Running Black & White 2 on Windows 10

Hey so I got everything working, but Im having an issue with the game on start up. I have the menu music playing and stuff, but I'm having a similar issue I had with trying to run KOTOR where the game will not show up on my screen. If I hover over the application as its running, I can see it in a smaller window on the left corner, but trying to click it makes the screen go black and flash, but the game doesn't show up. The exact same thing happened with KOTOR and it was a full screen issue. Is there any way around this for Black and White 2?
 
Hey yall. Giving this a go, I'll come back and update my results afterwards. I'm running a Ryzen 5 5600x with a ROGSTRIX B350F and a ZOTAC RTX 2070 super mini edition.

Currently downloading the ISO file from myabandonware, will mount the ISO and install normally, and then patch in order, 1.1,1.2, then 1.42.

Polling rate -> 125hz
Nvidia control panel -> limit to 60 fps (old games base their clock calculations off frames per second, kinda like games that run on dolphin emulator)
NOT REPLACING THE EXE WITH A CRACKED ONE, read previous pages someone else posted a good reply on page 5 or 6 about myabandonware's outdated guide.
 
hey there I'm currently having an issue with downloading the game, I've bought and tried 4 different discs yet not one seems to read, i am using a HP usb disc drive but it worked for my b&w 1 disc so idk what I'm doing wrong here, it makes noise like its reading but doesn't execute an install or even register a disc drive installed, like i said it ran b&w 1 which is older so I'm really confused does anyone have any solutions outside of ordering a new disc tray
 
voltaire said:
Hey so I got everything working, but Im having an issue with the game on start up. I have the menu music playing and stuff, but I'm having a similar issue I had with trying to run KOTOR where the game will not show up on my screen. If I hover over the application as its running, I can see it in a smaller window on the left corner, but trying to click it makes the screen go black and flash, but the game doesn't show up. The exact same thing happened with KOTOR and it was a full screen issue. Is there any way around this for Black and White 2?
Click to expand...

Hi, I've ran into the same issue and found a fix for that. You need to set your desktop resolution to 1024x768.
Then the game won't minimized/background and you can change the resolution ingame to what you want.

I'm just wondering there aren't more threads about it. And it must be caused how Windows 11 (maybe Windows 10 too) handles fullscreen games or maybe how Nvidia handles it. Because the game started normally and keeps running and it wants to enter a profile name. But because of the different resolution its minimized to background of windows.

I hope this helps others with the same problem :)
 
Downloaded everything according to the guides, and I get the main menu, but when I click "play" I get a pop-up asking if I want to allow "white.exe" to make changes to my device - and then nothing once I press "yes". There's nothing even in the background, looking with Task Manager.

1681336723346.png
 
Pol. Yurt said:
Downloaded everything according to the guides, and I get the main menu, but when I click "play" I get a pop-up asking if I want to allow "white.exe" to make changes to my device - and then nothing once I press "yes". There's nothing even in the background, looking with Task Manager.
Click to expand...

Hey man,
Could you direct me to those guides? Or does anyone already have a fix on making Battle of the Gods work on Windows 10?
Just did the basic installation from CD Image. Got it from myabandonware.com.
The same image as above shows, the menu from Auto run. But it tells me the 'String is no longer in use'? It also tells that I have to access as administrator for it to work..
 
Blanket said:
Yes! Its working, villagers are aging properly and even the audio is playing back correctly.
For anyone trying to get it working but is getting caught up following the old guide on Myabandonware I will share what I did to get it working.

Install guide working 2021
  1. Download the B&W2 iso from Myabandonware and save it in a new folder you wont forget
  2. Unpack the iso with winrar or something of the like
  3. If you want to install black and white to a specific folder/drive then create that folder in the location you want now, by default the game will install to: C:\Program Files (x86)\Lionhead Studios\Black & White 2
  4. Go to where you unpacked the ISO and right click "setup.exe" and run as admin (please note that the installer seems to skip installing land 5 but I can not confirm if that is an issue or not as I am not that far yet) (Also I got an error about failing to install a sound file but I clicked ignore and it has not been an issue thus far.
  5. Download all 3 patches and install them in order (1.1, 1.2, 1.42) Remember to run as admin to be safe and make sure each one is done installing before moving onto the next.
  6. Now the old guide says to mess around with swapping exes around but DO NOT DO THIS, it is outdated and no longer required, once the patches are installed you are finished, you can run the game from either the exe in the Black and white 2 folder or the installer should have created a desktop icon that also works, be warned though there will likely still be some issues
Fixes for various issues

If your sound is not synced correctly it is because your frame rate is too high, for Nvidia users you can,
open the Nvidia control panel>Manage 3d settings>Program settings tab>find black and white or add it>Scroll down to Max Frame Rate and set it to 60-90, I've tried 90 and the audio lines sometimes are very close together but my good and bad conscience are not interrupting each other anymore

Mouse is behaving strangely especially in the esc menu, this is due to B&W not being built with high polling rate mice in mind, some mice you can adjust the polling rate, for some Razer mice you can change it with Razer Synapse. No matter what mouse you use it needs a polling rate of 125hz max, most office mice will work fine if you can not adjust your own polling rate.

Villagers are not getting any older, This is an old Anti piracy system put in the game and is caused by cracking the exe, with the install method above there is no need to crack the exe so if you followed the instructions in this post the issue should be resolved (You will need to start a new game)

How can I tell if I did everything correctly?

You can figure out what is working and what is not pretty easy during the first land where you choose your pet, if you DO NOT see the tiger available to pick standing slightly behind the standard creatures then you did not install one of the patches correctly.

To see if your mouse polling rate is ok then just open the esc menu while in game and move your mouse around slowly, if it gets stuck or does not act like you would expect, your polling rate is too high.

If your FPS is too high then the good and bad conscience will be constantly interrupting each other during the intro.

If you need to check your villagers are aging simple make a few disciple breeders and a few homes and wait for a baby, open the villager overlay with the "S" key if the baby stays 1 year old for more than 10ish minutes then you're likely using a cracked exe and should follow the guide above instead. Alternatively you can just follow around around an existing villager with the overlay open and see if they get any older after a few minutes.




Thanks everyone that helped me get the game running, I will leave this here for anyone that wants to get the game running without wading through years of forum posts or trial and error, I have probably missed some bugs or other issues but the guide above will at least get the game running properly and I can say that it at least works upto land 4 because that's what I am on at the moment. I will update here if the installer skipping land 5 becomes an issue when I get there.
Click to expand...
Hey Blanket,

Don't know if you are still active, but do you know how to get BW2 Battle of the Gods to work?
 
please tell me you guys are still active, I have been trying for 2 full days now and I have had zero luck, I crash to desktop every single time the devil asks if I need a refresher on moving. I have installed all patches (1.1, 1.2, 1.42) and even tried adding in B&W2 redux. but still I crash at the same spot Every time. I have tried two different isos, reinstalling countless times, still I crash at the same spot.

Dump Written toH:\BW2\white.exe2.0x9a7fec.dmp ---------------------------------------- Free Memory: GetProcessMemoryInfo returns: PageFaultCount = 376628 PeakWorkingSetSize = 899952640 WorkingSetSize = 899244032 QuotaPeakPagedPoolUsage = 1500464 QuotaPagedPoolUsage = 1499888 QuotaPeakNonPagedPoolUsage = 1460096 QuotaNonPagedPoolUsage = 1460000 PagefileUsage = 870133760 PeakPagefileUsage = 870133760 GetPerformanceInfo returns: CommitTotal = 0 CommitTotal = 0 CommitLimit = 0 CommitPeak = 0 PhysicalTotal = 0 PhysicalAvailable = 0 SystemCache = 0 KernelTotal = 0 KernelPaged = 0 KernelNonpaged = 0 PageSize = 0 HandleCount = 0 ProcessCount = 0 ThreadCount = 0

Crash dump file that was the latest one created, my friend tells me its a memory leak?
running a 1660 super Graphics card, intel i7-5820k cpu with 40 gigs of installed ram.
Edit: I fixed that crash finally by locking the frame rate to 60fps, now I only crash on saving, which is still an issue.
Edit 2: I fixed the saving issue by making my game folder not read only.
Edit 3: I am now getting random crashes, that I can't seem to identify the cause of maybe 5-10 minutes into the game.

(fresh crash dump)
Free Memory:
GetProcessMemoryInfo returns:
PageFaultCount = 359168
PeakWorkingSetSize = 741371904
WorkingSetSize = 739278848
QuotaPeakPagedPoolUsage = 1340864
QuotaPagedPoolUsage = 1340864
QuotaPeakNonPagedPoolUsage = 1979096
QuotaNonPagedPoolUsage = 1979096
PagefileUsage = 757653504
PeakPagefileUsage = 760823808


GetPerformanceInfo returns:
CommitTotal = 0
CommitTotal = 0
CommitLimit = 0
CommitPeak = 0
PhysicalTotal = 0
PhysicalAvailable = 0
SystemCache = 0
KernelTotal = 0
KernelPaged = 0
KernelNonpaged = 0
PageSize = 0
HandleCount = 0
ProcessCount = 0
ThreadCount = 0
 
Last edited:
iceprince732 said:
please tell me you guys are still active, I have been trying for 2 full days now and I have had zero luck, I crash to desktop every single time the devil asks if I need a refresher on moving. I have installed all patches (1.1, 1.2, 1.42) and even tried adding in B&W2 redux. but still I crash at the same spot Every time. I have tried two different isos, reinstalling countless times, still I crash at the same spot.

Dump Written toH:\BW2\white.exe2.0x9a7fec.dmp ---------------------------------------- Free Memory: GetProcessMemoryInfo returns: PageFaultCount = 376628 PeakWorkingSetSize = 899952640 WorkingSetSize = 899244032 QuotaPeakPagedPoolUsage = 1500464 QuotaPagedPoolUsage = 1499888 QuotaPeakNonPagedPoolUsage = 1460096 QuotaNonPagedPoolUsage = 1460000 PagefileUsage = 870133760 PeakPagefileUsage = 870133760 GetPerformanceInfo returns: CommitTotal = 0 CommitTotal = 0 CommitLimit = 0 CommitPeak = 0 PhysicalTotal = 0 PhysicalAvailable = 0 SystemCache = 0 KernelTotal = 0 KernelPaged = 0 KernelNonpaged = 0 PageSize = 0 HandleCount = 0 ProcessCount = 0 ThreadCount = 0

Crash dump file that was the latest one created, my friend tells me its a memory leak?
running a 1660 super Graphics card, intel i7-5820k cpu with 40 gigs of installed ram.
Edit: I fixed that crash finally by locking the frame rate to 60fps, now I only crash on saving, which is still an issue.
Edit 2: I fixed the saving issue by making my game folder not read only.
Edit 3: I am now getting random crashes, that I can't seem to identify the cause of maybe 5-10 minutes into the game.

(fresh crash dump)
Free Memory:
GetProcessMemoryInfo returns:
PageFaultCount = 359168
PeakWorkingSetSize = 741371904
WorkingSetSize = 739278848
QuotaPeakPagedPoolUsage = 1340864
QuotaPagedPoolUsage = 1340864
QuotaPeakNonPagedPoolUsage = 1979096
QuotaNonPagedPoolUsage = 1979096
PagefileUsage = 757653504
PeakPagefileUsage = 760823808


GetPerformanceInfo returns:
CommitTotal = 0
CommitTotal = 0
CommitLimit = 0
CommitPeak = 0
PhysicalTotal = 0
PhysicalAvailable = 0
SystemCache = 0
KernelTotal = 0
KernelPaged = 0
KernelNonpaged = 0
PageSize = 0
HandleCount = 0
ProcessCount = 0
ThreadCount = 0
Click to expand...
Looks like forum activity is somewhat reduced these days.

I did find and excellent, updated 2023 guide in the comments on MyAbandonWare. Reposting it below. Hope it helps.

Ozir’s Guide to Running Black & White 2 in 2023+
1. Download ISO Version Deviance Release
2. Download Patch v1.1 - v1.2 - v1.42
NOTE: v1.42 is a fan made patch that makes the game compatible with modern systems.
5. Mount ISO and run arun.exe, then click install.
IMPORTANT: When mounting the ISO, do NOT use windows built-in mounting. I know it sounds stupid as hell, but use a program like WinCDEmu. (It's super easy to use, just google it, or use some other program) If you don't, the installer WON'T install the fourth level properly and you will crash after finishing the third level every time!
6. Use any of the provided serial keys when installing:

DXFP-JD46-7GJY-Z8MN-WDEV
4UXX-7Z1J-W30X-ZRM5-8DEV
HPEW-VRQA-REWE-U18G-MDEV
1UC4-ZG7S-PORN-VSON-KING

NOTE: When it asks to register with EA arts account just click "register later".

7. Install all of the patches in order v1.1 - v1.2 - v1.42
8. PLAY THE GAME! Run white.exe or use the desktop shortcut.
IMPORTANT: Do NOT use any cracked version white.exe and do not overwrite anything. There are anti piracy measures for this game which purposefully add bugs and glitches to the game (Most notorious being the villagers not aging and growing up). Using the fan patch v1.42 is all you need.

NOTE: Even with all the patches there may be still issues with running the game on a modern PC.

A.) You may get issues with overlapping audio due to too high frame rate.
To fix I had to limit my games FPS to 60.
1. Right-click on your desktop
2. NVIDIA Control Panel
3. Manage 3D settings
4. Program Settings
5. From the drop down find and select "Black And White 2 (white.exe)"
6. From the settings list, scroll down a bit and find "Max Frame Rate" and set it to 60

B.) You may get issues with being unable to move the mouse properly due to too high polling rate on your mouse (razer, logitech etc mouse for example)
To fix I had to reduce my mouses polling rate:
1. Check your polling rate here: https://cps-check.com/polling-rate-check
Click begin and move your mouse around. If the max it shows is anything above 125Hz (e.g. 500Hz or 1000Hz), you'll have to lower yours to 125Hz.
You really only have 2 options:
Option 1: Google your mouse model and check if there is software made by your mouse manufacturer you can download. Usually there will be an option for setting the "Report/Polling rate" manually.
Option 2: You could buy/find a cheap, old crappy mouse that has a low polling rate of 125Hz or less

Option 1 worked for me since I'm using a Logitech G102 which comes with software you can just download online.

C.) You may get issues with the game crashing after finishing the final task of any level.
Luckily the fan made patch v1.42 includes an option to skip the level to level transition sequence. Just press esc, and it will give you the option to skip.

For more see page 6 on this forum post:

https://forum.bwgame.net/threads/running-black-white-2-on-windows-10.7917/post-56669

Anyway, that's all I got, good luck! What a MASSIVE hassle to run, but it's a great game and I wish it had a proper GOG or Steam version release that you could just BUY and PLAY without all of these dumb issues!
 
I can't get to the fifth island without the game resetting my creature. Is there some work-around for this issue, like taking a file from some location, and preserving it between islands?
 
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