Vicious Circle in Archiving Files?

from GalCiv2 Forums
Hey All,

So I got a brand new spanking computer! Wohoo! Anyway I thought I would transfer this wonderful game to that computer. So I went onto Stardock and selected 'Archive Files'. It made 4 .sdc files which I assume are some sort of zipped file. Then I transferred these 4 files to my new rig after downloading stardock again. Anway, it seems that you already have to HAVE GalCiv 2 installed in order to restore the archive, which seems circular to me.

Anyway ... my gut tells me I am just doing this wrong. Its no big deal, I am just installing it the hard way again ... but then what is the point of archiving it?

If some kind soul could tell me my error I would be most appreciative

Thanks

Dan
6,087 views 8 replies
Reply #1 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
but then what is the point of archiving it?

well, it can be used to have backup before updating the game. Sometimes updates can introduce nastier bugs.
Reply #2 from Stardock Forums Top

Hi Dan,

Yeah, that does sound wrong. What error is SDC giving you when you try to restore the archive?

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Reply #3 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Hmmmmm ... I did a download overnight so I don't have the conditions to repeat it. I believe I double clicked on one of the SDC files (the main program file) when I transfered them to my new computer. The message box that came up said something along the lines of "Gal Civ 2 is not installed, it must be installed first" or something like that.

I just wanted a complete archive copy in the unlikely event that Stardock is eaten by the EA collective or something *shudder*. I would weep and gnash my teeth at such a horrible event, but wanted to be able to console myself that at least I had a copy of galciv 2 that was independent of the fate of stardock. I can see me playing this game for fricken YEARS

Perhaps you could tell me how the archive ability is supposed to work, then I should be able to figure out where I screwed up, (assuming I can remember). Here is what I did:

On my old computer, right clicked on GalCiv2 as it appeared in Stardock and selected "Archive". It purred along for about 20 minutes and finished. Then I went to the proper directory under StardockCentral and moved them to another folder for CD burning. I burned to a CD. Then I moved the files from the CD to my new computer, re-installed Stardock, logged in and closed Stardock ( ... I THINK I closed it). Then I double clicked the main program's sdc file and that is when it gave me the error message where it was complaining that it couldn't do a restore from an archive because GalCiv2 could not be found, or something like that.

Does anyone have a computer where GalCiv 2 is NOT installed on and see what message they get?

Thanks

Dan
Reply #4 from Stardock Forums Top
From the sound of it, you didn't actually use Stardock Central to restore the archive?  You can only reinstall an archived game using Stardock Central, so you'd have to be in the program and restore it from there.
Reply #5 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Ah ... I see. I understand.

Here is a question though - will Stardock Central still work if a meteor takes out the company of Stardock?

Dano
Reply #6 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Here is a question though - will Stardock Central still work if a meteor takes out the company of Stardock?

I don't think that Stardock Central needs to connect to Stardock Servers to restore an archive. But it may be required if you got the activation message when launching the game.
Reply #7 from Stardock Forums Top

Here is a question though - will Stardock Central still work if a meteor takes out the company of Stardock?

LOL, that's pretty dark.    Yes, SDC can restore archives without being online. Activation does require our existance, but short of the end of the world, we'd take care of people before journeying off into the otherworld.

Reply #8 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Cheers - Thanks for your help

Dano