Fix MPEG/MIDI not working in Windows 11

If you're running Windows 11 and, no matter which MPEG2 codecs you install, the game refuses to recognize any of them, as well as not recognizing any MIDI devices, even with VirtualMidiSynth installed, this guide will show you how to get the game working properly

Why this occurs

Steam configures Overseer's executable to run in Windows 95 compatibility mode. Unfortunately, Windows 11 seems to block programs running in Windows 95 compatibility mode from accessing certain resources, causing the game to be unable to find any MPEG2 codecs or MIDI devices. So you should simply turn off compatibility mode, right? Well, if you launch the game through Steam, Steam will automatically reapply compatibility mode to the executable. I've created a simple launcher that can be run in Windows 95 compatibility mode but will launch the game without compatibility mode, so you can run this game with no problems.

Rename the existing OVERSEER.EXE

In your Steam Library, right-click Tex Murphy: Overseer in the list of your games, choose Manage, then choose Browse local files.

This will open the directory containing the game files.

Find OVERSEER.EXE and rename it to OVERSEER2.EXE.

Finally, right-click OVERSEER2.EXE, choose Properties, switch to the Compatibility tab, and make sure "Run this program in compatibility mode for:" is unchecked. Click OK to save your changes.

Download the new launcher

Download the launcher I made at https://mega.nz/file/Bb8BDIRL#7yusqz-RMjMzWS9cmfEvua1hm_pWl5uFLcIkd-4hv40.

Open the ZIP file and extract the contents to the same folder as OVERSEER2.EXE.

Try launching the game

Launch the game through Steam. Even though Steam has applied Windows 95 compatibility mode to the launcher (named OVERSEER.EXE), the game itself (named OVERSEER2.EXE) should launch without compatibility mode, and hopefully you will see movies and hear music.

Clean up any old fixes you've tried

If you've installed an MPEG2 codec trying to get the game to work (such as ffdshow or Stinky's), try uninstalling them, if you'd like to try to clear some clutter from your computer. You may find the game will work fine without them.

Similarly, you may not need VirtualMidiSynth if you've installed that to try to get music working in the game.

[Kareemofwheet]

Nope. Didnt work

[nafcom]

Okay, I got it working in my Windows 11 24H2!

The trick is, OVERSEER.EXE does have compatibility mode for Windows 95 set but since Windows 11 does not support this, it doesn't display it as set.

The trick is to rename OVERSEER2.EXE as in the guide, then open ist preferences and set compatibility mode to another OS like Windows 8 or so, and then send it back to "None". Then confirm and it will work as mentioned in above's guide because all necessary video and sound codecs are already shipped with the game installation and are inside the game folder!

[pbelvin]

Failed to start process for this game: "The operation was cancelled by the user." (0x4C7) Uh, no it wasn't. Just gonna have to bring a win95 computer back online. I have the original game, Steam and GOG, and out of the three, zero, zip, nada. i have a ton of really old software that works perfectly, no compatibility issues (Wing Commander: Prophecy for example), no hoop jumping, no changing exe files, they just work. I think win11 just hates me since I've never had anything good to say. Another reason why! The hardest solution is always the best. (I still have a Cyrix 486DX4@125mhz and motherboard and a ton of cards to go with it, yeah I can go that far back if necessary). Who's a Cyrix you ask?

[a.r.paine]

Still trying to fix the transparent graphics though.

[a.r.paine]

worked great for me. still have transparent objects but game is playable.

[silverpslm]

I tried this, but its still not changing anything. Plus I now have both an Overseer2 and a Overseer run with administrator that needs me to download .Net even though I did so. I extracted the files, and turned off the compatibility tab.