well, for all you who want to play the game with all the bells & whistles. A very kind gamer has made a patch that fixes most (if not all) of MM7 problems. I tried the patch myself and i rest assure that it works with Hardware Aceleration enabled.

Quoting the author :

"Hi,
I created an experimental patch for Might & Magic VII while replaying the game again. I posted the link on another M&M forum and so far only 1 person tried it and confirmed that it works (as I don't have english version of the game and only tested it using a version in my native language).

You must update your game to v1.1 before using my patch as it does not contain updated Data\Events.lod & MM7Setup.exe files with the original bugfixes.

Tested here on 2 configurations:
- AMD64 3500+, NVidia GF6800 GT, 1GB of memory, XP SP2.
- P4 2.66, ATI Radeon 8500, 1GB of memory, XP SP2.

Let me know if it works for you.

-Mok

Changes:
- fixed 3D hardware compatibility under Windows XP (SP2). Win2K not tested. No need to use any compatibilty modes on the executables anymore. Disabling V-Sync in your gfx card's drivers is not recommended or you might get lots of white screen flashes (especially on ATI hardware).
- probably fixed 3D Sound compatibilty. Updated all 3 Rad Games libraries to much newer versions (Bink, Smacker and Miles Sound System).
- fixed a saving game message in the Arena. You'll get 'No saving in the arena'.
- fixed a bug which caused inventory corruption if you used Recharge spell on a wand with no charges. Now it will simply fail on such wands.
- the game will no longer generate wands with max number of charges = 0. It will be minimum 1 charge. Existing wands won't be upgraded.
- fixed a bug in Paralyze spell that allowed you to target a dead monster to kill it several times. It will not work on dead opponents anymore."

Originally posted at
http://telp.org/mm7/tavern/mm7tavern.html

i don´t know if direct linking is allowed, i don´t want to be responsible for the site being taken down.
But it´s for the sake of all you who want to play this great game

http://strony.aster.pl/mokmtg/mm7_eng_xp.exe

Props to the author, he well deserves it

IT WORKSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

AMD Barton 2500
FIC Radeon 9600XT
1 GB of memory
XP /w SP2

to b ad sector i was wonder ing if u could send the might and magic
file please my email address is masterbayden@gmail.com

thank you

solution to "smacker error" problem
-----------------------------------

The smacker error problem and the compatibility problems with WinXP are two distinct things. The "smacker error" problem is caused when one tries to use disc 1 of an earlier release with disc 2 of a later release. During installation Disc1 will not recognize Disc2 and fail to install the animations to the hard drive. There are two solutions:

1) Play the Animations from Disc:

- Uninstall Might and Magic 7
- Insert Disc 1 and install again
- When asked if you want to install "extra content" uncheck the box for the "magic7.vid" file.
- Let it finish the installation
- Place and keep Disc2 in your CDROM
- Run the game normally. The "Smacker error" should be gone and the animations will load normally from the CDROM.

2) Manually install the files from Disc 2

Only way to go if you want the animations to load from the hard drive. This is very tough and I am afarid someone more knowledgable than me will be required for this one.

Basically that's the only way.

hey there...
I have a problem with my MM8 on win XP
i have tried all you wrote above and i had no luck
every time i try to open MM8 i get this error:
The procedure entry point MakeCriticalSelectionGlobal could not be located in the dynamic link library KERNEL32.dll

could someone pls help me!!!!!!!!!!!
i'm desperate....

if you have the solution post it here or sent it to my mail:
riankie@hotmail.com

thanx a lot....