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Weird Pc game fixes that you've used

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  • 19-08-2012 3:19pm
    #1
    ahnowbrowncow
    Registered Users Posts: 2,565 ✭✭✭


    I decided to give fallout 2 a go today but was having some problems with it.
    First one was that it needed 20mb of free space and thought I didn't have that much :D Got past that by running it in a different compatibility mode but when it played it had a weird rainbow colour pixel thing going on.

    So after looking online I found a fix that worked. I had to right click on the desktop and click on screen resolution and then advanced settings, leave that open and then run the game. Not that I'm complaining but how on earth did that solve it?

    And another one was when I couldn't get cod 4 multiplayer working until I read somewhere that if you plug something into the microphone it'll work... and it did.

    So have you had to resort to any weird fixes like those to get a game working?


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    #2
    PogMoThoin
    Closed Accounts Posts: 13,874 ✭✭✭✭PogMoThoin


    Arma 2 ran badly and it was all down to hard drive lag so I bought 4GB more ram to make a ram disk and added the most used game files into it each time before I launched the game
    http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=62876152


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    #3
    degrassinoel
    Registered Users Posts: 10,734 ✭✭✭✭degrassinoel


    I dont have a weirdest, but i do have a most frustrating,

    Bioshock running on vista at the time of Bioshock's release was a disaster. Crashed everytime on the opening cinematics, and if by some miracle it made it past it would either hang on the load screen or even worse, load past that and dump me into the water right at the beginning of game then crash back to windows.

    Took about two weeks for whoever made bioshock to release a patch for that. Was quite pissed off about that one :D but it worked and still works fine now with that first patch :)


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    #4
    PerrinV2
    Moderators, Computer Games Moderators Posts: 6,331 Mod ✭✭✭✭PerrinV2


    ahnowbrowncow wrote: »

    And another one was when I couldn't get cod 4 multiplayer working until I read somewhere that if you plug something into the microphone it'll work... and it did.

    I had the same thing happen too


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    #5
    ninja 12
    Registered Users Posts: 953 ✭✭✭ninja 12


    PerrinV2 wrote: »
    ahnowbrowncow wrote: »

    And another one was when I couldn't get cod 4 multiplayer working until I read somewhere that if you plug something into the microphone it'll work... and it did.

    I had the same thing happen too*

    I've had the same with bioshock .

    On my htpc it plays perfectly , but my desktop needs a microphone plugged in or I get no sound .

    Also , Batman Arkham City installed the AMD Dual Core optimiser , I had to uninstall it because the game crashed after loading (I have an Athlon II x 4)


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    #6
    Turtwig
    Registered Users Posts: 26,578 ✭✭✭✭Turtwig


    Wanted to play Rogue Squadron for the PC once. (Think it was maybe two years ago?) Frame rate was insane. It was like playing the game in turbo mode. So I don't quite know how I got the idea, but I did, I decided to run a thorough Kaspersky virus scan while playing. The framerate was more manageable (but still awesomely quick like X-Wing Tie Fighter battles should have been) and my computer was getting a much needed thorough health check. Killing two birds with one stone. :)


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    #7
    Kiith
    Moderators, Computer Games Moderators Posts: 23,077 Mod ✭✭✭✭Kiith


    I remember back in the day, having to edit my autoexec.bat and config.sys files to get the cd drive working with Magic Carpet. That's probably the only time i've ever had to learn something new to get a game working.


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    #8
    Mr E
    Registered Users Posts: 55,465 ✭✭✭✭Mr E


    Thread reopened. Any talk of downloading pirated software, or cracked EXEs (even to run legit copies) will earn an infraction from this point forward.


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    #9
    balkieb2002
    Registered Users Posts: 1,839 ✭✭✭balkieb2002


    ahnowbrowncow wrote: »
    And another one was when I couldn't get cod 4 multiplayer working until I read somewhere that if you plug something into the microphone it'll work... and it did.

    Haha yeah I actually remember this but I couldn't remember for what game it was. It was very strange workaround alright, though I think it was fixed in an update shortly after.

    I do remember trying to get an old (I think it was japanese) game to run. Took me ages to get running but I do remember having to install a foreign language packs and also changing locale of the PC to the area where the game was from.

    Had to then try and switch back to English afterwards which was also a bit of a pain. For some reason part of the other language would return in random places. Probably wasn't such a good idea thinking back it was the family PC at the time.

    I did love that game though but can't for life of me remember what it was :(


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    #10
    TomCo
    Registered Users Posts: 2,528 ✭✭✭TomCo


    balkieb2002 wrote: »
    I do remember trying to get an old (I think it was japanese) game to run. Took me ages to get running but I do remember having to install a foreign language packs and also changing locale of the PC to the area where the game was from.

    Had to then try and switch back to English afterwards which was also a bit of a pain. For some reason part of the other language would return in random places. Probably wasn't such a good idea thinking back it was the family PC at the time.

    I did love that game though but can't for life of me remember what it was :(

    Rape Lay?

    (lol jk)


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    #11
    balkieb2002
    Registered Users Posts: 1,839 ✭✭✭balkieb2002


    TomCo wrote: »
    Rape Lay?

    (lol jk)

    Haha sad thing is I have actually heard of that f*cked-up game!

    I knew as soon as I mentioned an asian game, it usually the first things that springs to peoples mind. Strangly enough on this occasion it was a regular game (well as regular as they can be!!).


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    #12
    Duggy747
    Registered Users Posts: 13,295 ✭✭✭✭Duggy747


    Running Setup.exe for an old DOS game and basically just guessing the type of soundcard settings it'll take without melting your machine from BSOD.

    Back in the day, I was able to disable the timer in demos so I could play as long as I wanted. For the Driver 1 and Carmageddon demos, I went through their config files and managed to disable it.

    Felt like a hacker for such a small thing when nowadays it's a common thing to go through config files to get a game working right :pac:


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    #13
    CrazyRabbit
    Registered Users Posts: 8,659 ✭✭✭CrazyRabbit


    I can't even count the amount of times I've had to downgrade hardware drivers to get games to work. It's odd because the tech support people for the game & hardware will almost invariably advise upgrading the drivers to the latest versions as the first step to resolve issues. In reality, it's often the 2nd most recent driver that works.


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    #14
    D
    Registered Users Posts: 2,173 ✭✭✭D


    getting Z to work on an old 486 SX came up with a boot cd.

    The getting X-Com to run on a pentium 150, was playing way too fast so I found a program that deliberately used up CPU. I set it to 90% and then the game ran fine.

    Also before I learned the +mouselook console command for quake. I had a little wooden owl sit on my numlock key. :o


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    #15
    Supermensch
    Registered Users Posts: 270 ✭✭Supermensch


    Not really a game fix, but to get a higher Cinebench score on my hackintosh setup I had to play Team Fortress 2 for 20 minutes to get my graphics card "warmed up" (that's not to mention all the deleting kexts, changing system definitions, etc :D)

    To get Thief: The Dark Project to run in Windows I had to disable all but one processor core.


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    #16
    RoyalMarine
    Closed Accounts Posts: 5,824 ✭✭✭RoyalMarine


    More of a hardware fix for games,

    for those who had the original NES and had the lockout chip 'reset' your console every second, resulting in a blinking red light...

    having to blow air into the cartridge or slap the side of it 99% of the time worked.
    until nintendo released a cleaning cartridge..


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    #17
    Duggy747
    Registered Users Posts: 13,295 ✭✭✭✭Duggy747


    Supermensch wrote: »
    To get Thief: The Dark Project to run in Windows I had to disable all but one processor core.

    Black Ops had the same problem when it first came out (disastrous release) where it ran horrible on more than capable hardware.

    End up having to run it on one core where it ran perfectly instead of 2 where it was unstable as fook.


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    #18
    steve_r
    Registered Users Posts: 1,989 ✭✭✭steve_r


    Literally spent hours trying to get GTA IV, LA Noire and Fallout 3 working on my PC when they came out.

    Drove myself mental trying every fix I could find online, Fallout 3 in particular basically involved the kitchen sink.

    Echo the point regarding downgrading hardware drivers.

    Maybe I'm a dumbass who just couldn't figure the result out but I've ended up stopping PC gaming completly, bought a PS3, ipad and 3DS, I don't get as imersed in the games but the simplicity and portability are godsends


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    #19
    Dacelonid
    Registered Users Posts: 1,112 ✭✭✭Dacelonid


    Trying to get GTA 1 to work when I bought the complete pack in a Steam sale. Had to download some file to write config changes, and then run the game. Gave up after doing it a few times. Couldn't be arsed after that

    Installing new fonts on X-Wing alliance (or maybe it was the original x-wing) so I could read the text on screen


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    #20
    Grimebox
    Closed Accounts Posts: 4,997 ✭✭✭Grimebox


    steve_r wrote: »
    Literally spent hours trying to get GTA IV, LA Noire and Fallout 3 working on my PC when they came out.

    Drove myself mental trying every fix I could find online, Fallout 3 in particular basically involved the kitchen sink.

    Echo the point regarding downgrading hardware drivers.

    Maybe I'm a dumbass who just couldn't figure the result out but I've ended up stopping PC gaming completly, bought a PS3, ipad and 3DS, I don't get as imersed in the games but the simplicity and portability are godsends

    That's actually an amazing argument for console gaming. I'm one of those people that think PC gaming is alpha and omega. I am far beyond being a typical user so its difficult to put myself in their shoes.

    The last time I had hassle was getting X-COM to work on win7 via DOSBox. What a fantastic game. A testament that graphics can be meaningless. I was genuinely scared playing that game at first.


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    #21
    Adyx
    Registered Users Posts: 2,997 ✭✭✭Adyx


    Duggy747 wrote: »
    Black Ops had the same problem when it first came out (disastrous release) where it ran horrible on more than capable hardware.

    End up having to run it on one core where it ran perfectly instead of 2 where it was unstable as fook.
    Mass Effect 2 is the same. The load times, especially when transitioning decks on the Normandy, are atrocious if you have 2 or more cores. Solution is to start the game and use the set affinity option in task manager to prevent the game using one of the cores.


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    #22
    degrassinoel
    Registered Users Posts: 10,734 ✭✭✭✭degrassinoel


    Adyx wrote: »
    Mass Effect 2 is the same. The load times, especially when transitioning decks on the Normandy, are atrocious if you have 2 or more cores. Solution is to start the game and use the set affinity option in task manager to prevent the game using one of the cores.

    i've never had any loadtime issues with ME2, have played it on 2 multicore pc's and the loadtimes have been fast on both. Was it a specific cpu?


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    #23
    TPD
    Registered Users Posts: 7,814 ✭✭✭TPD


    I'm not sure if there is a fix for it or not, but a weird PC game bug is in Saints Row 2 coop. The further your CPU speed is from the xbox 360s 3.2ghz (I think), the faster or slower your game runs. Terrible port.


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    #24
    RolandIRL
    Closed Accounts Posts: 11,924 ✭✭✭✭RolandIRL


    TPD wrote: »
    I'm not sure if there is a fix for it or not, but a weird PC game bug is in Saints Row 2 coop. The further your CPU speed is from the xbox 360s 3.2ghz (I think), the faster or slower your game runs. Terrible port.

    There's a thread on the steam forums about how to remedy that. Involves using a stopwatch to calculate how much you need to change the speed settings for the game.


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    #25
    Clareman
    Moderators, Sports Moderators, Regional Midwest Moderators Posts: 23,924 Mod ✭✭✭✭Clareman


    Going around with your Counter Strike settings file on a floppy disk so if you were in someone else's gaff you could have everything the way you wanted it straight away.


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    #26
    BizzyC
    Registered Users Posts: 3,010 ✭✭✭BizzyC


    Oddest one I used to have was for Warcraft 2.

    For some reason the "Blizzard" sign at startup would crash the game, so I'd hit the windows button to go back to desktop until the main menu had loaded, then go back in to the game window and it ran perfectly.


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    #27
    muppetkiller
    Registered Users Posts: 5,199 ✭✭✭muppetkiller


    IL2 Cliffs of Dover - you have to delete the UBISOFT intro for the game not to reset the Display Settings. Probably the most unfinished Simulator of all time.


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    #28
    jonnybadd
    Registered Users Posts: 1,295 ✭✭✭jonnybadd


    Had the issues mentioned above with plugging something into the microphone port to get COD4 multiplayer and Bioshock working. Was something to do with the onboard sound card drivers. Really bizarre fix for the issue that still hasn't been resolved


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    #29
    Adyx
    Registered Users Posts: 2,997 ✭✭✭Adyx


    degrassinoel wrote: »
    i've never had any loadtime issues with ME2, have played it on 2 multicore pc's and the loadtimes have been fast on both. Was it a specific cpu?
    I don't think so. I remember reading it somewhere too so it wasn't just me.

    Here's the fix being discussed on Bioware's forums.

    I have a new(ish) quad-core processor now so I might reinstall all the ME games for a full playthrough and see how it is.


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