click Help and Support, click Find compatible hardware and software for Windows XP, and then, under See Also in the navigation pane, click Program Compatibility Wizard.
 
Set the compatibility properties manually

As an alternative to running the Program Compatibility Wizard, you can set the compatibility properties for a program manually. The settings are the same as the options in the Program Compatibility Wizard.

To set the compatibility properties for a program manually:

Right-click the program icon on your desktop or the shortcut on the Start menu for the program you want to run, and then click Properties.
Click the Compatibility tab, and change the compatibility settings for your program.

The Compatibility tab is only available for programs installed on your hard drive. Although you can run the Program Compatibility Wizard on programs or setup files on a CD-ROM or floppy disk, your changes will not remain in effect after you close the program.
 
For more information about an option on the Compatibility tab, right-click the option and then click What's This.
 
Update your program or drivers

If your program does not run correctly after testing it with the Program Compatibility Wizard, check the Web for updates or other fixes, as follows:

Check the Web site of the program's manufacturer to see if an update or patch is available.
 
Check Windows Update to see if a fix is available for the program. Click Home on the menu bar of Help and Support Center, then click Windows Update in the right pane.
 
If the program is a game that uses DirectX, ensure that you are using the latest version of DirectX. In addition, check the Web site of the manufacturer of your video card or sound card to see if newer drivers are available for either of them.


I would advise caution before upgrading to DirectX 9, as I believe some Graphics Cards are not compatible with it, and I'm not sure how that might affect things.