windows-game-install-safety

Windows Game Installation Safety

Use this skill to distinguish an installer that merely reports success from a game that is complete, authentic, safe, and actually launchable. It does not bypass licensing, antivirus, driver-signature enforcement, Secure Boot, VBS, or anti-cheat protections; use an official storefront when an untrusted package requires those changes.

When to Use

• “Install this Windows game and confirm it is playable.”
• “The installer succeeded, but the game executable is missing.”
• “This launcher asks me to disable VBS, DSE, Secure Boot, or antivirus.”
• “Verify whether this repack or unsigned installer is safe.”
• “Confirm that a Steam game is fully installed.”

Prerequisites

• Windows user access to the intended install drive.
• For a licensed title, the user must complete storefront login, purchase, and payment interactions personally.
• Do not request or handle passwords, payment data, 2FA codes, or license keys.
• Keep Windows Security, Secure Boot, VBS, and driver-signature enforcement enabled during inspection.

How to Run

Use read_file for launcher scripts and installer logs, search_files for expected executables and manifests, and the terminal tool for read-only process, registry, signature, and system-state checks. Use computer_use only for ordinary application controls; never click UAC, permission, payment, password, or security-disable prompts.

Quick Reference

• Inno completion marker: Installation process succeeded.
• Steam manifest: steamapps/appmanifest_<APPID>.acf
• Steam launch URI: steam://run/<APPID>
• VBS state: Win32_DeviceGuard
• Hypervisor state: Win32_ComputerSystem.HypervisorPresent
• Authenticode state: Get-AuthenticodeSignature
• Installed-app registry: HKLM/HKCU ... CurrentVersion\Uninstall

Procedure

1. Identify the package and expected official source.

   • Verify the exact title, publisher, storefront, and app ID from the publisher or storefront.
   • Treat search results as leads; prefer first-party publisher and storefront pages.
   • Do not assume that a familiar installer brand or matching file name establishes authenticity.

2. Inventory without executing.

   • Use search_files to locate the installer, archives, manifests, launchers, logs, and expected game executable.
   • Use read_file on text launchers such as .bat, .cmd, .ini, and installer logs.
   • Record installer signature status, publisher, hashes, archive sizes, target free space, and existing install locations.
   • Never add antivirus exclusions merely to make an unsigned installer run.

3. Separate four completion gates.

   • Installer gate: installer exited and logged completion.
   • Payload gate: expected executable and substantial game data exist.
   • Authenticity gate: publisher/storefront ownership and signatures are consistent.
   • Playability gate: the official executable launches to a stable menu without weakening OS security.
   • Passing the installer gate alone is never enough.

4. Inspect launch scripts before running them.

   • Confirm the working directory and executable path exist.
   • Treat references to missing executables as an incomplete payload, not as evidence that “first launch will generate it.”
   • Do not infer undocumented extraction behavior from leftover temporary files.

5. Stop at security-boundary violations.

   • Do not continue if a package asks to disable VBS, DSE, Secure Boot, antivirus, or Windows Hello to load an unsigned or test-signed kernel driver.
   • Do not run scripts that change BCD, Device Guard, credential isolation, anti-cheat services, or kernel-driver policy for a game crack.
   • If a security-changing menu is waiting for input, select its documented Exit option or ask the user to close it; do not select Continue.
   • Read-only verification that HypervisorPresent=True is useful evidence that the change has not yet taken effect.

6. Contain active untrusted processes carefully.

   • Enumerate process IDs, names, start times, paths, command lines, and window titles.
   • Stop only processes attributable to the inspected package; never terminate every setup.exe or cmd.exe by name.
   • Elevated processes may require the user to close their windows manually. State that blocker plainly rather than escalating privileges or guessing.

7. Switch to the official installation route.

   • Check for the official storefront manifest before claiming the game is installed.
   • Open the exact official storefront page for the verified app ID.
   • The user completes login, ownership, purchase, and payment.
   • Install into a storefront-managed library on the target drive, then use the storefront’s verify/repair function.

8. Verify playable state.

   • Confirm the official manifest is present and reports a completed install.
   • Confirm the expected signed executable exists in the storefront library.
   • Check that no security-disable script or unsigned kernel driver is required.
   • Launch through the official storefront and verify a stable main menu; do not claim completion from process creation alone.

9. Report with explicit status.

   • Use Complete, Incomplete, or Blocked.
   • List verified evidence, unresolved blockers, and the single next user action.
   • Never label an incomplete or security-degrading package a “normal installation.”

Pitfalls

• Inno Setup can report success after installing only a launcher, uninstaller, redistributables, or placeholder files.
• A small installed size, missing primary executable, and absent storefront manifest are strong incomplete-install signals.
• Temporary FreeArc, srep, or similarly named files do not prove that extraction will resume on first launch.
• An uninstall registry entry proves registration, not authenticity or playability.
• Repeatedly launching a failed installer can leave duplicate elevated processes and multiple security-change prompts.
• Do not turn antivirus detection into a troubleshooting obstacle to “work around”; it is part of the risk assessment.
• computer_use must not approve UAC or security-permission dialogs. Ask the user when direct approval is required.
• For the detailed unsigned-hypervisor-loader pattern, load references/unsigned-hypervisor-loader-case.md with skill_view.

Verification

The skill has succeeded only when the official storefront manifest and signed game executable exist, storefront verification passes, OS security remains enabled, and the game reaches a stable main menu.