getting games to run

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mossrunner
Posts: 4
Joined: 31. Oct 2009, 03:51
Primary OS: Mepis
VBox Version: OSE Debian
Guest OSses: Windows XP

getting games to run

Post by mossrunner »

hello, i am trying to get my black & white (the one where you play a god) video game up and running on virtualbox, and it isn't working. the program installs fine, but doesn't load. i upgraded my virtualbox to 3.0.10, and that didn't seem to work. any suggestions would be most welcome.

i am running on mepis 7, kernel 2.6.27-1-mepis64-smp
Perryg
Site Moderator
Posts: 34369
Joined: 6. Sep 2008, 22:55
Primary OS: Linux other
VBox Version: OSE self-compiled
Guest OSses: *NIX

Re: getting games to run

Post by Perryg »

Did you install the guest additions in safe mode?
Turn on 3Deffects and select 3D in the GA install.
Other than that you will need to post the exact guest settings so we can see what they are.
mossrunner
Posts: 4
Joined: 31. Oct 2009, 03:51
Primary OS: Mepis
VBox Version: OSE Debian
Guest OSses: Windows XP

Re: getting games to run

Post by mossrunner »

thanks for the quick reply. i reinstalled the guest additions in safe mode and made sure to turn on and select the 3D effects. this did not make any change. I think I have posted the settings you mentioned. Let me know if you were actually talking about something else.

Code: Select all

General
Name:

Virtualdisk1
OS Type:

Windows XP
 
System
Base Memory:

3000 MB
Processor(s):

1
Boot Order:

Floppy, CD/DVD-ROM, Hard Disk
VT-x/AMD-V:

Enabled
Nested Paging:

Enabled
 
Display
Video Memory:

128 MB
3D Acceleration:

Enabled
Remote Display Server Port:

3389
 
Hard Disks
IDE Primary Master:

Virtualdisk1.vdi (Normal, 40.00 GB)
 
CD/DVD-ROM
Image:

BNW.iso
 
Floppy
Not mounted


 
Audio
Host Driver:

ALSA Audio Driver
Controller:

ICH AC97
 
Network
Adapter 1:

PCnet-FAST III (NAT)
 
Serial Ports
Disabled


 
USB
Disabled


 
Shared Folders
Shared Folders:

1
Perryg
Site Moderator
Posts: 34369
Joined: 6. Sep 2008, 22:55
Primary OS: Linux other
VBox Version: OSE self-compiled
Guest OSses: *NIX

Re: getting games to run

Post by Perryg »

The settings look right (except you do not need that much memory assigned to the video 32 meg is enough).
Other things that can cause this is the Video card not supporting direct OpenGL calls, and some games do not work in a virtual machine.
Sasquatch
Volunteer
Posts: 17798
Joined: 17. Mar 2008, 13:41
Primary OS: Debian other
VBox Version: PUEL
Guest OSses: Windows XP, Windows 7, Linux
Location: /dev/random

Re: getting games to run

Post by Sasquatch »

See if you can successfully run some 3D tests like the ones in dxdiag and wglgears (you need to download the latter). The Host must have proper OpenGL acceleration, so if you're on open source drivers, that might be a problem.
Read the Forum Posting Guide before opening a topic.
VirtualBox FAQ: Check this before asking questions.
Online User Manual: A must read if you want to know what we're talking about.
Howto: Install Linux Guest Additions
Howto: Use Shared Folders on Linux Guest
See the Tutorials and FAQ section at the top of the Forum for more guides.
Try searching the forums first with Google and add the site filter for this forum.
E.g. install guest additions site:forums.virtualbox.org

Retired from this Forum since OSSO introduction.
mossrunner
Posts: 4
Joined: 31. Oct 2009, 03:51
Primary OS: Mepis
VBox Version: OSE Debian
Guest OSses: Windows XP

Re: getting games to run

Post by mossrunner »

i ran the dxdiag and found this:

Several files (d3d8.dll, d3d9.dll) are old versions, which could cause problems.
You should reinstall DirectX to get the latest version.

the fullscreen tests told me the machine was running under 16bit color instead of 32bit color (couldn't figure this out, as the guest display manager was already set for 32bit color)


here was the output from the display test:
The file VBoxDisp.dll is not digitally signed, which means that it has not been tested by Microsoft's Windows Hardware Quality Labs (WHQL). You may be able to get a WHQL logo'd driver from the hardware manufacturer.
To test DirectDraw functionality, click the "Test DirectDraw" button above.
Direct3D 7 test results: Failure at step 8 (Creating 3D Device): HRESULT = 0x8007000e (Out of memory)
Direct3D 8 test results: Failure at step 4 (EnumAdapterModes): HRESULT = 0x8876086c (error code)
Direct3D 9 test results: All tests were successful.

AGP Texture Acceleration was not available

thinking to fix the problem, i installed new versions of d3d8.dll and d3d9.dll from the microsoft website. after figuring that out, the 3d acceleration tests were no longer available. when i put the original .dll files back, the 3d acceleration tests gave the same output as above.
Sasquatch
Volunteer
Posts: 17798
Joined: 17. Mar 2008, 13:41
Primary OS: Debian other
VBox Version: PUEL
Guest OSses: Windows XP, Windows 7, Linux
Location: /dev/random

Re: getting games to run

Post by Sasquatch »

The error with DX7 is what I get too, but the other tests run without issues on my PC. The DX files you tried to replace are indeed older, because they are from the Wine tools. Installing the GA in safe mode makes that happen. Installing the GA in normal mode only makes Windows replace them again and break 3D.
What video card do you have and which driver are you using?
Read the Forum Posting Guide before opening a topic.
VirtualBox FAQ: Check this before asking questions.
Online User Manual: A must read if you want to know what we're talking about.
Howto: Install Linux Guest Additions
Howto: Use Shared Folders on Linux Guest
See the Tutorials and FAQ section at the top of the Forum for more guides.
Try searching the forums first with Google and add the site filter for this forum.
E.g. install guest additions site:forums.virtualbox.org

Retired from this Forum since OSSO introduction.
mossrunner
Posts: 4
Joined: 31. Oct 2009, 03:51
Primary OS: Mepis
VBox Version: OSE Debian
Guest OSses: Windows XP

Re: getting games to run

Post by mossrunner »

I made sure to do all the DX file switching in safe mode. The old DX files (from vbox guest additions) caused the errors I posted earlier. The new DX files (straight from the microsoft website) caused the 3D option to be disabled. I want to be clear that switching to safe mode is not the issue here, and that I suspect the problem is with these files, or whatever the vbox video driver is supposed to be.
Installing the GA in normal mode only makes Windows replace them again and break 3D.
After reading a few more discussion threads, I tried installing wine3d3 on the guest machine. This allowed me to toggle the AGP Texture Acceleration on and off (which was new), as well as completely breaking the 3D acceleration.

As for my hardware, the host machine is using the fglrx driver with an ATI chipset (ATI Technologies Inc Radeon HD 3200 Graphics)
That little gear test animation thing is also working on both the host and guest machines, so i don't know what good that is.

I've also posted the lspci printout in case, and thanks again for the help

Code: Select all

00:00.0 Host bridge: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] RS780 Host Bridge
00:01.0 PCI bridge: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] RS780 PCI to PCI bridge (int gfx)
00:09.0 PCI bridge: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] RS780 PCI to PCI bridge (PCIE port 4)
00:11.0 SATA controller: ATI Technologies Inc SB700/SB800 SATA Controller [IDE mode]
00:12.0 USB Controller: ATI Technologies Inc SB700/SB800 USB OHCI0 Controller
00:12.1 USB Controller: ATI Technologies Inc SB700 USB OHCI1 Controller
00:12.2 USB Controller: ATI Technologies Inc SB700/SB800 USB EHCI Controller
00:13.0 USB Controller: ATI Technologies Inc SB700/SB800 USB OHCI0 Controller
00:13.1 USB Controller: ATI Technologies Inc SB700 USB OHCI1 Controller
00:13.2 USB Controller: ATI Technologies Inc SB700/SB800 USB EHCI Controller
00:14.0 SMBus: ATI Technologies Inc SBx00 SMBus Controller (rev 3a)
00:14.1 IDE interface: ATI Technologies Inc SB700/SB800 IDE Controller
00:14.2 Audio device: ATI Technologies Inc SBx00 Azalia (Intel HDA)
00:14.3 ISA bridge: ATI Technologies Inc SB700/SB800 LPC host controller
00:14.4 PCI bridge: ATI Technologies Inc SBx00 PCI to PCI Bridge
00:14.5 USB Controller: ATI Technologies Inc SB700/SB800 USB OHCI2 Controller
00:18.0 Host bridge: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] Family 10h [Opteron, Athlon64, Sempron] HyperTransport Configuration
00:18.1 Host bridge: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] Family 10h [Opteron, Athlon64, Sempron] Address Map
00:18.2 Host bridge: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] Family 10h [Opteron, Athlon64, Sempron] DRAM Controller
00:18.3 Host bridge: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] Family 10h [Opteron, Athlon64, Sempron] Miscellaneous Control
00:18.4 Host bridge: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] Family 10h [Opteron, Athlon64, Sempron] Link Control
01:05.0 VGA compatible controller: ATI Technologies Inc Radeon HD 3200 Graphics
01:05.1 Audio device: ATI Technologies Inc RS780 Azalia controller
02:00.0 Ethernet controller: Realtek Semiconductor Co., Ltd. RTL8111/8168B PCI Express Gigabit Ethernet controller (rev 01)
03:06.0 Network controller: RaLink RT2561/RT61 802.11g PCI
Sorceror
Posts: 10
Joined: 3. Nov 2009, 03:13
Primary OS: Debian other
VBox Version: PUEL
Guest OSses: WinXP Pro SP3

Re: getting games to run

Post by Sorceror »

As you discoverd, Direct3D support in VirtualBox is provided by WineD3D (the Direct3D implementation from www.winehq.org). It has the same limitations as Wine, and even if you get the game working, it is likely to hit this bug: http://bugs.winehq.org/show_bug.cgi?id=14939 and make the game virtually unplayable (or at least un-fun).

Also note that WineD3D doesn't like ATI video cards very much (or the other way around). You might have better luck with radeonhd as your driver if your card is supported.
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