NHL Series (98, 99, 2000, 2001, 2002)

[I got the puck]

Hi again Matt, I'm curious about the NHL 2002. I would love to run it without a CD and notice you have the no cd patch....I tried it and it doesn't work. Maybe I did not understand its use or did not install properly but wondering if there's a way, this way or another, to run NHL 2002 without a CD and could you please write me any instructions on how to install it? Thank you in advance for your answer. Your work is amazing. Cheers


Mr.Puck

[Matt]

Superstar


NHL 2001 -- If you haven't already I would uninstall the game and reinstall it. Don't do a manual copy of the files like you'd do with some of the other EA games; you should be able to run the setup.exe off the CD. If it still doesn't run I'll post up some registry keys.

Puck

NHL 2002 - went back and looked and that no cd patch I posted was for the patched, v1.01 version. Very possible that it didn't work because you have the unpatched NHL 2002.

Here's the v1.00 no CD -- download it and then unzip the nhl2002.exe to your NHL 2002 game folder and overwrite the old file. Try running the game and see if the outcome changes.

megagames.com/download/292236/0

[Ruslan]

So I'm having a bit of an issue:

I have gotten into a kick and want to try re-installing some old NHL PC games (NHL 2000 and 2001; I actually still have NHL 96 and NHL 98 for the PC as well!)

Previously, on Windows 8, I had no issues with NHL 2001 on the PC. Now, after attempting to reinstall the program, it initially said I needed "administrator privileges", which I went through the ordeal with cmd on Windows 10. Even after doing that, I still cannot bring up the game (an error message appears indicating I am missing a download?)

I have the original CDs for everything. I know I can get NHL 96 on DOS Box (which is frustrating in general), but I'd like to know if there are other programs I'll have to install.

Thank you for any help!

[Brandon]

I did all your steps for NHL 2000. A few quick questions:

a) it says I have to install the game?
b) do I have to copy all the stuff into the game, or no?

[Matt]

Ruslan

The reason you get that error is because Windows 10 dropped driver support for SafeDisc copy protected games. The only way I know of getting around that is to download a no-CD patch.

Download and install the NHL 2001 v1.03 patch from this link, then download and unzip the v1.03 No CD patch from here. Unzip the new nhl2001.exe to your NHL 2001 game folder and overwrite the original file. 

Brandon

You're not the first person to have that problem with 2000. I've never actually tested 2K on Windows 7, so maybe there's an issue there. I'll try to do that later tonight or tomorrow.

Generally though, that "install the game" error has to do with the registry. The "Game Directory" line inside the registry key is what tells the program where to look for the game files...if it doesn't find them in that exact location, the game throws up its hands and tells you you need to install it again.

Sometimes it can all be right and it still doesn't work, though. Have you tried running the NHL2k.exe as an administrator?

[Ruslan]

So I installed what you put.

When I did this, I managed to get the game to boot up, however, it freezes before it even hits the main menu screen. I installed nglide as well and have no idea how this it utilized.

[Brandon]

Nov 2, 2016 13:57:02 GMT -5 Matt said:

Brandon

You're not the first person to have that problem with 2000. I've never actually tested 2K on Windows 7, so maybe there's an issue there. I'll try to do that later tonight or tomorrow.

Generally though, that "install the game" error has to do with the registry. The "Game Directory" line inside the registry key is what tells the program where to look for the game files...if it doesn't find them in that exact location, the game throws up its hands and tells you you need to install it again.

Sometimes it can all be right and it still doesn't work, though. Have you tried running the NHL2k.exe as an administrator?

I have tried running the game as the administrator. When I intially watched the video you posted in the thread, I was never promoted to actually install the game. When I put the disk in, and it boots up, it does state I can play. (I used an F: drive on my laptop; I did download the correct form).

Should I have the registry have the game sent to the C:, perhaps?

[Matt]

Ruslan

ok, not what we wanted, but I think we can get around it. Probably just need to make a couple changes to the registry. I need a few things from you:

(1) I need to know what directory you installed the game to (i.e. C:\Program Files\EA SPORTS\NHL 2001 or other), and (2) I need to know the drive letters of both your hard drive and your CD drive.

Thanks

Brandon

I'm going to ask the same thing from you because I'm getting a little confused...no worries, I'm just easily confused is all What drive letter is your hard drive, and what drive letter is the CD drive you're using for the game CD?

[Ruslan]

Nov 2, 2016 15:55:09 GMT -5 Matt said:

Ruslan

ok, not what we wanted, but I think we can get around it. Probably just need to make a couple changes to the registry. I need a few things from you:

(1) I need to know what directory you installed the game to (i.e. C:\Program Files\EA SPORTS\NHL 2001 or other), and (2) I need to know the drive letters of both your hard drive and your CD drive.

Thanks

(1) C:\Program Files (x86) -> EA Sports -> NHL 2001
(2) CD Drive: F: / Hard Drive is as follows:

C: Local Disk
D: Recovery
E: HP Tools
Q: Local Disk (not accessible)

[Brandon]

Mine is the same as Ruslan's

[Matt]

OK Ruslan, download this registry key and click on it in File Explorer. You'll get a popup asking you if you want to add the information to the registry. Click yes. Then, if you haven't already, set the nhl2001.exe to run as an administrator. If you don't know how to do that, right click on the nhl2001.exe in file explorer > -- properties > -- compatibility tab > -- check run this program as an administrator. Hit apply and then try launching the game again...with fingers crossed. =)

Ruslan's NHL 2001 Regkey

Brandon, you're next...lol. Sorry to bug you again but I just want to be clear - what directory did you place the game files in? I get that the drive letters are the same as Ruslan's, but the directory can't be the exact same because he is doing NHL 2001 and you're doing 2000.

Basically what I need to know is whether you placed the game files inside the C:\Games\Sports\NHL2K directory, or inside Program Files, or somewhere else.

[Ruslan]

Matt,

Thank you very much for all your help. I got the game to boot without a hitch. Now I can have some fun and play a season-long mode.

[Brandon]

Oh, sorry about that.

The file is C:\Games\Sports\NHL2K

[99 is the dream]

Hello Matt, i have been trying to get NHL99 to work for the past two hours but with no luck, I believe i have done everything correctly but i cannot seem to get the game to play, im not sure if i have it trying to run on something other than nGlide, or if the registry is all wrong. I'm using the one provided (c://games...ect) but whenever i try to run the 3DSETUP.EXE as administer i get a weird startup thing that just closes itself, trying to run NHL99 as administer gives me the error "Please run the game from CDROM"
extra picture to help you out with my mess
imgur.com/gallery/Drviz

[Matt]

Brandon, I completely forgot -- I had a visitor on the last page named Henri who couldn't get 2K to work on his computer until he installed a patch from the nGlide site.

So, let's try this. Download this registry key and double click on the file in File Explorer to add the information to the registry (or, just right click on the file and select "Merge"). This is probably the same information you added when you went through the guide, originally; I just want to be 100% sure it's in there.

NHL2K Registry Key

Then, download the nGlide patch. Unzip the NHL2K.exe file inside it to your NHL2K game folder and overwrite the old file. Make sure the NHL2K.exe is set to run as administrator and try loading the game again.

nGlide NHL 2000 Patch Link