Windows Gaming on a Mac FAQ

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Welcome to the Windows Gaming on a Mac FAQ. Mac's are great computers and taking them into Windows for the purpose of gaming only makes them better! If you are happy with native Mac gaming, that is outstanding. However if you want to expand your horizons and don't mind dealing with the "dark side", if you have the proper Mac, an intel Mac capable of running Windows, with the expense of purchasing the Windows OS, you'll have many more options for itching that never ending gaming itch. :)

This FAQ will not answer every windows question. Originally I created this FAQ as I ran into problems when gaming on my PC. But now that I have a Mac Book Pro, I am playing a wide variety of Windows only games, top notch AAA titles such as Crysis and The Witcher on my Mac. I realize the MacRumor Guides are collaborative efforts. My only request is that if you add information, please don't go crazy changing the format of this FAQ, feel free to add content, but please don't delete content unless you are sure it is obsolete and please include a good description of what you edited. It will be easier for me to keep it updated.

If you prefer to send me your suggestions, tips, or solutions, please go to please Private Message me, and I'll make sure they are added to this guide. Thanks!- Huntn.

My hardware: MacBook Pro 2.2 GHz intel Core 2 Duo, 4GB Ram, GeForce 8600M GT (128 VRAM), 32b Vista; 1.8 dual G5, a 3.0 Pentium4 PC with 4GB RAM, and MacBook 2.2 Ghz Intel Core Duo, 2GB Ram with the Chipset: GMAx3100. This MacBook is a step above previous model MacBook as it appears to have better graphics support for shaders. -Dave Peck (Hunt'n)

This FAQ continues here: Windows Gaming on a Mac FAQ Part 2

Native Mac gaming performance can be posted in the MacRumors Native Game Performance On Your Mac Guide.

Contents

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Updates

  • 10/30- Added Moving Steam Application under Game Specific Help Pages Section.
  • 9/13- Added Mac Centric Gamer's Hardware Choices Section.
  • 6/5- Added MacRumor thread link in the MacRumor thread section.
  • 5/7/09- Added The Mac Gamers Age Of Conan System Compatability Guide, and Gunbound Works! MacRumors forum threads.
  • 4/7/09- Added updated MacBook Gaming Performance via Bootcamp (section 5).
  • 1/10/09- Added MacRumors Thread Link
  • 12/20/08- Added "Where are my Desktop Icons (XP)?" section to the end of the FAQ Pt2.
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Mac Centric Gamer's Hardware Choices Sept 2009

1. Mac/Bootcamp+ Windows install + Console- if not budget constrained = best choice with most gaming options. (approx $1900-2900 invest; price reflects MacBookPro vs MacPro and WinXP purchase. MacBook not included.)

2. Mac/Bootcamp+Windows install= Mac/PC in one = second best choice. Consider what a MacBook and stand alone gaming PC would cost if # both purchased, might as well get a Mac Pro or MacBook Pro. (approx $1600-2600 invest. MacBookPro vs Mac Pro and WinXP purchase; Macbook not included.)

3. MacBook/Bootcamp+ Windows install- play more games than just Mac Native, but limitations on high powered games. This computer plays a lot of games, but best examined on a case-by-case individual needs basis. (approx $1200, includes WinXP purchase). If not for gaming, the MacBook is the best computer purchase for all of your computing/internet/movie watching needs.Bad choice for hard core gamers.

4. iPod/iPhone- Is this really a choice? :)

#MacBook + Medicum grade gaming PC= approx $2600.

Other Considerations:

  • Console- Best choice $$, strictly for gaming, no OS period, none of the standard OS/online abilities (approx $350 invest).
  • Mac Native- (Playing only Mac native games) If you really like casual gaming (I Spy, Cosmic Encounter, etc) or don't mind a limited number of delayed compromised AAA ports. You'll only miss out on most of the biggest titles- Half Life2, Crysis, Witcher, Oblivion, Bioshock, Fallout 3, etc, etc. You've all ready spent the money on a Mac, $70 more (WinXP) and you just quadrupled your options, if not more.
  • PC- No MacOS= not a good option. Windows as primary OS sucks. (approx $1600 invest)
  • PC + Console- No Mac OS= not a good option. Windows as primary OS sucks. (approx $1900 invest)
  • Mac + PC- No need for this because No.2 accomplishes the same thing unless you want another computer on your desk.
  • Mac + PC + Console- No need for this because No.1 accomplishes the same thing.
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Demo & Download Links

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Misc Links (Boot Camp, New Mac Hardware, Parallels, Windows Related)

LapTopsToGo- Excellent Source to download Nvidia beta drivers for your Mac running Windows. These drivers are installed in Windows.

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Mac Rumor Threads

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Game Specific Help Pages

This section is based on user submissions and reads like forum posts because in many cases they are!

  • BattleField2142-

What can I do when I get a Can't find install folder or Newer version is already installed errors when I'm trying to patch?

This is caused by a bug that somehow prevents directory info for the game to be placed in the registry when it is originally installed. It seems to be a common problem with this game. The easiest thing to do is to uninstall the game, but don't be surprised if the uninstaller does not work, cause it can't find the game! This is what happened to me.

First I tried to follow Electronic Arts Tech Support advice and make some registry entries for the game. To see these instruction click on the link, fill in your computer specific info and search on "Patch errors". This can be really dangerous if you mess up. Open the registry and add version and install directory information for BF2142.. I tried this but it did not work for me cause I was not sure of the version and build number info.

Even following the advice of making a backup of the registry, I had difficulties restoring it using EA's instructions. BTW here is a MS link on backing up the registry. In my case I run a utility called System Suite, which has a built in registry saver that makes it very easy to revert to an older version of the registry.

So I reverted to the previous copy of the registry. Because neither the game's uninstaller or the WinXP Control Panel for uninstalling programs worked, I went to my game folder and manually removed the Battlefield2142 folder, then I ran System Suite to clean up whatever Registry errors it could find. Then I reinstalled the game and this time the patch worked.

  • Bioshock Activation Revoke Tool

Bioshock will allow a couple of installs. The game is activated over the internet with a 2K server. I'm not exactly sure how many activations are allowed with a single serial number, but there is at least two as I have it installed on my P4 and on my MBP (running Vista). 2K Games has released an Activation Revoke Tool to allow at least one of the legal activations to be revoked. It looks like they are working to make this tool so it will revoke all activations, but that is not online yet. Visit The Cult of Rapture link to read more about it. Those who know me, know that I think activation of games sucks mostly because it complicates the sale of a used game. However this seems like a good compromise.- submitted by Hunt'n 1/08.

  • Elder Scrolls 3 Morrowind

(Added Sept 08 by Huntn) This is an older game. The good news is that it runs in Vista. It should run in XP with no problems. I'm running it specifically in the 32 bit Vista version. There are a couple of good points to make. The following link is of great help for nailing down Morrowind problems.

  • Morrowind Troubleshooting & Optimizing for Windows (Includes Vista) link.
  • Secondly I noticed that when installing Morrowind, there is no option to install it anywhere else than your C Drive. That is your home directory. However, regarding a troubleshooting problem, I discovered that this game can be moved to another location by simply dragging the game folder. Yes, I know that in another place in this guide, its says do not drag programs or you'll break them. This is a case where this will not happen. That note will be updated in the future, however don't go thinking that all programs can be dragged around in Windows. Some will break. :)
  • After the install I was getting a message on game launch: Failed to load snowflake: Meshese\BM_snow01.nif. I found the answer in the above link. For this specific problem you simple drag the game folder to another location. I have a portable drive I use with windows, so I dragged it to my E drive and the game at that point worked just fine.
  • Morrowind Troubleshooting with Vista (reprinted from Forumplanet link) because you never know how long a link will exist online and this info actually came from the Morrowind Tech forum.

Font 0 not found in Morrowind.ini

This is a fairly common error no matter what operating system you're using, but it seems to be most common on Vista. The first thing you should do is reinstall Morrowind by following these instructions:

First, uninstall the game using Windows Add/Remove Programs. Then delete the Morrowind folder from your hard drive - (default location) C:\Program Files\Bethesda Softworks\Morrowind - empty your recycle bin, and restart your computer. Once your computer restarts, disconnect from the internet and SHUT DOWN your anti-virus software and your firewall (this is probably what messed up the install the first time), then reinstall the game in the following order - Morrowind, Tribunal, then Bloodmoon.

If that doesn't help, then see the section right below this one (2b) for more suggestions.

Error message - Failed to load snowflake: Meshes\BM_Snow01.nif

This is a very common error message to get after installing the Bloodmoon expansion. Unfortunately, there is no one solution to it that works for everybody. But it's still a very solvable problem. ;^)

First, I recommend you try the simplest solution, which also happens to be the one that seems to work for most everybody. I recommend simply moving the whole Morrowind (or Bethesda Softworks) folder to a new location on your hard drive because the default install location (C:\Program Files\Bethesda Softworks\Morrowind) has so many permission restrictions (and other weird things of different kinds that nobody really understands) that it's just a bad place to run Morrowind from. I recommend you paste your entire Morrowind, or Bethesda Softworks, folder to your root C:\ directory - so its install path is, for example, C:\Morrowind.

After that, you can try right-clicking the Morrowind.exe file in the installed Morrowind folder and choosing the Run as Administrator option, then try playing. If that fails, then return to the Morrowind.exe properties and, in addition to the previous, try running it in Windows XP SP2 compatibility mode.

If that still doesn't work, then open your Morrowind.ini file (located right in the installed Morrowind folder (you may have to click the "Compatibility Files" tab in the top-right corner to see this file)) and find the Archives section. It should look like this:

[Archives] Archive 0=Tribunal.bsa Archive 1=Bloodmoon.bsa

If either of these lines are missing, then copy and paste them into your Morrowind.ini file and save it. Also, while you're there, right-click your Morrowind.ini file, look at its properties, and make sure that it is NOT read only.

If that still doesn't help, then try opening the Tribunal CD in Explorer, right-click Setup.exe, and choose the Run as Administrator option. Then disconnect from the internet, disable any anti-virus, anti-spyware, or firewall software you're using and double-click the file Setup.exe on the Tribunal CD to reinstall Tribunal. Then repeat this process with the Bloodmoon CD.

If that still doesn't work, then as a last resort you can copy and paste the Data Files folders from the Tribunal and Bloodmoon CDs to the installed Morrowind folder on your hard drive. By default, the game gets its art files from the installed BSA files, but it looks for them in the Data Files first; so putting them in the Data Files should fix your problem, but it will use more hard drive space. After you copy the files over, to get some of your hard drive space back, you might be able to delete the Tribunal.bsa and Bloodmoon.bsa files from your hard drive and also remove both of the Archive entries in your Morrowind.ini file - I've never tried this, though, so don't permanently delete the files until you're sure it isn't causing any problems.

The game crashes upon exiting the boat in the very beginning

This is another very common problem, but luckily this one has a simple work-around that seems to work for everybody. Simply Alt-Tab out of the game, then bring the game back up. You may have to try this a few times, and you may have to have another program open (Notepad works great ;^) before this works. Exiting the ship is apparently the only transition area where this problem occurs.

Missing Saves folder

To see your Saves folder, open your installed Morrowind folder and click the Compatibility Files tab towards the top-right corner of the explorer window. You might be able to avoid the "compatibility files" by running the game in Windows XP 2 compatibility mode, which should create a new Saves folder right in your installed Morrowind folder (you can merge the two saves folders by copying the one from the compatibility tab and pasting it into the Morrowind folder).

Console won't open If you press the ~ (or `) key on your keyboard in-game and the console does not open, then you probably have one of the same problems as the XP users who can't open their consoles, but I'm putting this in the Vista section because infrared devices and fancy shmancy keyboards are very common on Vista machines so this problem appears a LOT.

Anyway, you should first disable (unplug or disable in Device Manager) any infrared devices connected to your computer. If that doesn't help, then you can either try using an old-school PS/2 keyboard or else try using a different driver with your current keyboard. You can check the keyboard manufacturer's website for a new driver, or else try the Windows' included drivers. Do the following to try drivers included with Windows:

1. Open the Windows Control Panel, open Device Manager, find the Keyboards subheading and click the little plus sign to expand it. 2. Right-click on your keyboard and choose "Update Driver." 3. Choose "browse my computer..." then "let me pick from a list..." 4. Then choose a driver from the list. The PC/AT Enhanced PS/2 Keyboard (101/102-Key) driver is supposed to work great for the new HP Media Keyboards, but you may have to try several drivers before you find one that will work with your keyboard and open the Morrowind console (or you may not find one at all). Just remember to restart your computer every time you change the driver. Good luck!

FPS tip

This is just a little tip that was posted in the official TES forums' Vista Problems thread, so I figured I might as well post it here. :^) Right-click your Morrowind shortcut, open the compatibility tab, check the boxes next to "disable desktop compositon," "disable visual themes," and "disable display scaling on high DPI settings."


  • Galactic civilizations II

Ran into weird bug running this on macbook pro, core 2 duo, 2.16 ghz, 1gb ram, 128 mb ati x1600, win xp home sp2, updated all the way (except int explorer, screw that thing). System randomly _reboots_ if 'software cursor' selected (which is the default). selected 'hardware cursor' and no random reboots so far...

  • Half Life 2

-Resetting a used HL2 key- would be necessary if purchasing a used registered copy of HL2. Purchasing a used copy of HL2 puts you at the mercy and totally depends on the honesty of the seller. If a particular CD code has been banned, Valve will not reset it. See the link.

  • Theatre of War

For those with ATI cards you might find that something odd happens when in Boot Camp ... the game starts and runs upside down. Simple fix ... first start it up and navigate to the graphics options screen and set your resolution as required (mine 1680x1050). Save and quit. Then open the ww.ini file in the game directory and edit the state "true" to state "false" in the line - "changeScreenRes". Then restart and it'll be fine.

  • Vampire: The Masquerade Bloodlines

It is recommended that this game be installed with the official 1.2 patch and then one of the available unofficial patches online. I have installed and used the True5.04AT patch located at Tessmage.com. This site also includes some nice semi-nude model enhancements along with a NPC graphic enhancement patch. Notible links: -Official 1.2 Patch -FAQ.IGN.com Walkthrough. -Being Intimate with Jeanette Voerman link. (Note: the sexual encounter is an audio experience only that is if you can get it to work as advertised. :))

Vampire Bloodlines GamePlay Tips-

  • As a rule refer to the walkthrough.
  • Your Goul Heather- it's worth your while to save her at the Santa Monica Clinic. She gets you stuff including money, a human snack, and the best armor in the game. To get the gifts a-coming, she appears in Downtown L.A. after you return from the Elizabeth Dane expedition She'll be on the street as you get out of the cab. If you lucky enough to be awarded a haven downtown, she heads there or she'll go to the Santa Monica haven.
  • Elevator Caution- When getting ready to ride an elevator especially if it's the one in the Santa Monica Asyllum Night Club, be sure to save the game prior to getting on and checking that the elevator light illuminates when exiting on the second floor headed for an encounter with one of the Voerman sisters. The elevator light sometimes will not light up, trapping you on the second floor. If this happens try again because in this circumstance any completed content will be lost when you are forced to revert to a previous game save.

MMORPG.com- An excellent resource for MMORPG info.

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Game Performance via Boot Camp/WinXP/Vista

Window XP or Vista- Which for gaming? As it stands right now Nov07, Windows XP is the better choice for running Windows games under Boot Camp. Vista has higher overhead and the Windows community is still trying to get the driver issue corrected. In other words, Vista drivers tend to be slower. The primray appeal of Vista is Direct X 10 which has a higher graphics quality than DX9. However it could be argued that if you have to run your game on low settings what's the point? You might as well get good performance on WinXP.

If you must try Vista, try it on a MacPro or MacBookPro. MacBooks are a "no" to Vista, iMacs are a "?".

Note: When entering a game title, please list your hardware specs with it.

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MacBook

  • Obsessable.com link- Macbook as a gaming machine.
  • 'Dracula Origin' runs well on MacBook with x3100 chipset/WinXP. (submitted by Huntn)
  • Half Life 2 Demo worked but had autosave crashes.
  • Medieval Total War 2 does not run.
  • Morrowind runs great.
  • Penumbra: Overture- runs on MacBooks with x3100 chipset or newer. Older MacBooks won't run this game. (available as Mac Native game).
  • The Lost Crown- a ghost hunting adventure runs on a x3100 chipset Macbook under WindowsXP. Title may run on older Macbooks but unverified. (submitted by Huntn)
  • Warhammer 40,000 Dawn of War runs great.
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MacBook Pro

  • Assassin's Creed (4/08) Assassins creed runs good on my MBP, albeit on lower res (1300*768) and low-medium detail. (I have a first generation MBP, with a X1600) Although you need to install new drivers, if you are still running Tiger, with the Bootcamp Beta 1.3. (Don't know about the newer leopard bootcamp drivers). The latest Omega Drivers should do the trick, if you are getting crashes on "Memory Block 3", in the game. It crashed every time I tried to get to Acre or Jerusalem, and sometimes at random in Kingdom.

-Additional Notes: Runs on XP, game runs almost 2x as good on the X1600 using Omega Supplied Radeon Drivers.

  • Call of Duty 4 : Modern Warfare : Works great with default settings, no lag whatsoever, able to up the graphics setting a bit without sacrificing gameplay performance (Tested on MBP SantaRosa 2.4GHZ, 2GB Ram, 256MB Nvidia GeForce 8600M GT, OS used : Windows XP)
  • Command & Conquer 3 : works fine under native settings, turned up high.
  • Crysis runs well, 20-50 fps range, with medium to low settings (2.2 Ghz 15" MBP, Mac OS 10.5, 2GB RAM, Geforce 8600M GT, 128MB VRAM, Boot Camp- 32bit Vista (submitted by Huntn 12/07)
  • Crysis Demo: With 169.04 Nvidia beta drivers runs in high 20's at 800x600 on 32bit Vista/DX10 with adjustments to graphic settings. See this thread for specifics. (reported by Huntn 11/05/07)
  • Elder Scrolls 3: Morrowind runs well under Vista (should run ok under XP. Reported as running on MacBooks too.) (submitted by Huntn 9/08)
  • Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion runs about about 30 fps with mid range settings on 32bit Vista. More testing needed. (submitted by Huntn 12/07)
  • Enemy Territory : Quake Wars : crashes when joining or making new game (off- and online), but only randomly (might be punkbuster related) - works fine as soon as connection is successful, turned up high. (hardware: MBP w/ 17", X1600 Radeon, 2,33GHz, 2Gb RAM, latest Firmware and updates for OSX 10.4)
  • Fallout 2 : works fine under native settings.
  • Half Life 2- runs well!
  • Hellgate London: runs great. Note: the walls are invisible with model quality set to high. Correct situation by setting model quality to medium.
  • Heroes of Might and Magic V: Runs fine on native settings, turned everything up high.
  • KOTOR II: Runs fine on native settings, turned everything up high.
  • KOTOR 1 & 2: both have rare crashes, so save often, but they work fantastically on a MBP w/ x1600. 2x FSAA + 8x Trilinear Filtering + Soft Shadows (also, it automatically stretches to widescreen, so choose 1280*960 instead of 1280*1024, to prevent extreme stretchiness.) KOTOR 2 has a slightly lower framerate, but still fantastic.
  • Lord Of The Rings - Battle For Middle Earth 2 : works fine under native settings, turned up high.

(MBP w/ x1600) Update: I believe wall issue was resolved by running game at lower resolution- Hunt'n.

  • Penumbra: Overture runs without any problems.
  • Rome Total War: Runs fine on native settings, turned everything up high.
  • Sword of The Stars 1.4.1 (+Born of Blood Expansion) : works fine under native settings (1600*1050), turned up high.
  • Sacred Gold : works fine under native settings, turned up high. (11/04/07)
  • Silent Hunter III: Runs fine on native settings, turned everything up high.
  • SimCity Societies: very rare crashes. 1400*852 (MBP w/ x1600) (although framerate is rather low, so MBP w/ x1600 is minimum)
  • Star Wars Empire at War: Runs fine on native (1440x900) settings, and everything turned up high.
  • Tabula Rasa runs great on 2.2 Ghz MBP. (submitted by Huntn 11/06)
  • Team Fortress 2
  • The Witcher runs well. (2.2 Ghz 15" MBP, Mac OS 10.5, 4GB RAM, Geforce 8600M GT, 128MB VRAM, Boot Camp- 32bit Vista)
  • Unreal Tournament 3 runs well on the 2.2Ghz MBP depending on settings 30-60 fps on 32bit Vista. (submitted by Huntn 12/07)
  • Vampire The Masquerade Bloodlines runs well on a MBP. I'm using 32bit Vista. I assume it will run on XP, no problem (submitted by Huntn 09/08)
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iMac- 2-2.4 GHz, 2GB RAM, RadeonX1600 256 MB VRAM

- Specific configurations may be listed for specific games.

  • Blazing Angels - Runs very well with most settings maxed. Only terrain texture quality had to be lowered, otherwise one would get black slabs of nothingness. 1280x796.
  • Bloodrayne 2 - Flawless performance with max settings. Strangely enough, there's no gamepad support. Odd. (Something high)
  • Brothers in Arms - Smooth at 1680x1050, everything maxed.
  • Call of Duty 2 - Runs OK at default settings (800x600, everything else at high, textures at extra supadupa).
  • Far Cry - Runs extremely well with max settings at 1280x796 with only one area near the end of the game making it slow down a bit. 32-bit version only.
  • FarCry - Runs like butter at 1024x768 everything maxed. Even runs OK with the 64 bit to 32 bit conversion patch - but some of the textures look a bit screwy. The extra view distance and content is nice though.
  • FIFA 2007 - Runs very well in lower resolution. Slows down significantly on higher ones. One could lower the graphical details, but that makes the players look butt-ugly, and it doesn't seem to help performance gain much.
  • Galactic Civilizations II - Runs perfectly fine at max settings. Not that it is a very demanding game from the start. 1680x1050 (I think)
  • Ghost Recon 1, 2 and 3 - super smooth maxed out at 1680x1050.
  • Half-Life 2 - Runs smooth everything maxed out (except no FSAA)
  • Half-Life 2: Episode one - Runs fine. There's a few minor visual glitches (bump-mapping shininess)
  • Day of Defeat: Source - Runs quite well with good fps and high settings. Some glitches such as tree models appear as blocks. (fps slowdown on smoke, but that happens on many PCs)
  • Lego Star Wars II - Perfoms flawlessly with everything maxed out. (some high resolution 4:3 format, no widescreen support)
  • Max Payne 2 - Perfoms flawlessly with everything maxed out. 1680x1050
  • Pirates! - Runs without a hitch at max settings. (4:3 only, no widescreen support)
  • Prey - Runs very well on high settings with only very rare minor slowdowns in certain spots. 1024x768
  • Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones - Runs perfectly with max settings. Just be sure to deactivate one of your processors for this one. 1280x796
  • Stronghold 2 - Smooth as butter with maximum detail. 1280x796.
  • Stronghold Legacy (Demo) - Same engine as Stronghold 2. Seems to run about the same.
  • Team Fortress 2 (original Intel Core Duo iMac, 1600 card at 256MB of video RAM and 2GB of main RAM 12/07.
  • Titan Quest - Runs pretty well for the most part with some details (i.e. shadows) lowered. 1280x796.
  • Unreal Tournament 3 reported to run at about 20-40 fps running at 1440 x 900 High Settings with VSync off and Post Processing at Intense. (2.4 Ghz 2gig ram w/ HD 2600 Pro Imac running XP Pro SP2). 12/07
  • Vampire The Masquerade: Bloodlines - Runs perfectly with everything maxed out. 1900x (no widescreen support).
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Misc Reports

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Game Video on Intel Macs

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Known Issues

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ATI/AMD- Upgrading ATI/AMD Graphic Card Drivers

Upgrading the ATI/AMD Graphic Card Drivers. Find ATI/AMD software here. 

* Uninstall the Ati Control Panel or the Catalyst Control Center from add/remove applications
* Uninstall the Ati drivers from add/remove applications
* Reboot in safe mode (keep pressing F8 at boot)
* Use Driver Cleaner to remove everything ATI (optional but useful)
* Reboot in standard mode
* Stop the "new hardware found" wizard
* Install the new drivers set (in case you are going to install the official Ati Catalyst suite remember to choose the "custom" installation if you don't like the bloated Catalyst Control Center)
* Reboot and test everything
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Boot Camp

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Unable to boot back into MacOS after booting into Windows

  • Apple Discussions.
  • Possible Solution: Boot to the OS X System Disk and repair disk permissions using Disk Utility.
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After Boot Camp Install can't see Windows Partition

On a Santa Rosa MacBook (X3100 chipset) after I installed BootCamp everything appeared to go well (selecting FAT as Windows file format) until I did a reboot holding down the Option button so I could choose my Windows partition. The Windows partition did not appear as a choice. Apple Care was not familiar with the problem and suggested I reinstall Windows. I did but this time selected NTFS. The second time it worked. I'm not absolutely sure if it was the reinstall or selecting NTFS that worked, but I can now select my Windows partition and boot into it. See this Apple Discussion for more info. I assume Apple is now aware of the problem and at some point in the future, the issue will be resolved.Nov07 -Hunt'n

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DXDIAG file causes Windows XP to Crash

  • When applying for beta testing, many PC game developers ask for a DXDIAG file, along the lines of an Apple Profile report to verify that a computer has the ability to run a new game. One of our readers has discovered that trying to generate a DXDIAG file (Start menu -> Run -> DXDIAG) with Windows XP on his Intel Mac causes Windows XP to crash and does not generate the required file.
  • Update- the good news is that i got this to work eventually. the process crashed a couple of times, but then started asking me if i wanted to skip the part of the profile that was causing it to crash! it had something to do with a specific component of DX9 that relates to profiling the hardware and which is tied to some MS database online. skipped that small part and the rest of the report came out fine.
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Internet Connect Times Out

  • After Sitting Idle, can't connect to Net.
  • Try opening the Control Panel called Network Connections, and click on a connection listed. On the left side of the window a list of tasks pops up. Select "Repair This Connection". You may no longer have a valid IP address and need to renew it, no reboot required.
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Keyboard & Mouse Dies when using Windows

There is a problem with Windows drivers that cause the Mac's keyboard and/or mouse to randomly stop responding when using WinXP. The current solution is to unplug and plug the key board and mouse back in. Update: Possible solution is to install the Apple keyboard update.

  • Update: Plugging the keyboard into a USB 2.0 hub corrected the problem.
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MacBook- Is it for gaming?

Late 2008 Update- MacBooks are continually being improved and are now much more viable for gaming. See this Obsessable.com link for MacBook gaming performance via bootcamp.

Older Macbooks were much more limited for Windows gaming (via Bootcamp). For PC games on older MacBooks, the Intel Link shows a list of games and their performance using the Intel 945GM Express Chipset Family. Officially the MacBook uses an Intel 950, but I believe the 945 list can be used for reference.

  • Hardware Software Issues at ElderScrolls.com- There is mention of integrated graphics and making changes to .ini files to increase performance playing Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion. (link expired)
  • Intel Link describing performance of games on its 945GM Express Chipset family.
  • Boot Camp Apple Discussions Games on Bootcamp- Integrated graphics are mentioned here along with general Boot Camp issues.
  • Barefeats.com- Macbook vs MacbookPro vs 15"Powerbook vs 20"iBook game performance.
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Resolution Adjustment for Windows (iMac)

(from Pegasus at IMG) Windows may stretch resolutions in iMacs that should be a 4:3 ratio.

One needs to go to ATI Display Settings which should open up the Advanced portion where one has to go to the Displays panel and click on the Panel button on the active display. All one has to do then is to switch from Expand to full panel size to Expand while maintaining aspect ratio. This solves the stretching problems and places the black bars on the sides instead.

It is unknown if NVIDIA cards or integrated Intel chips include the same settings.

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Speaker Sound

When using a headset, computer speakers don't mute. Updated: It has been reported that the latest version of Boot Camp (1.1 or 1.1.1) has corrected this problem.

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Windows Airport Networking

(from Teflon at IMG) How to make Windows see your airport with WEP or WPA2 enabled:

1. In MacOS, Open Airport Utility and go to configure the required base station 2. change wireless security to not enabled 3. update your base station 4. Reboot into Windows 5. Open the windows version of Airport Utility, found either on your included airport CD, or here on the apple website. 6. re-enable the password you had previously.

Alternatively, you can completely remove the password and rely entirely on the MAC (not to be confused with the computer) address system that all wireless cards and routers have, thus locking out all computers that you have not personally enabled.

Note: MAC addresses are like a kind of serial number. Its just a way of totally securing your network from people hacking into it, mainly because they cant even see it. for more info on what they are look at the wikipedia page.

To find your MAC address, open up System Preferences in OSX, go to the Network preference pane, select Airport and click on 'Configure...'. Your computer's MAC address should appear labelled as Airport ID and appear in the form:

00:29:85:3a:c7:5d

This info is also available in Windows XP, and should correspond to that which you find in OSX, however you will have to consult the Help provided with the Windows version of the Airport Admin Utility in order to find this.

In order to add the computer you are using to the Access Control list in Airport Admin Utility, click on the + next to the list and then there should also be a button labelled 'This Computer'. (I cannot confirm this for the Windows version, but it is there in OSX)

IMPORTANT: If a computer's MAC address is not in the Access Control list, then it will NOT be able to see the network, and will NOT be able to connect. That computer's MAC address must be added using a computer in that list, or the base Station must be reset.

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Windows Keeps Dropping My Internet Connection

On cable modem connection, this can happen if PC remains idle for a period of time.

Try:

  • Select Start in Taskbar- Open Control Panel
  • Select Network Connection
  • One at a time select each of the Connections displayed. On the left side of the window under Network Tasks, a choice will appear "Repair This Connection".
  • Cross your fingers and say a prayer. A message will appear that the connection has been repaired. This method works for me most of the time. If not, I restart the computer, maybe several times to get my connection back.
  • Notice: You don't have to do this with OSX. :)
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World of Warcraft Slow on OSX with Windows Installed

-When Windows was uninstalled, frame rates in WoW (natively on OSX) improved substantially. -Waiting for a solution.


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Continue to Windows Gaming on a Mac FAQ Part 2

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