--------------- (my question) I have read on your web site that the Platinum Edition of Might and Magic operates on Windows XP. I assume that means that all of the games included in the package (M&M6, 7, 8, and 9) will install and run under Windows XP.

I am a former mail-order customer of yours (should be in your database), and while I'd rather not buy the games again, it would be worth it if they all ran under XP.

--------------- (their answer) Thank you for writing to 3DO Direct.

The Platinum Edition of both Heroes of Might and Magic, and Might and Magic will run under Windows XP. The interesting thing about it, is that these are the same versions of the games that you would have if you had bought them in the past.

When we do a "bundle" pack such as the Platinum Edition, we take the latest versions of the games (inclusive of all patches or updates) and put them all into one box, the only major difference being that the instruction manuals are now on the CD's as .pdf files.

What this means to you, is that if you have already purchased past iterations of any of these games, they should work just fine on Windows XP. I have run all of these games myself on Windows XP, and although it was necessary to put Might and Magic 7 into "compatibility mode in Windows XP, but the games will run and install on this Operating System.

If you have never used the compatibility mode in Windows XP, no worries, I have included the following instructions for you.

If the game is installed, but doesn't seem to run under Windows XP: Right click on the icon for the Might and Magic game you are trying to get to run. Once the right-click menu appears, choose the "Properties" option. When the "Properties" window appears, look at the top of the window for a file tab named "compatibility" and click on it. When the Compatibility screen appears, look towards the top half, under the "compatibility mode" section for a check box that says "Run this program under compatibility mode for..." and click on the check box to enable it. Once you have clicked the check box, the pull-down menu below it will light up, allowing you to choose an OS for compatibility mode. Chose "Windows 95" and then click the "apply" button at the bottom of the screen. Click the "ok" button to go back to your desktop. Double click the game icon that we just modified to launch the game. (If for some reason this does not get the game to run, go back to the compatibility screen above, and change the pull-down menu from "Windows 95" to "Windows 98/ Me", click the "apply" button and then the "ok" button to return to the desktop.) Try double clicking the icon again to see if the game runs better this way.

If you are trying to install the game, and it crashed during installation on Windows XP, or the installer will not run: Double click on your "My Computer" icon to open the My Computer window. Find the Cd rom drive letter that has your installation CD in it. Right Click on the CD-Rom drive letter that contains your installation disc, and when the menu appears, choose "Explore". Find the Setup.exe file on the installation CD, right click on it, and when the menu appears, choose "properties". When the "Properties" window appears, look at the top of the window for a file tab named "compatibility" and click on it. When the Compatibility screen appears, look towards the top half, under the "compatibility mode" section for a check box that says "Run this program under compatibility mode for..." and click on the check box to enable it. Once you have clicked the check box, the pull-down menu below it will light up, allowing you to choose an OS for compatibility mode. Chose "Windows 95" and then click the "apply" button at the bottom of the screen. Click the "ok" button to go back to your desktop. Double click the "Setup.exe" icon that we just modified to launch the installer. (If for some reason this does not get the installer to run, go back to the compatibility screen above, and change the pull-down menu from "Windows 95" to "Windows 98/ Me", click the "apply" button and then the "ok" button to return to the desktop.) Try double clicking the icon again to see if the installer runs better this way.

If you have any other questions about running these games under Windows XP, you might try dropping a line to our Customer Support department a line at: customer-support@3dco.com , they are really good, and I am sure they can work with you to correct any other issues you might have.

If there are any other questions that you might have about our products or store, please drop us a line.

Regards, 3DO-Direct