I managed to get CM3 to run with the original database on windows 7 by doing the following
1. Right click on computer - click advanced system settings - click Performance settings and tick 'Let windows decide what's best for my computer'
2. Install Championship Manager 3 from the CD ROM but do not start the game
3. Go to your C drive and click Program Files (x86) - click Championship Manager 3 and copy the Data folder, save this somewhere easy to find on your computer
4. Run the update patch - cm3_official_v304e.exe, (if you don't have the patch, it is available at Patches-scrolls.de website), don't start the game yet
5. Go to where you saved the original Data folder and copy this - go back to Program Files (x86) - Championship Manager3 and paste the Data folder - when you are asked to merge or replace the files, click 'Yes to all'
If you want to check the size of the Data folder, right click the folder, click properties it should be about 26.3MB
6. Put your CD ROM back in the computer and start the game
Hopefully this will work for anyone wishing to play CM3 with the original data, still my favourite as this is what started it all for me
1. Right click on computer - click advanced system settings - click Performance settings and tick 'Let windows decide what's best for my computer'
2. Install Championship Manager 3 from the CD ROM but do not start the game
3. Go to your C drive and click Program Files (x86) - click Championship Manager 3 and copy the Data folder, save this somewhere easy to find on your computer
4. Run the update patch - cm3_official_v304e.exe, (if you don't have the patch, it is available at Patches-scrolls.de website), don't start the game yet
5. Go to where you saved the original Data folder and copy this - go back to Program Files (x86) - Championship Manager3 and paste the Data folder - when you are asked to merge or replace the files, click 'Yes to all'
If you want to check the size of the Data folder, right click the folder, click properties it should be about 26.3MB
6. Put your CD ROM back in the computer and start the game
Hopefully this will work for anyone wishing to play CM3 with the original data, still my favourite as this is what started it all for me