Windows 8.1 64 bit issues

[scott_c2911]

I've taken the leap and bought a powerful laptop with the latest version of windows even though I said in previous posts I never would! I can't get past the first loading screen to the menu. I have successfully transferred my entire installation from my older XP rig using 7zip and a memory stick (not sure how legal that is and I'm sure someone will tell me off) and there doesn't seem to be much info as to where I have gone wrong after that. I have installed directly to C: and changed all of the files to be non indexed and run as administrator under windows XP sp3 compatibility mode as the info for windows 7 has instructed me to. I haven't applied any screen resolution mods or the 4gb patch as I am unsure how to apply them or what they do. I'm happy to play it native so long as it works.
Here's my spec
Hewlett Packard Pavilion Laptop Computer
AMD A8-4555M APU with Radeon HD Graphics 1.6Ghz
8Gb RAM
Windows 8.1 64bit OS

Mod List
SH3 Speech_GWX
GWX Contact Colour
GWX Enhanced Damage Effects
GWX Lite Harbour Traffic
GWX 16Km Atmosphere
GWX v1.6b (Unofficial Patch)
GWX Enigma Machine Messages Screen
GWX Stock Binocular View
GWX Modified Zoom for Optics
GWX Alternate Load Screen Sea of Fire
GWX English Nav Map and Grid Refs
GWX U-123 Type IXB Alternative Skin
GWX My Officer Icons
GWX Hull Integrity Display
GWX New Mouse Cursor

This mod list may seem alien to yourselves. This is because in the early days of my sh3 experience I thought all of the mods needed to be prefixed with GWX to function. I also renamed some mods so that I knew what they did. Also some of the mods are completely original and my own such as my officer icons and the modified optics zoom levels so no mickey taking! Some .cfg files have been manually edited so that the guns will work in awful weather and the crew do not fatigue at all. Yes I know that's cheating but I feel it wasn't the captains responsibility to tell every crew member when he should hit the rack. I'm not their mother! All torpedoes are free and do not cost renown and I have 3000 rounds of AA ammo and 300 rounds of HE ammo when I'm in a VII or a IX .
I must highlight the fact that this exact set up runs flawlessly on a 10 year old intel desktop PC with a graphics card and RAM upgrade carried out by myself. If there is no solution I'm not all that bothered I just wanted to know for when the old computer goes to the computer desk in the sky that I can keep playing.
When the first loading screen comes on the display automatically adjusts to 1024 x 768 stretched out to 16:9 which I'm fine with. The loading bar fills up all of the way and then I get the silent hunter III has stopped working and windows is "impotently" looking for a solution to the problem.
Just as a side note has windows ever found a solution to any software problem by itself? I don't think it has for me! So what's different apart from the operating system and I have 4 times as much RAM and a quad core processor. You would think it would process and run sh3 for breakfast.

[Mittelwaechter]

You zipped the XP installation and transfered it to your 8.1?

You installed the game correctly and zipped your mods to plug them over to your new rig, right?

[irish1958]

I think this is a registry problem. You need to install SH3 from the disc and then you can transfer your data.
If this isn't the problem, then I am in the same boat as Microsoft.
I, like you, have NEVER had any help from Microsoft for any problem.

[scott_c2911]

The installation program (installshield) has failed in the past and because my stable setup is quite complex to recreate exactly how I like it I have copied and compressed the entire lot. Wrote it to a DVD as a data disc and created my own way of installing the game using 7zip instead of installshield. When you install sh3 using the normal way you are decompressing and copying files anyway. It has worked on a vista laptop I still own and this method also works for sh4. The games run flawlessly on the vista laptop too. If you have a large datastick around 8gb or more you can use that instead of a DVD. Obviously for this to work you still need the original discs to perform the first installation and this process was only stable on my xp machine. I have been tinkering around with the files for 7 years or more to see how they interact and which files are responsible for which game features.

[Mittelwaechter]

The original SH3 installation routine should work just fine with 8.1.

Your complex stable setup may be transfered after the registry is fed.
It may be necessary to chose the exact same installation paths.

Never tried it your way.