January 01, 2005

Installing Master of Orion II v1.40 on Win 95/98/ME

Technical Details

System Requirements under Windows 95 / 98 / ME:

  • Pentium 66MHz or better
  • CD-ROM drive (only for install)
  • 16M RAM minimum (depends on OS)
  • Windows 95 / 98 / ME
  • 360M Hard disk space (contents of entire CD)
  • VESA 1.2 compliant video adapter (mode 101h - 640x480x256)
  • Mouse

Installation under Windows 95/98/ME

Step 1: Run the DOS installer

Insert the CD. When (or if) the Master of Orion II install window pops up, close it. That is for installing the Windows 95 version of the game. We want to install the dos version instead.

Find the Install.exe on your CD and double click it to start the DOS installer. You should see the screen as below. If your video does not appear to be functioning at this point, you will not be able to play the DOS version of the game (unless you can find compatable video drivers). Also, many people do not have a CD with the dos version of the game on it.

Select a drive and click install ( I suggest you use the default directory C:\MPS\ORION2 ). The game will install. When the installation is complete, the Sound Configuration Utility will start. Configure both the MIDI music and Digital audio settings to match your soundcard configuration. Select Done and exit.

Step 2: Copy the entire CD onto the hard drive (optional step)

In order to speed up the game, I recommend you now copy the entire contents of the CD into the C:\MPS\ORION2 folder. When you are copying you can feel free to say 'Yes to All' when it asks to overwrite the files. Once all the files are copied you will need to edit the 'ORIONCD.INI' file within the C:\MPS\ORION2 folder. Change the top line in the file to C:\MPS\ORION2\

Step 3: Apply the v1.31 patch

Now you need to apply the 1.31 patch to the game. Download the 1.31 english DOS patch from the microprose web site. Unzip it into your C:\MPS\ORION2 folder overwiting files as needed.

Step 4: Apply the v1.40 patch

Now you need to apply the 1.40 patch. Download the 1.40 patch. Unzip it into your C:\MPS\ORION2 folder. Run it. Be sure to say yes to 'Create Desktop Icon'.

Step 5: Configure an icon on the kali games launch bar (optional)

Next, open up kali. Right click the game launch bar (in the blank area beside the game icons in kali). Pick 'Add New Game' from the menu. Then select 'Master of Orion 2' from the selection window. Now in the Game Settings window, click the browse button. Browse to and Open 'ORION2v140.EXE'. Leave everything else as default. Click OK to finish.

Copyright 2005-2019 Shawn Meunier