# Guitar Hero III and XP x64



## devguy (Dec 21, 2007)

Thank you Aspyr for trying to keep us XP x64 users from playing your game.  Why you would do that I don't know (laziness? hate? confusion?).  Well, here is a little tutorial for those of us with XP x64 who want to play guitar hero but have been screwed by Aspyr.

1) Take your Guitar Hero III PC disk and dump the contents of it to a folder on your hdd.
2) Install Orca 3.1 which is an MSI editor.
3) Open Orca and open the Guitar Hero III.msi file.
4) Navigate in the left side to "Launch Conditions" and click it once - you should see some stuff in the right pane.
5) Edit the part under condition so that it only says "(Not Version9X=400) And (Not Version9X=410) And (Not Version9X=490)" which only lets you not install it on Windows 9x (it will now work on xp x64 and 2003 and probably even 2000).
6) Save
7) Install Guitar Hero III using the files you dumped into a directory without the disk in the drive.
8) Once it is done installing, just put the disk back into the drive and double click the launch icon.

*Note, the Guitar Hero III patch again destroys your option of playing on xp x64 so don't install that*

For those of you who want even faster load times, you can rip your DVD to an image file and using Daemon Tools 4.06HE (yes it has to be this version and yes it can be the x64 version) mount the image of your disk using that with all emulation options enabled.  Also, you'll need to download YASU.exe and put it into the directory that has the Daemon tools executable (program files (x86)/daemon tools/...) and then open that up.  Click cloak and then minimize it.  You should then be able to play the game without having to have the disk in your drive as well as having faster load times (hurray for being able to reduce the chances of getting scratches on our game disk).

Anyways, thanks Aspyr for locking out paying customers for absolutely no reason whatsoever!!


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## rebbeskid (Mar 19, 2008)

hey im not that great when it comes to computer softwear i got everything you posted i just cant figure out how to install the game from the directory and not the cd
thanks


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## 3870x2 (Mar 19, 2008)

WOO! FOUR STARS!!
Is guitar hero worth it at all? i like the songs in it, and i think that rock band is a pretty good game.


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## xvi (Jun 2, 2008)

I've edited the .msi file slightly differently, but got it to install. I'm having trouble with the driver now. Getting a "This device cannot start." error.

Thanks for writing a guide though!

Edit: It was a flaky USB port.


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## psyko12 (Jun 2, 2008)

Well your fix is not just for GHeroes III it applies to all installers (*.msi) that wouldn't want to install to XP x64 even though compatibility mode is turned on... Good tut and has pics too 

Did the same thing with Vampire Bloodlines to install on my system.


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## psyko12 (Jun 2, 2008)

rebbeskid said:


> hey im not that great when it comes to computer softwear i got everything you posted i just cant figure out how to install the game from the directory and not the cd
> thanks



After you've edited it just run the msi file to install, basically all the files that are needed are copied on your hdd where you've edited the msi...


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## 20031059 (Jun 17, 2008)

i did everything you said step by step,
installation worked well but when i want to start the game it allwas said that i entered wrong cd/dvd
tried everything but i don´t get it to work
what can i do ?


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## Ongaku (Jun 18, 2008)

throw that away, get a real guitar, and learn to play that....


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## caelum (Dec 25, 2008)

Thanks a lot for the instructions. I once had to go through the same process for something else but had forgotten the exact things. Anyway, it's ridiculous how software companies are making life harder for those of us who want more RAM and other benefits but don't want to use vista.

After installing, however, I was greeted by another problem. The controller works fine when navigating the menus, but in-game (or when calibrating the controller through the options menu) the fret buttons and the strum control cease to operate. More specifically The green and blue frets seem to be constantly pressed down and pressing the orange fret causes red to be activated. Strumming doesn't function at all. I've got the latest drivers for the controller and I've inserted it into the USB-port when the PC was turned off. Any ideas for how to overcome this?

EDIT: Never mind, I just now found the right drivers from Mircrosoft. Works fine. Cheers and merry Christmas or whatever you happen to celebrate.


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## Exavier (Dec 25, 2008)

see, it works just fine on vista x64...so it can't be a x64 problem..
why the incompatibility then?


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## FordGT90Concept (Dec 25, 2008)

devguy said:


> 5) Edit the part under condition so that it only says "(Not Version9X=400) And (Not Version9X=410) And (Not Version9X=490)" which only lets you not install it on Windows 9x (it will now work on xp x64 and 2003 and probably even 2000).


500 = Windows 2000 
510 = Windows XP
520 = Windows XP x64/Server 2003
600 = Windows Vista/Server 2008

2000 is not excluded so it will install.  Not sure if it will run though.


According to the system requirements, it *will not* work on Windows 2000.  I therefore recommend placing 500 back on that list.



The incompatibility is the installer blacklisting the operating system.  That basically means the installer will say no, you can't install it but that doesn't necessarily mean it won't work.  XIII and Beyond Good & Evil was the same way.


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## Exavier (Dec 25, 2008)

OH right I see now


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## AlexanderOhman (Jan 10, 2009)

have the same problem asyou caelum.
Wich driver did you download and from were did you downloaded it?
Can you maybe give me i link or something.


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## 3870x2 (Jan 10, 2009)

that sucks, because the patch is a pretty big deal.
also, it says there is no support for XP x64 at all, if you would read b4 you bought the game:
http://www.aspyr.com/product/game_specs/85
but the fact that you got it to work is awesome.
I always read the back b4 i buy the game because of DRM and such.
I think the reason why the dont support x64 at all is because the built in plug and play drivers for the guitar are for 32 bit, being that it is the exact same guitar used on 360.  Are you using the guitar?


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## AlexanderOhman (Jan 10, 2009)

Yes i'm using the guitarr. But if caelum did make it work, then should i work for me som how :S


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## devguy (Jan 10, 2009)

The driver for the guitar was plug and play for me with XP x64.  I've not tried it with Server2008 x64 yet (don't even have the guitar anymore), but I can imagine it would be fine.  I even got the same guitar working fine on my Dell Laptop running Ubuntu 7.10 Gutsy with Frets on Fire way back when!


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## 3870x2 (Jan 10, 2009)

i bet it would work too, but they didnt feel like supporting it.  According ot the ESRB, world tour will be released on the PC sometime.  I plan to get it.


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## AlexanderOhman (Jan 10, 2009)

Ok, I'm gonna search fort other xbox drivers or something.


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## kenkickr (Jan 10, 2009)

I'm waiting for World Tour as well so that is why I'm not going to play it yet with my friend upstairs..I want to be spoiled when I get it.


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