MekTek
 

I'm trying to unzip and run a game using Windows 7. The game ran on an earlier version of Windows.

Myabandonware.com gives these instructions

1 Download MekTek Version.
2 Unzip the file to your chosen drive. C:\MW4Mercs etc.
3 Open folder and run under admin mode “autoconfig_MERCS.exe”
4 Select your video card and graphics setting.
5 Find MW4Mercs.exe and make a shortcut on your desktop.
6 Run in admin mode.

The file is a Zip file, and I've never figured out how to use those.
First I downloaded the program named 7Zip

I am not sure if I successfully unzipped the file.

Within the game, there is a Tab for setting Video, but the Screen Resolution drop down button does not do anything

I reached all the way to step six, but the game launches to a black screen
and I get an error message: STOP: You do not have the correct video codec installed to play Content\Movies\mektek_mekpak31_logo.mpeg

It then gives choice buttons: More Details, Continue, Exit

When I choose Continue, the game appears to launch, but the screen is completely black and there is no sound. I may not be waiting long enough.

Sometimes when I click a few times with my mouse, an animated mouse cursor for the game appears on the black screen.

sometimes the black screen then shirnks to about one fourth of my monitor screen, and it appears to be the whole game, but music stutters a bit.

I try to select the option to go full screen, but then, it crashes to black screen again, and I get:

Fatal Error Nested exception - Cause: EnterWindowMode.

Error: You do not have the correct video codec installed to play
Content\Movies\mektek_mekpak31_logo.mpeg at 0x0

The Minimize button works fine, it just won't enlarge to full screen

First at all, you are obviously means "MechWarrior 4: Mercenaries". It worth to use correct name. :)

This is obvious, even if not the best choice for zip. :) I would use WinRar instead, as it's (slightly) more user-friendly, but then 7z is freeware, and WinRar is Shareware. Anyway, any one can unzip files. Just make sure you unpacked everything, and it looks the same as it looks inside archive (I believe, 7z can view archive content, right?).
Wait, it seems, you are going too far. Is "the game" forementioned autoconfig? Most (if not all) further problems are the result of bad configuration, I think.
Note that you need to start this in admin mode. Otherwise it will not do you much good. Right click, select "Run as Administrator". It, obviously, tries to change something system-wise (installing missing codecs, for example), so if you didn't run as Admin, it will fail, most probably.

If forementioned "resolution" is inside autoconfig, and running as Admin doesn't help to "find" resolutions, then maybe we have the whole new problem: Windows changed registry work somewhere between versions, so maybe program simply cannot access it's registry entries. If it's true, you need to set compatibility. Right click the exe in question, select "Properties", then tab "Compatibility". Set "Compatibility with WinXP SP3", Ok, and then try to run it again (as Admin!). You _need_ to set correct resolution, and your "black screen" problems most probably is result of that you didn't it.

But if it _was_ the case, there is another connected problem: obviously, it's not enough to write your settings, your game must read this settings. So _if_ your problem really was connected to the compatibility problem (and not simply "not Admin" problem), you need to give the same modification to the main exe. Again: right click on MW4Mercs.exe, and set WinXP SP3 compatibility for it too.

And last one:
Obviously, you have missing codec problem. :) I.e. your system haven't any suitable tool to play your video (you can try to run .mpeg natively in your player - if only this player doesn't have it's own codec pack, you'll see the same error).

Most probably, forementioned autoconfig must fix that. But if it's not, you need codec. Most universal solution is download codec pack somewhere (I prefer K-Lite Mega Codec Pack, as it's very universal), and install it. It will add a lot of codecs in your system, and hopefully it will be able to play the file(s).

Try it, and write here with results. :)

Thanks
 

Thank you for taking a look, Spectre.

I just now double checked Compatibility Mode. I may have made a mistake, because the game now launches in the correct size, it fills the screen. However, the resolution was awful.

I went into Autoconfig and set resolution on High. It appeared to work. This is about what I remember from the original game, except motion seems too fast.

There was a problem inside the game's settings page, the screen enlarged so that some of the tabs could not be seen, and it was not possible to escape.

Used CTRL ALT DEL, hit cancel, and it went back to normal again.
Hopefully that won't keep happening.

I already had "Media Player Codec Pack" installed, but have removed and installed K Lite, just in case there are future problems. Game appeared to work even before loading K Lite.

Now I just need to figure out how to get my old Saitek joystick to "talk" to this computer.