KOTOR 1+2: Vista Fix & Windows 7 Report

[Vaqx]

Ugh, having problems again.
I boarded the Ebon Hawk and when it says "The sith have boarded the ship", I click to attack them and then my game crashes. Any help?

Originally Posted by OZstarwars

Very frustrated Dad here. We bought a super go faster computer so that my son can play his games. 2nd game that we buy is SWKOTOR2 and it will not work.

We have a DELL, Studio XPS 435MT, Intel Core i7 CPU 920 @2.67 GHZ, with 4.0 GM RAM and 64 bit operating system. OS is Windows Vista with SP1.

I have followed your 9 steps religiously but I get a error message that SWKOTOR@ has stopped working.

I have updated the Directx stuff from post #3.

What else do you recommend?

What exact problem are you having and when is it happening?
Give more detail.

EDIT: OZstarwars, did you try the solution before my post? About changing the "CurSithLord"?

[OZstarwars]

UPDATE : Fixed. I followed the link in posting#15 and it worked with a new dll installed. I do not know why following the instructions in posting#1 did not work, but following the instructions in post #15 did. I guess the message to other frustrated people is to stick at it.
Thanks to those who support the forum, much appreciated.
Oh and my 9 year old thinks his Dad is great!

[darenn]

Well, or is it Vista?

I've a quad core processor, a nVidia 9800gtx+ with the latest drivers and I'm running Vista Business, and I'm having problems with KotOR.

The fixes detailed on this forum (thanks!) work up to a point, but I get random crashes with the error message as follows:

Faulting application swkotor.exe, version 1.0.3.0, time stamp 0x00000000, faulting module unknown, version 0.0.0.0, time stamp 0x00000000, exception code 0xc0000005, fault offset 0x013dda57, process id 0xe08, application start time 0x01c9fb72ec38830a.

I've tried all the fixes (that's how I got it working). Now, the fixed .exe linked on the second post won't work for me, because I've KotOR installed from the "Best of PC" disc, so it won't recognise my disc as valid. Is there a fixed executable for this?

I thought the problem was related to the multi-core processor, but setting the affinity to a single cpu didn't help. I'm way over spec on anything else, by the way!

If the problem is mss32.dll, it's identified as the faulting module, so it ain't that. Any ideas?

Edit: I should be clear that the game works fine for a while, then crashes out. There's nothing specific that seems to bring it on, except it happens more in combat than any other time. I'm on Dantooine for the first time at the moment, so I've played for a while.

[Astrotoy7]

KOTOR 1+2 in Windows 7 Report:

I've finally gotten around to trying Kotor 1/2 in Windows 7 There are varying reports of 'KOTOR in W7' around the web, though many of the ones Ive encountered were for earlier builds of W7, which did not have graphics driver support yet.

Here are the latest results if you're interested...

*Build tested: Windows 7 Release Candidate (32 bit)

*Basic specs: AMD 3.0Ghz dual core, 3GB RAM. EVGA 8800 GTS 640MB

*Graphics drivers: nvidia geforce 185.81 windows 7 32 bit drivers

*Game versions: KOTOR 1+2: Original discs (didnt apply any patches or fixes)

*Direct X Version Note: Windows 7 comes with DX11, but with more comprehensive backward compatability, including for wayward DX9 titles like KOTOR. ie. you do not have to install directX again when running these games in W7.

*Installation notes: setup.exe on install disc(one) was launched in XP Service Pack 2 compatibility mode.

Nb. THE FIXES REQUIRED IN VISTA ARE NOT REQUIRED ON WINDOWS 7 = \o/

*Running the game: Did not need to set XP compat mode. Launcher starts as normal Did not try update through launcher.

*Performance: played each for an hour. Worked great Just one tiny thing, pressing esc before the opening scroll starts for the opening cutscene kept jumping back to the desktop. Once you let it run for a couple of secs, it stopped doing that

Here's a screenie of K2 in windowed mode within W7




If you try it on W7, feel free to report back, stating what hardware and graphics driver version you are using.

All in all, good news for KOTOR fans !!

mtfbwya

[Negative Sun]

Man, Windows 7 is so sexy!

Screw that Google Chrome OS, unless it can run KotOR without fault at 1440x900 like XP and (hopefully) Win7 it can remain the cheapo Linux ripoff that it is!!!

[Delta82]

I'm trying to get KOTOR 2 to work with Windows 7 RC 64-bit and that ms32.dll link doesn't seem to work any more, does any one know where else I can get the .dll?

[Q]

Here you go, but I thought that Windows 7 didn't need it.

Astro, would you kindly change the dead link in the OP to the one in this post?

[Astrotoy7]

Originally Posted by Evil Q

Astro, would you kindly change the dead link in the OP to the one in this post?

Tis done, my good man Thank you for that, and thank you for your continuing excellent contributions to the techforum(aka LFNs Switzerland)

mtfbwya

[Negative Sun]

Thanks to Astro and Q!

I am now enjoying KotOR on Vista in widescreen HD res 1440x900

Makes me very happy!

spoiler:

I may not kill Bastila after all...

I'm running it on my laptop:

Mainboard: DIXONSXP DIXONSXP
Chipset: Intel GL40
Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo Mobile T5850 @ 2166 MHz
Physical Memory: 3072 MB
Video Card: Mobile Intel(R) 4 Series Express Chipset Family GMA 4500MHD
Hard Disk: TOSHIBA (250 GB)
DVD-Rom Drive: TSSTcorp CDDVDW TS-L633A ATA Device
Monitor Type: LGPhilipsLCD - 17 inches 1440x900 pixels
Operating System: Windows Vista (TM) Home Premium Home Edition 6.00.6002 Service Pack 2
DirectX: Version 10.00

[Astrotoy7]

Good work Negsun Make sure you get a cooler pad fir that laptop if you plan on 60 hours of KOTOR-in on it !

Thats exactly how I fried my Toshiba Satellite back in the day(more than once)

mtfbwya

[Belhawk]

trying to get kotor 2 to run and i am having problems.
running vista w/sp2 and have eVga 295gtx card and fatal1ty x-fi
using alchemy 1.31 and kotor is active
installed kotor in c:games/lucas/kotor2
used nhancer to set opengl to 1.4, i think. do i need to add an executable file to profile for it to work auto when i start kotor2?
get the new swkotor2.exe
installed patch 1.0b
installed under compatability mode xp/sp2
set compatability mode for launcher and swkotor2.exe
tried the fixed mss32.dll file
have vsync on
have forced software mode on
resolution is 1600x1200 with a dell 24" lcd monitor
the game Crashes at the main menu. 1 time i got to the creation screen, and then crashed when leaving the creation screen.
any suggestions?

[Q]

Did you check out the second post in this thread? I listed a bunch of extra stuff there. Some of it isn't really Vista-related, but all of it should be tried.

[Belhawk]

i tried adding, "Disable Vertex Buffer Objects=1" to kotor'2 .ini file and it seems to have worked. I got to the beginning of the prologue this time, for the 1st time. Now it's time to do some chores and then start modding kotor2. Missed disable vertex buffer objects on my 1st read

[Q]

That's probably because I added it pretty recently.

EDIT
@NS: I'm pleased to see that you've gotten it to run on an Intel GPU. Looks like there's hope for others who want to do the same.

[rhinohoops8]

Hey! I'm new to this forum thing, so please cut me some slack. I just got KOTOR 2 yesterday and have been trying to get it to work all day today. I've downloaded the fix and switched the mss32.dll onto KOTOR2, but when I open the swkotor2.exe shortcut on my desktop, it still says "KOTOR 2 has stopped working". Any ideas? I really want to play this game.

[Negative Sun]

Did you do all of the steps correctly? Did you run it in compatibility mode? What kind of system are you running it on?

As you can see, more details are needed

[Belhawk]

did u get a new swkotor2.exe?
if u have a nvidia vid card, did u add "Disable Vertex Buffer Objects=1" to kotor's ini under graphics
use nhancer to create a profile to force recognisition of opengl as 1.4
did u make sure launcher and swkotor2.exe are in compatability mode and areo is disabled, under compatability there is setting, check the last 3 boxes.
did u DL the manual patch 1.0b and install it
look at the 1st page and see if u did all of those steps.

[rhinohoops8]

Negative sun:
I'm pretty sure I ran all the steps correctly, because I had to do them twice since I unistalled the game and installed it again twice. I did run it in compatibility mode. I'm running it on vista, thought I'm not sure what kind. (I'm new to this whole vista and 'computer guy' thing. I would be able to tell you the specs if you tell me where I can view them.
Belhawk:
How do I get a new swkotor2.exe? And I don't know if I have a nvidia vid card. Where could I check if I have one? What's nhancer? And what's areo? I know I downloaded the manual patch. How would I install it? I did all of the steps on the first post.

Sorry to the both of you that I am an idiot at computers. I wish I knew what to do.

[rhinohoops8]

Originally Posted by rhinohoops8

Negative sun:
I'm pretty sure I ran all the steps correctly, because I had to do them twice since I unistalled the game and installed it again twice. I did run it in compatibility mode. I'm running it on vista, thought I'm not sure what kind. (I'm new to this whole vista and 'computer guy' thing. I would be able to tell you the specs if you tell me where I can view them.
Belhawk:
How do I get a new swkotor2.exe? And I don't know if I have a nvidia vid card. Where could I check if I have one? What's nhancer? And what's areo? I know I downloaded the manual patch. How would I install it? I did all of the steps on the first post.

Sorry to the both of you that I am an idiot at computers. I wish I knew what to do.

Ok, I found the swkotor2.exe and made a shortcut for it. I don't have a nvidia card (so far as I know). And I still don't know what areo is.

Question for Evil Q:
After I download the secuRom vista fixes, do I put them somewhere? Like in the main directory for the game?

[rhinohoops8]

Ok, I know I'm posting 3 times in a row, which is wierd, but I've got the game to get going, I make my character, and then the prologue starts, and when the ship fades, it says 'KOTOR 2 has stopped working'! I'm kinda getting frustrated... > PLEASE HELP ME!!!!!

[Belhawk]

check out this post, http://www.lucasforums.com/showthread.php?t=144109, it is abt ati cards having issues with kotor 2.

[rhinohoops8]

Ok, I read over a little bit of that forum. Do you think I should download a ATI Catalyst Windows 7 and Vista (64 bit)? I was trying to decide on that. My Video card is Mobile Intel(R) 4 Series Express Chipset Family. I'm trying to run this on a laptop, if that changes anything. I tried the Disable Vertex Buffer Objects thing, and that didn't do anything different. And I want to try disabling the sound but I don't know how.

[Q]

Originally Posted by rhinohoops8

Hey! I'm new to this forum thing, so please cut me some slack. I just got KOTOR 2 yesterday and have been trying to get it to work all day today. I've downloaded the fix and switched the mss32.dll onto KOTOR2, but when I open the swkotor2.exe shortcut on my desktop, it still says "KOTOR 2 has stopped working". Any ideas? I really want to play this game.

It's probably because you need the SecuROM fix, which is a new swkotor2.exe.

Originally Posted by rhinohoops8

Question for Evil Q:
After I download the secuRom vista fixes, do I put them somewhere? Like in the main directory for the game?

After copying or moving the original swkotor2.exe that's in your game's main folder to back it up, you copy the new one from SecuROM into the main folder, overwriting the old one.

Originally Posted by rhinohoops8

Ok, I read over a little bit of that forum. Do you think I should download a ATI Catalyst Windows 7 and Vista (64 bit)? I was trying to decide on that. My Video card is Mobile Intel(R) 4 Series Express Chipset Family. I'm trying to run this on a laptop, if that changes anything. I tried the Disable Vertex Buffer Objects thing, and that didn't do anything different. And I want to try disabling the sound but I don't know how.

You don't have an ATI graphics card, so you won't need Catalyst or anything having to do with ATI or Nvidia. If you've downloaded and installed anything like that then you need to stop now and do a system restore back to a date before you did anything like that, or you're in for far more trouble than just not being able to run KotOR 2.

[rhinohoops8]

It worked!!! YEAH!!!! Thank you so much!!! I'm so excited to play now!!! I had downloaded the secuRom before but hadn't replaced it yet. That was what did the trick. Thank you all for helping me, especially Evil Q, Belhawk, and Astro.

[Astrotoy7]

Good news rhinohoops8

* * *

Just a couple of comments related to KOTOR/2 compatibility in general:

*Many people Ive come across having KOTOR/2 issues in Vista tried Windows 7RC - which is still available as a free download from MS. It has made quite a few people happy as far as getting KOTOR/2 running As I mentioned in my report above, most users with original discs will not need any compatibility workaround.

*Just as an FYI. Those curious as to what the Mss32.dll actually is may be suprised to know that it is actually a Miles Sound System driver, used in many games with the bink video format developed by RAD games tools. Hence it has *nothing* to do with Microsoft or DirectX, which is what many back in the day where thinking.

The tweaked Mss32.dll workaround on page 1 is actually an old version (3.0) that resembles the one that gets installed in KOTOR 1 but has some 3d mode changes in its config settings(which you can see by opening in up in notepad and scrolling down). Strangely enough, even downloading the latest Miles Sound tools from RAD featuring v7 of Mss32.dll will still give you the same crashes in Vista if you use it in KOTOR.

It is *really* disappointing that neither obsidian nor RAD could get together to sort out something so relatively simple. MS seems to have paid attention for Windows 7, but it still could have been achieved by the original authors of the software without too much effort, rather than putting it back on the community to chop and change it. Its an immensely popular and high selling series with a large active following - you'd think they valued their community a bit more ??

mtfbwya

[Q]

Originally Posted by rhinohoops8

It worked!!! YEAH!!!! Thank you so much!!! I'm so excited to play now!!! I had downloaded the secuRom before but hadn't replaced it yet. That was what did the trick. Thank you all for helping me, especially Evil Q, Belhawk, and Astro.

You're welcome. Glad you got it working. Have fun.

[SD Nihil]

You can get Windows 7 for free at MS whereever that is? I have seen computers advertised in the paper that come with Windows 7. How are you able to get it for free at one place, but have to buy it everywhere else?

So I guess the moral of the story is from reading the new replies that if you get Windows 7 with a NVIDA card you should be set? What do you mean by original discs? How could they not be. I didn't know there were other disc versions of K1-2.

Since Windows 7 works like a miracle it seems with the KOTOR games I will be going to tell other forums like Obsidian and maybe the comments area of the Vista fix on KOTORFiles. But before I do I want to know what I'm talking about with the above questions so I don't have something wrong when I tell them the great news.

Thanks.

[TriggerGod]

Originally Posted by SD Nihil

What do you mean by original discs? How could they not be. I didn't know there were other disc versions of K1-2.

Torrents, illegally downloaded stuff from the internet. Copies that you don't buy in the store.

[Belhawk]

got a new problem. I installed the tsl holowan mod, and that prevented me from entering the tomb on korriban. So, i uninstalled the game and reinstalled. Got it up and running, except i can't patch the game to 1.0b, which is 20427 i did replace the swkotor2.exe with a new 1 from secure.com and that 1 is 2.1
so, do i need the patch or do i need to patch the game with the old swkotor.exe and then replace swkotor.exe with the 1 from secure.com?

[Q]

Patch first, then replace the .exe.

[Belhawk]

i did all of the changes to get kotor 2 to run on vista. the games gets to the game creation screen and when i click on NAME, the game freezes. i also used nhancer to create a profile to see opengl as 1.4
all help as much appreciated.

[Astrotoy7]

Originally Posted by SD Nihil

. How are you able to get it for free at one place, but have to buy it everywhere else?

Two very important letters youve missed !!

Originally Posted by Astro

Windows 7RC

RC wasnt put in there for fun RC is the Release Candidate beta of W7. It is what I tested K1/2 on above. Until yesterday, it was available for free - as it is a beta - from MS directly. MS have now phased this out, but RC is still available from p2p - and it is legal to use it as long as you are aware that you can NOT recive any official support from them

So I guess the moral of the story is from reading the new replies that if you get Windows 7 with a NVIDA card you should be set?

My testing conditions in the above report above are very specific - if you can replicate *those* you will be set. Anything else is subject to its own testing of course

What do you mean by original discs? How could they not be. I didn't know there were other disc versions of K1-2.

There were some different re-issues of the retail discs, but it must also be mentioned that there are legally owned digital copies as well. I tested mine with some original discs, bought shortly after initial release for both titles.

Since Windows 7 works like a miracle it seems with the KOTOR games I will be going to tell other forums like Obsidian and maybe the comments area of the Vista fix on KOTORFiles

Feel free to spread the link to here, but dont preach before you practise ie. best you try W7 for yourself before you can claim it works like a miracle !!

Also, please remember, I did NOT install any mods or any of the official patches. These can potetntially break the miracle success I achieved with the setup I described

mtfbwya

[SD Nihil]

Thanks. I'll look around. Maybe there are others who have tested K1-2 on Win7.

[Q]

Originally Posted by Belhawk

i also used nhancer to create a profile to see opengl as 1.4

Well, since you got it working before, then maybe you shouldn't be doing that.

Little advice, here:
Once you get the vanilla install working, it would be a good idea to make a copy of your entire game folder and put it in a safe place (maybe even on a DVD if you're pressed for HDD space) before you start fiddling around with mods and such so you won't have to repeat the entire installation process when you mess up.

[SD Nihil]

Well I checked the Obsidian counterparte to this thread and they don't mention Windows 7. Until someone else tries another computer with Win7 besides Astro's one he checked, all I could tell those on that thread is that that computer with those specs worked.

But you did say Astro that those who did download the Win7 RC on that site you gave did have good results. Those individuals need to come here and post there specs so we can get a better idea about what works.

And to the last suggestion about storing the kotor2 folder, if you are worried about space just archive the folder. I know people around here really like 7 Zip, but I did a little searching and I found something called IZArc and it can deal with more archive file types than 7 Zip and its right click menu is similar too. Just thought I'd pass that along.

[Belhawk]

Q, that is a very good idea of making a copy of the kotor2 folder. I will do that on my next install adventure

[Q]

I learned that one the hard way.

[Astrotoy7]

Originally Posted by SD Nihil

Those individuals need to come here and post there specs so we can get a better idea about what works.

This report was posted at AHTO - other LFN members also trialling W7 reported success. I don't think there's any need to hassle people from elsewhere I barely know to came here.

I will be trialling it with Windows7 RTM very soon- watch this space!

mtfbwya

[Belhawk]

for widescreen, 1280 x 768 is supported, but not listed in the screen resolutions. saw that listed elsewhere.

[Q]

It's 1280x800. Installed the game last night and it fired right up after hacking the .ini to that res.

There are ways of taking it to far higher widescreen resolutions, however.