Need help installing games in MS-DOS, not DOSbox

[Timothy Chamberlin]

I downloaded Pool of Radiance and unzipped the file to get the poolrad folder. I'm running MS-DOS from Windows 98. I saved the folder to the C Drive and tried to start the game by typing pool.bat from MS-DOS but can't get it to work.

Here's what I typed in DOS:

C:\WINDOWS>cd \poolrad
C:\poolrad>pool.bat

And this is what displays next ...

File creation error
Please insert overlay disk.

That's as far as I can get. Can anyone help?

[The Fifth Horseman]

I think I can guess what's happening. Do you have a file named pool.cfg in the game's directory?
If not, get it from the attached file, put it in the game directory and run the game using START.EXE .

[Smiling Spectre]

Actually, _without_ cfg it works better - in that aspect that starting the game allows you to select all game parameters. But I am not totally sure that you can start game with pool.bat then.

[Timothy Chamberlin]

Still no luck trying to get it to work. I have the pool.cfg in the game directory and get the same error message when entering start.exe.

[Smiling Spectre]

1. I am wrong, _this_ goldbox installation seems haven't tuning procedure in START.EXE. :( Ok, then you need this POOL.CFG really. But POOL.BAT creates it for you anyway.
2. Your error is not CFG-related. In that case you would get "Insert startup disk" error. "Overlay" error relate to file GAME.OVR. Do you have it?
3. But for "cannot create file" it seems not game-related but system-related error. Can you possibly have some file-protecting in place? "Read-only" flags? Antiviruses? Something? If it was Windows Vista and up, I would suspect directory placement, as system disc (that is usually C) is protected from "extra" files/dirs by default, but for Win98 it must be not the issue...

[Timothy Chamberlin]

I do have the GAME.OVR in the directory. I just downloaded Curse of the Azure Bonds and it started without error. I guess there is something in the POOLRAD folder that's different than what is in the CURSE folder, but not sure what. I'm still stumped.

[Smiling Spectre]

Just in case - try to re-download file and then unpack it somewhere else? Best is not on C, but at least in the C:\Games\Poolrad? Because it seems for me as some weird filesystem error...

Oh, do disc checking too? :) chkdsk c: or something?

[Japo]

Have you downloaded the game from here?

Have you tried my script?
I've included in the archive for Pool of radiance a script to create the .cfg file each time no matter where the game was mounted.