Games Help

Game works in Windows xp or whatever,
but not in Windows 7 or whatever:

You can try Compatability Mode, but I haven't had much luck with it.

Right-click the program or shortcut and select Properties
Then select the Compatability tab.

Virtualization:

I use VirtualBox to run a couple old games that don't work in my Windows 7 64-bit.
It is pretty technical and lots of fun.

A similar program is Windows Virtual PC.
It has a little better Windows 98 support than VirtualBox.

Windows XP Mode is a preconfigured Windows Virtual PC that comes with Windows 7 Professional, Ultimate and Enterprise.

Or download it here.

DLL errors:

Missing .DLL file?
Try googling the .DLL file and downloading it.

You can mess stuff up if you put the DLL in the wrong place.
I'd recommend putting them in the game's folder.

Game window too small:

Change to 640 x 480:

In xp or newer you can right-click your game shortcut or .exe and go Compatibility > Run in 640 x 480 screen resolution.

Another way to get 640 x 480 is HRC

Another way to get 640 x 480 (in Windows 7):

1. Right click Desktop.
2. Screen resolution
3. Advanced settings
4. List all Modes

Windows 7 has a nice screen magnifier.
(Vista and xp do too, but it's not as nice)

You can only fullscreen the magnifier if using the Aero theme.

Go Start menu
Then type "Magnifier" and press ENTER.

I get better framerate by running the game in its windowed mode instead of fullscreen.
If the game doesn't have a windowed mode, try running it in VirtualBox or Windows Virtual PC and magnifying that.

Zoom in or out
Windows logo key + + or -

Show the mouse pointer
CTRL + ALT + SPACE

Switch to full-screen mode
CTRL + ALT + F

Switch to lens mode
CTRL + ALT + L

Switch to docked mode
CTRL + ALT + D

Invert colors
CTRL + ALT + I

Pan in the direction of the arrow keys
CTRL + ALT + arrows

Resize the lens
CTRL + ALT + R

Exit Magnifier
Windows logo key + ESC

Psychedelic Colors, Yo

Does your game look like this!

This is called poopy colors.

Here's to fix it:

I guess the problem is with Window's taskbar or explorer.
So you hafta kill taskbar or explorer or something while the game runs.

I use batch files like this one

The above batch file explained:

taskkill /f /IM explorer.exe

This line closes any open Windows Explorer windows and prolly temporarily kills the taskbar.

YOU WON'T GET THEM BACK...
I ALWAYS HAVE A MILLION EXPLORER WINDOWS OPEN, SO THIS IS A PAIN FOR ME.

MOORHUHN.EXE

This line runs MOORHUHN.EXE.
Replace MOORHUHN.EXE with the file (usually an .EXE file) that you use to open your game.
Put the batch file in the directory where this file is.

pause

This line keeps the batch file open while your game runs.

start explorer.exe

When you exit your game this line restarts Windows explorer and taskbar.

It messed up my desktop icons !!!!!!!

Calm down.
This happened because you weren't using Desktop Restore .

If a restore doesn't position all your icons correctly,
try restoring multiple times.

Installing - Uninstalling:

Most of the EXE files need installed.
Most of the ZIP files just need unzipped.

If you want to get rid of a game, installed games need to be uninstalled (instead of just deleting the files) or your Windows Registry and such can get messed up.

Lots of games put shortcuts in your Start Menu > Programs during install. Usually the installer will ask you to choose a program group for this shortcut. I don't like a lot of shortcuts in my Start Menu, so I made a folder called "garbage" in C: \ Windows \ Start Menu \ Programs. In xp it's C: \ Documents and Settings \ Owner \ Start Menu \ Programs.

System Requirements:

You can usually find system requirements in a game's documentation (after downloading the game) or you may find them at the game's official site.

Lots of games require Microsoft DirectX...latest version for your Windows at http://www.windowsupdate.com. If you're using Windows 95, the newest version of DirectX you can use is version 8.0, which is here, or you might try http://www.microsoft.com/windows/directx/.

Games Help

Game works in Windows xp or whatever,
but not in Windows 7 or whatever:

DLL errors:

Game window too small:

Psychedelic Colors, Yo

It messed up my desktop icons !!!!!!!

Installing - Uninstalling:

System Requirements:

Game Sites:

mark@chiptape.com

Games Help

Game works in Windows xp or whatever, but not in Windows 7 or whatever:

DLL errors:

Game window too small:

Psychedelic Colors, Yo

It messed up my desktop icons !!!!!!!

Installing - Uninstalling:

System Requirements:

Game Sites:

mark@chiptape.com

Game works in Windows xp or whatever,
but not in Windows 7 or whatever: