Harry potter and the chamber of secrets computer game

Introduction

Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets, despite being targeted ad children, is actually a pretty good game.
Released in late 2002 by EA Games, it was one of the last games to use the Unreal Engine 1. The game was also released on PlayStation 1 and 2, Xbox, and even Gameboy, and surprisingly, all these versions are very different, developed by completely different teams using different engines, and they're all pretty good. Ah, those were the days.
Being this recent, this game doesn't have too many problems: the CD check doesn't work but there's a crack for that, and we have graphical issues that we have to fix.

What the hell happened to transparencies?

Harry potter and the chamber of secrets computer game
Harry potter and the chamber of secrets computer game
Harry potter and the chamber of secrets computer game

How to fix the game

First of all, install the game. You will need a CD key, found in the game's box.
The installer still works fine on Windows 10, but at the end it says that the system is incompatible. Ignore it and don't run the game yet.
Download these patched files and extract them to the game's folder replacing the existing files: English (International) | English (USA) | Italian | French | German | Spanish | Brazilian Portuguese.
How does the fix work?

Harry potter and the chamber of secrets computer game

If you ran the game before, you will also have to open My Documents, enter the Harry Potter II folder and delete Game.ini, as shown in the screenshot below

Harry potter and the chamber of secrets computer game

Finally, try to run the game from the shortcut on your desktop. The game will take a few seconds to start after the logos.

When you get to the menu, enter the video settings and make sure Direct3D is selected, along with the highest resolution supported by your screen.
The game only supports resolutions up to 1024x768. Higher resolutions can be forced by modifying Game.ini but the UI doesn't scale well and it's basically unplayable in widescreen, so I suggest you stick with 1024x768.

Harry potter and the chamber of secrets computer game

And now you can enjoy the game!

Harry potter and the chamber of secrets computer game
Harry potter and the chamber of secrets computer game
Harry potter and the chamber of secrets computer game

Previous versions of this fix

If the current version of the fix doesn't work for you, here are some older versions: 2019 version | 2016 version

Still doesn't work?

Leave a comment or contact me and I'll help you out.

Related article

This HP game shows signs of improvement if we compare it with the first one...sadly, it is nothing really interesting for hardcore gamers. It's certainly just for kids, but if you want to see the world of HP, this is the game in which you can. The graphics are very attractive, and Hogwarts as well as Hogwarts grounds look splendid. The changes could be called significant, compared to the first game. Beside the better graphics, there are more game play changes:

1) Wizard Cards-more...and in 3 categories: bronze, silver, gold...haven't found all yet;

2) Lessons - each new spell is learned with the help of your keypad...The course for each lesson has an amount of time, and it depends on how much time you have at the end, how many points you get for Gryffindor;

3) Duels - Nice little thingies, where you can use 3 spells...it's a real good way to earn beans, which are of much more use than in HP 1;

4) Quidditch - there's a new controlling system here...I think it's far easier than the first. There are also more games, so you do have enough to play;

The thing that disappointed me most was the battle against the basilisk, which is quite not as I expected it. The end scene looks groovy though. I'd say the game's worth a look if you're passing through a boring period, or if you just want to see the world of Harry Potter once again.

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

Harry potter and the chamber of secrets computer game
Developers
KnowWonder
Mac OS (Classic) Westlake Interactive
macOS (OS X) Westlake Interactive
Publishers
Electronic Arts
1C-SoftClub
Mac OS (Classic) Aspyr Media
macOS (OS X) Aspyr Media
Engines
Unreal Engine 1
Release dates
Windows November 8, 2002
Mac OS (Classic) April 10, 2003
macOS (OS X) August 15, 2005
Reception
Metacritic 77
Taxonomy
Monetization One-time game purchase
Modes Singleplayer
Pacing Real-time
Perspectives Third-person
Controls Direct control
Genres Adventure, Platform, Puzzle
Art styles Realistic
Themes Contemporary, Fantasy
Series Harry Potter

Harry potter and the chamber of secrets computer game

Harry potter and the chamber of secrets computer game

Harry potter and the chamber of secrets computer game

Harry potter and the chamber of secrets computer game

Harry potter and the chamber of secrets computer game

Harry potter and the chamber of secrets computer game

Harry potter and the chamber of secrets computer game

⤏ Go to series page
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone 2001
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets 2002
Harry Potter: Quidditch World Cup 2003
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban 2004
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire 2005
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix 2007
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince 2009
Lego Harry Potter (series)
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 2010
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 2011
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them VR Experience 2018
Hogwarts Legacy 2022

Warnings

SafeDisc retail DRM does not work on Windows Vista and later (see Availability for affected versions). The Mac OS X version of this game does not work on Mac OS X Lion (version 10.7) or later due to the removal of support for PowerPC apps.

Availability[edit]

SafeDisc retail DRM does not work on Windows Vista and later (see above for affected versions). A demo is also available. This game is not available digitally.

DLC and expansion packs

NameNotes
Coca Cola Promotional CD-Rom [3]The promotional CD-Rom contains a 2D desktop mini-game (scourge challenge),[4] demos for Harry Potter 1 and 2, and access to a secret level within the full game.[5] The secret level can be also be accessed by using the debug mode.[6]

Harry potter and the chamber of secrets computer game

Game data[edit]

Configuration file(s) location[edit]

SystemLocation
Windows %USERPROFILE%\Documents\Harry Potter II\
Mac OS (Classic)
macOS (OS X)

Save game data location[edit]

SystemLocation
Windows %USERPROFILE%\Documents\Harry Potter II\Save\
Mac OS (Classic)
macOS (OS X)

Video[edit]

Harry potter and the chamber of secrets computer game

Launcher video settings.

Harry potter and the chamber of secrets computer game

In-game options menu.

Widescreen resolution[edit]

Forcing a widescreen resolution without modifications cuts off the lower part of in-game menus. If using the default Direct-X 7 renderer, the LegacyD3DResolutionHack or dgVoodoo 2 is required to make popular resolutions higher than 2048x1536 work. If using Windows scaling above 100%, part of the game will appear outside of the screen. To fix this reset scaling to 100%.
Use the widescreen mod
This mod shifts the menu to the left side of the screen, allowing all options to be fully displayed.
  1. Download the Widescreen mod and extract hgame.u to <path-to-game>\System\.
  2. Go to configuration file(s) location.
  3. Edit Game.ini.
  4. Set the FullscreenViewportX and FullscreenViewportY values to your desired resolution.
  5. Optionally, edit User.ini and set the DesiredFOV value to compensate: 100 for the 16:10 aspect ratio, and 105 for 16:9.

Notes

Alternatively, you can use the Harry Potter Settings Utility to set the resolution and FOV without having to manually edit the configuration files.

Graphical Tweaks[edit]

Unreal Engine DirectX 11 Renderer[edit]

A fork of Kentie's Direct3D 10 renderer that adds more graphical features. Might cause some bugs and slow rendering. Run games at HD resolution. Improved lighting. Adds ambient occlusion, screen space reflections and higher quality HDR post-processing. Places a watermark in the bottom right, and overrides your clipboard with a link to the developer's PayPal. Follow these instructions to disable the watermark and remove the PayPal link from being inserted into your clipboard.
Installing DirectX 11 renderer
  1. Download the newest version of D3D11 renderer that supports Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (also referred to as Harry Potter 2).
  2. Open downloaded archive.
  3. Copy files from Common directory to <path-to-game>\System.
  4. Copy files from Harry Potter 2 directory to <path-to-game>\System.
  5. Edit <path-to-game>\System\Default.ini with text editor and find a section [Engine.Engine].
  6. Set GameRenderDevice to D3D11Drv.D3D11RenderDevice (i.e. GameRenderDevice=D3D11Drv.D3D11RenderDevice).
  7. Set WindowedRenderDevice to D3D11Drv.D3D11RenderDevice.
  8. Set RenderDevice to D3D11Drv.D3D11RenderDevice.
  9. To disable the watermark and clipboard override, add the following text to the bottom of the file:
    [D3D11Drv.D3D11RenderDevice]
    SupportMETextEnabled=False
  10. Navigate to %USERPROFILE%\Documents\Harry Potter II and delete Game.ini.
Installing HP2 ESRGAN Upscale pack
  1. Download the Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets ESRGAN Upscale pack

DirectX 9 renderer for Stock HP2[edit]

A port of the Unreal Tournament DX9 driver, with fixes and HP2 specific implementations. Fully compatible with modern systems. Supports HD resolutions, anti-aliasing, anisotropic filtering, frame rate cap, v-sync, high res textures, DXT textures, and more. Better performance than the DX11 renderer.
Installing DirectX 9 renderer
  1. Download the mod and follow the installation instructions.

Input[edit]

Audio[edit]

Harry potter and the chamber of secrets computer game

Launcher audio settings.

Audio featureStateNotes
Separate volume controls Music, Sound Effects
Surround sound
Subtitles On by default.
Closed captions
Mute on focus lost
Royalty free audio

Localizations

LanguageUIAudioSubNotes
English
Simplified Chinese Only available in retail release in Mainland China.
Traditional Chinese Only available in retail release in Taiwan.
Czech Only available in Czech & Slovak retail release.
Danish Only available in Danish retail release.
Dutch
Finnish
French
German
Greek Only available in Greek retail release.
Italian
Japanese Only available in Japanese retail release.
Korean Only available in Korean retail release.
Norwegian Only available in Norwegian retail release.
Polish Only available in Polish retail release.
Brazilian Portuguese Only available in Brazilian retail release.
Portuguese
Russian Only available in Russian retail release.
Spanish
Swedish Only available in Swedish retail release.

Issues fixed[edit]

Most bugs can be fixed with dgVoodoo 2 (UsePrecache should still be set to False in Game.ini).

Certain transparent effects and textures are not rendered properly[edit]

  • Harry potter and the chamber of secrets computer game

    Trees

  • Harry potter and the chamber of secrets computer game

    Eyeglasses

Edit configuration file
  1. Go to the configuration file(s) location.
  2. Open Game.ini.
  3. Change the UsePrecache= value under [D3DDrv.D3DRenderDevice] to False.
(Alternative) Install transparency fix

Extract this fix into the game's System folder.

Changing the brightness setting in the pause menu will reset the textures which will also solve the problem (temporarily).

Low frame rate on modern systems[edit]

Instructions[citation needed]
  1. Use dgVoodoo 2 or DDrawCompat

Notes

If you change resolution from the game settings, dgVoodoo 2 switches to windowed mode, and pressing Alt+ Enter might be required to get back to fullscreen. To avoid this, just force the desired resolution via dgVoodooCpl.exe. Keep in mind that the default game does not support very high resolutions.

Cutscenes are too fast cutting off characters voice lines / Physics bugs[edit]

Cap the framerate to 60 FPS or set refresh rate to 60 Hz with Vsync enabled.[7]

Brightness slider not working[edit]

Instructions[citation needed]
  1. Use dgVoodoo 2 or DDrawCompat

Camera spinning/Harry constantly walking backwards with Xbox 360 or Xbox One Controller[edit]

Instructions[citation needed]
  1. Go to the configuration file(s) location.
  2. Open Game.ini.
  3. Locate [WinDrv.WindowsClient] section and change DeadZoneRUV=False to DeadZoneRUV=True and DeadZoneXYZ=False to DeadZoneXYZ=True.

Other information[edit]

API[edit]

Technical specsSupportedNotes
Direct3D7
Software renderer

ExecutablePPC32-bit64-bitNotes
Windows
macOS (OS X) Mac is only for Power PC, OSX executable runs in Rosetta

Middleware[edit]

MiddlewareNotes
AudioOpenAL

System requirements[edit]

Windows
MinimumRecommended
Operating system (OS)95 98, 2000, ME, XP
Processor (CPU)Intel Pentium II 300 MHz Intel Pentium III 500 MHz
System memory (RAM)64 MB (95, 98)
128 MB (2000, XP)
128 MB (95, 98)
256 MB (2000, XP)
Hard disk drive (HDD)600 MB
Video card (GPU) 4 MB (Software rendering)
8 MB (Hardware rendering) of VRAM
DirectX 8.0a compatible
16 MB of VRAM
Supported chipsets: ATI Rage 128, ATI Radeon series, Nvidia RIVA TNT, Nvidia RIVA TNT2 (Ultra), Nvidia GeForce series, Matrox G400, Matrox G450, Matrox G550, Matrox Parhelia, Power VR Kyro I & II, SiS 315

Mac OS
MinimumRecommended
Operating system (OS)9.1
Processor (CPU)PowerPC G3 350 MHz G3 500 MHz
System memory (RAM)128 MB 256 MB
Hard disk drive (HDD)600 MB
Video card (GPU) ATI Rage 128
16 MB of VRAM
Nvidia GeForce 2MX
ATI Radeon
Other4x CD-ROM drive 8x CD-ROM drive

Notes

  1. SafeDisc retail DRM does not work on Windows 10[1] or Windows 11 and is disabled by default on Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8, and Windows 8.1 when the KB3086255 update is installed.[2]

References

  1. Not Loading in Windows 10; this will break thousands of - Microsoft Community - last accessed on 2017-01-16
  2. Microsoft - MS15-097: Description of the security update for the graphics component in Windows: September 8, 2015 - last accessed on 2018-02-16
  3. Alamy - Carolyn Jenkins - Selection of children's discs with Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets PC CD-ROM on top set on white background
  4. Youtube - HP-Games.net - Skurge Challenge (2002)
  5. https://i.ebayimg.com/00/s/MTYwMFgxNTM4/z/JEEAAOSwIHpdywoo/$_57.JPG
  6. DerMichael - Harry Potter und die Kammer des Schreckens - 24 - Coca Cola Geheimlevel
  7. Verified by User:Diegoelcapo1231 on 2021-08-27

Can you play Harry Potter Chamber of Secrets on PC?

Amazon.co.uk Review. With wand in hand and friends in tow, the world's most famous bespectacled wizard returns to the PC in a very welcome 3-D action adventure. And for families in search of a game to enjoy around the computer, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets fits the bill comfortably.

Where can I play Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets?

PlayStation 2, Xbox and GameCube.

Can you still buy Harry Potter games on PC?

No. They are still not legal to download at your leisure. They still have license holders. Just not publishing rights anymore with that publisher.

How can I download Harry Potter 2 for PC?

How to play on Windows – Method 1.
Download the file called Harry_Potter_and_the_Chamber_of_Secrets_Win_Files_EN.7z and extract the folder inside..
Open the extracted folder. Go to “Game Files” and launch “Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.exe”.
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets should now launch..