This guide will show you how to install The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth II on modern operating systems.
I have the retail CD/DVD version.
- Make sure you have installed DirectX 9.0c by these guidelines before proceeding.
- If you are not using Windows XP, make sure you have re-enabled the SafeDisc driver by these guidelines.
- Insert The Battle for Middle-earth II disc to your CD/DVD drive. If you’re using the North American 6-CD release, start with disc 1.
- If you are not using Windows XP, exit the autorun and run setup.exe from the disc as administrator.
- Install the game as you normally would. Change to other discs as necessary if you’re using the North American 6-CD release.
- Patch the game to version 1.06, the latest official patch. You can use the English patch from our site linked below, or one of these mirrors for all languages.
- Install the patch switcher. Make sure it is set to version 1.06 before playing Rise of the Witch-king, and use the 1.09 version of the executable for 1.06 to bypass the DRM.
- If you are not using Windows XP, browse to the directory you installed the game to and set lotrbfme2.exe to always run as administrator and in compatibility mode for Windows XP Service Pack 3.
- Run the game.
Download Simplified Chinese v1.06 patch (25.2 MB)
Download Traditional Chinese v1.06 patch (25.2 MB)
Download Dutch v1.06 patch (25.4 MB)
Download English v1.06 patch (25.2 MB)
Download French v1.06 patch (25.4 MB)
Download German v1.06 patch (25.4 MB)
Download Italian v1.06 patch (25.4 MB)
Download Norwegian v1.06 patch (25.3 MB)
Download Polish v1.06 patch (25.4 MB)
Download Russian v1.06 patch (25.5 MB)
Download Spanish v1.06 patch (25.4 MB)
Download Swedish v1.06 patch (25.3 MB)
Download Thai v1.06 patch (25.4 MB)
Finishing touches and notes
After the first run, open Options.ini and change your resolution to something custom if the default ones are not to your liking. The file is located in:
- Windows XP: C:\Documents and Settings\[USER NAME]\Local Settings\My Battle for Middle-earth(tm) II Files
- Windows Vista and newer: C:\Users\[USER NAME]\AppData\Roaming\My Battle for Middle-earth(tm) II Files
If you wish to play in widescreen without using the unofficial 1.09 patch, install the widescreen interface adaptation. Maps with modified zoom exist, but they break compatibility in multiplayer.