LEGO Rock Raiders Tutorial: Running LEGO Rock Raiders on Windows 10 with VirtualBox

[Jimbob]

Tutorial: Running LEGO Rock Raiders in Windows 10 with VirtualBox

This tutorial will show you one method of running LEGO Rock Raiders in Windows 10. This may work for Windows 8 too but I haven’t tested it. Also I cannot guarantee that this will work for everyone as Rock Raiders is arguably the most fickle game to install on RRU, but hopefully it will work for you.

There are a lot of instructions in this so I will break them down into steps and explain as clearly as possible. Here is an overview:

1. Download a copy of Windows XP

2. Install VirtualBox

3. Set up Windows XP

4. Install and run Rock Raiders

[Jimbob]

1. Download a copy of Windows XP.

Credit for this first part of the tutorial goes to download3K for their article here, which I have adapted below.

 

Downloading the File

The first thing you will need to do is download a copy of Windows XP. Thankfully this can be done legally with no purchase necessary (at least temporarily). Follow this link to go to Microsoft’s download page for Windows XP Mode, which was designed for Windows 7 but never adapted for Windows 8 or 10. Click Download, then select the checkbox next to the first file: WindowsXPMode_en-us.exe. Then click Next to open the Save As dialogue window. Save the file in your desired location, such as the Downloads folder. This file is just under 470MB so it may take a while.

 

Installing 7-Zip

If you don’t have the program 7-Zip already you will need to download and install it. Windows’ own extraction tool isn’t enough and 7-Zip is a useful tool to have anyway. Click here to download the software, making sure you choose the correct type depending on your system (32-bit or 64-bit). I’m going to download the 64-bit .msi file as I have a 64-bit system.

If you’re unsure about which one to get, right-click on the Windows start menu icon (at the bottom-left of your screen) and select System.

Save the file and run it to install 7-Zip.

 

Extracting the File

With 7-Zip installed, look for the WindowsXPMode_en-us file you downloaded earlier. Right-click on it, highlight 7-Zip from the pop-up menu, then select Extract to “WindowsXPMode_en-us\” from the sub-menu.

OhnoyoucanseemyrealnamewhateverwillIdo

Open the WindowsXPMode_en-us folder that appears when 7-Zip is finished, then open sources to find three files. The top one, xpm, is the file you’re looking for. Right-click on the file, highlight 7-Zip from the pop-up menu, then select Open archive from the sub-menu. A 7-Zip window will appear showing the contents of the file.

Select the file named VirtualXPVHD by clicking on it, then select Extract from the toolbar above (the blue minus sign). Click OK on the window that appears to extract the file.

Now you can close 7-Zip. Go back to the sources folder and you will find a new VirtualXPVHD file. Rename this to VirtualXPVHD.vhd. Copy it to another folder (I chose Downloads), then delete the original WindowsXPMode_en-us folder and WindowsXPMode_en-us.exe file to tidy up.

Note that the file has an orange lightning bolt icon because I have Daemontools installed. It may appear differently on your computer.

Excellent, you have downloaded the Windows XP operating system to your computer!

[Jimbob]

2. Install VirtualBox

If you don’t already have VirtualBox on your computer you will need to install it now. Click here to go to the downloads page for VirtualBox. I have linked to the test builds as Windows 10 isn’t quite supported on the complete releases, but rest assured that I have tested it the latest build on my computer with no problems. Download the Windows version under 5.0.x builds.

Once the file is downloaded, run it and follow the instructions to install VirtualBox.

Once installed, launch VirtualBox. Select File from the top menu bar, then click Preferences.... Under the General tab, click the dropdown arrow next to the Default Machine Folder and choose Other.... Then select/create a folder where you would like your Windows XP system to be run from. I have chosen a custom VirtualBox folder in my Documents folder.

Finally, move the VirtualXPVHD.vhd file into the above folder to keep things organised. 

Great, you have installed and configured VirtualBox!

[Jimbob]

3. Set up Windows XP

Now it’s time to “install” Windows XP on your computer.

 

Create a machine

In VirtualBox, select New from the toolbar. In the Name: box, enter Windows XP. The Version: box should automatically change to read Windows XP (32-bit).

 Click Next to choose the memory size. I recommend choosing 1024MB if you have more than 1GB of RAM on your computer, otherwise go with 512MB.

 Click Next to select the hard disk. Select Use an existing virtual hard disk file, then click the small folder icon with a green arrow. Choose the VirtualXPVHD.vhd file in your VirtualBox folder.

Finally, click Create. You should see the following interface in the VirtualBox main window:

 

Perform the initial setup

Click the green Start arrow from the toolbar to launch Windows XP.

 A new window will appear and Windows XP Setup will promptly launch. Wait for the system to initialise. Before doing anything, right-click the small icon of a mouse with a green arrow in the bottom-right corner.

Click Mouse Integration to enable using the mouse in Windows XP, then click anywhere in the window to bring up a dialogue. Check Do not show this message again, then click Capture. To free the mouse again so that you can use it outside of Windows XP, just press the Right Control button on your keyboard. Later you can update this to be smoother, but the system must be set up first.

Follow the instructions to set up Windows XP. Upon completion you will probably hit a black screen. Press Right Control to release the mouse, then click File and Close... to bring up a dialogue window. Check Power off the machine and press OK to quit Windows XP.

Now click Start again to re-launch Windows XP. You may have to disable Mouse Integration again. Click through the final menus (I turned off Automatic Updates and didn’t install any of the requested hardware) to get to your desktop.

 

Install a Guest

Now to make things a little easier. Press Right Control again to free your mouse, then click on Devices from the top menu. Choose Insert Guest Additions CD image... from the dropdown.

A window will appear in Windows XP. Follow through the dialogues to install Guest Additions - you can ignore the Direct 3D thingymawatt when given the option to choose it. You may have several Software Installation warning windows appear, just click Continue Anyway on each one.

When finished, click Reboot Now and press OK. You’ll probably hit another black screen, so press File then Close... again, followed by Power off the machine and OK as you did before.

Now that this is done you can freely use the mouse between your Windows 10 computer and the Windows XP virtual system, without having to turn on/off mouse integration.

 

Link your disk drive

Now to link your Windows XP’s disk drive to your physical one. Click Devices from the top menu bar, then highlight Optical Drives and click Host Drive ‘#:’ from the sub-menu. Depending on your hardware setup the # may appear as a D, F, or other letter.

If LEGO Rock Raiders is already inserted into your disk drive, it will likely auto-run the installation setup. For now, just click Cancel then Exit Setup to quit out of it.

 

Create a shared folder

The last thing to do before installing Rock Raiders is to create a shared folder. This will act as a link between your Windows 10 files and your Windows XP files. Click Machine from the top menu, then select Settings... from the drop-down menu. Now select the Shared Folders tab.

Click the small blue folder icon with a green plus sign on it, to the right of the window. An Add Share window will appear. Next to Folder Path:, select Other... and choose where you would like to create a shared folder. I’m putting mine inside my VirtualBox folder. Check Auto-mount and Make Permanent, then click OK. Now press OK again to save the settings.

Now if you reboot the Windows XP system (Start > Shut Down > Restart > OK), then go to My Computer you will find a new folder under Network Drives. Files placed in here are accessible through your shared folder on Windows 10 and vice-versa.

 

Change the screen resolution and bit depth

Before installing Rock Raiders you will need to change your display settings. Right-click on the desktop and select Properties from the menu. A Display Properties window will appear. Select the Settings tab, then slide Screen resolution to your preferred level - I’m using 1152 by 864. Then, under Color quality, choose Medium (16 bit).

Click Apply then Yes to confirm the changes, and finally press OK.

Good job, you’ve set up Windows XP!

 

[Jimbob]

4. Install and run Rock Raiders

Now for the final step.

 

Installing Rock Raiders

Insert the Rock Raiders disc or, if it’s already inserted, run it from My Computer. Now follow through the installation instructions to install it. You may get a message about a Direct3D accelerator not being found, or something similar, if so just ignore it. When it’s finished, click Yes, I want to restart my computer now. and press Finish to restart the computer.

 

Running Rock Raiders

After logging back in you will find two new Rock Raiders shortcuts on your desktop. Right-click on the LEGO Rock Raiders - Enhanced shortcut and select Properties from the menu. Under the Shortcut tab you will see a section named Target:. At the end of this box should be a line saying -best. Replace this with -ftm so that it appears as so:

Click Apply, then OK, to save these settings. Now run the shortcut by double-clicking it. After the initial loading screen a Mode Selection window will appear. Choose Window from the Window Size section as Full Screen doesn’t work.

Now click OK to launch the game.

Congratulations, you have successfully installed and run Rock Raiders!

 

 

Final notes

To install mods or transfer files from your Rock Raiders game to your PC, just place the files in the shared folder and they can be accessed from both Windows XP and Windows 10 systems.

The Windows XP virtual machine is only valid for 30 days as it’s a trial. However, it is possible to simply delete the machine and set it up again in VirtualBox (assuming you transfer any important files into your shared folder to save them) to restart the trial, but I’m not sure if that’s legal/in breach of their terms and conditions.

[mumboking]

Surely this is the VirtualBox download link? https://www.virtualbox.org/wiki/Downloads

 

I'm assuming that LRR will run on Windows 2000? You can easily find ISOs of Win2K with SP4 online*. Although it does need a product key (also found online), it doesn't require online activation (meaning unlimited use).

*I like WinWorldPC

[Jimbob]

Yes that is their download page, but the current main releases have bugs with Windows 10 so I linked to the test builds:

Please be aware that Windows 10 is not yet officially supported! There are known problems with VirtualBox 5.0.2 on Windows 10 hosts and with Windows 10 guests. Some of the problems are fixed in the most recent test build which can be found here.

 

As long as it's legal then sure, Win2k may be better. I just prefer WinXP's interface.

[mumboking]

Yes that is their download page, but the current main releases have bugs with Windows 10 so I linked to the test builds:

As long as it's legal then sure, Win2k may be better. I just prefer WinXP's interface.

Fair enough.

The legality of Win2K? Well... I'm not sure Microsoft cares much about a long unsupported OS. As for the interface, does that matter if all you're doing in it is playing LRR?

[Fush]

Okay, this is a useful tutorial and all, but the title is very misleading. This is not so much a tutorial on getting the game to run on win 10 as much as it is a tutorial on how to avoid running the game on win 10. 

That said, while I have no issues running the game myself, I have been wanting to set up a virtual machine for other purposes so I will probably find this thread helpful.

[Cirevam]

I've been trying to get LRR running in an XP virtual machine in VirtualBox for a while now. I followed your steps and the game doesn't launch. It doesn't even try. Anything that requires 3D acceleration acts the same way. Am I missing something?

[mumboking]

@Cirevam Does enabling the acceleration help?

[Cirevam]

That is exactly what my display settings look like.

[Phoenyx]

To be fair, is using a virtual machine even necessary for Windows 10? Several members here (me not included, but only because I have a modern AMD graphics card) have reported that the game runs fine on Windows 10 with most of the compatibility options enabled and program-specific color settings set to 16-bit.

[Jimbob]

I suppose the title is misleading so I'll change it, thanks Fushi.

Cire, I had problems running the game in fullscreen mode to do with 3D or something, hence I suggested using windowed mode in the tutorial. Did you try both? Also I have an Nvidia graphics card, perhaps that makes a difference to the "Vaaaaaaaaaaaaal Halen" you're apparently using.  Oh and I also have both those acceleration settings turned off.

I along with a few other members at least have had problems Phoenyx, so I thought this method would help. Hopefully it'll be useful to someone other than me?

[Phoenyx]

It actually helped me in the end - turns out Windows 10 doesn't like SafeDisc, and I'm pretty sure it's known that I have the 1999 version of the game. Which has SafeDisc.

I ended up using Windows 2000 as my guest OS, and it works - but there's a little bug with the Guest Toolkit that prevents it from installing the Direct3D drivers, so I had to run the game in RGB Emulation mode.

[Jimbob]

here's a little bug with the Guest Toolkit that prevents it from installing the Direct3D drivers, so I had to run the game in RGB Emulation mode.

Is that what the problem is - the guest toolkit? If so then maybe LRR can be run fullscreen when it's fixed.

[mumboking]

here's a little bug with the Guest Toolkit that prevents it from installing the Direct3D drivers, so I had to run the game in RGB Emulation mode.

Is that what the problem is - the guest toolkit? If so then maybe LRR can be run fullscreen when it's fixed.

Did you try installing the Guest Additions in safe mode?

[Phoenyx]

here's a little bug with the Guest Toolkit that prevents it from installing the Direct3D drivers, so I had to run the game in RGB Emulation mode.

Is that what the problem is - the guest toolkit? If so then maybe LRR can be run fullscreen when it's fixed.

Did you try installing the Guest Additions in safe mode?

Well, I couldn't really try. It kept telling me that Windows 2000 didn't support Direct3D and didn't let me check the box for it. The Wiki says it's a reversion from Guest Additions 3.2.8 and that Oracle is working on fixing that, but I'm not going to get my hopes up if Java is any example of how Oracle "fixes" things.

Besides, the game runs fine in RGB mode. It just doesn't look as nice, and I can live with that.

On another note, Virtualbox 5.0.2 seems to work fine on my computer.

Edited August 21, 2015 by Phoenyx

[mumboking]

It kept telling me that Windows 2000 didn't support Direct3D and didn't let me check the box for it.

Huh, so it does... I guess I never tried that in Win2K before.

[Phoenyx]

It kept telling me that Windows 2000 didn't support Direct3D and didn't let me check the box for it.

Huh, so it does... I guess I never tried that in Win2K before.

Thing is, Win2K does support Direct3D - the Guest Additions installer is bugged.

[Cirevam]

Cire, I had problems running the game in fullscreen mode to do with 3D or something, hence I suggested using windowed mode in the tutorial. Did you try both? Also I have an Nvidia graphics card, perhaps that makes a difference to the "Vaaaaaaaaaaaaal Halen" you're apparently using.  Oh and I also have both those acceleration settings turned off.

I have a GTX 970 Viking God of Rock edition.

Turning off both acceleration settings allowed the game to launch normally. It's a bit funky (level select scrolls too fast) but it works, even in full screen. Thank you.

[-Skylight-]

 

On 8/20/2015 at 10:49 AM, JimbobJeffers said:

Extracting the File

With 7-Zip installed, look for the WindowsXPMode_en-us file you downloaded earlier. Right-click on it, highlight 7-Zip from the pop-up menu, then select Extract to “WindowsXPMode_en-us\” from the sub-menu.

  Reveal hidden contents

OhnoyoucanseemyrealnamewhateverwillIdo

Open the WindowsXPMode_en-us folder that appears when 7-Zip is finished, then open sources to find three files. The top one, xpm, is the file you’re looking for. Right-click on the file, highlight 7-Zip from the pop-up menu, then select Open archive from the sub-menu. A 7-Zip window will appear showing the contents of the file.

Hey uh, I'm sort of stuck here, I cant seem to find the sources folder, heres a screenshot of what I see. https://gyazo.com/188ee836395c1fb215354ba75720279c

[ThatGuyFromSpace]

On 1-4-2016 at 3:17 AM, -Skylight- said:

 

Hey uh, I'm sort of stuck here, I cant seem to find the sources folder, heres a screenshot of what I see. https://gyazo.com/188ee836395c1fb215354ba75720279c

I had the same problem,  something with 7-zip! Try it with WinRar.

[cedric]

it has to do with the 7zip version dont pick the newest one but the one mentioned in the tutorial

[AnotherCrazyCanadian]

On 8/20/2015 at 3:20 PM, Fush said:

(Chat box isn't working for me here)

Thanks dude, that helps out a lot! Just played it from work on my Win 10 machine, wasn't working at all before. Did the first mission with seemingly no problems to boot!