Unable to Install off Disk 1 TRS2019

Hi Ron,
many thanks for your reply.
the only difference to my previous attempts is turning anti virus off for the copy.
I'll give a try.
Regards Frank

Tried Ron's suggestion.
Still the same goes as far as copying payload data and sits there doing nothing.
I am going round in circles getting nowhere. I had better stop before they start getting smaller and I disappear.
Frank

Hi Zec,
I have tried another reply to my ticket.
Please let me know if it arrived.
Frank

Hi Frankpw
Unfortunately no replies have been received. Are you replying via email, or through the website? If view email, then please try replying via the helpdesk website ( http://support.trainzportal.com/ ).

Hi Zec,
I have replied 4 times to your link.
at present I have a game that will not install and I am getting very frustrated.
If you read all my posts in this thread you will see the problem.
Frank

Had same problems installing from disk. Have now opted for download version.

I should not have to pay twice for the game.
Frank

Hi Frankpw
I have tested the helpdesk reply system with your account and it is working correctly. Note our system will automatically mark tickets as closed when they have not received a reply for a period of time, and as such you may need to click on 'view resolved tickets' at the top of the list to see your ticket.

Unfortunately most of your replies in this thread do not provide the information that was requested in the helpdesk ticket.

In regards to the digital download, you will automatically receive access to the digital download when you register your serial number.

Once you have registered the serial number, you will be able to access the download by following these steps:1. Copy and paste this url into your browser http://www.auran.com/planetauran/login.php
2. Log in using your MyTrainz username (same as your Trainz Store username)
3. Click on the 'Download TRS19' link on the left hand menu
4. Click on one of the available links to begin the download

Check and respond to tickets here: https://www.auran.com/planetauran/com_mailbox.php
Enter Serial number from boxed copy here: https://www.auran.com/planetauran/SN_Enter_Serialnumber.php

Need to login for both.

Thanks Malc.
Frank

Don't mean to bump this, but my copy finally arrived today, so going to try installing it. I will report my installation experience as an update to this post (aka, edited to add details on).

UPDATE:
This was done on Windows 7 with anti-virus protection enabled in the background. Ran into no problems. My log of events is below.

GAME:
Started installation from disk 1, it started out reading the configuration between disk and hard drive, then prompted for update-1.bin
Installed successful from disk one, prompted for disk 2 for update-2.bin, data copy done successfully and installed TRS19 with no problems.
Core files for TRS19 was completed successfully.

CONTENT:
Installed from disk 2 EU and NA content editions no problems encountered
Installed from disk 3 Cornish Mainline - no problems
Content from disk 4 was successful, again no problems

OVERALL:
I ran into no problems with installing the core game + content files.

Cheers

An update from our end. We've sent successfully tested disks (i.e. works fine on two machines here not including the burn machine) to a user having problems, and they still had problems.

For some sort of percentage analysis, less than 3% of people who we have sent disks to have reported an issue with the disks (but of course given the nature of forums, only the people who have problems make the posts, so it appears differently in a thread like this).

After further discussions with our DVD provider they indicate that all DVD/CD players are not equal, and reading perfectly formatted DVD 9 disks can be a problem on readers that can read DVD 5s perfectly. This is especially true when the disks are full or nearly full (as ours are) as the edges cause the most problems.

The suggested solution is to take the disks to a friend, computer store, specialist DVD > USB converter to copy the data to a USB, or to contact helpdesk and they will arrange for you to download the game from MyTrainz.

Tony_Hilliam said:

After further discussions with our DVD provider they indicate that all DVD/CD players are not equal, and reading perfectly formatted DVD 9 disks can be a problem on readers that can read DVD 5s perfectly.

Click to expand...

Surely now is the time to switch to SDHC or SDXC for distribution.

Not everyone can install from SD cards and I suspect they would cost more than USBs. We priced USBs and they were double the DVD cost. It's probably time to say "sorry, we do not provide shipping". We actually make a [fairly significant] loss on each unit sold already and I doubt that charging an extra $20 would go down well.

I wonder if there is a business opportunity for some photo store or electronics retailer to promote a download > USB service. (They probably already exist).

Tony_Hilliam said:

I wonder if there is a business opportunity for some photo store or electronics retailer to promote a download > USB service. (They probably already exist).

Click to expand...

Sadly, that seems to be the way things are going digital.

... disc arrived last week ... i was compiling a new game-pc, so today i tried to install from dvd = not successful ...

- os: windows 10 build 1903
- cd-rom: new: dvdwriter hl-dt-st bd-re BP55EB40 USB Device (external blue-ray)
- cd-rom: old: dvdwriter optiarc dvd rw AD7260-S (internal standard dvd reader/writer)
- specs: more then "recommended" = Gigabyte Z390 AORUS PRO + Intel Core i7 8700K - 3,7Ghz + Corsair Vengeance 16GB(2666Mhz) + NVIDIA GTX 1660 Ti 6GB
- space: Samsung 970 EVO Plus 1000gig (M.2) = systempart + gamepart (700 gig space) & Samsung SSD 860 EVO = userdata (1 terra space)
- anti-virus + security progs (eset): turned off
- copied to desktop - installed from there as an admin ...
- installed in preferred location (p:\games\trainz\trs19 07) ...
- at "reading configuration" it stops with "not responding" ...
- tried it again and again ...
- it didn't either work on my previous pc ...

note:
- installation guide says: ".. to run Trainz A New Era .." -- ".. and the TANE SP2 Launcher will automatically start .."
- (i have no problem with those typos ...)
- trainz product key: ... i didn't find a product key and/or serial number inside the cover of the box, nor on the discs ..
- (but i have already a digital download ...)

md5 check:
- F:\UK Content Disk 1\sc484s.tzarc -> beb5c2c8289af25c4025833e36b36915 = matched ..
- F:\UK Content Disk 1\sc484f.tzarc -> 6ad044c2304f1800b58440cea29f13a8 = matched ..
- is it useful to do an md5 check on the main disc 1 ?

conclusion:
- i did install trs19, tane and tmr17 on my new pc with "my trainz" (digital)= successful
- apparently it is time indeed for digital downloads (as i do it already for several years ... payware & freeware ...)
- no more discs for me anymore ...
- i couldn't submit a ticket on the helpdesk with the troubleshooter in the 1st place:
--- i followed the next steps: -> t:ane & trs19 -> installing trs19 -> win pc -> box edition -> and then 3 choices, leading to knowledge base ..
--- i changed my steps: -> t:ane & trs19 -> other issues -> log in + submit support ticket ...

- what about the price i transfered for the shipped boxed version?
... well, for me: it's the price for this experience ... if i have to send it back it costs me (and/or n3v ..) again shipping costs
... and for trainzstore/n3vgames: see it as a donation for more/better research ...
... with the wishing hope: we all get better in this world ...


--- update ---
zec via helpdesk:
" ... installer will need to unpack into the windows temp folders ..."

after copying the 2 maindiscs directly into the tempfolder of windows the install succeeded totally in less then 5 minutes (!!):
- 1 route = kickstarter county 2
- 2 "routes" = content samples #1 + trs19 main menu route)

installing from disc (2):
- errors: invalid username/password specified (not done deliberately for offline, clean version...)
- european edition gives me 2 routes = sebino lake, italy by jango and niddertalbahn by trainzmultiplayer (built-in ..)
- north america edition gives me 1 more route = canadian rocky mountains - golden, bc by roystrainz ... with 4 sessions by auran with missing deps, although content manager / list dependencies gives me no missings ... (solution: fill in internet data ..)
- uk content disc 1 gives sc484 = cornish mainline (not ininteresting ..)
- uk content disc 2 gives sc490 = ecml dundee (not ininteresting ..)

... now i have a "clean" installation offline, with which i can create basic dioramas / layouts with "base" and "built-in" assets ...
... and 1857 "installed, payware (not active)" ... including assets for example by jango, pendolino, robertoconti19 (sebino lake), roystrainz (canadian rocky mountains), wearsprada (content samples) ...
... after filling in username + password, at trainz settings / internet and a restart, the "(not active)" disappeared ... but appeared again when i cleared the internet data ... without internet data the game won't start anyway .......
... i still have a clean, compact installation ... and the choice of installing more or not ... i only have to close the "asset download" window at the start of trainz ...
... so, let's rock and have fun ...

grtz
daveric

Tony_Hilliam said:

Not everyone can install from SD cards and I suspect they would cost more than USBs.

Click to expand...

You have just proved that not everyone can install from CD. The last two machines I purchased did not have CD drives.
If your costing shows SD as more expensive then you probably haven't factored in the postage, or that SD are reusable. Customers might pay more for something they can use after they have copied off what they need.
CD issues are going to get worse - SD compatibility will get better.

I suspect your current return rate is an underestimate, considering how many people bought the CD as a safety backup, and haven't yet checked that it works OK with their system.

Download to USB can usually be done at the local library, for the cost of the USB.

This discussion has illustrated the point that storage and distribution technology is forever changing and the rate of change is accelerating. No one solution is going to work for everyone and certainly not for long. Without boring everyone with a history lesson, I have seen it all from cassette tapes to magnetic disks (in an incredible range of sizes, formats and capacities) to optical discs (ditto) to solid state devices and now cloud storage and online distribution (technologies that I would not have thought practical until a few years ago). The periods of transition between these technologies have always been troublesome for both distributors and consumers.

The days of users relying on removable backups, particularly for large volume software packages which are starting to out grow the capacity of the media, are numbered IMHO. Backup storage is only practical while the hardware is viable and available. I recently came across a stack of 3.5" floppy disk backups that I made and put away years ago - back then 1.4MB was considered more than enough capacity. None of my current computers have a 3.5" FDD and only 1 of the 3 has a CDD. Someone will no doubt tell me that you can still buy them (somewhere) but why bother? FDs and CDs are old and limited technology and eventually, like all mechanical systems, they will fail usually when you will need it the most.

The solution? Keep up with the times - easier said than done particularly for those on limited budgets.

My opinions only.

Tony_Hilliam said:

how many people bought the CD as a safety backup
>>

For a backup of TRS19, it's far quicker and easier (and more reliable) to simply copy your install folder to an external drive (i.e. install the digital version, and keep a copy of the install folder).

Then once we release an update, keep a copy of your updated version.

Probably it is far more important for most people to keep a backup of their local data folder as that is the one that we can't help you with at all.

Click to expand...

Well said and I've done the same.

I've always said, coming from the IT world, that programs are easily reinstalled, but user data is not without a reliable backup.