Hey everyone! For those of you who would like to setup Halo 2 Vista, this thread will help you get it up and running. Simply follow these steps to install the game. Halo 2 Vista is compatible with Windows Vista, Windows 7, and Windows 8 operating systems.
[mod="YoshinJaa"] This guide presumes that you already own a copy of this game or have owned a copy of this game in the past. We do not support piracy[/mod]
SECTION I: Installing Halo 2 Vista
If you do have a physical copy of Halo 2 and the DVD is corrupted or not readable, you can try either the ISO link or the .torrent file. If you would like to buy the game, click here to browse various sellers. Please download one of either links. You will need an image mounting program for the ISO or a torrent client for the torrent file:
Halo 2 ISO - Google Drive
Daemon Tools Lite Free (mounts the ISO)
- OR -
Halo 2 Torrent
uTorrent (downloads the torrent file)
Besides needing the game, you will also need the following programs installed before attempting to continue to the installation section of this guide. Download and install each program before continuing:
WinRAR (select either x64 or x86 depending on your version of Windows)
Games for Windows Live Client
.NET Framework 4.5.2 (needed to use H2 Shark; explained in section II).
Click the spoiler for installation instructions on how to setup using the torrent. With the ISO, simply install Daemon Tools and then create a new virtual drive (click the +DT button in Daemon Tools) and then browse and mount the .iso to that drive.
[highlight=#ff0000]!IMPORTANT![/highlight]
As of right now any information below here is useless H2Shark/H2Launcher have been discontinued and will most likely not be revived, the only project which can assist you in getting online, activating and getting into game currently is Project Cartographer aka H2V:Online ( http://www.h2v.online ).
Right now there's nothing officially released and you won't be able to play online just yet, I'll update this section of this post when you can and we'll make sure to provide detailed instructions.
SECTION II: How to Use H2Launcher
This section covers how to use H2Launcher, also known as H2 Shark. H2 Shark is a "client" program that runs Halo 2 for you instead of running the game like normal (using a game shortcut or searching and playing). H2 Shark is required to be able to connect to rank-enabled servers as the game was not made to display ranks normally. You can get the client patch here: Download H2Launcher. Here are some other tidbits of H2 Shark:
MAKE SURE TO LAUNCH THE GAME USING H2LAUNCHER, IF NOT, YOU WILL NOT BE ABLE TO USE THE ADDITIONAL FEATURES H2 SHARK PROVIDES! RANKED SERVERS ARE DOWN AT THIS TIME.
[BBvideo 800,490:1n4hubeq]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RdAJPL1rQvk[/BBvideo]
Click the spoiler button for instructions:
SECTION III: Activating Halo 2 Vista
In order to register your game copy for use, you will need to provide a product key. The key used in the phone activation was to activate Live. Now we need to activate your game in order to be able to play it. There are two options you can choose:
Hope you guys enjoy this guide on how to install Halo 2 Vista and how to use H2 Shark as well!
[mod="YoshinJaa"] This guide presumes that you already own a copy of this game or have owned a copy of this game in the past. We do not support piracy[/mod]
SECTION I: Installing Halo 2 Vista
If you do have a physical copy of Halo 2 and the DVD is corrupted or not readable, you can try either the ISO link or the .torrent file. If you would like to buy the game, click here to browse various sellers. Please download one of either links. You will need an image mounting program for the ISO or a torrent client for the torrent file:
Halo 2 ISO - Google Drive
Daemon Tools Lite Free (mounts the ISO)
- OR -
Halo 2 Torrent
uTorrent (downloads the torrent file)
Besides needing the game, you will also need the following programs installed before attempting to continue to the installation section of this guide. Download and install each program before continuing:
WinRAR (select either x64 or x86 depending on your version of Windows)
Games for Windows Live Client
.NET Framework 4.5.2 (needed to use H2 Shark; explained in section II).
Click the spoiler for installation instructions on how to setup using the torrent. With the ISO, simply install Daemon Tools and then create a new virtual drive (click the +DT button in Daemon Tools) and then browse and mount the .iso to that drive.
- After downloading the torrent, locate "HALO 2.rar" (likely in Downloads folder) and right click on the file and select "Extract To HALO 2"
- After the file is extracted to the HALO 2 folder, open the folder and double click on Startup
- Select Customize Game Install
- Select Full Install, Do Not Start and then click Continue
- Halo 2 is now installed on your computer. Continue to either "How to Use H2Launcher" or "Activating Halo 2 Vista" section to activate your game with a product key.
[highlight=#ff0000]!IMPORTANT![/highlight]
As of right now any information below here is useless H2Shark/H2Launcher have been discontinued and will most likely not be revived, the only project which can assist you in getting online, activating and getting into game currently is Project Cartographer aka H2V:Online ( http://www.h2v.online ).
Right now there's nothing officially released and you won't be able to play online just yet, I'll update this section of this post when you can and we'll make sure to provide detailed instructions.
SECTION II: How to Use H2Launcher
This section covers how to use H2Launcher, also known as H2 Shark. H2 Shark is a "client" program that runs Halo 2 for you instead of running the game like normal (using a game shortcut or searching and playing). H2 Shark is required to be able to connect to rank-enabled servers as the game was not made to display ranks normally. You can get the client patch here: Download H2Launcher. Here are some other tidbits of H2 Shark:
- H2 Shark (known as H2Launcher) can start Halo 2 for you and is recommended for use if you would like to receive the features (like Xbox FoV) and ranks it provides.
- If your game was already activated and you were playing previously, you do not need to 'activate' H2 Shark in order to use H2 Shark. Just select Play Game and then register or login once you have linked your H2PC account.
- When using H2 Shark to register an H2PC account, this account is linked to your Windows Live ID (the same thing that is used to sign into Live) and only requires the gamertag's email in order to authenticate itself. Passwords created when registering does not have to be the same password used for your Windows Live ID and is strongly recommended to not be the same password. Your password is encrypted on our end, so we are unable to see the password created when registering your gamertag.
- Your H2PC account is completely separate from the forum accounts if you choose to register an account here on the forums.
- H2 Shark has an auto-updater function, so when a new patch arrives, it will download it and apply it automatically.
MAKE SURE TO LAUNCH THE GAME USING H2LAUNCHER, IF NOT, YOU WILL NOT BE ABLE TO USE THE ADDITIONAL FEATURES H2 SHARK PROVIDES! RANKED SERVERS ARE DOWN AT THIS TIME.
[BBvideo 800,490:1n4hubeq]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RdAJPL1rQvk[/BBvideo]
Click the spoiler button for instructions:
- Visit the H2Launcher Update page and click Get Patch and download .NET Framework 4.5.2 if you have not done so previously: click here to visit the update page
- Extract H2Launcher.zip. Copy or Move H2Launcher (the shark icon) to your desktop
- Right-click on H2Launcher and select Run as Administrator. If your game is already activated, click Play Game otherwise go to SECTION III.
- Click on Register. The game will open up in windowed mode. Sign into your gamertag. After you do, the H2Launcher window will pop up with your gamertag email already filled in. Create a new password and verify it. This is used to link your gamertag to our database in order to retrieve ranking and stat data correctly. Once you click Register and you see Registration Successful, the game will close.
- Login to your H2PC account which you just created. The game will then restart.
- Sign into your Live gamertag that was registered the H2PC account. You are now able to play on ranked servers! Be sure to continue using H2Launcher as your game shortcut in order to play on ranked servers and have access to features as they come out.
SECTION III: Activating Halo 2 Vista
In order to register your game copy for use, you will need to provide a product key. The key used in the phone activation was to activate Live. Now we need to activate your game in order to be able to play it. There are two options you can choose:
- Purchase a Universal Product Key from various sites. Click the spoiler button to reveal various online vendors. Steam is the best way to get a key quickly. CDKeyPort is the cheapest, but may take longer to receive an email of arrival.
- Use H2Launcher's Activator feature. This feature gives one of our product key's for use. Using Activator also updates Halo 2 the latest version before launching the game as well.
Hope you guys enjoy this guide on how to install Halo 2 Vista and how to use H2 Shark as well!