So I am trying to make Heroes 2 work with ExaGear Strategies on my Android tablet. It's this fancy app that is able to run Windows *.exe files and works with a lot of nice games, like Heroes 3 or Disciples 2.

Now, the DOS version of Heroes 2 (HEROES2.EXE) does not work with it, maybe because it has a DOS *.exe which might be different than the Windows *.exe the application is known to run.

However, the Windows version of Heroes 2 (HEROES2W.EXE) runs with no problems. On the other hand, it asks for the CD (which does not happen on my PC, I don't know what GOG did to bypass this).

The problem is that all the no-cd cracks, patches and solutions all over the internet involve modifying the windows registry so that you make the game look for the files in a folder on your hard drive, rather than the CD.

Unfortunately, this is not possible in ExaGear, since it features no simulation of a windows registry, so I'm unable to play the game even though I have all the files.

Can someone help me find a workaround or a solution to the problem? Maybe clear up for me how GOG does it for the windows release of Heroes 2? I'm open to all suggestions! :)

Thanks in advance!

This is most probably done (I can't confirm since I only have the DVD version; not GOG) by simply modifying the registry to change the CD path. Unfortunately it won't help you in your case.

However, have you tried DosBox Turbo instead to run the DOS version of HoMM 2 on Android? I haven't used it myself, but from what I read it should work. According to the page it is compatible with many GOG DosBox games.

https://sites.google.com/site/dosboxturbo/

I am encountering other issues with Dropbox Turbo. For some reason, even if I check XMS and EMS and set the DOS Memory to let's say 16MB, upon starting Heroes 2 I receive an error stating it needs over 6 MB of XMS or EMS. And the DOS Memory states I have 4 MB, even though I set it to 16 and restarted DosBox in order to refresh the setting.

Something's not right. I have sent an email to the Developer of DosBox Turbo, hopefully he will reply with a solution.

OK, I see.

Googling for no-cd cracks did find me a few that didn't seem to require changing registry. Still, those sites could be dodgy and include malware, so I won't be linking them here. Did you look around enough? I might PM you, but since they are first page Google results, you probably found them already.

I have found a couple of solutions that involve hex editing the exe, but they did not work. I couldn't find that particular sequence in my version of the exe file.

All the no-cd cracks I found, though, involved registry editing plus a cracked executable...

I can make it work without the CD, ultimately, even if I don't have the registry option set, but I won't hear any music because it doesn't know where to look for it.

Anyway, I will try mounting the CD contents as a cd-rom in DosBox, it seems the only sensible solution.

If you have other links, you can PM me. Usually first page Google results depend on the search history and the peering and location from where you search. Might be different for you than for me.

Later edit: Also, I solved the XMS/EMS issue by updating to the latest version of DosBox Turbo in the Play Store. It works now.

If I'm not mistaken the hex editing solution worked only for the DOS version, not the Windows one.

Yes, I tried it on the DOS version, but the one from GOG has both Succession Wars and Price of Loyalty, while the solution I think was for the Succession Wars only. Either way, my exe file did not have those fields in the Hex configuration, so I had no way of modifying it.