Installation Guide

Once you've downloaded every part of a game into the same folder, follow these steps.

1. Add an Antivirus Exclusion

Do this before extracting. The game's launch files trigger generic antivirus heuristics — Windows Defender will quietly delete the .exe or a .dll while you're extracting, and the game won't start.

Pick a single folder for your games (e.g. D:\Games\GameBounty) and exclude that one folder. You don't need to disable your antivirus.

Windows Defender (built-in)

Open Windows Security.
Go to Virus & threat protection → Manage settings.
Scroll to Exclusions → Add or remove exclusions → Add an exclusion → Folder.
Pick the folder you'll keep your games in.

Now extract and install games inside that folder.

warning

If you've already extracted and the game is missing its .exe or refuses to start, your AV most likely deleted the launcher. Restore it from quarantine, add the folder exclusion, then re-extract.

Other antiviruses

Avast / AVG — Settings → General → Exceptions → Add Exception → Browse to folder.
Kaspersky — Settings → Threats and Exclusions → Manage exclusions → Add.
Bitdefender — Protection → Antivirus → Settings → Manage Exceptions.
Malwarebytes — Settings → Allow List → Add → Folder.

2. Extract the Archive

Use 7-Zip (free) or WinRAR.

Make sure every part of the download is in the same folder and none are renamed.
Right-click part1 (the file ending in .part1.rar or .part01.rar).
Choose 7-Zip → Extract to "[game name]\".
The remaining parts unpack automatically. Don't double-click part2, part3, etc.

Extraction can take a while for big games — that's normal. Make sure you have enough free space; the extracted game is usually larger than the download.

Note

"Cannot find next volume" means a part is missing or has been renamed. Check that every part downloaded fully (compare file sizes against the download page) and that none were renamed by the browser (e.g. Game.part2 (1).rar — remove the (1)).

3. Open `README.html`

Inside the extracted folder, open the README.html file. It contains the specific launch instructions for that game — which .exe to run, whether to install any included redistributables, and any game-specific notes.

Always read this file first. Different games have different setup steps.

4. Install Common Runtimes (Once)

Most games depend on a small set of Microsoft runtimes. Install these once and you're set for almost every title:

Visual C++ All-in-One — bundles every Visual C++ Redistributable from 2005 to current. Solves most missing-DLL errors.
DirectX End-User Runtime — needed for older DirectX 9 games.
.NET Desktop Runtime — required by many indie and Unity games (install both 6 and 8).

Some game folders include these installers under a _Redist or Redist folder. Running them is harmless if you already have the runtime installed.

5. Launch the Game

Run the .exe named in README.html (often the game's name, sometimes Launcher.exe).
The first launch, right-click → Run as Administrator. This lets the game create its save folder.
If nothing happens for the first few seconds, give it time — first launches build shader caches.

If the game crashes, freezes, or shows a missing DLL message, head to Fixing Errors.