windows xp issues with several games/programs

[MiniMark 7]

Hey all,

 

It's been awhile since I have been active here on Simtropolis, but nonetheless I have run into some issues that someone may help me.

 

So I went to play GTA III (amongst other games/programs) on an XP machine and had a message popped up and said Grand Theft Auto III requires at least 12mb of video memory.

 

I have searched around the internet and havent found much luck to solve this issue. It should note that I have adjusted the visual memory to both ends, and of course adjusted the screen resolution of no such luck.

 

When I use the dxdiag, under the display the 3 directx features are "disabled" and can't change them.

 

Also, when using windows media player and a couple of 3rd party dvd players that were pre installed on the computer (windvd), I can't play any videos but hear sound...

 

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

 

thanks,

Mark

[A Nonny Moose 8,261]

We are in an "end of era" clutch with Windows.  XP is limited to Directx 9.0c and I don't think later versions will work on it (you could try a later version and see).  While XP is, perhaps, the best version of Windows for SimCity 4, you have the choice of upgrading to a machine that has Windows 7, bloatware and all, or you can forget Windows and go to Linux/wine provided your hardware on that machine can sustain the requirements of the other games.

 

To give Ubuntu a try simply download the ISO and burn it on to a DVD, then boot your XP machine with the disk in the optical drive.  The test that comes up runs entirely in memory and does not affect your disks.  You should be able to go to the wine site and pick up wine as well, but I've never done that while on the test version.  However, you do have the choice of installing Ubuntu in parallel to XP either in the same partition or on a new partition of your disk.

 

wine will allow you to set the Windows decor to any version you need.

[MiniMark 7]

Hi thanks!

It's funny how it was working a day before this issue happened. Actually everything was working (gta 3 windvd sc4)

I've tried system restore but nothing happened. Anything else that might fix this problem without upgrading etc

[A Nonny Moose 8,261]

Actually, since you wouldn't have received any updates for XP, is it still on-line?  If so, time for a deep virus scan.  XP is a nice big juicy target for the malware bunch now that MS no longer supports it.

 

If you are not on the net, the next place to look is a general hardware diagnostic.

[MiniMark 7]

Alright thanks for your help so far...i'm in the process of running a virus check on the computer and will update asap. Yes it is still online although I will pull the plug on the online once everything is smooth sailing.

[A Nonny Moose 8,261]

Keep us posted on this.  I am sure people would like to know if it is some new malware.

[MiniMark 7]

Unfortunately nothing was found after a comprehensive virus/spyware check...after some more troubleshooting I have noticed this under the dxdiag diagnostic tool...

 

Direct X features:

 

DirectDraw Acceleration: Not Available

Direct3D Acceleration: Not Available

AGP Texture Acceleration: Not Available

 

In addition to I cant change anything as these options are grayed out...and yes the weird thing is directx is installed

[A Nonny Moose 8,261]

Sounds like just maybe you have a loose or dirty set of contacts on the GPU.  If you can access the inside of the computer, it would do no particular harm to check that all the boards are seated correctly.  And blow out any dust inside the case.

 

Was your system bumped or jarred?

 

One more thought.  You should show DirectX 9.0c with XP.

[MiniMark 7]

So it is now working, it turns out that direct x was corrupted. So I had to unforunately had to reinstall windows and got a nice "fresh" start. Needless to say SC4 is working again.

 

Thanks for your help.

[Ocram's Razr 963]

You reinstalled Windows XP? Why? If you wanted to go through that much trouble, upgrading to 7 would be better.

--Ocram

[A Nonny Moose 8,261]

I agree that if the system is large enough for W 7, it is a better stopping place than XP.  it is even supported.

[MiniMark 7]

The computer could run windows 7, but its not worthwhile since its a rather older machine (2006). Plus with only 2gb of ram on it and a lot of older specs compared to computers nowadays, reinstalling windows was smart as it actually helped eliminate a lot of corrupt files that were also embedded into it.

 

Plus I have older games that run flawless on the XP

 

Thanks again for everyone's help.

[blade2k5 1,523]

You reinstalled Windows XP? Why? If you wanted to go through that much trouble, upgrading to 7 would be better.

--Ocram

 

 

Why would anyone do that for?  That's the worse thing you can do.

[A Nonny Moose 8,261]

Actually, if that old machine has as much as 2 GB of memory, it would be a natural for some distribution of Linux.