How do I patch a file I downloaded?

Question

I downloaded a game off Utorrent, and it says I have to patch the file. I have no idea what that means, and I checked on the internet and it wasn't much of a help. What does this mean, what do I have to do, and how do I do it?

Answer 1

patching games is a way of saying that you have to do one of the following:

- run a program to edit your registry (very few of these)

- copy a .exe into the place where you installed the game.  Instead of replacing a file, this needs to be run.  When it runs it changes the files in the folder.

- copy a .exe file into the place where you installed the game.  This replaces a file that was previously in the folder.  These are commonly referred to as game-fixes and are the most common.

For instance, you are given a patch called "run.exe"

+ Go to Program Files/Game Makers Name/Game Name/

+ find the original "run.exe" file and back it up, just in case :)

+ copy the patch "run.exe" to the game folder and replace the old one.

Usually instead of being called "run.exe", the file is called whatever the game is called.  If the game in minesweeper, the EXE file would be called minesweeper.exe

Hope this helps.  If you have any more problems, look for a README.txt file.  Many programmers make these to help people understand what to do.