Monday, September 30, 2013

How to get The Simpsons Hit and Run working on Windows XP, Vista, 7, 8, 8.1 and 10 (32 / 64 bit)

Post Updated 21st Aug 2017 for Windows 8/8.1 and 10 users :)

OK, for the past few days I've been troubleshooting this issue and I found the perfect fix for both Windows XP Professional/Home Edition, Windows Vista, 7, 8, 8.1 and 10 (both 32 bit and 64 bit versions).

First Step: INSTALL THE GAME


Win XP: You can install to the default directory without any issues.

Win Vista / 7 / 8 / 8.1 / 10 (32 and 64): Install to a folder on your main OS drive such as C:\GAMES\SimpsonsHnRun

*** IMPORTANT *** Have no spaces in the folder to install to!

During installation you will be asked if you want to install DirectX 8.1 ... SELECT NO!

Step 2: Make sure you have DirectX 9 installed!



For XP you should automatically have DirectX 9.0c installed. If not get it here:

http://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/download/details.aspx?id=34429

For Windows Vista / 7 / 8 / 8.1 / 10 install DirectX 9 from here:

http://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/download/details.aspx?id=35


NOTE: Windows 10 users may need to enable DirectPlay in Legacy Components.

To enable Direct Play feature on Windows 10:

1) In your Start Menu, open Programs and Features (it's also in Control Panel)
2) In the left hand side menu, click on "Turn Windows features ON or OFF"
3) In the list that loads, make sure there is a tick in the box for "Legacy Components"
4) Click the plus symbol to expand the "Legacy Components"
5) Make sure the box is ticked for "Direct Play"
6) Click OK
-- If there are issues, temporarily disable your anti-virus program as this may stop the Legacy Components installing correctly.

Step 3: Set the executable properties


a) Right click on the desktop shortcut and select 'Properties'

-- If you don't have a desktop shortcut navigate to the main game folder and right click on the main game executable 'Simpsons.exe'

b) Click on the compatibility tab and set the following settings:

-- For Windows XP, set only "Windows 98/ Windows ME" and "Disable visual themes".
-- For Windows 7 and Vista users, please use the settings illustrated:



-- For Windows 8, 8.1 and 10 users, use the following settings:


Thanks to MrCorZa for the above screenshot.


Now try and run the game!

If it runs, great! You're done and you can now play the game.

If not then there is one other option you can do to gaurantee the game will work (I had to do this next step).

Step 4: Install a no-cd crack to get the game working


Don't worry if it doesn't work yet as you can do what I did and download a "no cd crack". This is not illegal in any way. A no cd crack is what it states. It is a main program executable file which has been edited so that the game CD is not required in order to play the game. It skips disk checking securities.

a) Go to http://gamecopyworld.com/

b) Click on the main site link "Main #1" if it is online, if not select another mirror site which is online

c) Read and click on the "Enter" button

d) Once the page loads, on the right hand side there is a heading "PC", click on "[T-Z]"

e) Scroll through the list for the game title "The Simpsons Hit & Run" and select the title link

f) Once the page has loaded click on "The Simpsons: Hit & Run [ENGLISH] No-CD/Fixed EXE #1"

g) Click on the File Archive [922KB] icon (a blue disk - far left of the header)

h) A Pop-up window will appear with an advert loaded ... in the top right select "Skip Ad" when it is shown after the countdown

i) Once loaded download the "flt-har.rar" file from any of the mirror links and save it to your downloads folder (or somewhere temporary like the desktop)

j) You will need 7-zip to be able to unzip the compressed rar file

k) Once uncompressed you will have a replacement "Simpsons.exe" ... Cut and paste this into the main game folder and replace (over-write) the file when asked

l) Double check that the properties are still set as mentioned in step 3 above

n) Play the game and it should now play without any issues

36 comments:

  1. Worked for me, no step 4 needed. Win 7-64 Ultimate. Thanks.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Replies
    1. Unsure, you could give it a try as can't harm anything. Let us know if they do. You want to upgrade to 10 whilst it's free :)

      Delete
  3. You're a champ - haven't played this game in 12 years, still had CDs on the shelf. Works great, didn't have to use your step 4. (Windows 7 Enterprise, 64 bit.)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Thanks all :) Glad you got it working and it is a great game!

    ReplyDelete
  5. When I try to launch the game on windows 10 with compatibility mode I get a "Simpsons has stopped working" message and the program closes.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Did you enable Direct Play? If not, see step 2 and there are instructions on how to enable this as I suspect this is the cause. Sorry for the late reply.

      Delete
  6. Hi, i hace win 8.1, did all 4 steps and Still not running, dont know What to do

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. What hardware do you have? Have you got up-to-date drivers? Especially for audio and graphics?

      Delete
  7. hi, i am able to load up the game but once i click new game in the first loading screen it stops with a windows popup saying "Simpsons has stopped working"

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Are you running as Administrator? Double check Step 3.

      Delete
  8. Ive inserted disc 1 and I keep it in, but when I try to launch it it says wrong disc inserted? I've tried all 3.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I would install directly from a hdd ...
      (1) Create a temp folder somewhere [name it "tshar" or something].
      (2) Copy all contents of disk 1 (I only had one personally) ... if you have more than one disk ... For each disk after the disk 1 ... only copy "data#.cab" file from each disk remaining into the folder you created in step 1.
      (3) Once all the files from disk 1 AND each "data#.cab" file from each of the remaining disks have been copied over, run the setup file as administrator and everything should work :) If not, get back to us :)

      Delete
    2. I have the same problem. I followed your steps above, but still get "wrong disc inserted". And ideas?

      Delete
    3. I am thinking your disk(s) are not working correctly. Burn this disk image file (ISO) to a blank DVD; follow the README file on the disk :)

      You can use free burning software such as imgburn (open source software).

      Alternatively, you could use 7-Zip to extract the ISO file to a temporary place and install directly from your hard drive.

      Delete
    4. Just solved this issue, was using the usb 2.0 slot for a 3.0 portable disc drive and then switched to the 3.0 slot and fixed the issue. Hopefully this can be useful info.

      Delete
    5. Strange that; would have thought a external disk drive would work in a USB 2.0 port regardless (i.e. backward compatibility). Thanks for sharing though :)

      Delete
    6. Nevermind was premature there, disc 3 isn't working for me now to finish the installation.

      Delete
    7. Follow the instructions in my reply above - 2 up - (Friday, January 4, 2019 at 1:13:00 PM GMT).

      Delete
  9. When I'm installing the game, the game file music02.rcf doesnt install it just gets stuck there. How do I fix this?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Are you running the installer as admin? If not, try that. If that doesn't work, try this ...
      I would install directly from a hdd ...
      (1) Create a temp folder somewhere [name it "tshar" or something].
      (2) Copy all contents of disk 1 (I only had one personally) ... if you have more than one disk ... For each disk after the disk 1 ... only copy "data#.cab" file from each disk remaining into the folder you created in step 1.
      (3) Once all the files from disk 1 AND each "data#.cab" file from each of the remaining disks have been copied over, run the setup file as administrator and everything should work :) If not, get back to us :)

      Delete
  10. It says "Please insert the cd 1" when I launch the game, but I the cd 1 is already inserted with deamon tools, any ideas?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. https://charityalbumman.blogspot.com/2013/09/how-to-get-simpsons-hit-and-run-working.html?showComment=1546607588255&m=1#c5636639137245293292

      Delete
    2. Follow the instructions in my reply above - 2 up - (Friday, January 4, 2019 at 1:13:00 PM GMT).

      With that disk you shouldn't need to mount it. Just install the game from DVD without using Daemon tools.

      Delete
  11. Even after installing DirectX 9 and enabling DirectPlay, the game still claims it can't start DirectX. The few times it doesn't do that, it just black screens.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Anyone else having an issue where the world doesn't render in sometimes? Literally can't drive to the school because it doesn't render in

    ReplyDelete
  13. I can't replace the new simpsons.exe file in CD1 cracked folder, it says there isn't enough space. Is there a solution to this? It does not give me the option to delete the old simpsons.exe file either to make space

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Recommend running disk clean up to free some space on the hard drive that is full, therefore stopping you from installing it.

      Delete
    2. Hi there, when I try and run the cd crack as administrator is says the code execution cannot proceed because pddidx8r and binkw32 were not found, as there any fixes for this or is it not possible as I am running windows 10 64

      Delete
    3. You didn't follow instructions. You would not get those errors if you followed the above.

      Delete
    4. oh sorry, thanks yh i tried to insert the crack onto the cd rather than the program files that i had installed, thank for the guide, very excited to replay this beast of a game

      Delete

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