XP Games Won't Run on Mac Pro

[amtctt]

well, it doesn't matter what version of xp you use as far as games go, they aren't designed to use all four cores, so they won't.

 

[GoldenRedux]

well, it doesn't matter what version of xp you use as far as games go, they aren't designed to use all four cores, so they won't.

That I know, but since I can't get any games to run at all, I was wondering if another version of XP might be different, and which version is working for you.

 

[amtctt]

Oh, gotcha, i'm running xp pro 32 bit. really the only issues i had were solved with the security updates and the firmware update. haven't had any since.

 

[GoldenRedux]

Oh, gotcha, i'm running xp pro 32 bit. really the only issues i had were solved with the security updates and the firmware update. haven't had any since.

Thanks. I just ordered a copy of XP Pro 32-bit, I guess I'll see if that helps. I was tempted to got the 64-bit route, but that seems like even more trouble for very little gain. I only want XP to run some games (finally!) and run two audio apps that are Windows only.

 

[MRU]

Could it be the catalyst drivers.

When the imac was first released before bootcamp, the catalyst drivers would not work properly with the X1600.

Since then apple released bootcamp, with it's own version of the drivers needed, so i just used apples X1600 drivers and avoided installing the catalyst ones.

Maybe with the X1900 you should not have installed the catalyst drivers at all and just stuck with the ones on the bootcamp drivers cd...

 

[GoldenRedux]

Could it be the catalyst drivers.

When the imac was first released before bootcamp, the catalyst drivers would not work properly with the X1600.

Since then apple released bootcamp, with it's own version of the drivers needed, so i just used apples X1600 drivers and avoided installing the catalyst ones.

Maybe with the X1900 you should not have installed the catalyst drivers at all and just stuck with the ones on the bootcamp drivers cd...

That's just it, I've tried with both. I've already done 4 clean installations, each time doing a slow reformat of the drive. I've gone with just the Apple ATI drivers, I've tried with the ATI drivers and Catalyst panel installed, I've even tried it with the Apple drivers and just the ATI Catalyst controller (without the driver) nothing works. I'm completely baffled, especially when I hear about other people running games on their Mac pros with no problems.

 

[Femmar]

Im having exact same problem as GoldenRedux, I have tried everything (i really mean it). at a time I ran DirectX Dignostics and got DirectInput Failed every time i tried.

But my problem also goes for OS X.

After my Bootcamp adventure i tried to install Americas Army (MAC) it works BUT it runs like S**t, i tried to run some OpenGL tests with "OpenGL Extensions Viewer" with no problems and great results so WHYYY? wont it run smooth in gamemode

 

[Cider]

That's just it, I've tried with both. I've already done 4 clean installations, each time doing a slow reformat of the drive.

Golden did you patch up windows each time following these resinstalls before installing the games? The reason I ask is that I play Battlefield 2 and a windows patch two to four weeks ago caused it to crash to the desktop almost as soon as it started to load (before the EA logo appeared - as with your problem, the screen went black then dropped back to desktop). When I rolled back my system to before the patch everything started to work again (redownloaded the patch and applied again, and once more it started to fail).

I'm assuming that this patch affects more than just Battlefield 2, so if you've not already tried it then perhaps it's worth either reinstalling or rolling back to a pre-patched state (though perhaps make sure that you have service pack 2 on, so that you are firewalled) and try the games?

A slim hope but one more straw to clutch at.

Best of luck.

 

[GoldenRedux]

Golden did you patch up windows each time following these resinstalls before installing the games? The reason I ask is that I play Battlefield 2 and a windows patch two to four weeks ago caused it to crash to the desktop almost as soon as it started to load (before the EA logo appeared - as with your problem, the screen went black then dropped back to desktop). When I rolled back my system to before the patch everything started to work again (redownloaded the patch and applied again, and once more it started to fail).

I'm assuming that this patch affects more than just Battlefield 2, so if you've not already tried it then perhaps it's worth either reinstalling or rolling back to a pre-patched state (though perhaps make sure that you have service pack 2 on, so that you are firewalled) and try the games?

A slim hope but one more straw to clutch at.

Best of luck.

Actually, yes, I had all the Windows updates installed before installing and running the games. Right now, I'm waiting on my copy of XP Pro w/SP2 to arrive, and then I'm going to give it another shot. How will I know which patch not to install though? After installing XP w/SP2, there's about a million security patches and software updates.

 

[Cider]

How will I know which patch not to install though? After installing XP w/SP2, there's about a million security patches and software updates.

Try it without any patches - just shove the latest DirectX on. If it works then post here and I'll try to pin down which patch it is. I'e got it narrowed down to four so it won't take long.

 

[GoldenRedux]

Try it without any patches - just shove the latest DirectX on. If it works then post here and I'll try to pin down which patch it is. I'e got it narrowed down to four so it won't take long.

Thanks. My XP Pro/SP2 should get here today or tomorrow, then I'll give it a shot.

 

[Femmar]

I have tried every patch in BF2 i does not help in my case.

 

[Cider]

I have tried every patch in BF2 i does not help in my case.

Femm, BF2 is the game that I had the problem with - when it works, you load the software, see the screen go black briefly, then the blue EA logo appears and all is well. When it fails, the screen goes black but instead of the blue EA logo the games just drops back to the desktop. Per the comments above I pinned this down (in my case) to a Microsoft patch causing the problem. If you patch daily, and are being affected by the same issue then this will have started around two weeks ago, when that patch was released.

If that sounds plausible then the only answer that I have come up with so far is to use the system restore function to roll back to a time prior to the patch. The good news is that you can undo the rollback (never tried it, but the option is offered) so if it doesn't work for you then you can 'derestore' to your most recent configuration.

 

[GoldenRedux]

Femm, BF2 is the game that I had the problem with - when it works, you load the software, see the screen go black briefly, then the blue EA logo appears and all is well. When it fails, the screen goes black but instead of the blue EA logo the games just drops back to the desktop. Per the comments above I pinned this down (in my case) to a Microsoft patch causing the problem. If you patch daily, and are being affected by the same issue then this will have started around two weeks ago, when that patch was released.

If that sounds plausible then the only answer that I have come up with so far is to use the system restore function to roll back to a time prior to the patch. The good news is that you can undo the rollback (never tried it, but the option is offered) so if it doesn't work for you then you can 'derestore' to your most recent configuration.

So, when I do a clean install, of XP Pro/SP2 and then begin to download all the security updates and software patches, how do I avoid the BF2 patch?

 

[knome]

Xp pro 32bit with the slipstreamed chipset drivers, and ati's catalist drivers.

 

[rs1985]

i play game is laggy

 

[MovieCutter]

i play game is laggy

All your base are now belong to us???

 

[Henry]

Should really be using XP Pro for a duo processor (2 physical CPU's) system. I would recommend going to ATI web site and getting the lasest drivers for your vid. card.

there are lots of updates... and updates to the updates.. and patches for them.. and.. well you get the message

 

[Cider]

So, when I do a clean install, of XP Pro/SP2 and then begin to download all the security updates and software patches, how do I avoid the BF2 patch?

When you install XP just make sure that you have service pack 2 installed and the firewall active. Install the latest DirectX version, then install your games (or at least one of them) and the games patches. Do not install any Microsoft patches or updates other than service pack 2.

I'm not suggesting that you run with that permanently, just that you then test your game(s) and see whether they work. If they do not, then your problem is not the same as mine, and my suggestion has been a waste of time for you (if that happens then sorry in advance). If on the other hand your game(s) works then you should create a system snapshot followed by a complete installation of all MS patches.

If the games stop working at that point then you've proven that the problem lies with patches supplied by microsoft, and you can decide how you want to proceed (for example rolling back to the snapshot to play your games). If that turns out to be the case then I will make an effort to pinpoint the patch that caused this problem for me and post it in this thread (though you could do this too - you can apply individual patches until the games stop working and then post your findings).

That's how I'd handle it.

Best of luck.

Rhys

 

[Cider]

Should really be using XP Pro for a duo processor (2 physical CPU's) system.

Lots of conflicting information going round the web on this so I did a little digging. In short, XP Home does appear to be fine for a dual core processor.

That was the short answer, if you want some verification look below.

Microsoft advise:

Link Q. How does this licensing policy affect products such as Microsoft Windows XP Professional?

A. Microsoft Windows XP Professional and Microsoft Windows XP Home are not affected by this policy as they are licensed per installation and not per processor. Windows XP Professional can support up to two processors regardless of the number of cores on the processor. Microsoft Windows XP Home supports one processor.

So licence-wise it's ok to run Home on a dual core system, and reading between the lines XP Home (and Pro) supports any number of cores on one processor.

Of course Microsoft don't state that explicitly, so further confirmation was required. I looked through forum postings, product reviews and anything else that Google turned up and it was confirmed time and time again by dual core users who have XP Home installed that the second core was detected and used. I found plenty of postings which advised otherwise, but not one of those stated that they were actually running XP Home. Be aware that there is some evidence that you need service pack 2, but since SP2 is needed to handle power management in dual core processors anyway, that should hopefully be a moot point for the vast majority of dual core users.

Shawn Holwegner has posted some screenshots of his dual core XP Home system which confirm that both processors are actively used. You can view Shawns site here. From all of this rooting around I'm as confident as I can be without personal testing that XP Home supports at the very least a dual core processor, and it seems quite feasible from Microsoft's comment that it could even handle more. It should be interesting when the Mac Pro gets quad processors

 

[GoldenRedux]

Well, I installed XP Pro w/ SP2 and not only so the games still not run prior to any software updates, but I can't update the software because now my ethernet ports won't work. It shows 'network interface unplugged' or something like that. I despise Windows. If I didn't want to play these games, I wouldn't even bother.

I tried re-installing the Apple drivers, but that didn't help any.