Windows 7 Beta 64-bit Access Denied Solved

[alvin777]

Hi. I'm running GTA IV [For Sale in Asia Only version, original. Bought in the Philippines. Everything is in english though, Games for Windows, mapfront/Lola back poster, nice booklets in it, minimal packaging, minimal price of about US$ 26 equivalent] on a:

 

7900 GS, Core 2 Duo 1.8Ghz, 2GB, internet connection, half a day of time consumed through after midnight (sometimes there are no shortcuts and had to accept some things will take time), and a lot of prayers with positive thinking which helped a lot:). The boxed ones are always better coz' of the extras included, resale, art the and convenience when things are trial and error.

 

You may need to search using your favorite search engine and forums on this site for other solutions not found in this post

 

[For beginners, knowledge on the essential of Windows and internet searching a must] After installing Windows 7 Beta 64-bit 7000 build (if it won't install, try only having one drive if you have more than one) which is better than Vista 64-bit (but I still prefer OS X with its F10 feature and overall look and design), I logged on as administrator, UAC turned on to be sure I don't get access denied. I installed the latest updates for Windows 7 using Internet Explorer 8 64-bit which I feel is better than other versions of IE. I have run this game on Vista 32-bit before. The Windows 7 was a fresh install but I only use Windows mostly for games and for other utilities for Windows, OS X is still preferred for productivity.

 

It may only have to do with Windows Live which seems to install something about C++ or .Net but If you're having the access denied error when you get to the last part of installation which is back to disk 1 I tried this: before installing it again, I uninstalled all the things it installed first to be sure, then opened the DVD not by double clicking but right click opening then right clicking on the GTALauncher app. I set the compatibility to Windows XP SP2 (some use Windows 2000), checked the box that says Runs as administrator then saved that. Go through all the .exe applications to be sure that you can find in the DVD which is not that many where you make Windows 7 remember that each one should be Run as administrator through the properties to be sure that you won't get access denied- no need to apply the compatibility for the them it's just for the GTALauncher.

 

In short and in effect I reminded Windows 7 that it'll run all the application (all to be sure) of the installer to run as administrator thus the check box on the Run administrator property for each one.

 

When I successfully installed it, I did not run anything yet. I downloaded the official patch 1 for this game which can be found in popular download sites because it wasn't in Rockstar's patch download page. I installed that, rebooted to be sure, then downloaded from Nvidia the latest Vista 64-bit driver for the 7900 GS, installed that then rebooted. Because I wanted to check how it will run natively as much as possible on this Windows, I went to the actual application of the Social Club icon shortcut using right click then find file location. I removed the compatibility for Windows XP. I run it with all the online registration, downloads required to play it which it time consuming and you think about those whose connections are always failing or those who just want to play and save it without an internet connection but like Wow (no time for it, was less than level 10 last time I played). it's understandably the best way for making people buy the original which isn't that expensive in my case. I used the auto-configure for the graphics. It's playable enough, almost 2 days of none stop fun testing it. I wished I had disabled the menu keys between the Control and Alt keys through Windows before hand (I will be looking online on how to go about looking it when I play it again)- it interferred with the game when it was accidentally pressed for the 'cover' button and caused the lighting and the sky textures to disappear (the sky was black)

 

The performance is the same for Vista but I will be 64-bit proof just in case some DLC will significantly optimize it.

 

Thanks for looking.

 

God bless,

Alvin

 

Thanks to the others including Rockstar for other fixes. Things I experimented for hours before successfully installing this: turn off and off UAC, more than one reinstalls, not install Vista 64-bit driver, not install patch to see if Windows 7 alone can handle its problems, try with either Windows 2000 or XP compatibility, tried without compatibility

 

 

[i very rarely buy games (no current next gen consoles either), usually I play the official game demos most of the time. The last two PC games I bought were MDK boxed then Longest Journey Dreamfall package (stress free favorite game by far with great story but I haven't finished them yet) bought from Steam and some iPhone apps including games.

 

The reason I bought GTA IV is because I was more into the story, the better graphics it could bring, the hopefully free DLC- being hopeful on new gameplays in the future, the means to walk or drive around the open world environment admiring the hardwork that went into it. So far because I have only experimented around and haven't really done even the first mission yet: the scooter which is the most instant fun so far, funny futuristic commercial products. I wasn't much into the: violence as mostly the only means, enormity of the city (if you find the underground subway entrance which I forgot where you get to the other parts of Liberty quickly even without a single mission completed but I wasn't able to come out on the street. It did seem to go on forever) and the too much cussings in the dialogues both on the characters and NPCs that it looses its impact on the experience, would have traded the enormity of the environment, violence as mostly the only means and the amount of vehicles for: better AI, more varied NPC behaviors, more varied interaction with objects, other means of talking to NPCs besides pushing them or just being in their faces, more dialogues from NPCs, more stations, realistic graphics as real as Crysis since it has the same hardware requirements, smaller city of the developer's own design (the buildings all look the same. The included map helps but distinguishable buildings are much convenient to finding where to go), major things you can ride on like the rollercoaster (understandably the jumbo jet is off limits until real world political situations are at peace but then terrorists have also used the worse means for violence, more worse than planes- themselves and also vans, motorcyles, boats, cellphones and cars. What is there expectedly players must be able to use, interact or get into) more tall distinguishing landmarks to help you find more where you have to go and lastly the small but very important which is good for all apps that go fullscreen is auto disabling of the two menu keys between the Control and Alt keys.

 

I understand if this was released for the holidays and seems to have been limited to behave like the PS3 and Xbox 360 but it's not that bad since solutions are always available anyway and it can be patched. Since it's a game and not an application for productivity or is critical to work I would have traded a not so optimized version like this one for an early means to play it rather than wait too long for an optimized one. Even at low graphics, it's still equivalent to hours or a full day of play. Some areas in daylight do look real too anyway. But I will not play the missions yet until has the second optimized patch which means in the mean time, I could finish the other games and still just free roam on this build of GTA IV for awhile and do some work as well as some studies. When it is delivered, the cut scenes and the richness (not rich enough, it does have many of the same or similar things) open world can be experienced better. The clamor of a second optimized patch is great so I'm hopefully the wait won't be that long. It'll be a blessing in disguise as well, there could be a new free DLC gameplay or better exclusive to the PC to make up for this.]