Coping FFXI to another computer...

[Elfenlied]

Hello everyone,

I'm looking for a way to copy FFXI to another computer of mine. If I try to just copy the files over it thinks FFXI isn't installed.

Anyone know what's wrong?

[cidbahamut]

Re: Coping FFXI to another computer...

That's just copying files, which does nothing to set up the machine to know what to do with those files.

If you want FFXI on another machine you need to install it.

[Armando]

Re: Coping FFXI to another computer...

You need to install it. AFTER you install it, you can copy the PlayOnline folder over tot he new PC so you at least don't have to download the patches.

[Shadowneko]

Re: Coping FFXI to another computer...

Sorry guy but you've run into the classic blunder of how windows works. Every program you install has hooks and Dll files in the windows directory. You'll just have to install it on the other machine and use the macro backup to get those on there.

Now there are ways to copy the config files and things so you don't have to spend time setting it up so much but you'll have to figure that out yourself XD

[Icemage]

Re: Coping FFXI to another computer...

Moved to Game Setup forum.

Just install it to the other PC. You don't need any registration codes to install, just your PlayOnline ID and password to let it log in.


Icemage

[Lunaryn]

Re: Coping FFXI to another computer...

There are actually several guides, forum threads, etc. on how to transfer an install from one computer to another and avoid the hassle of an actual reinstall. They all basically boil down to the following steps:
1) Run regedit, find the PlayOnlineUS key, and export it to a file.
2) Copy the PlayOnline folder from Program Files (or wherever you installed it) to the same location on the other machine
3) Import the exported registry file
4) Run regsvr32 on the program DLLs.

With regard to step 4, most guides say to register all the DLLs in the entire PlayOnline folder tree, but in my experience only a small handful of them actually need to be registered. I think a more detailed list can be found in some of the older guides to setting up FFXI on WINE. It doesn't hurt anything to register DLLs unnecessarily, it just produces an obscure error and nothing otherwise happens. Incidentally, you can also manually 'uninstall' FFXI this way by using regsvr32 /u to unregister DLLs, which is handy if you have an FFXI install on an external HDD you need to move between computers and want to keep your use of FFXI on a particular computer temporary.

Edit: Note that in step 1, one would need to look for the PlayOnline key for JP POL or PlayOnlineEU (I think) for EU POL

Edit 2: I should look up and describe the registry changes necessary to add Register and Unregister context menu targets for DLL files, that's a handy hack for doing stuff like this often.