# Petz 3



## gerbilstar (Nov 20, 2003)

Hello! I know this is a really old game, but I recently found my installation disk for Dogz 3 and Catz 3. I tried to install it, and everything seems to work fine, until I go to adopt a pet. The game just freezes up at that point. If anyone has any suggestions about how to fix my problem, it would be much appreciated. Thanks in advance!


----------



## Chicon (Jul 29, 2004)

Hi gilberstar,

May we know what OS you're running ?


----------



## gerbilstar (Nov 20, 2003)

I'm not quite certain what an OS is, but I'm assuming you mean operating system? I'm sorry, I'm extremely computer illiterate. Anyways, I have a Dell laptop, with Windows XP. I hope that's helpful.


----------



## Chicon (Jul 29, 2004)

Hi gerbilstar,

It seems that Petz 3 was originally created for Windows 95 & 98.
It's possible that your game uses DLL's too obsolete for Windows XP.
I own old games too and I had to create a Windows 95 partition to run them.


----------



## gerbilstar (Nov 20, 2003)

Thanks for the info! How would one go about creating this "windows 95 partition"?


----------



## Chicon (Jul 29, 2004)

You have 2 choices :
- Partition magic which will allow you to create a new partition (beware the file system for Windows 95 : FAT16 or FAT32);
- You reinstall completely your computer :
1° you boot on your Windows95 floppy disk and you make 2 partitions;
the C: drive for Windows95 and the D: drive for Windows XP (give both drives FAT32 format);
2° you install Windows95 on the C: drive and you complete all the settings for Windows 95 (drivers);
3° you boot on your Windows XP install CD and you choose the D: drive to install XP (you will have to reformat D: under NTFS format). You will get a start-up menu which allows you to choose Windows 95 or XP.


----------



## brendandonhu (Jul 8, 2002)

Doesn't windows xp have a compatibility mode to run Win95 programs? I know Windows 2000 had this.


----------



## cheese (Jun 22, 2003)

Yes it does...

Start>All programs>Accessories>Program Compatibility Wizard


----------



## Chicon (Jul 29, 2004)

Yes,
Just have a look at this link http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/helpandsupport/learnmore/appcompat.mspx
I am a Windows 2000 pro user and I got problems with the windows 95 compatibility because some of my softwares are very old.


----------



## gerbilstar (Nov 20, 2003)

Well, I tried the Compatability Wizard thingie, but an error message pops up saying that the Petz executable file has been renamed to C:\PROGRA~1\PF2BF2~1.MAG\PETZ3~1\PETZ3~1.EXE, and that I need to rename it to Petz3.exe. I'm quite confused, because I checked the properties of the Petz3 program, and it says that the executable file name is Petz3.exe. Any ideas or suggestions?


----------



## Chicon (Jul 29, 2004)

Hi,

It seems that your XP tools made a translation of the original Petz3.exe without modifying its properties to make sure that this new executable is recognizable by other components of the software.
If it's so, you may do as you were told : rename it to Petz3.exe.


----------



## gerbilstar (Nov 20, 2003)

Let me be a bit more specific:

The name of the executable file _is_ "petz3.exe". The computer tells me that the file name has changed to "C:\PROGRA~1\PF2BF2~1.MAG\PETZ3~1\PETZ3~1.EXE", and that I need to change it to "petz3.exe", which it already is. This is the problem; I cannot follow it's directions because the file is already named petz3.exe. It seems that the computer thinks that the location is the name....but I'm not quite sure how to fix that.

Thanks for your patience!


----------



## Chicon (Jul 29, 2004)

Did you try the game without renaming any file ?
Just to have a clue, could you give me the size of both files PETZ3~1.EXE and petz3.exe ?


----------



## gerbilstar (Nov 20, 2003)

I didn't rename anything. I installed the program, ran the Compatability Wizard, set it to Windows 95 and 256 colors, and that's it. Suddenly it says that I changed the executable file name. Now, if I uninstall the program and then reinstall the program, it still does the same thing. Before I used the Compatibility Wizard, the program would open up and freeze after a few seconds of playing. Now, it won't even play, and gives me the error message described previously. Since I haven't renamed anything, I'm not sure why it says that it has been renamed. Any idea what's going on with it?


----------



## Chicon (Jul 29, 2004)

It reminds me all the problems I got when I tried to run old Win95 softwares on Windows 2000. I choosed to reinstall completely my computer with both OS. In my case, it was the easiest way.


----------



## sunbirdsw (Apr 7, 2005)

Just out of curiousity..... what level is your display set at? Might try setting it at 800x600 with 16 million colors, and try installing and running it in compatibility mode......
Let me know if it works for you.
Good luck!


----------



## cubanqueen (Jul 30, 2007)

I had the same problem with my game and i dont think you can really fix it but i found a way for it to work. go to general options and trun off all the sound. it makes the game run a whole lot better, i wont freeze up or anything, you just can hear them speak. i know it sucks not being able to hear your pets but at least you can play.  hope this helps


----------



## Nurdle (Nov 12, 2005)

I know this thread is for Dogz & Catz 3 but it might be the same issue I had with Dogz & Catz 5 (petz). Go into the games installation directory and look for a file called "setupapi.dll" if the file is there then I'm sure this is the problem. Just rename this file to "setupapi.dll.bak" then try running the game again. Fixed all issues I had with game.


----------



## Amyfers (Jan 26, 2008)

I've found a way to stop Petz 3 from freezing! 
I signed up just to share it with everyone 

ok, go here:
http://www.sherlocksoftware.org/page.php?id=6

And download PetzA, its a piece of software someone made which not only fixes the Petz 3 freezing problems (which is ALL due to sound), but also lets you have more than 2 pets in at the same time, which is fun 

You don't have to mess around with the system configuration (like you have do with the Program Compatibility Wizard, evil thing), it does it all for you when you download it 
Its free and takes less than a minute to install, and it works 

~Amy~
Xx♥xX


----------



## wakesk8er19 (Jan 27, 2008)

Amyfers said:


> I've found a way to stop Petz 3 from freezing!
> I signed up just to share it with everyone
> 
> ok, go here:
> ...


Thank you so much! My little brother rediscovered this game from our older PC, but when he installed it on his new laptop with Windows Vista, it always froze! So we decided to buy the actual game disc's on Ebay. It came in today and had the same problem. We were bummed out, so we looked the problem up on google and eventually found this board. I was not looking forward to the solutions posted before yours. Then when i saw yours, i tried it, and it worked! A much easier solution! And how strange that you posted it today, the very day i need it! and all the other posts are so old! i wanted to thank you but i assumed your post was very old and youd never read it, but when i saw it was made today, i signed up to thank you. so thanks!!! strange coincidence huh?


----------



## Amyfers (Jan 26, 2008)

Hey no problem 

lol what a coincidence! Even more so because the day I posted that, I too just re-installed Dogz 3 and had the same problem as everybody else 

Glad I was of some help, have fun ^__^


----------

