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phaolo: Ops, I made some errors, check my last edit (and please modify the quote too).

About the last point: it could be that, I'm not sure.

I can check the native physical size of my current drives with the command:
fsutil fsinfo ntfsinfo c:

As expected, mine is 512.
You could check yours from the manufacturer specs (you'll need the model code) or by plugging the HDD in another PC.
Or maybe you could run such command with a live CD.
Ok, I really hope it's not a kind of definitive compatibility issue.
I'm unplugging my hdd, I'll plug it to my laptop and format it into NTFS, and will do too your suggested check.
After that (and reading that article), I'll plug it again in my comp' and ttry again to install.

Edit
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phaolo: I've found another possible cause:
did you check if your SATA mode is AHCI and not IDE?
Checking this right now.

Edit 2 : I can see my hdd at AHCI Port0, and my "onboard sata controller" is on "enabled" and "onboard sata mode" on "enabled". Is it good ?
Post edited August 09, 2017 by Splatsch
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phaolo: Ops, I made some errors, check my last edit (and please modify the quote too).

About the last point: it could be that, I'm not sure.

I can check the native physical size of my current drives with the command:
fsutil fsinfo ntfsinfo c:

As expected, mine is 512.
You could check yours from the manufacturer specs (you'll need the model code) or by plugging the HDD in another PC.
Or maybe you could run such command with a live CD.
So I tested it, here is the result :
Bytes Per Sector : 512
Bytes Per Physical Sector : 4096
And I formatted it into two partitions (NTFS), I'm putting it back in the comp', and we'll see if magic happens.

Edit : Nope, a clean install still doesn't work.
But I have a good news : in worst emergency-desperate cases, my set of recovery dvds seems to maybe. So I think it's due to this UEFI thing, who is messing since the beginning of my issues. So, I'll try to find a way to avoid UEFI if possible to do a clean install (option preferred). And if not (or if it's way too much complicated)... well I'll try recovery dvd and pray :/
Again, thanks all for all your help & support :)
Post edited August 09, 2017 by Splatsch
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Splatsch: Bytes Per Sector : 512
Bytes Per Physical Sector : 4096
Mm.. so that's an Advanced Format 512e.

According to this [url=MS page]https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/compatibility/advanced-format-disk-compatibility-update[/url], Windows7 to work needs SP1 minimum (or KB982018).

Is your Win7 >= SP1?

I'm out of ideas..
Post edited August 09, 2017 by phaolo
Okay, on final discovery, it seems that if I switch the "onboard sata mode" from AHCI to IDE into bios, I can do the clean install. So nothing to do with UEFI apparently :)
And of course, after the clean instal, you have to switch back to AHCI through registry & maybe bios again.

I'll look at that tomorrow though, it's very late !
Post edited August 09, 2017 by Splatsch
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phaolo: Mm.. so that's an Advanced Format 512e.

According to this [url=MS%20page]https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/compatibility/advanced-format-disk-compatibility-update[/url], Windows7 to work needs SP1 minimum (or KB982018).

Is your Win7 >= SP1?

I'm out of ideas..
Yep, it's Win7 SP1 64Bits
Well, we talked a bit with ariaspi and he may have found a way : see my previous post concerning AHCI/IDE.
Thanks a lot for helping, I'm repeating myself but I'm very grateful :)
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Splatsch: Okay, on final discovery, it seems that if I switch the "onboard sata mode" from AHCI to IDE into bios, I can do the clean install. So nothing to do with UEFI apparently :)
Weird.. maybe Win7 didn't have Sata drivers compatible to your HDD, so using the old standard worked.
Now that I think of it, I remember I actually slipstreamed various SATA (+USB3) drivers to a custom install..

.
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Splatsch: Thanks a lot for helping, I'm repeating myself but I'm very grateful :)
Ok, glad that you succeeded! :)
Post edited August 09, 2017 by phaolo
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timppu: To me it normally means doing more maintenance, like moving big amount of files from one partition to another in order to make room to one partition. If those two partitions were already joined, then such move operations wouldn't be necessary.
If you end up in that situation, it's probably time to upgrade the storing space or do some thorough cleaning, uninstalling and backups on external drives.

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timppu: Also when installing the OS first time, I need to figure out what should be an optimal size for the OS partition. Do I try to make it as small as possible so that I don't waste hard drive space on something which I could use for applications or data files? Will it be enough also years from now when the OS partition gets cluttered of temp files, restore points and old driver packages (I'm always amazed how much space the old NVidia Geforce driver packages take, since the Nvidia utility keeps them around), or when Microsoft releases some SP or "Anniversary update" which needs a lot of free room to install?
Yeah, that needs some planning beforehand, but usually 120 GB is enough for any Windows. Most SSDs are actually that size. Temp files and restore points should be cleared regularly. I usually do that before defragging and then do a manual restore point after it's done.
You mean this folder? I deleted that after every update without a problem. How much it takes on your drive?

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timppu: Also, some file operations like "move" are far much faster when you operate within the same (bigger) partition. So if I move 200GB of files from one folder to another, it happens almost instantly if those two folders are within the same parition, but it takes ages if they are on two different partitions.
That's normal, because you don't actually move the files on the same partition, but just assign them to other folders.

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timppu: Also what you said about fragmentation, will it not just increase fragmentation if you have e.g. 5 + 5 + 5 GB of free space on three separate partitions, instead of having 15 GB of free space on one bigger partition? I recall some defragmentation utilities even refuse to work if you have too little free space on the partition.
As above, time to upgrade, clean/uninstall, do backups. Yup, those utilities usually need 10% free space.

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timppu: I guess in the end I became so much against the idea of dividing one hard drive into several partitions after those "too small OS partition" problems on couple of friends' PCs. I couldn't figure out why someone had felt that one hard drive (which wasn't that big to begin with) should be divided into three partitions, which caused the OS partition to be so small that after certain point it couldn't download and install Windows updates anymore. Apparently Windows had grown over the years so much that the OS partition which seemed big enough years ago, wasn't big enough anymore.
Well, that's entirely the fault of those who made the small partitions and today's drives are not exactly small at 1TB and more.

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timppu: But to each his own, of course. On Linux, I like to have the swap partition as a separate one, because... well, Linux folks seem to think it is a good idea to have the swap file on its very own partition.
Yup, to each his own. Unfortunately, I haven't delved into Linux yet, but on Windows I disable the swap and hibernation files, so that's around 30 GB gained. Of course, that depends on how much RAM a system has.
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phaolo: Weird.. maybe Win7 didn't have Sata drivers compatible to your HDD, so using the old standard worked.
Now that I think of it, I remember I actually slipstreamed various SATA (+USB3) drivers to a custom install..
Ok, glad that you succeeded! :)
Yep that worked ! :D
So, I just installed windows with success, a clean install :) Of course, I followed this explanations to put ahci back (a simple regedit, and after that the parameter to change in the bios).
I already installed the nvidia driver, and now I'm trying to install the drivers, kaspersky free, and after, the windows update.
For the drivers, I'm beginning with the dvd that I burned when my dying drive was still alive. After that, I'll try the automated software(s) :) *crosss fingers for everything going well*

Edit : okay. So I installed several drivers with my dvd. After I tried to use DriverPack Solution as suggested but I got a bunch of things not installing, and it was taking a long time. But it's certainly because of me, I shouldn't have tried to install kaspersky in the same time XD (or maybe it was because there wasn't any basic driver) So... I rebooted it a bit hardly because while shutting down, it was stuck on the "closing windows" screen with no disc activity at all. I restarted, restored at a point prior launching the utility, no issue. I then tried Slimdriver utility (suggested [url=https://www.gog.com/forum/general/my_computer_need_help/post33]here) : it seems to be running fine :) I've installed only very few drivers for now and rebooting regularly to not have a bad surprise. I'll certainly try DriverPack Solution and maybe Snappy Driver installer (suggested here) if I've got the motivation. But not sure for tonight, I'll certainly finish tomorrow :P

Note : That's so strange to not have all the useless softwares pre-installed with a Windows installation ! And my comp' start so fast ! :D
Are there any things/softwares I should think to install ? (I've the feeling of a "naked" windows and I don't know if there wasn't any usefull software pre-installed sometimes XD)
Post edited August 09, 2017 by Splatsch
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Splatsch: Are there any things/softwares I should think to install ?
Congrats on your new Windows. :)
Beside the ones already mentioned in this thread, my all time favourite (I feel crippled using a computer without it) - Total Commander. You probably already use CCleaner from Piriform and the rest of their tools.

and/or [url=https://sourceforge.net/projects/mpcbe/]MPC-BE, VLC
and [url=http://www.rarlab.com/]WinRAR
Core Temp and Open Hardware Monitor
MediaInfo - if you need info about the codecs of your video and audio files
SUMo - to check for updates of your software
There's a ton of useful little tools at NirSoft.
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ariaspi: Congrats on your new Windows. :)
Yaaaay ! :D And thanks again for all the help !
Almost everything is running fine :) I still need to try some particular old games which may be problematic but I'll see that later ;)
Oh btw, I wanted to ask you : I'm using something like this with two PS2 Dualshock controller. But sometimes -fortunately really not often- they disconnect in game due to rumble : I think it's the USB2 port who may not have enough power. Do you think a usb Y-cable could solve that ?
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ariaspi: Beside the ones already mentioned in this thread, my all time favourite (I feel crippled using a computer without it) - Total Commander.
It seems pretty obscure to me :P What is this useful for ?
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ariaspi: You probably already use CCleaner from Piriform and the rest of their tools.
Yep :)
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ariaspi: and/or [url=https://sourceforge.net/projects/mpcbe/]MPC-BE, <a href="http://www.gog.com/forum/general/my_computer_need_help/post129" class="link_arrow"></a></div> I'm using [url=https://www.facebook.com/notes/satsuki-yatoshi-softs/satsuki-decoder-pack/192551034503119/?fref=mentions]Satsuki Decoder Pack since.. more than 10 years ? In general, no issue and there are some really useful options :)
Could this really be useful for a "simple" user like me ?
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ariaspi: There's a ton of useful little tools at NirSoft.
Okay, I'll take a look :) Thanks for all the suggestions !
Are there any windows thing I should deactivate/uninstall btw ?

Oh, and should I try to find a kind of "power management" software, or windows & drivers can handle this nicely by themselves ? Or maybe I shouldn't even worry about ?

Talking about drivers... So I installed all the drivers from my dvd. After that, I used SlimDrivers, it's really easy to use and I appreciated. (Only beware of refusing during installation of the additional software when you install it).
I tried DriverPack Solution... And it didn't convinced me. It found more up to date drivers, but I found it less "beginner friendly", and each time you want to update drivers, you have to uncheck things the software "suggest" you to install, which I didn't really liked. And Drivers usually failed to install :/ (but maybe I made something wrong and it was because of me, that may happen :))

But for now, almost everything is going well. My first game re-installed is Rollercoaster Tycoon Deluxe. Aaaah, nice to see it again in this comp'.
A little note: my new hdd is more noisier than the previous one (it seems to be more often "active" and I hear it a bit more), but... that's certainly normal.
I still have a lot of things to test/install again though -and copy from backup-, so it's not totally finished :P (but the worst is behind :))
It's another victory of the GOG community ! Thanks a lot all ! :D

Edit : Oh, I would like to know something but don't know how to search that on the web...
Sometimes, you launch an "heavy" software or do a big copy of files. While doing that, wanting to not waste your time, you do something else like commenting on this thread. BUT sometimes, while you're typing, suddenly the copy window "popup" again in first plan and... because you were typing, you don't know what you just confirmed/cancelled. Same with the software who is launching while you're typing. Is there a way to prevent that to happen ?

Post edited August 11, 2017 by Splatsch
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Splatsch: Oh btw, I wanted to ask you : I'm using something like with two PS2 Dualshock controller. But sometimes -fortunately really not often- they disconnect in game due to rumble : I think it's the USB2 port who may not have enough power. Do you think a usb Y-cable could solve that ? <a href="http://www.gog.com/forum/general/my_computer_need_help/post130" class="link_arrow"></a></div> I'm not sure 'cause I don't use controllers, but you can use [url=http://www.nirsoft.net/utils/usb_devices_view.html]USBDeview and see how much power one controller uses. Probably that USB Y-cable won't help if that adapter is not designed to draw more than 500 mA (the USB2 maximum).


Total Commander is a file manager to use instead of crappy Windows Explorer :P (like Norton Commander, if you ever used it). It may be intimidating at first with so many options and buttons, but after you learn how to use it, you'll never go back. It also has many plug-ins to expand its functions.
Watch some to learn a bit. There are many more on [url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gE7Gcu0W1Ck]youtube.

I use those players instead of crappy Windows Media Player (Winamp and foobar2000 for music). For codecs I use ffdshow.

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Splatsch: Could this really be useful for a "simple" user like me ?
Definitely! I've set CoreTemp in my startup programs. Keep it minimized and set what info you want to show you in the Systray (CPU temps, frequency, Processor load, RAM). Open Hardware Monitor has more sensors, but I use it only with GPU sensors when I play more GPU intensive games.

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Splatsch: Are there any windows thing I should deactivate/uninstall btw ?
Maybe off [url=http://www.online-tech-tips.com/computer-tips/simple-ways-to-increase-your-computers-performace-turn-off-indexing-on-your-local-drives/]indexing - never used it myself, besides, Total Commander has way better search functions.

Disable . Just make an account on [url=https://forums.mydigitallife.net/threads/disable-remove-telemetry-and-tracking-service.68131/]mydigitallife, that's the most up to date, I guess. Link 3.

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Splatsch: Oh, and should I try to find a kind of "power management" software, or windows & drivers can handle this nicely by themselves ? Or maybe I shouldn't even worry about ?
Not sure what you are asking here, Windows already has Power Options in Control Panel. You just choose from those or make new ones and tweak them to your liking. On laptops it's the battery icon in the systray - don't remember how it is on desktops.

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Splatsch: A little note: my new hdd is more noisier than the previous one (it seems to be more often "active" and I hear it a bit more), but... that's certainly normal.
Do you remember what RPM had the old drive? Maybe it was 5400 and not 7200 RPM. What temps do you have on the new one?
If it's more active see if the antivir is scanning something and maybe disable indexing service. Check in Task Scheduler if Defrag is running and edit or disable it. I disabled that and do all the defragmentig myself.

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Splatsch: Edit : Oh, I would like to know something but don't know how to search that on the web...
Sometimes, you launch an "heavy" software or do a big copy of files. While doing that, wanting to not waste your time, you do something else like commenting on this thread. BUT sometimes, while you're typing, suddenly the copy window "popup" again in first plan and... because you were typing, you don't know what you just confirmed/cancelled. Same with the software who is launching while you're typing. Is there a way to prevent that to happen ?
I don't remember having this problem, but I use Total Commander when manipulating files. Don't type when loading other programs, wait for it to load completely or use the mouse for other things. Hope you're not starting multiple big programs at the same time - that's not how you do it on HDD. :P
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ariaspi: I'm not sure 'cause I don't use controllers, but you can use USBDeview and see how much power one controller uses. Probably that USB Y-cable won't help if that adapter is not designed to draw more than 500 mA (the USB2 maximum).
Damn, 500 mA so it would be useless. Thanks :)
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ariaspi: Total Commander [...]
This looks very handy indeed ! (the video was of great help to understand why it could be useful) I'll very certainly try it later, when I'll have the time & motivation :) Thank you for suggesting it to me !
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ariaspi: I use those players instead of crappy Windows Media Player (Winamp and foobar2000 for music). For codecs I use ffdshow.
I still use Winamp too XD (since... 1998 ?) It's so light and do only what I need. And ffdshow is included in Satsuki if I'm not wrong. Btw, I just uninstalled Windows Media Player ;)
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ariaspi: Definitely! I've set CoreTemp in my startup programs. Keep it minimized and set what info you want to show you in the Systray (CPU temps, frequency, Processor load, RAM). Open Hardware Monitor has more sensors, but I use it only with GPU sensors when I play more GPU intensive games.
Okay, I'll try it :)
Indexing disabled ! (I remembered something like this but couldn't put the finger on it). For telemetry I'll take a look later too :) (it seems a bit long) Thanks for the links :)
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ariaspi: Not sure what you are asking here, Windows already has Power Options in Control Panel. You just choose from those or make new ones and tweak them to your liking. On laptops it's the battery icon in the systray - don't remember how it is on desktops.
Config panel -> Power Management (or Power options, not sure of the english translation).
Well.. it's because each time I got a laptop or preinstalled windows, there was already several "power management" preconfigured settings : "High performance" "Energy saving" "Normal"..... Here I've got only 2 options : "normal" and "power saving". So I was only wondering, so it's ok, it seems fine ;)
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ariaspi: Do you remember what RPM had the old drive? Maybe it was 5400 and not 7200 RPM. What temps do you have on the new one?
If it's more active see if the antivir is scanning something and maybe disable indexing service. Check in Task Scheduler if Defrag is running and edit or disable it. I disabled that and do all the defragmentig myself.
Indeed, it was 5400RPM, a WD "Caviar Green" so it seems logical :)
I'll keep an eye on this automatic defrag ;)
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ariaspi: I don't remember having this problem, but I use Total Commander when manipulating files. Don't type when loading other programs, wait for it to load completely or use the mouse for other things. Hope you're not starting multiple big programs at the same time - that's not how you do it on HDD. :P
Total Commander will certainly help. But "Don't type when loading other programs" is sometimes simply losing time for nothing (for me) : for example when I launch LibreOffice, it can take a while, and I can't see myself waiting here doing nothing XD And when you launch a big copy in windows which may take several hours, sometimes a question suddenly appears like "Are you really sure you want to replace this file ?" So I prefer to be on my comp', but only clicking is very limiting :P
Nah, I'm not launching several big things at same time, it's not a good idea I know that very well [from experience] XD
Thanks :)

By the way, I have an issue with Windows Games Explorer, but I don't want to annoy you more, so I'll certainly create another thread. I already described a bit my issue with Sudden Strike 1 &amp; 2. If you're curious about it and/or would like to try to help : have you already heard of this issue ? And of a potential fix/windows update to do ?
You already helped me a lot, so don't feel forced to help more if you don't have motivation or time :)
Post edited August 14, 2017 by Splatsch
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Splatsch: I just uninstalled Windows Media Player
I'm not sure if it was a good idea. Depends on what the uninstalling actually does - if it just cleanly removes the WMP or messes up with the codecs too. I've never bothered with it, just disabled most of its options to go online, search for codecs, lyrics, etc.
I usually avoid uninstalling Microsoft programs that come with windows by default (like Internet Explorer, WMP) because they are so much interconnected with other things in Windows.

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Splatsch: [...]a big copy in windows which may take several hours
How big are those? Or are you talking about those from the bad drive? When I have many GBs to copy, I try to do it in smaller portions at a time. Don't know, watch something on youtube while doing that. :P


Regarding Windows Games Explorer/GameUX, I'm not too familiar with it - never used or had problems with it.
I know GOG games come with GameuxInstallHelper.dll (it registers the game in GameUX, I think, or something like that), so you might wanna try delete (make backup fist) that before launching a game.
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ariaspi: I'm not sure if it was a good idea. Depends on what the uninstalling actually does - if it just cleanly removes the WMP or messes up with the codecs too. I've never bothered with it, just disabled most of its options to go online, search for codecs, lyrics, etc.
I usually avoid uninstalling Microsoft programs that come with windows by default (like Internet Explorer, WMP) because they are so much interconnected with other things in Windows.
Yeah, I learned the lesson with IE 11 (it was that who prevented me to download the image of windows on my laptop, I shouldn't have uninstalled it). But for now, no real issues, and it's the only thing I uninstalled (and I couldn't stand the "buy music online" in contextual menu).
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ariaspi: How big are those? Or are you talking about those from the bad drive? When I have many GBs to copy, I try to do it in smaller portions at a time. Don't know, watch something on youtube while doing that. :P
Sometimes dozens of Go :P But it's more that it happens frequently that I do some operations while doing something else. I thought maybe someone like me but who knew programming would have created something related to this XD
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ariaspi: Regarding Windows Games Explorer/GameUX, I'm not too familiar with it - never used or had problems with it.
I know GOG games come with GameuxInstallHelper.dll (it registers the game in GameUX, I think, or something like that), so you might wanna try delete (make backup fist) that before launching a game.
Argh, they INTENTIONALLY try to put their games inside Games Explorer ? AAAAARGH.
But this file is inside the installer I presume ?
Here is the main thread I created about this issue.
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Splatsch: ... (and I couldn't stand the "buy music online" in contextual menu).
Huh, don't remember seeing that, but maybe because I disable most of the things in its options. Or maybe it's in newer versions if you installed any updates for it.

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ariaspi: Regarding Windows Games Explorer/GameUX, I'm not too familiar with it - never used or had problems with it.
I know GOG games come with GameuxInstallHelper.dll (it registers the game in GameUX, I think, or something like that), so you might wanna try delete (make backup fist) that before launching a game.
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Splatsch: Argh, they INTENTIONALLY try to put their games inside Games Explorer ? AAAAARGH.
But this file is inside the installer I presume ?
It's in the installer and the game's folder. Back it up and delete it from the game folder, see how it goes.