How do I download and install LOTRO onto my computer?

Before you begin the download, you first want to ensure that your PC meets the LOTRO System Requirements.

Download: To begin downloading and installing the LOTRO client, start by visiting the "Download LOTRO" page. Available there are the "Standard" and "Hi-Res" versions of the installation downloads.

To download and install the MAC client (currently in Beta), click here and there are alternate Mac install directions here.

For a detailed guide on the process, requirements and other in-depth information, as well as help regarding the steps of downloading and installing the game (on Windows PC's), please review the rest of this article.

Notes: This download is made available free for any Turbine users who want to install the LOTRO game software to play. No matter what your account status is (Free, Premium or VIP) you can use this page to download the game software.

Section One: Beginning the download itself.

There is more than one option that I can download. Which should I use?

You may see that there are a few options for downloading the game client, a "Standard" and a "Hi-Res" (High Resolution). The "Standard" resolution version is recommended for anyone whose system is limited in terms of system memory (RAM), as well as graphics card or video memory (VRAM) (generally, computers with 1.0GB of RAM or less and 256MB of VRAM or less). The "Hi-Res" version is for more robust systems (e.g. higher than 1.0GB of system RAM and higher than 256MB of VRAM).

Step 1: Depending on which you choose (we will be using "lotrostandard" for the purposes of this guide) click on the link and choose "Save" on the dialog that comes up. (Do not use "Run" or "Open")

After clicking "Save", you want to save the file to the Windows "Desktop" by clicking the "Desktop" option in the "Save as" dialog window that comes up.

Step 2: Now you want to find that file (lotrostandard.exe or lotrohires.exe depending on which you selected) on your Windows desktop and run it. Windows XP users should just double-click on the file, whereas Windows Vista or 7 users should right-click it and choose "Run as Administrator" (Note: You may not see the ".exe" in the file's name when viewing it on the desktop).

Step 3: A LOTRO downloader screen will come up. Make sure that you fully read and understand the "Terms of Service" before clicking "I Agree".

What is Pando Media Booster?

The game installation download is fairly large. To help with getting these files in a timely manner, a download manager "Pando Media Booster" is used. There is a detailed FAQ on Pando Media Booster here, as well as a troubleshooting FAQ here.

You can also download the LOTRO client via Steam, which you can do here.

Additional Notes Regarding PMB: Your firewall and internet/web security may need to be updated to allow Pando's program file "PMB.exe" to access the internet outbound as well as accepting inbound connections. Be aware that Windows "Data Execution Prevention" (DEP) should not be enabled for "all programs" (just critical Windows files and services) as it can prevent the installation of Pando and prevent it functioning to download the game's install files.

Step 4: On the next screen, you want to select where PMB should "save" the install files it is downloading (these will be several ".bin" files followed by a "setup.exe" file). The default is the Windows desktop into a folder named "LOTRO_STANDARD"/"LOTRO_HIGHRES" or similar.

Step 5: Once a location is selected for it to save the files to, it will begin the download and give a "progress bar" listing of its general download information, such as speed, amount downloaded so far, and a time remaining.

Important Note: During the download process you should temporarily disable your computers "Sleep" mode as this can affect the retrieval of the files.  Click on the Windows "Start" button, select Control Panel, then either the "Classic View" link on the left side or select "Small Icons" from the view by drop-down menu on the right and select "Power Options".  Sleep mode is controlled via those settings and should be temporarily set to an "Always on" state while the download is progressing.

I need to reboot my computer or work on something else. Can I pause or stop the download and start it up later, or will it need to start over?

As you can see in the screenshot above, there is a pause as well as a stop option. Selecting the "Pause" and then "Stop" buttons will give you a prompt asking if you want to resume the download later. Choosing "Yes" on this dialog will create a Windows desktop icon titled "Resume downloading LOTRO", at which point you can close the downloader screen via the "X" button. That resume shortcut, when launched, will restart Pando and resume the download from where it last left off.

Section Two: Installing the game.

Once Pando has finished the download of the game's install files, it will start the installation setup automatically.

Notes about the Setup: Windows Vista or 7 users may receive a prompt from User Account Control (UAC) asking if they want to let the file make changes. You should choose "Yes" or "Allow" and supply administrator credentials if prompted to do so.

Pay special attention to the message about needing to temporarily disable your antivirus software. Installation programs need to copy a lot of files to the system, and the antivirus program that scans files during this process can cause issues with data read/writes while setup is running. Disabling your antivirus (again only temporarily) will help prevent issues like this.

Step 6: Choose how you want to install. "Express" should be the default and will install the game into its default location of C:\Program Files\Turbine\The Lord of the Rings Online (on 64bit versions of Windows it will use "C:\Program Files (x86)\Turbine\The Lord of the Rings Online").

The option for "Custom" gives you more control over what folder path the game installs its files into, but if you use Custom be very very careful on the location you choose! Selecting the wrong location can lead to system issues if you select a custom location like a system folder or another applications installation folder etc. (It is strongly recommended to only use the "Express" option unless you are comfortable and familiar with navigating Windows and using custom folder paths).

Step 7: Make sure that you fully read and understand the LOTRO "End User License Agreement" (EULA) before clicking on "I Agree".

Step 8: After reading and accepting the EULA, review the "Getting started" info. After that, Setup will do some "Prerequisite" checks to make sure some things you need to run the game are available. If they are unavailable, it may either install them automatically, or request that you download and install them manually.

Step 9: After this, you can then click "Next" to begin the installation.

Why is it telling me to create my account now if I already have one?

As you can see in the screenshot, the installation does give you an option to create an account. This is for players who may have downloaded the game without doing so first. If you have already created a Turbine (game) account, you can skip that step (as well as "activating a product key") and the install will still continue.

Step 10: Launching the game.

Once the setup has completed, the installation Windows XP users will find a "Play the Lord of the Rings Online" icon on their desktop. Windows Vista and Windows 7 users though will find an icon in their "GAMES" panel. Details on that can be found here.

PMB.exe - Bad Image

If you are receiving this message when installing LOTRO onto your computer, uninstall Pando from your Control Panel and delete the Pando folder from your Program Files folder. Next, try downloading the LOTRO client as a ZIP file from Fileplanet here.

The download is stuck at the status of "calculating time remaining”.

If you are receiving this message when installing LOTRO onto your computer, uninstall Pando from your Control Panel and delete the Pando folder from your Program Files folder. Next, try downloading the LOTRO client as a ZIP file from Fileplanet here.

Followup Items:

• The game on first launch will configure its graphics, sound and other settings based on your system hardware, and we would recommend reviewing the article here
• If the game launcher has any issues with connecting, please see this article here
• If you encounter errors copying files during the installation or afterward a "201" error, please see this article here
• If you are reinstalling the game, we recommend reviewing this article here

If you need further assistance, please follow up with Technical Support.

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