- A clean copy of the Black & White disc — in your optical drive or mounted as an ISO. (Please don’t ask us where to find one.)
- Administrator rights — almost every installer here, and the game itself, must be Run as administrator.
- Plan to install to your C:\ drive — installing elsewhere is behind most of the problems we see.
Uninstall any previous attempts
Only needed if a previous install failed or left files behind. Starting from a clean slate avoids most patching errors later on.
Show me how to fully uninstall
Run the game’s own uninstaller first — but that won’t catch everything. You’ll also need to delete the leftover game folder:
C:\Program Files (x86)\Lionhead Studios Ltd\Black & White
…and remove these registry keys:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Lionhead Studios Ltd\Black & White
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Lionhead Studios Ltd\Black and White
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Lionhead Studios Ltd\Black and White Clan Patch
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Lionhead Studios Ltd\Black and White Patch
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\{E51B4CD9-A0A6-4324-B26A-31B3F2DE26CE}
With those gone, you’re ready for a clean install.
Install the game
Mount or insert your disc, then right-click Setup.exe and choose Run as administrator.
Installing anywhere else is the single most common cause of setup problems. Keep it on C:\ and most issues never appear.
When the installer finishes and asks if you want to play, choose No — there’s patching to do first.
Optional add-ons, if you want them (run each as administrator too):
Creature unlockers are already bundled in the unofficial patch below, so you don’t need to install them separately.
Patch the game
Without the unofficial patch the game will not launch. Install the three patches below in exactly this order. Do not install Patch v1.3 — it isn’t a gameplay patch.
- Install Patch v1.1 Run as administrator.
- Install Patch v1.2 Run as administrator.
- Install Unofficial Patch v1.42 Run as administrator.
That’s the essential setup done — the game is now playable. Everything below is optional polish.
Add the music
The installer doesn’t copy the game’s soundtrack, so music won’t play until you add it yourself. Copy the Audio folder from the CD into your installation folder. If Windows asks whether to merge folders, say yes.
Configure graphics
The fan patch adds its own Setup.exe to the game’s directory. Run it, choose your screen resolution, and set the graphics quality to Maximum Detail.
Play the game
Set runblack.exe to Run as administrator, then launch.
Don’t use Windows Compatibility mode — it causes more problems than it solves.
Stuck? Post on the discussion thread (be as specific as you can so we can help), or join our Discord. Have fun! :)
Running on a Mac?
The original Mac port only runs on older PowerPC Macs — it’s incompatible with modern hardware. Sorry!