The Ultimate WoTLK Installation Guide

User avatar
xXToYeDXx
Posts: 13
Joined: 07 Apr 2015 10:38

The Ultimate WoTLK Installation Guide

#1 » Post by xXToYeDXx » 08 Apr 2015 05:19

The Ultimate WoTLK Installation Guide


Oh great. Here we go... another installation guide to add to the pile of thousands that already exist. What makes this guide so special? Good question. Let me tell you.

This guide will NOT be instructing you on how to download and set up a "pre-installed" copy of the game. Instead I will be providing a singular link, just one, to the complete 3.0.1 installable client and every patch needed to run the game. This package was put together by me after painstakingly scouring the internet for files that aren't easy to come by anymore. Most of the sites that hosted the patches are no longer up or do not host the patches anymore. But I have found all 21 of them and an installable client and packaged them into one 7z archive. You should know that this is the enUS version of the client. It should work no matter where you are in the world, but just bare in mind this won't be any other language but US English.



What Are The Benefits of an Installable Client?
[/b]

Simply put, the "pre-installed" clients may work but there are several compatibility issues with many addons. This installable client doesn't have those issues (provided you are downloading the right version of the addon, ie. using a version of recount designed for 3.3.5a and not one desgined for 6.0.3). Another benefit is by installing it you are letting your system create the proper registry entries and not chewing up your PC's filing system. Simply downloading the "pre-installed" client will not create a registry entry for your "Programs and Features" list, or provide a proper uninstall executable. This method will do all of that and save you from an unnecessary and inevitable Windows reinstall.

So Get One WIth It Already!
[/u][/b]

Alright, alright. Calm down.

Step 1
[/size]
Download the package from here (Google Drive, ~9GB) It will say "Oops, there was a problem with the preview". That's ok, just click the blue "Download" button.
Step 2
[/size]
Unpack the 7z to a folder of your choice. Remember where you're putting it though. I recommend you get 7zip as I find it to be the only archiver you will ever need. You can get that here:
Step 3

THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT
Disconnected from the internet. When you get to step 5 and are installing the patches, after each patch is installed the blizzard updater (old updater) will auto launch and try to update your wow install. To prevent it from updating anything you must disconnect from the net until the end of the install process.
Step 4
[/size]
Open the folder labelled "Install This First". This is your installation. Run the "Installer.exe" executable and click "install". I suggest running this exe as an administrator to avoid any potential conflicts on your system.

THIS IS IMPORTANT

When prompted to choose a directory to install to, do NOT install to the default directory. Installing it anywhere else will be fine.
Step 5

Once the game is fully installed go ahead and close the installer. Now open the folder labelled "Patches". I have made this super easy so anyone can do it. I've placed each update in it's own folder and labelled them progressively like so.

The first patch is in the folder labelled "Patch_1"
The second patch is in the folder labelled "Patch_2"
All the way down to patch 21.

When you get to patches 11 and 15 you will find several files, just launch the "BNUpdate" and "Blizzard Updater" executables respectively. The other files are MPQ files containing the actual patch data. For some reason blizzard decided to separate the executable and the patch for these updates.
Step 6
Go into the Data/enUS folder and edit the "realmlist" file with your favourite text editor. I use Notepad++, but both Notepad and Wordpad work just fine. Remove EVERYTHING from inside the file and copy this into it:
set realmlist login.truewow.org
Save the file and you are ready to play WoW. Just remember to place a shortcut to "WoW.exe" on your desktop. Do NOT EVER run the Launcher executable. You can also begin installing and configuring any 3.3.5a addon you wish to use

User avatar
Justicelight
Donor
Posts: 1130
Joined: 05 Dec 2011 21:47
Location: Romania

Re: The Ultimate WoTLK Installation Guide

#2 » Post by Justicelight » 08 Apr 2015 05:45

Hey, nice guidings, very useful. As a source we also have this on our webpage but I am not sure if it's working.
Image
Image
"I write about the power of trying, because I want to be okay with failing. I write about generosity because I battle selfishness. I write about joy because I know sorrow. I write about faith because I almost lost mine, and I know what it is to be broken and in need of redemption. I write about gratitude because I am thankful - for all of it."

User avatar
xXToYeDXx
Posts: 13
Joined: 07 Apr 2015 10:38

Re: The Ultimate WoTLK Installation Guide

#3 » Post by xXToYeDXx » 08 Apr 2015 05:53

Thanks for the reply.

I did see that but the thing is that pre-installed wow clients are known for causing addons to spit out random LUA errors in game and just break. This installable client won't have those issues at all. Although providing a client for the playerbase is a good thing (You can't run a WoW server if your players can't get the right version of the game... well I guess you could but many people who want to play wouldn't know where to find the game) the fact still remains that installable game clients are ALWAYS better than "non-install-needed" clients because there are some important steps during the installation process that, without them, the software would exhibit unstable and/or unpredictable behaviour. So I wrote this guide to help players get the best possible WoW experience, including the removal of potential system instability and addon compatibility.

User avatar
Etro
Honorary Member
Posts: 2558
Joined: 14 Oct 2012 08:24
Location: Behind ccrs

Re: The Ultimate WoTLK Installation Guide

#4 » Post by Etro » 08 Apr 2015 06:21

Nice guide and we needed an alternative method.

Though, It needs more colours and images. I feel the urge to style everything D:
"With life, no matter what you do, you are all in. This is going to kill you. Might as well play the most magnificent game you can while you're waiting, because... Do you have anything better to do? Really?"


User avatar
KSIXternal
Posts: 2
Joined: 16 May 2015 20:50

Re: The Ultimate WoTLK Installation Guide

#6 » Post by KSIXternal » 17 May 2015 04:02

i never got a prompt to install to a specific directory. it's just installing. is this normal?

User avatar
glskitszo1
Posts: 11
Joined: 14 Jul 2016 23:12

Re: The Ultimate WoTLK Installation Guide

#7 » Post by glskitszo1 » 15 Jul 2016 12:28

This installer didn't give me a destination install folder and chose a TBC client i played and totally changed it into a wrath hybrid client..i had to totally delete it and lost all my addons and client info and will have to rebuild that one from scratch....whats the deal. I couldn't uninstall it properly as the uninstaller was not recognized properly. Now i lost my other client and have no idea what to do with this one.

on top of that the patching doesn't work either.... some error i don't understand

User avatar
Fastor
Posts: 4031
Joined: 16 Dec 2012 17:38

Re: The Ultimate WoTLK Installation Guide

#8 » Post by Fastor » 15 Jul 2016 12:45

glskitszo1 wrote:whats the deal.
Deal is this is guide for those who does not have any client at all AND they dont want to download preinstalled torrent. By trying this way of getting WOTLK you forced upgrade of your TBC client (way Blizzard was planned anyway). Somewhere during installation something went wrong (and that is why we recommend torrent) and now you have no TBC and no WOTLK.

Addons you said you deleted, well, you didnt had to. You could enter that wow folder and rescue them by simply pulling addon folder out of it and saving them for next TBC client. Same thing for their configuration as its in folder named WTF which contains folder with username of your account you used.

Now l strongly suggest you to go to our Download page http://www.truewow.org/download and download Preinstalled WOTLK client. That way you wont have any problems.

User avatar
glskitszo1
Posts: 11
Joined: 14 Jul 2016 23:12

Re: The Ultimate WoTLK Installation Guide

#9 » Post by glskitszo1 » 17 Jul 2016 21:35

I guess i should appreciate your time in a reply and being "helpful"; but i will note there's a hint of snotty sarcasm there.

Having an alternative way to install the game is the goal here. With vanilla clients and TBC clients i can just copy and past them and change the realm lists. In the description he suggest you can install this to a different folder and not the default location; which in practice is not correct. Now I uninstalled wow from my registry and have 2 partitions on my storage D drive and wanted to "install" this again with a different try; but again it gives me no option for install location. As i have an SSD with limited space i need to install it on my D drive; so i guess the question is; if there is suppose to be an option for install location why is that option not available and can that change?

PS.... i saved my addons....but the account info and addon configurations i didn't bother as i have no idea what this invasionary install did to the client folder.--- but again thanks so much for your insightful and helpful reply.

maby I dislike torrents because of their previous bad history of being virus laden.

User avatar
Kylar
Posts: 3
Joined: 20 Jul 2016 15:22

Re: The Ultimate WoTLK Installation Guide

#10 » Post by Kylar » 20 Jul 2016 15:52

Hello,

I tried to install the game via this insturcutions.
My Problem is as soon as i start the Launcher.exe i get the following message:
Sorry, the installer was unable to start up.
"Unable to initialize streaming. Please check your Internet connection. If this problem persists, please contact Blizzard Technical Support."

I couldnt find a solution that helped me, yet. Maybe someone who used this Guid also had a similar problem and knows how to fix it.


Best regards,
Kylar

User avatar
Fastor
Posts: 4031
Joined: 16 Dec 2012 17:38

Re: The Ultimate WoTLK Installation Guide

#11 » Post by Fastor » 20 Jul 2016 16:04

Kylar wrote:Hello,

I tried to install the game via this insturcutions.
My Problem is as soon as i start the Launcher.exe i get the following message:
Sorry, the installer was unable to start up.
"Unable to initialize streaming. Please check your Internet connection. If this problem persists, please contact Blizzard Technical Support."

I couldnt find a solution that helped me, yet. Maybe someone who used this Guid also had a similar problem and knows how to fix it.


Best regards,
Kylar
Yes, here is solution. We on Truewow do not use Launcher.exe since it updates wow to Cata (next expansion which we dont play) but instead we use WoW.exe. You should use it too and also when it asks you for email, Do Not type email ^_^ type your ingame Username.

So again: Use WoW.exe instead of Launcher.exe and use Username instead of email and you are GG.

User avatar
Kylar
Posts: 3
Joined: 20 Jul 2016 15:22

Re: The Ultimate WoTLK Installation Guide

#12 » Post by Kylar » 20 Jul 2016 16:35

Hey,

Thanks for the quick answer but I made a mistake in my explanation.
I didnt meant the Launcher.exe i meant the installer.exe, since im at "Step 4".
I unpacked the zip archive and wanted to start the installation of the folder labelled "Install This First".

Sorry for the incorrect description.

Best regards,
Kylar

User avatar
Fastor
Posts: 4031
Joined: 16 Dec 2012 17:38

Re: The Ultimate WoTLK Installation Guide

#13 » Post by Fastor » 20 Jul 2016 18:11

Ah, well thats different.

Anyway for this installation to work, you need to have internet connection. Now since you are sending post here, you do have internet. However something is blocking internet for installation, which could be Firewall, bug or virus.

Also, if you do have time l strongly really strongly recommend you to download Already installed version of WoW via our torrent (l guarantee you no virus). http://www.torrentfunk.com/tor/11729328.torrent

Its faster and easier than to suffer with installation of game and all those patches ^_^

User avatar
Jiranthos
Admin
Posts: 1978
Joined: 23 Jun 2015 03:43
Location: Not on your bad side, hopefully

Re: The Ultimate WoTLK Installation Guide

#14 » Post by Jiranthos » 20 Jul 2016 18:16

I agree, the pre-installed version from torrent is much more painless.

Everybody knows that the best way to describe the ocean to a blind man is to push him in

User avatar
Kylar
Posts: 3
Joined: 20 Jul 2016 15:22

Re: The Ultimate WoTLK Installation Guide

#15 » Post by Kylar » 20 Jul 2016 19:28

Hi,

Alright i will try the torrent.

Thanks, for the quick replies.

Post Reply

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 1 guest