Windows 10: Playing Microsoft Game with a disk drive

Hello! I recently found my old tycoon games- zoo tycoon, mall tycoon, moon tycoon, etc. I have an external disk drive and was wondering if it was possible to still download the games and play them through this method. I have room to download them and everything and can also keep the external disk drive plugged in if necessary. Thanks!

:)

 

HP Disk Drive not visible

Hi,

Thank you for posting your query on Microsoft community.

I would suggest you follow the steps below and see if it helps:

Method 1: I would suggest you first try the Troubleshooter.

Please follow the steps below:

• 
  Type “Troubleshooting” on the Windows Search bar and hit enter.
  
• 
  On the left side of the Troubleshooting window, click on “View all”
  
• 
  Click on Hardware and Devices. Please provide a password if asked for it and click ok.
  

Method 2:

• 
  Press Windows key + X key and click Device Manager.
  
• 
  Expand the Sound, Video and game controllers.
  
• 
  Right-click on the Disk Drives and click on Properties.
  
• 
  Go to the Drivers Tab and Click Enable (If not enabled).
  
• 
  Restart the computer and check.
  

Hope this helps. Please reply if you have further related queries.

Regards,

 

Disk Drive

Hi,

Thank you for posting in Microsoft community.

Please provide the following information:

• What do you mean by "does not read the disk" ? Are you not able to see the drive in the File explorer?
  
• Or are you able to see the drive however do not see the files inside?
• Have you tried setting the Auto play On and tried installing the game?
• Do you the CD drive light glow when a disk is inserted?
• Do you hear the vroom of the drive?

Do get back to us with the above information to assist you further.

 

How to play and install a game with no disk drive?

My disk drive in my laptop got damaged and I am unable to play my Age of Empires game that I have played and enjoyed for years now. I am a college student so I'm trying to save money and avoid buying an external disk drive. I tried a factory reset before
I figured out it was a hardware issue so it uninstalled from my laptop. Is there anyway to get it back on my laptop to play it with out having to buy a digital copy? Thank you.