Aliens versus predator will not run on XP Home

[Martin C]

I know that the original Aliens versus Predator game is rather an old one,
but it is also a fantastic game to play with a lot of very scary bits in it.
It used to play with no problems at all with my old PC which had Win98 SE.

More recently, I have built a new PC (3.5GHz Athlon 64, 1GB RAM, Nvidia 6800
video card, loads of HDD) which has XP Home SP2 installed. Despite trying to
reinstall the game, it will not run properly. It appears to install ok and
even starts to load up correctly. However, as soon as the game starts to
play for real, the screen will show predominantly black, but with some
elements of the game on display (e.g. health status, rounds left, motion
detector and some spots of light - but nothing else). The sound is
absolutely crap and I cannot move.

Has anyone else found a way around this. I looked at the Fox web site for
any patches, but there were none that would fix this problem. Is this yet
another good game that is going to have to be tossed into the "will not work
with XP" bin. I have had rather a lot of those.

I rather think that I will have to set up a second boot disc to run Win98SE
so that my favourite games can be played again. As it is no longer
supported, I will have to ensure that the firewall is set to totally
disconnect the web when 98 is booted.

Thanks for any help you can provide.

Martin

 

[Jimmy S.]

Hi Martin C,

Try installing and playing that using 95/98 Compatibility mode.

To install a program using Windows XP's Compatibility Mode, hold
down SHIFT as you insert the game CD, use My Computer to browse
to the setup program, and then skip down to step 1 in the list below:

To run an installed program using Windows XP's Compatibility Mode,
first right click the program and "Send To..." / Desktop (create shortcut).

1.. Right click on the shortcut to the program.
2.. Click on Properties.
3.. Click on the Compatibility tab.
4.. Click on Run this program in compatibility mode and select one of these:
a.. Windows 95
b.. Windows 98
c.. Windows NT 4
d.. Windows 2000
5.. Under Display settings, check mark the mode that you think that is best:
a.. Run in 256 colors.
b.. Run in 640 X 480 screen resolution.
c.. Disable visual themes.

Click on Apply.Click on Ok.Double click on the program.

Of course, let's not forget to check for any patches or updates for that game.
A good place to find them is: www.avault.com/pcrl/patches_list.asp?letter=a

If you'd like to learn more information about compatibility mode, you can click the
link in the Compatibility tab that reads "Learn more about program compatibility",
or watch this Application Compatibility Power Point Presentation:
http://support.microsoft.com/servicedesks/webcasts/wc112202/WC112202.ppt


--
Cheers, *Windows_XP_MVP_Shell/User*
Jimmy S. http://mvp.support.microsoft.com

Visit my MSN Games and Windows Gaming Help Site: www.msce.mvps.org
MS Games Help and Support Center: http://support.microsoft.com/?pr=gms
My advice is donated "AS IS" without warranty; nor do I confer any rights.
_________________________________________________________


Martin C Wrote:
=================
| I know that the original Aliens versus Predator game is rather an old one,
| but it is also a fantastic game to play with a lot of very scary bits in it.
| It used to play with no problems at all with my old PC which had Win98 SE.
|
| More recently, I have built a new PC (3.5GHz Athlon 64, 1GB RAM, Nvidia 6800
| video card, loads of HDD) which has XP Home SP2 installed. Despite trying to
| reinstall the game, it will not run properly. It appears to install ok and
| even starts to load up correctly. However, as soon as the game starts to
| play for real, the screen will show predominantly black, but with some
| elements of the game on display (e.g. health status, rounds left, motion
| detector and some spots of light - but nothing else). The sound is
| absolutely crap and I cannot move.
|
| Has anyone else found a way around this. I looked at the Fox web site for
| any patches, but there were none that would fix this problem. Is this yet
| another good game that is going to have to be tossed into the "will not work
| with XP" bin. I have had rather a lot of those.
|
| I rather think that I will have to set up a second boot disc to run Win98SE
| so that my favourite games can be played again. As it is no longer
| supported, I will have to ensure that the firewall is set to totally
| disconnect the web when 98 is booted.
|
| Thanks for any help you can provide.
|
| Martin

 

[Martin C]

Sorry Jimmy, I thought I had mentioned it in my original post - I have
already tried the compatibility mode with no joy. In fact, I have only ever
had one of my older games work under this mode. Every other game I have
tried to run in compatibility mode as just given an error dialogue and an
option to pass this on to Microsoft.

I have also tried the patches available, but it still refuses to show the
video correctly. I have the latest drivers for my NVIDIA 6800 card, so I do
not believe it is due to that either. I just think this is another game for
the bone yard until I can sort out another disc to run Win98SE again but
with no internet connections allowed as it is no longer supported.

Thanks for your help though.
Martin