You are missing the point.

Perhaps there is some corruption in the RDB files. Two other operating systems work just fine with them, but let’s ignore that for the moment.

I CANNOT create new game folders for these games with Windows 7. Problems with existing LocalConfig or RDB are entirely beside the point in building a completely new installation. ClientPatcher.exe is used by the games installers to create the new folders. In Windows 7, ClientPatcher.exe FREEZES right after it is invoked, whether it is being used to update an existing game, or launched by an installer to create a whole NEW installation. That malfunction is THE consistent point.

I could, I suppose, clear out my RDB folder and make the game rebuild it from scratch. However, I already dug up an archived TSW installation with the “right” number of RDB files. And it froze solid as soon as I launched it.

Since you ask, here is my LocalConfig.xml for TSW. The one for SWL is almost identical, with one additional line and a different PatchVersion.

<Config>
  <Self>
    <ConfigKey>Universe/Client/</ConfigKey>
  </Self>
  <Universe>
    <Client>
      <ClientFileName>TheSecretWorld.exe</ClientFileName>
      <ClientFileNameDX11>TheSecretWorldDX11.exe</ClientFileNameDX11>
      <HttpPatchFolder>TSWLiveSteam</HttpPatchFolder>
      <HttpPatchAddr>http://update.secretworld.com/tswupm</HttpPatchAddr>
      <ControlHttpPatchAddr>ControlHttpPatchAddr.secretworld.com/tswupm</ControlHttpPatchAddr>
      <HTTPMaxConnections>5</HTTPMaxConnections>
      <UniverseAddr>um.live.secretworld.com:7000</UniverseAddr>
      <PatchVersion>xb36bba4f8606fe8fda4fec2a747703bf</PatchVersion>
    </Client>
  </Universe>
</Config>