Won't work on my Mac (Mojave)

[RogerRoger]

I ran an update for close to a week. Finally it finished downloading everything (part of that time was the big blackout here in TX), and I logged in, chose my server and clicked play. Nothing. It just shut down. I figured with all the off and on that something corrupted somewhere, so I removed it all and reinstalled the mac client from the site's download page. Now, it starts to open the new client and then after a couple seconds stops with a message that says:

Windows 2000 High Encryption Pack is required

It gives me a URL to open, but I shouldn't need windows anything on my mac. Just to give it a shot, though, I followed the link and just get a "Sorry, this page doesn't exist" message. What the heck?!

[Tralfazz]

I ran an update for close to a week. Finally it finished downloading everything (part of that time was the big blackout here in TX), and I logged in, chose my server and clicked play. Nothing. It just shut down. I figured with all the off and on that something corrupted somewhere, so I removed it all and reinstalled the mac client from the site's download page. Now, it starts to open the new client and then after a couple seconds stops with a message that says:

Windows 2000 High Encryption Pack is required

It gives me a URL to open, but I shouldn't need windows anything on my mac. Just to give it a shot, though, I followed the link and just get a "Sorry, this page doesn't exist" message. What the heck?!

Hi, Roger! I'm glad you got through the mess in Texas well enough that you can get back to normal life and some gaming.

This is the first I've seen anyone report this specific problem. Before we try to track down the problem, please share with us your Mac model, the amount of RAM you have installed, the specific version of Mojave you are running, and the resolution you have set for your monitor/screen. If you can think of any other details that might impact the way your game runs, such as the presence of Steam on your Mac or other Windows applications which you run with WINE, please include that as well.

If you want to try something while you wait for a procedure that is more specific to your issue, I would suggest doing a thorough clean install.
1- Go to your ~/Documents folder and look for the The Lord of The Rings Online folder. Move it to your Desktop. Be sure you MOVE it, don't copy it, we want it out of the ~/Documents folder. We do this so that after we complete the fresh installation of the game it will be forced to create a new The Lord of the Rings Online folder inside your ~/Documents folder but we keep your old one in a safe space for now so that once we're done you won't lose any of your settings, preferences, plugins, and plugin data.
2- Go to your ~/Library/Application Support folder and look for the com.standingstonegames.lotro folder. Delete this folder (by dragging it to the Trash and then emptying the Trash). This is the location where all the game's files and the WINE stuff are stored. For a full fresh reinstallation to be done, this has to be removed from your Mac.
3- Go to your /Applications folder and delete the lotroclient application. You might have put it somewhere other than your /Applications folder. We do this so that the fresh install process will create a new lotroclient application.
4- The installation process of the "Mac"/WINE client creates two files which are put in your Desktop but which you might have moved elsewhere. Those two files are The Lord of the Rings Online.desktop and The Lord of the Rings Online.lnk. Delete them. The reason we do this, again, is so that the fresh installation will create new instances of these files.
5- Be sure your Trash is empty.
6- Restart your Mac.
7- Now download the "Mac"/WINE installer from this website, here is a direct link to save you a bit of time:
https://files.lotro.com/lotro/installers/lotrolive.dmg
Do not use a copy of lotrolive.dmg which you might have downloaded in the past, use a freshly-downloaded copy.
8- Open the .dmg file and then follow the instructions to install the game.
9- Try to log in and enter the game world.
10- If successful, log out then quit the game, and then move your saved The Lord of the Rings Online folder from your Desktop into your ~/Documents folder, then test to see if you can get back into the game world. If unsuccessful, reply with a detailed report of what happened. If successful again, you are done! Have fun!

Note that it is normal, when using the "Mac"/WINE version of the game under Mojave or earlier, for the LOTRO launcher application (the thing you use to select a server and enter your login credentials) to nag you about installing Windows components and to open a Safari window/tab. If that happens, don't worry about it, you neither need those components nor can you install them because you're not actually running Windows (although if you are really facile with WINE you could install those components – but again, they are not necessary, I haven't installed them so I can confirm they are NOT needed). Just close the Safari window or tab and get on with playing the game.

Get back to me with the requested information and if you try the general fresh install procedure I provide in this message, let me know how that went.

[Umarian]

Hi, Roger! I'm glad you got through the mess in Texas well enough that you can get back to normal life and some gaming.

This is the first I've seen anyone report this specific problem. Before we try to track down the problem, please share with us your Mac model, the amount of RAM you have installed, the specific version of Mojave you are running, and the resolution you have set for your monitor/screen. If you can think of any other details that might impact the way your game runs, such as the presence of Steam on your Mac or other Windows applications which you run with WINE, please include that as well.

If you want to try something while you wait for a procedure that is more specific to your issue, I would suggest doing a thorough clean install.
1- Go to your ~/Documents folder and look for the The Lord of The Rings Online folder. Move it to your Desktop. Be sure you MOVE it, don't copy it, we want it out of the ~/Documents folder. We do this so that after we complete the fresh installation of the game it will be forced to create a new The Lord of the Rings Online folder inside your ~/Documents folder but we keep your old one in a safe space for now so that once we're done you won't lose any of your settings, preferences, plugins, and plugin data.
2- Go to your ~/Library/Application Support folder and look for the com.standingstonegames.lotro folder. Delete this folder (by dragging it to the Trash and then emptying the Trash). This is the location where all the game's files and the WINE stuff are stored. For a full fresh reinstallation to be done, this has to be removed from your Mac.
3- Go to your /Applications folder and delete the lotroclient application. You might have put it somewhere other than your /Applications folder. We do this so that the fresh install process will create a new lotroclient application.
4- The installation process of the "Mac"/WINE client creates two files which are put in your Desktop but which you might have moved elsewhere. Those two files are The Lord of the Rings Online.desktop and The Lord of the Rings Online.lnk. Delete them. The reason we do this, again, is so that the fresh installation will create new instances of these files.
5- Be sure your Trash is empty.
6- Restart your Mac.
7- Now download the "Mac"/WINE installer from this website, here is a direct link to save you a bit of time:
https://files.lotro.com/lotro/installers/lotrolive.dmg
Do not use a copy of lotrolive.dmg which you might have downloaded in the past, use a freshly-downloaded copy.
8- Open the .dmg file and then follow the instructions to install the game.
9- Try to log in and enter the game world.
10- If successful, log out then quit the game, and then move your saved The Lord of the Rings Online folder from your Desktop into your ~/Documents folder, then test to see if you can get back into the game world. If unsuccessful, reply with a detailed report of what happened. If successful again, you are done! Have fun!

Note that it is normal, when using the "Mac"/WINE version of the game under Mojave or earlier, for the LOTRO launcher application (the thing you use to select a server and enter your login credentials) to nag you about installing Windows components and to open a Safari window/tab. If that happens, don't worry about it, you neither need those components nor can you install them because you're not actually running Windows (although if you are really facile with WINE you could install those components – but again, they are not necessary, I haven't installed them so I can confirm they are NOT needed). Just close the Safari window or tab and get on with playing the game.

Get back to me with the requested information and if you try the general fresh install procedure I provide in this message, let me know how that went.

I am also trying to download lotro on my MacBook again after not being able to figure out this whole mess on my own.. currently trying what you suggested! I will update this if anything comes up. Thank you!

[Tralfazz]

Good luck with your install, Umarian!

You might want to refer to Message #17 in this thread...
https://www.lotro.com/forums/showthr...Big-Sur-11-0-1
...and read the 15-step process described there all of which applies to a non-Crossover install on Mojave or earlier other than the references to Crossover, of course. The procedure outlined there will get you through the hoops necessary to work around the LOTRO client’s difficulty with the “retina” resolutions of modern Macs.

[Umarian]

Good luck with your install, Umarian!

You might want to refer to Message #17 in this thread...
https://www.lotro.com/forums/showthr...Big-Sur-11-0-1
...and read the 15-step process described there all of which applies to a non-Crossover install on Mojave or earlier other than the references to Crossover, of course. The procedure outlined there will get you through the hoops necessary to work around the LOTRO client’s difficulty with the “retina” resolutions of modern Macs.

Well, after a few attempts, it’s starting to download! I’m so glad I came across this thread just as I was about to give up. I sent you a friend request if you would be willing to help if I have any other issues. Thank you for all of your help

[Tralfazz]

Well, after a few attempts, it’s starting to download! I’m so glad I came across this thread just as I was about to give up. I sent you a friend request if you would be willing to help if I have any other issues. Thank you for all of your help

I'm happy to help, just ask in an existing thread if it's related to whatever issue you're having or create a new one if there isn't already something related to post in. It's best to do it publicly rather than in email or via PM, that way anyone else who might be experiencing the same or a similar issue can follow along and hopefully resolve it without having to make a thread of their own looking for help.