Playing kotor 2 through Windows XP Mode

[koottor]

To make a long, sad story short: none of the win 7 fixes to get kotor 2 (steam version) working has helped me. The game still crashes on start up.

But then it occured to me that with win 7 you can simulate xp (http://windows.microsoft.com/is-IS/w...e-in-windows-7)

Has anyone tried doing this and if so could it fix the problem? Or perhaps it's no different from just starting kotor2.exe in xp compatibility mode?

Any answers would be greatly appreciated!

[Q]

1) You can only do that with Pro or Ultimate. Home Premium doesn't have that capability.

2) It runs as a virtual machine, and therefore cannot support 3D graphics, so no games.

3) The Steam version of KotOR 2 should already be compatible with Windows 7, so the fixes shouldn't be necessary.

4) Let me take a look under the hood:

Originally Posted by stingerhs

Post your system specs
Sometimes we're just not going to be able to help you if we don't know what kind of hardware you have on your machine. If you don't know what you have on your machine, then follow these steps below:

• If you're using Vista or Windows 7, go into your game folder, find "launcher.exe" and "swconfig.exe". For each file, right-click on it, select "properties", then "compatibility", check the box beside "Run this program in compatibility mode for:" and select "Windows XP (Service Pack 2)". Then check the box next to "Run this program administrator" and hit "OK". (EDIT by Q)
• Bring up the launcher menu for Kotor 1 or 2 (by running "launcher.exe").
• Click on "Configure".
• Click the "Scan Hardware" button on the lower center of the window.
• Click "Yes" to continue.
• Click "Details" to view your system specs.
• Click "Save Report" and save the file to your desktop.
• Whenever you post your problem, open the file you just saved and copy and paste the contents to your post.

You can leave out the keymapping and everything after that.

[koottor]

There is no launcher.exe or swconfig.exe to be found anywhere in my game folder or anywhere else for that matter. The only .exe I have is swkotor2.exe.

Not sure how much details on my system specs you need, but here we go:


Windows: Windows 7 Home Premium Edition (64-bit) Service Pack 1 (Build 7601)
Memory (RAM): 8146 MB
CPU Info: Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-3450 CPU @ 3.10GHz
CPU Speed: 3083,6 MHz
Display Adapters: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 670
Monitors: 1x; SyncMaster SA750_S23A750D (Display Port) |
Screen Resolution: 1920 X 1080 - 32 bit
Network Adapters: Realtek PCIe GBE Family Controller
Mouse: 8 Button Wheel Mouse Present
Hard Disks: C: 102,0GB | D: 1863,0GB
Hard Disks - Free: C: 18,6GB | D: 1216,2GB
USB Controllers: 2 host controllers.
Motherboard : MSI Z77A-G45 (MS-7752)

[Q]

Look in the swkotor2.ini file in your game folder and see if the line "Disable Vertex Buffer Objects=1" is under [Graphics Options]. If it isn't, add it and save.

If that doesn't help, try reinstalling the game without any of the fixes, save the one above.

[koottor]

Originally Posted by Q

Look in the swkotor2.ini file in your game folder and see if the line "Disable Vertex Buffer Objects=1" is under [Graphics Options]. If it isn't, add it and save.

If that doesn't help, try reinstalling the game without any of the fixes, save the one above.

I did all that but it still doesn't work (not the first time that I have tried it either).

One thing remains a mystery to me though. Setting swkotor2.exe to win 95 compability mode actually makes it possible for me to launch the game and create a character only to have it crash when loading the first level. Any other compability mode (including XP) and I won't even get it started, rather it crashes when trying to launch the game.

[Q]

I take it that you've tried no compatibility mode, too?

What file version is your .exe?

Have you enabled 640x480 in your graphics driver control panel?

[koottor]

Originally Posted by Q

I take it that you've tried no compatibility mode, too?

What file version is your .exe?

Have you enabled 640x480 in your graphics driver control panel?

File version is 2.2.0.0 and I have tried not running in compability mode.

640x480 can be selected from the resolution list in my graphic driver control panel if that is what you mean, but I don't manually set it to that before I run the game in win 95 comp mode.

[Q]

It needs to be checked in the list of supported resolutions in the Nvidia control panel. It is not included by default. That's likely the cause of your problem.

[koottor]

Originally Posted by Q

It needs to be checked in the list of supported resolutions in the Nvidia control panel. It is not included by default. That's likely the cause of your problem.

It wasn't in the list of resolutions by default (lowest was 800x600) but I had added it to the list at another occassion.

I didn't know this could be a problem honestly, could you perhaps elaborate a little on why it might be the cause of my problem and if there is anything that can be done about it?

[Q]

The movies are 640x480, and the engine will scale even the "high-quality" movies down to 640x480 and back up again (making them basically useless). Any resolution that's not supported by your graphics driver simply will not run.

All you have to do is open your Nvidia control panel, go to "Change Resolution" and click on "customize". 640x480 will be at the bottom, under "PC". Check the box next to it and hit OK.

[koottor]

Originally Posted by Q

The movies are 640x480, and the engine will scale even the "high-quality" movies down to 640x480 and back up again (making them basically useless). Any resolution that's not supported by your graphics driver simply will not run.

All you have to do is open your Nvidia control panel, go to "Change Resolution" and click on "customize". 640x480 will be at the bottom, under "PC". Check the box next to it and hit OK.

The game still crashes when I try to launch it. In win 95 compability I did manage to start the game but it was stuttering like crazy and the keyboard wasn't working

[Q]

So, you've tried reinstalling with no fixes at all?

What resolution are you trying to play at?

[koottor]

Originally Posted by Q

So, you've tried reinstalling with no fixes at all?

What resolution are you trying to play at?

I've been working with a clean install this whole time and have mostly done my attempts at getting it to run in 800x600 resolution, although I have tried the others as well.

[Q]

When you installed it, did you do so like you would any other program, or by following the guide?

[koottor]

Originally Posted by Q

When you installed it, did you do so like you would any other program, or by following the guide?

I installed like any other steam game.

[Q]

Damn. How come I never have any of these problems?

Have you tried the Vista fix?

Have you tried simply rebooting?

[koottor]

With the vista fix and reboots there is no noticable difference. Further more, I have tried to tamper with the settings in swkotor2.ini, like turning on/off vsync etc. but so far without any results.

[Q]

I don't get it.

Have you tried poking around the Steam forums?

[koottor]

I've had a look over at the steam forums and there seems to be a lot of folks with similar problems but unlike this board there aren't all that many people good a solving the issues.

[Q]

YHPM.