Bunsies
03-29-2013, 05:02 AM
I have been fighting with this issue today, and finally managed to get the expansion to load by cheating a little. The same steps might help someone else so I am posting them here as I've seen a number of posts on a number of forums concerning the specific issue where an account has been linked to the expansion, but upon trying to log into FFXI the following warning pops up:
"Expansion pack data has not been installed. You cannot enter areas that require the expansion pack data."
This solution wont work for some people I'm sure, as it is limited to the PC version, and quite possibly to the non-Steam version also - I'm not in a position to test this. It may also only apply to EU installations made via the downloader from the SE store (store.eu.square-enix.com/emea_uk/).
First and foremost, to any SE representative who reads this, the issues I have encountered attempting to install this addon are far and above the most painful of any game I have had to install or patch. Were I less computer literate I would have been completely at a loss of what to do.
The biggest complaint I have is the that lack of information given to me throughout the process was appaling and left me unsure as to whether or not I was even doing what I was supposed to be doing. A walkthrough of the install process would have taken very little time to write and post either here, within the purchase email I received, or better yet within the installer itself or in a readme file provided at point of download. Any of these would have allowed me to identify at what step I was actually encountering an issue - and would have helped me avoid about 3 hours of wasted time. It is entirely possible that I encountered a unique glitch, but as I have no walkthrough for reference I have no idea if this is the case.
My specific problem was:
I am running on Windows 7, using the Vista POL viewer in place of the original version I have on my (very old) installation disks. I have no third party apps attached to FF and have never used any. I have all previous expansions installed from disks (except the minis and Abyssea, of course).
I purchased my copy of Adoulin this morning (some 7.5 hours after Adoulin went live) from the Square Enix EU site (I have an EU installation of FFXI - fully patched just before I bought the expansion).
I was provided with a download link in the confirmation email and this brought down the 2.1MB launcher. The launcher brought down the other files:
FFXI_SOA_Setup.exe - a 4.2 MB executable.
FINALFANTASYXI.Data.001 - a 209MB archive file.
Once the download was finished I clicked "Launch" and everything went wrong. The first thing the launcher did was uninstall and re-install POL. I then endured a POL update that ran for over an hour, at the end of which I was left with the "Expansion pack data has not been installed..." message at login. A review of the dat folders revealed that Seekers had not installed at all - ROM9 was nowhere to be seen.
I tried to re-run the installer but it failed while trying to uninstall POL again, claiming that a file in my Temp folders was missing (It wasn't, I checked and was even able to run the alleged file, although it closed after informing me that it could only be run through the installer - the same program that claimed it was not there). I am unclear why POL was even attempting to re-install or if it should have even done so in the first place. Plainly the installer's first step was to attempt to do so but I have no idea why.
I tried a variety of solutions to this issue, with no success - I completey redownloaded the updater, cleared my Temp folders, rebooted, all to no avail. The installer just kept trying to replace my POL installation (which works fine, I should add) and when it fails to do so I am left with no option to install the actual addon. The one time it succeeded (i.e. the first time) it stopped and closed without giving any error rather than moving on to installing Seekers.
My solution:
I have had a poke around in the main archive I downloaded, and observed what it does when the game tries to install.
Upon running the launcher the first step that is taken is that the archive file is extracted to a folder named "Extracted" in the same directory that the archive file is in. Within this is a "Setup.exe" file that actually installs Seekers of Andoulin. The problem is that if you manually unpack this archive yourself the setup.exe file will not be in a runnable format, and if the installer closes the "Extracted" folder is deleted.
So you need to manually run the Setup.exe file yourself after the archive has been automatically extracted by the installer but before it is deleted. However, you can not run the setup.exe file while Install Shield is already trying to install anything else, e.g. POL. There is a window of oportunity to run the Setup.exe before POL starts to properly install.
Here is the precise sequence I was able to follow:
1. Run "FFXI_SOA_Setup.exe" or press "Launch" from the downloader.
2. The main installer will start up and you will be asked to accept the License Agreement - Accept and click "Next".
3. The files will be extracted and you will be prompted to select a language for the installation of POL but do not do so - instead find the "Extracted" folder, which will be in the same directory as the "FINALFANTASYXI.Data.001" file itself.
4. Within this folder find and run Setup.exe. This will launch the Installer for Adoulin itself - follow any instructions that are given. The installer did not take very long for me.
5. Once this is done return to the language selection window and press "Cancel" and wait for the installer to close.
6. Start POL, log in and you should see a check/install files step run when you try to play FF - this is the installation of the Seekers files and may take some time. Once it is finished, Seekers should be installed and ready.
My probelm may have been unique and caused by some corruption during my first install attempt, but if not hopefully this solution will be of use to at least one other person out there, and maybe save them some of the frustration I faced.
Best wishes,
G.
(Edited: spelling)
"Expansion pack data has not been installed. You cannot enter areas that require the expansion pack data."
This solution wont work for some people I'm sure, as it is limited to the PC version, and quite possibly to the non-Steam version also - I'm not in a position to test this. It may also only apply to EU installations made via the downloader from the SE store (store.eu.square-enix.com/emea_uk/).
First and foremost, to any SE representative who reads this, the issues I have encountered attempting to install this addon are far and above the most painful of any game I have had to install or patch. Were I less computer literate I would have been completely at a loss of what to do.
The biggest complaint I have is the that lack of information given to me throughout the process was appaling and left me unsure as to whether or not I was even doing what I was supposed to be doing. A walkthrough of the install process would have taken very little time to write and post either here, within the purchase email I received, or better yet within the installer itself or in a readme file provided at point of download. Any of these would have allowed me to identify at what step I was actually encountering an issue - and would have helped me avoid about 3 hours of wasted time. It is entirely possible that I encountered a unique glitch, but as I have no walkthrough for reference I have no idea if this is the case.
My specific problem was:
I am running on Windows 7, using the Vista POL viewer in place of the original version I have on my (very old) installation disks. I have no third party apps attached to FF and have never used any. I have all previous expansions installed from disks (except the minis and Abyssea, of course).
I purchased my copy of Adoulin this morning (some 7.5 hours after Adoulin went live) from the Square Enix EU site (I have an EU installation of FFXI - fully patched just before I bought the expansion).
I was provided with a download link in the confirmation email and this brought down the 2.1MB launcher. The launcher brought down the other files:
FFXI_SOA_Setup.exe - a 4.2 MB executable.
FINALFANTASYXI.Data.001 - a 209MB archive file.
Once the download was finished I clicked "Launch" and everything went wrong. The first thing the launcher did was uninstall and re-install POL. I then endured a POL update that ran for over an hour, at the end of which I was left with the "Expansion pack data has not been installed..." message at login. A review of the dat folders revealed that Seekers had not installed at all - ROM9 was nowhere to be seen.
I tried to re-run the installer but it failed while trying to uninstall POL again, claiming that a file in my Temp folders was missing (It wasn't, I checked and was even able to run the alleged file, although it closed after informing me that it could only be run through the installer - the same program that claimed it was not there). I am unclear why POL was even attempting to re-install or if it should have even done so in the first place. Plainly the installer's first step was to attempt to do so but I have no idea why.
I tried a variety of solutions to this issue, with no success - I completey redownloaded the updater, cleared my Temp folders, rebooted, all to no avail. The installer just kept trying to replace my POL installation (which works fine, I should add) and when it fails to do so I am left with no option to install the actual addon. The one time it succeeded (i.e. the first time) it stopped and closed without giving any error rather than moving on to installing Seekers.
My solution:
I have had a poke around in the main archive I downloaded, and observed what it does when the game tries to install.
Upon running the launcher the first step that is taken is that the archive file is extracted to a folder named "Extracted" in the same directory that the archive file is in. Within this is a "Setup.exe" file that actually installs Seekers of Andoulin. The problem is that if you manually unpack this archive yourself the setup.exe file will not be in a runnable format, and if the installer closes the "Extracted" folder is deleted.
So you need to manually run the Setup.exe file yourself after the archive has been automatically extracted by the installer but before it is deleted. However, you can not run the setup.exe file while Install Shield is already trying to install anything else, e.g. POL. There is a window of oportunity to run the Setup.exe before POL starts to properly install.
Here is the precise sequence I was able to follow:
1. Run "FFXI_SOA_Setup.exe" or press "Launch" from the downloader.
2. The main installer will start up and you will be asked to accept the License Agreement - Accept and click "Next".
3. The files will be extracted and you will be prompted to select a language for the installation of POL but do not do so - instead find the "Extracted" folder, which will be in the same directory as the "FINALFANTASYXI.Data.001" file itself.
4. Within this folder find and run Setup.exe. This will launch the Installer for Adoulin itself - follow any instructions that are given. The installer did not take very long for me.
5. Once this is done return to the language selection window and press "Cancel" and wait for the installer to close.
6. Start POL, log in and you should see a check/install files step run when you try to play FF - this is the installation of the Seekers files and may take some time. Once it is finished, Seekers should be installed and ready.
My probelm may have been unique and caused by some corruption during my first install attempt, but if not hopefully this solution will be of use to at least one other person out there, and maybe save them some of the frustration I faced.
Best wishes,
G.
(Edited: spelling)