Question The Ant Bully.exe "Your operating system does not meet the minimum requiremnts to run this application

[MolecularFae]

I have recently gotten the Ant Bully for my Windows 11 computer. Everything was going well at first. I began the installation process of disk 1, and as the program needed disk 2, I entered the path directory of where the pre-installed disk 2 was located to complete the process. I was then informed on the games window screen that I had to install protection drivers, so I did, which required me to reboot my computer (where I select yes to restart now).

I logged in, saw the game shortcut icon was already now on my desktop, double-clicked it, and the games menu windows popped up. The first option in the list was Play Game, so I clicked on that, and got this message saying, "Your operating system does not meet the minimum requirements to run this application." I clicked on Run Diagnostic, an option which the game gives, to figure out why my system does not meet the requirements.

It ran a diagnostic scan and came back with an error report of "Error 3002," and then pointed me to a link of errors and explaining them; however, my error of 3002 was not included. While continuing to read the link, I saw it does include down at the bottom an option for if your error is not provided. It was a url link of something called SF FrontLine Drivers FAQ. I clicked on it and it took me to a login page of a website called StarForce.

After browsing the website, I could not find an option to register, so I went back to the login screen to see if i missed something. I saw a button option for technical support, on the right top edge corner of the website. I clicked on it and it redirected me to a different page of the website where a contact forum for technical support was provided to fill out instead. I clicked on this option button called SFhelper. Thatt redirected me to another page about this programmer of SFhelper.

Apparently it's a program that helps navigate the cause as to why the application with Starforce-related components will not work. I ran the installation, ant bully.exe, in my programs files of my computer and it came back with the same error that my system does not meet the requirements to play the game.

I don't know what to do to get my game to run on Windows 11x64. I don't know why the program said Windows 10 when I'm a windows 11, but anyway, if anyone can help on how I can run this game from its old protection drivers on a Windows 11x64 computer, it would be very helpful and much appreciated

(Mod edit) Following is advice received from Star Force :

Unfortunately, this application uses very old protection version 4.00.010.004 and will not run under Windows 10 x64.

You can read about support of Windows 10 x64 here: http://www.star-force.com/support/users/

You should contact your product customer support service and ask them to make a patch, which will either update protection system version or remove protection at all.
Unfortunately, StarForce company can't build such a patch since we neither have legal authority to produce any patches nor original application files required for that.

Please, accept our apologies for the inconveniences.

If after installation of the protected application there is a message about incompatibility of the protection system driver after OS start up then in order to solve it you can uninstall StarForce driver.

But note that if the protected application requires the StarForce driver, this driver will be reinstalled as soon as you launch the application again.

The following procedure will ensure that all StarForce related components are completely removed from your system.

1. Download the SFREMOVE tool as a ZIP archive: http://www.star-force.com/support/sfdrvrem.zip
2. Extract and store sfdrvrem.exe anywhere on your hard disk.
3. Run sfdrvrem.exe.

[Mod edit: added paragraph breaks for readability.]

 

[Kaamos_Llama]

Seems the game is too old to run on Windows 10, unfortunately that means its too old to work on Windows 11 as well.

Hopefully you get lucky and find a work around from someone, I dont know anything about it though sorry.

 

[Brian Boru]

Seems the game is too old to run on Windows 10

Looks like it's the StarForce DRM which is the problem rather than the game. @MolecularFae Try running the game under Windows XP in Compatibility Mode, but that almost definitely won't work.

If there's a fix for a game, this site below usually has it—but they say it won't work on recent Windows versions.

The Ant Bully - PCGamingWiki PCGW - bugs, fixes, crashes, mods, guides and improvements for every PC game

www.pcgamingwiki.com

 

[Colif]

"Your operating system does not meet the minimum requirements to run this application."

A game from 2006 (approx) has no idea what windows 11 is. Its too old. So it would say that. It probably lacks any way to actually see what you do have.

Appears its more trouble than its worth:

StarForce

StarForce was a digital rights management technology widely used in CD-ROM PC games in the mid-2000s, now seldom used in the west, it was developed by StarForce Technologies, a Russian software developer with headquarters in Moscow. The main reason behind StarForce's controversy and hate is the...

crumgames.fandom.com

You should contact your product customer support service and ask them to make a patch, which will either update protection system version or remove protection at all.
Unfortunately, StarForce company can't build such a patch since we neither have legal authority to produce any patches nor original application files required for that.

Please, accept our apologies for the inconveniences.

So they are saying the games company needs to fix it. That is totally not going to happen for a game from 2006.

That is their advice for almost every version of windows, either use the zip file or get game maker to patch their game. It all depends which version of protection is used.

You may not be able to play it. Not on Windows 10/11 anyway.

Its amazing its on sale still. I see it on Amazon but its an XP game. I realise people will sell anything but its a trap.
I used to work at a 2nd hand store and they had games almost as old as this.
software gets outdated. So do peoples knowledge of what will work. They keep trying to sell anything... why even accept it? need to have some sense of what is current...

The Ant Bully - Play Game Online

Got shrunk and step inside the ant hill in this video game adaptation of the film of the same name. Play the role of Lucas in The Ant Bully!

arcadespot.com

can play it online? its the game boy version. Easier to find the Nintendo versions.

Another answer is set up a virtual machine and install an older copy of windows on it, and then install game on it.
Do you have any older versions of windows?

 

[Colif]

I doubt the game will be fixed given it was made by Midway and they stopped existing themselves in 2010

The Ant Bully (video game) - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

its developer still exists but have to be realistic, i doubt they still support a game under their previous name that they stopped using in 2010.

Behaviour Interactive - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[MolecularFae]

A game from 2006 (approx) has no idea what windows 11 is. Its too old. So it would say that. It probably lacks any way to actually see what you do have.

Appears its more trouble than its worth:

StarForce

StarForce was a digital rights management technology widely used in CD-ROM PC games in the mid-2000s, now seldom used in the west, it was developed by StarForce Technologies, a Russian software developer with headquarters in Moscow. The main reason behind StarForce's controversy and hate is the...

crumgames.fandom.com

So they are saying the games company needs to fix it. That is totally not going to happen for a game from 2006.

That is their advice for almost every version of windows, either use the zip file or get game maker to patch their game. It all depends which version of protection is used.

You may not be able to play it. Not on Windows 10/11 anyway.

Its amazing its on sale still. I see it on Amazon but its an XP game. I realise people will sell anything but its a trap.
I used to work at a 2nd hand store and they had games almost as old as this.
software gets outdated. So do peoples knowledge of what will work. They keep trying to sell anything... why even accept it? need to have some sense of what is current...

The Ant Bully - Play Game Online

Got shrunk and step inside the ant hill in this video game adaptation of the film of the same name. Play the role of Lucas in The Ant Bully!

arcadespot.com

can play it online? its the game boy version. Easier to find the Nintendo versions.

Another answer is set up a virtual machine and install an older copy of windows on it, and then install game on it.
Do you have any older versions of windows?

do you know where i can find instructions on how to set up a virutal machine and do you know where i can find a digital copy of windows xp?

 

[Ex_Bubblehead]

do you know where i can find instructions on how to set up a virutal machine and do you know where i can find a digital copy of windows xp?

Seeing as Windows XP was discontinued many years ago you will not find a legally downloadable copy anywhere on the net. The copyright still belongs to Microsoft.

 

[MolecularFae]

Seeing as Windows XP was discontinued many years ago you will not find a legally downloadable copy anywhere on the net. The copyright still belongs to Microsoft.

would microsoft give me one if i contacted them?

 

[COLGeek]

would microsoft give me one if i contacted them?

No.

 

[MolecularFae]

No.

but i dont understand they always help me of making sure i have a installation media of windows 10 or windows 11?

 

[COLGeek]

XP has been obsolete and unsupported for many years. They will not give to you.

You might find on eBay, but you need more than the installation media. You also need a legit product key.

A word of caution, there are tons of sites that say they can provide to you. Often with malware.

 

[Brian Boru]

Haven't read anything here:

The Ant Bully (Windows)

Remember The Ant Bully (Windows), an old video game from 2006? Download it and play again on MyAbandonware.

www.myabandonware.com

 

[Colif]

but i dont understand they always help me of making sure i have a installation media of windows 10 or windows 11?

Windows 10 & 11 installers are the free part, the licence is what costs money. SO microsoft happily provide that.

I doubt he needs XP, its a game from 2006. Windows 7 would do, still need to have a copy and license though. Not sure if you can still buy Windows 7?

His version of the DRM should work in windows 7. it just might need an update:

3.07.018 – 5.0
It will work under Windows 7 after driver update.

In case of having difficulties with application launching, you should update driver using SFUPDATE utility or get a patch from an application publisher to make a version of protection system higher.

News

Windows 7 support

www.star-force.com

Why do you need to play this game?

I suspect the drm is probably in the download versions, Brian

do you know where i can find instructions on how to set up a virtual machine

How to install win 7 on a vm

 

[MolecularFae]

Haven't read anything here:

The Ant Bully (Windows)

Remember The Ant Bully (Windows), an old video game from 2006? Download it and play again on MyAbandonware.

www.myabandonware.com

but doesnt your site not condone piracy?

 

[MolecularFae]

t

Windows 10 & 11 installers are the free part, the licence is what costs money. SO microsoft happily provide that.

I doubt he needs XP, its a game from 2006. Windows 7 would do, still need to have a copy and license though. Not sure if you can still buy Windows 7?

His version of the DRM should work in windows 7. it just might need an update:

News

Windows 7 support

www.star-force.com

Why do you need to play this game?

I suspect the drm is probably in the download versions, Brian



How to install win 7 on a vm

thats great! windows 7 would be more plasuable to

only what do you mean update?

also its a game i used to play as a kid but lost and got so excited when i found it on ebay

 

[MolecularFae]

Windows 10 & 11 installers are the free part, the licence is what costs money. SO microsoft happily provide that.

I doubt he needs XP, its a game from 2006. Windows 7 would do, still need to have a copy and license though. Not sure if you can still buy Windows 7?

His version of the DRM should work in windows 7. it just might need an update:

News

Windows 7 support

www.star-force.com

Why do you need to play this game?

I suspect the drm is probably in the download versions, Brian



How to install win 7 on a vm

do you also have somewhere i can follow step by step instructions on how to set up a virtual machine?

 

[Colif]

only what do you mean update?

3.07.018 – 5.0
It will work under Windows 7 after driver update.

In case of having difficulties with application launching, you should update driver using SFUPDATE utility or get a patch from an application publisher to make a version of protection system higher.

the sentence above is from star force. The patch isn't going to happen.

do you also have somewhere i can follow step by step instructions on how to set up a virtual machine?

did you click on the last link of my post? that shows step by step... well, most of the steps.
weird, not sure how i broke the link in that post
How to install win 7 on VM

below are instructions a friend made for me to set up mine. it might be a little different now. Its also mostly for win 10. I don't know what differences would be.

Spoiler

This is going to seem long and complicated, but it's really not. Just follow the steps and if you have any questions let me know. For now, I'll just provide instructions for the VM setup and installing Windows.

How to install Win10 or Win11 in a VM:

1. Download VirtualBox and install it.
2. At top, click on the Machine menu and choose New.
3. For the Name, type in Win11 (or Win10) depending on which you are installing.
4. Leave the Machine Folder alone.
5. Leave Type alone.
6. Change Version to Win 10 (64-bit). This is very important for both Win10 or Win11. (Yes, set it for Win 10 even when installing Win 11).
7. Memory size is how much the VM will have access to. For a simple VM, 4G is plenty (4096 MB).
8. Leave Create a virtual hard disk now checked.
9. Click the Create button at bottom.

The Create Virtual Hard Disk dialog will pop up.

1. Choose the File Location. I usually stick mine on the HDD (Example: E:\VMs\Win11.vdi) to save space on my SSD. But I do have my main one on my SSD to make it faster. Either way is fine.
2. Leave the Hard disk file type on VDI.
3. Set the File size to 32-ish GB.
4. Change the Storage on a physical hard disk to Fixed size.

Let me explain your options:

Dynamically allocated will make the disk (it's just a single file) be allocated as more is needed, it grows bigger. The issue with this is, it grows ONLY. It does not SHRINK when you delete files from your VM. And it can keep growing and growing. I highly recommend just setting a Fixed size and keeping that. Windows will take up anywhere between 10 to 20 GB. That will leave you 10 GB of space which is plenty for a bunch of software. You won't be installing huge games in here (they won't work anyway).

When ready, click the Create button at the bottom. If you chose the Fixed size as I recommend, it will take several minutes to create that huge ass file (it creates it all at once).

Congrats, your VM has been created. Now change a few settings and prepare for Windows install. Place your Windows ISO in your documents folder or anywhere. Click on your VM on the left of VirtualBox and click on the Settings button on the top/right. You can change alot of the settings that we've already been over including RAM allocation and **** like that.

Optional: Go to System / Processor (tab) and change the Processor's to 4 or so.

Optional: Go to System / Processor (tab) and change the Execution Cap to about 95%. This is how much of your CPU is allocated to the VM (but really Windows will ignore if it at's 100% anyway and still allow your desktop processing time).

Now the important part. Go to the Storage tab. This is the drives for the VM. You will see your virtual hard drive listed there that you've already created. And you will see an Empty slot. At the top/right of that list, you'll see a little circle with a + sign on it, and a square with a + sign on it. This is how you add new CD drives and new Hard drives. Right click on the Empty drive and remove it. Click on Controller: SATA. Click on the Circle+ icon to add your Win .ISO to the drives. The Optical Disk Selector dialog shows up. Add your Windows .ISO to the list, select it in the list, click Choose at the bottom. You'll now see that your VM has 2 drives, the blank hard drive, and the Windows .ISO.

Next go to the Network section. If you are install Win 10, leave it as is. If you are installing Win 11 and do not want to sign in with a MSA, then uncheck Adapter 1 / Enable Network Adapter. You can turn on Networking AFTER Win 11 is installed. But will need it off to skip the Networking setup page of Win 11 setup.

I can explain how to share files with "Shared Folders" later. Ask me about that when you're ready.

Click OK to close out the Settings dialog. You're almost ready to install.

Select your VM listed on the left and right click it. Choose Create Shortcut on Desktop. While you can run the VMs from the VirtualBox window itself, I hardly ever load it. It's just not needed. You can use your shortcut. You can right click the shortcut and Pin to Start if you want then delete from the Desktop if you want.

Now close VirtualBox out and run the VM. You're ready to install Windows. If you are installing Win 11, when it gets to the Networking page, it won't let you skip it until you give your MSA login ****. If you have networking turned off as I said above, then press Alt-F4 on that screen and it will bypass it and allow you to create a local account.

Important: Your VM currently only has access to the virtual hard drive that you created, and the ISO that you are installing. It does not have access to your main hard drive. You can't overwrite your main hard drive or screw it up. This scared the **** out of me when I first started. I thought I would overwrite my main hard drive. But, it doesn't have access to it, so you are OK! Also, remember the virtual hard drive you created is like 30 GB. When installing Windows, you'll see that 30 GB sized drive. That should make you feel a little better knowing you are installing to the correct place.

Important: Once you have Windows up and running, you will want to do 2 things immediately:
#1. Remove the Windows .ISO from the VM so you're not asked to boot from the ISO each time you start the VM. To do this, click on the Devices menu at the top and go to Optical Drives and uncheck the Windows .ISO file.
#2. Install the VirtualBox drivers into that Windows. This will help you to change the video resolution and provide access to things like shared folders (later on). To do this, click on the Devices menu and choose Insert Guest Additions CD image. You should now see a new drive in the VM's Windows Explorer called Virtualbox Guest Additions. Open it (if needed) and run the VBoxWindowsAdditions setup (I think the 64 bit one). It will install some drivers and ask you to reboot the VM. Go ahead and reboot it. Once back into Windows, go to the Device menu and uncheck it (VirtualBox Guest Additions) from the Optical Drives menu if it's listed there.

Now Windows is fully installed and ready to go. If you installed Win 11, you can turn Networking on from the Devices menu. Important Tip: This lets you turn Networking off also, any time you want! Don't get too crazy with the Devices menu yet.

 

[MolecularFae]

3.07.018 – 5.0
It will work under Windows 7 after driver update.

In case of having difficulties with application launching, you should update driver using SFUPDATE utility or get a patch from an application publisher to make a version of protection system higher.

the sentence above is from star force. The patch isn't going to happen.




did you click on the last link of my post? that shows step by step... well, most of the steps.
weird, not sure how i broke the link in that post
How to install win 7 on VM

below are instructions a friend made for me to set up mine. it might be a little different now. Its also mostly for win 10. I don't know what differences would be.

Spoiler

This is going to seem long and complicated, but it's really not. Just follow the steps and if you have any questions let me know. For now, I'll just provide instructions for the VM setup and installing Windows.

How to install Win10 or Win11 in a VM:

1. Download VirtualBox and install it.
2. At top, click on the Machine menu and choose New.
3. For the Name, type in Win11 (or Win10) depending on which you are installing.
4. Leave the Machine Folder alone.
5. Leave Type alone.
6. Change Version to Win 10 (64-bit). This is very important for both Win10 or Win11. (Yes, set it for Win 10 even when installing Win 11).
7. Memory size is how much the VM will have access to. For a simple VM, 4G is plenty (4096 MB).
8. Leave Create a virtual hard disk now checked.
9. Click the Create button at bottom.

The Create Virtual Hard Disk dialog will pop up.

1. Choose the File Location. I usually stick mine on the HDD (Example: E:\VMs\Win11.vdi) to save space on my SSD. But I do have my main one on my SSD to make it faster. Either way is fine.
2. Leave the Hard disk file type on VDI.
3. Set the File size to 32-ish GB.
4. Change the Storage on a physical hard disk to Fixed size.

Let me explain your options:

Dynamically allocated will make the disk (it's just a single file) be allocated as more is needed, it grows bigger. The issue with this is, it grows ONLY. It does not SHRINK when you delete files from your VM. And it can keep growing and growing. I highly recommend just setting a Fixed size and keeping that. Windows will take up anywhere between 10 to 20 GB. That will leave you 10 GB of space which is plenty for a bunch of software. You won't be installing huge games in here (they won't work anyway).

When ready, click the Create button at the bottom. If you chose the Fixed size as I recommend, it will take several minutes to create that huge ass file (it creates it all at once).

Congrats, your VM has been created. Now change a few settings and prepare for Windows install. Place your Windows ISO in your documents folder or anywhere. Click on your VM on the left of VirtualBox and click on the Settings button on the top/right. You can change alot of the settings that we've already been over including RAM allocation and **** like that.

Optional: Go to System / Processor (tab) and change the Processor's to 4 or so.

Optional: Go to System / Processor (tab) and change the Execution Cap to about 95%. This is how much of your CPU is allocated to the VM (but really Windows will ignore if it at's 100% anyway and still allow your desktop processing time).

Now the important part. Go to the Storage tab. This is the drives for the VM. You will see your virtual hard drive listed there that you've already created. And you will see an Empty slot. At the top/right of that list, you'll see a little circle with a + sign on it, and a square with a + sign on it. This is how you add new CD drives and new Hard drives. Right click on the Empty drive and remove it. Click on Controller: SATA. Click on the Circle+ icon to add your Win .ISO to the drives. The Optical Disk Selector dialog shows up. Add your Windows .ISO to the list, select it in the list, click Choose at the bottom. You'll now see that your VM has 2 drives, the blank hard drive, and the Windows .ISO.

Next go to the Network section. If you are install Win 10, leave it as is. If you are installing Win 11 and do not want to sign in with a MSA, then uncheck Adapter 1 / Enable Network Adapter. You can turn on Networking AFTER Win 11 is installed. But will need it off to skip the Networking setup page of Win 11 setup.

I can explain how to share files with "Shared Folders" later. Ask me about that when you're ready.

Click OK to close out the Settings dialog. You're almost ready to install.

Select your VM listed on the left and right click it. Choose Create Shortcut on Desktop. While you can run the VMs from the VirtualBox window itself, I hardly ever load it. It's just not needed. You can use your shortcut. You can right click the shortcut and Pin to Start if you want then delete from the Desktop if you want.

Now close VirtualBox out and run the VM. You're ready to install Windows. If you are installing Win 11, when it gets to the Networking page, it won't let you skip it until you give your MSA login ****. If you have networking turned off as I said above, then press Alt-F4 on that screen and it will bypass it and allow you to create a local account.

Important: Your VM currently only has access to the virtual hard drive that you created, and the ISO that you are installing. It does not have access to your main hard drive. You can't overwrite your main hard drive or screw it up. This scared the **** out of me when I first started. I thought I would overwrite my main hard drive. But, it doesn't have access to it, so you are OK! Also, remember the virtual hard drive you created is like 30 GB. When installing Windows, you'll see that 30 GB sized drive. That should make you feel a little better knowing you are installing to the correct place.

Important: Once you have Windows up and running, you will want to do 2 things immediately:
#1. Remove the Windows .ISO from the VM so you're not asked to boot from the ISO each time you start the VM. To do this, click on the Devices menu at the top and go to Optical Drives and uncheck the Windows .ISO file.
#2. Install the VirtualBox drivers into that Windows. This will help you to change the video resolution and provide access to things like shared folders (later on). To do this, click on the Devices menu and choose Insert Guest Additions CD image. You should now see a new drive in the VM's Windows Explorer called Virtualbox Guest Additions. Open it (if needed) and run the VBoxWindowsAdditions setup (I think the 64 bit one). It will install some drivers and ask you to reboot the VM. Go ahead and reboot it. Once back into Windows, go to the Device menu and uncheck it (VirtualBox Guest Additions) from the Optical Drives menu if it's listed there.

Now Windows is fully installed and ready to go. If you installed Win 11, you can turn Networking on from the Devices menu. Important Tip: This lets you turn Networking off also, any time you want! Don't get too crazy with the Devices menu yet.

In case of having difficulties with application launching, you should update driver using SFUPDATE utility or get a patch from an application publisher to make a version of protection system higher.

this part was you coping what starforce said correct?

 

[MolecularFae]

Windows 10 & 11 installers are the free part, the licence is what costs money. SO microsoft happily provide that.

I doubt he needs XP, its a game from 2006. Windows 7 would do, still need to have a copy and license though. Not sure if you can still buy Windows 7?

His version of the DRM should work in windows 7. it just might need an update:

News

Windows 7 support

www.star-force.com

Why do you need to play this game?

I suspect the drm is probably in the download versions, Brian



How to install win 7 on a vm

im confuse the instructions part of your spolier are talking about how to install windows 10 or 11?

 

[MolecularFae]

Windows 10 & 11 installers are the free part, the licence is what costs money. SO microsoft happily provide that.

I doubt he needs XP, its a game from 2006. Windows 7 would do, still need to have a copy and license though. Not sure if you can still buy Windows 7?

His version of the DRM should work in windows 7. it just might need an update:

News

Windows 7 support

www.star-force.com

Why do you need to play this game?

I suspect the drm is probably in the download versions, Brian



How to install win 7 on a vm

i assume thou i can still follow the spolier instructions but just do it of windows 7? if you wouldnt mine thou readding the instructions but with windows 7 id really appreicate it i just want to do this correctly and im not very smart

 

[MolecularFae]

3.07.018 – 5.0
It will work under Windows 7 after driver update.

In case of having difficulties with application launching, you should update driver using SFUPDATE utility or get a patch from an application publisher to make a version of protection system higher.

the sentence above is from star force. The patch isn't going to happen.




did you click on the last link of my post? that shows step by step... well, most of the steps.
weird, not sure how i broke the link in that post
How to install win 7 on VM

below are instructions a friend made for me to set up mine. it might be a little different now. Its also mostly for win 10. I don't know what differences would be.

Spoiler

This is going to seem long and complicated, but it's really not. Just follow the steps and if you have any questions let me know. For now, I'll just provide instructions for the VM setup and installing Windows.

How to install Win10 or Win11 in a VM:

1. Download VirtualBox and install it.
2. At top, click on the Machine menu and choose New.
3. For the Name, type in Win11 (or Win10) depending on which you are installing.
4. Leave the Machine Folder alone.
5. Leave Type alone.
6. Change Version to Win 10 (64-bit). This is very important for both Win10 or Win11. (Yes, set it for Win 10 even when installing Win 11).
7. Memory size is how much the VM will have access to. For a simple VM, 4G is plenty (4096 MB).
8. Leave Create a virtual hard disk now checked.
9. Click the Create button at bottom.

The Create Virtual Hard Disk dialog will pop up.

1. Choose the File Location. I usually stick mine on the HDD (Example: E:\VMs\Win11.vdi) to save space on my SSD. But I do have my main one on my SSD to make it faster. Either way is fine.
2. Leave the Hard disk file type on VDI.
3. Set the File size to 32-ish GB.
4. Change the Storage on a physical hard disk to Fixed size.

Let me explain your options:

Dynamically allocated will make the disk (it's just a single file) be allocated as more is needed, it grows bigger. The issue with this is, it grows ONLY. It does not SHRINK when you delete files from your VM. And it can keep growing and growing. I highly recommend just setting a Fixed size and keeping that. Windows will take up anywhere between 10 to 20 GB. That will leave you 10 GB of space which is plenty for a bunch of software. You won't be installing huge games in here (they won't work anyway).

When ready, click the Create button at the bottom. If you chose the Fixed size as I recommend, it will take several minutes to create that huge ass file (it creates it all at once).

Congrats, your VM has been created. Now change a few settings and prepare for Windows install. Place your Windows ISO in your documents folder or anywhere. Click on your VM on the left of VirtualBox and click on the Settings button on the top/right. You can change alot of the settings that we've already been over including RAM allocation and **** like that.

Optional: Go to System / Processor (tab) and change the Processor's to 4 or so.

Optional: Go to System / Processor (tab) and change the Execution Cap to about 95%. This is how much of your CPU is allocated to the VM (but really Windows will ignore if it at's 100% anyway and still allow your desktop processing time).

Now the important part. Go to the Storage tab. This is the drives for the VM. You will see your virtual hard drive listed there that you've already created. And you will see an Empty slot. At the top/right of that list, you'll see a little circle with a + sign on it, and a square with a + sign on it. This is how you add new CD drives and new Hard drives. Right click on the Empty drive and remove it. Click on Controller: SATA. Click on the Circle+ icon to add your Win .ISO to the drives. The Optical Disk Selector dialog shows up. Add your Windows .ISO to the list, select it in the list, click Choose at the bottom. You'll now see that your VM has 2 drives, the blank hard drive, and the Windows .ISO.

Next go to the Network section. If you are install Win 10, leave it as is. If you are installing Win 11 and do not want to sign in with a MSA, then uncheck Adapter 1 / Enable Network Adapter. You can turn on Networking AFTER Win 11 is installed. But will need it off to skip the Networking setup page of Win 11 setup.

I can explain how to share files with "Shared Folders" later. Ask me about that when you're ready.

Click OK to close out the Settings dialog. You're almost ready to install.

Select your VM listed on the left and right click it. Choose Create Shortcut on Desktop. While you can run the VMs from the VirtualBox window itself, I hardly ever load it. It's just not needed. You can use your shortcut. You can right click the shortcut and Pin to Start if you want then delete from the Desktop if you want.

Now close VirtualBox out and run the VM. You're ready to install Windows. If you are installing Win 11, when it gets to the Networking page, it won't let you skip it until you give your MSA login ****. If you have networking turned off as I said above, then press Alt-F4 on that screen and it will bypass it and allow you to create a local account.

Important: Your VM currently only has access to the virtual hard drive that you created, and the ISO that you are installing. It does not have access to your main hard drive. You can't overwrite your main hard drive or screw it up. This scared the **** out of me when I first started. I thought I would overwrite my main hard drive. But, it doesn't have access to it, so you are OK! Also, remember the virtual hard drive you created is like 30 GB. When installing Windows, you'll see that 30 GB sized drive. That should make you feel a little better knowing you are installing to the correct place.

Important: Once you have Windows up and running, you will want to do 2 things immediately:
#1. Remove the Windows .ISO from the VM so you're not asked to boot from the ISO each time you start the VM. To do this, click on the Devices menu at the top and go to Optical Drives and uncheck the Windows .ISO file.
#2. Install the VirtualBox drivers into that Windows. This will help you to change the video resolution and provide access to things like shared folders (later on). To do this, click on the Devices menu and choose Insert Guest Additions CD image. You should now see a new drive in the VM's Windows Explorer called Virtualbox Guest Additions. Open it (if needed) and run the VBoxWindowsAdditions setup (I think the 64 bit one). It will install some drivers and ask you to reboot the VM. Go ahead and reboot it. Once back into Windows, go to the Device menu and uncheck it (VirtualBox Guest Additions) from the Optical Drives menu if it's listed there.

Now Windows is fully installed and ready to go. If you installed Win 11, you can turn Networking on from the Devices menu. Important Tip: This lets you turn Networking off also, any time you want! Don't get too crazy with the Devices menu yet.

it also doesnt say where i can get a windows 7 iso file

or am i able to just ask microsoft for one?

 

[Ex_Bubblehead]

it also doesnt say where i can get a windows 7 iso file

or am i able to just ask microsoft for one?

Again, a no longer supported OS that has been withdrawn from distribution. Any downloads you find on the net are very likely to be infested with malware if it's even installable. Microsoft won't even talk to you about obsolete products other than to tell you to upgrade to the latest available OS.

 

[MolecularFae]

Again, a no longer supported OS that has been withdrawn from distribution. Any downloads you find on the net are very likely to be infested with malware if it's even installable. Microsoft won't even talk to you about obsolete products other than to tell you to upgrade to the latest available OS.

oh well then isnt this basically impossible unless any of you can think of where i can get a non malware version of windows 7

 

[MolecularFae]

Again, a no longer supported OS that has been withdrawn from distribution. Any downloads you find on the net are very likely to be infested with malware if it's even installable. Microsoft won't even talk to you about obsolete products other than to tell you to upgrade to the latest available OS.

i dont mind buying one from ebay or amazon but would it include the product key? because someone implied that it may not

 

[MolecularFae]

Windows 10 & 11 installers are the free part, the licence is what costs money. SO microsoft happily provide that.

I doubt he needs XP, its a game from 2006. Windows 7 would do, still need to have a copy and license though. Not sure if you can still buy Windows 7?

His version of the DRM should work in windows 7. it just might need an update:

News

Windows 7 support

www.star-force.com

Why do you need to play this game?

I suspect the drm is probably in the download versions, Brian



How to install win 7 on a vm

i dont mind buying one of windows 7 from ebay or amazon but would it include the product key? because someone implied that it may not