Installing Final Fantasy XI from a Copy

Update February 27, 2011: I discovered today that you can omit installing PlayOnline if you also include those files you backup. In other words, if you copy the entire PlayOnline folder and follow the steps outline below, you don’t even have to install (and then update) PlayOnline.

Installing FFXI for the first time takes a very long time. For many players, the process involves installing the base game, each expansion pack, and a very long version update process. Once you go through this process once, it really is undesirable to go through it again if you reformat your harddrive. Worse yet, if you wanted to purchase the Steam version of FFXI just for the codes, the download had to be started to get the keys that you needed to register expansion packs; deleting this partial download will wipe FFXI from the Windows registry rendering it useless.

Fortunately, there is a solution. The solution depends on whether you use an x86 (32-bit) or x64 (64-bit) version of Windows of Windows Vista or Windows 7. If you are using Windows XP and don’t know which to use, just follow the 32-bit instructions.

Windows Vista & Windows 7 users: If you have UAC enabled, the instructions will require you to open an elevated command prompt. To do this, go to the Start Menu, and in the “Search programs and files” box, begin typing cmd. Cmd.exe should show up in the results. While holding down Shift and Ctrl, click on Cmd.exe. You should receive a User Account Control pop up asking if you want Cmd.exe to make changes to the computer. Select yes.

Notice: While I have found these instructions to be helpful, modifying the registry keys always comes with some amount of risk (especially if you don’t know what you’re doing). Please make sure you have a current working backup before proceeding. (You do test your backups, don’t you?) Do not attempt to use any of these instructions on a work computer. I take no responsibility if following these instructions causes problems with your computer through incompetence or mistakes of my own or yours.

Searching a Website

Let’s face it, most websites don’t have a useful search feature. Google has spent years perfecting their search engine, so why not use theirs?

If you want to search for some keywords on a specific site, just add site:www.example.com to the search query on Google. For example, look at the results for search terms magic accuracy site:www.bluegartr.com.

If you expand the “show search tools” menu on the left, there are some nice refinements you can also make to your search. The most helpful ones to me are the ones that specify time ranges.