Game title: Super Taxi Driver
Developer: King Cab Team, Microforum Italia
Publisher: Aludra Software, Hemming AG
Released: 2000

Originally developed for: Windows 95/98, DirectX 5
Bent into shape for: Windows 7 64-bit, DirectX 11
Result: Working

Problem: Windows reports the game could not be started because it lacks the required d3drm.dll library.

Solution: Download the missing d3drm.dll library here and save it to the main game folder (where you installed the game to, and where you will also find the game’s main executable stdriver.exe).

Background: In its Direct3D graphics library, DirectX initially provided both a  low-level Immediate Mode giving direct access to functions of the video card, as well as a higher level Retained Mode. D3DRM is short for Direct3D Retained Mode. Retained Mode was rarely ever used in commercial software and games, as developers preferred to have direct access and control over the graphics card. Thus, Retained Mode was discontinued (no longer updated) after DirectX 3.0, in 1996.

Citing security reasons, in 2007 Microsoft removed Retained Mode altogether from versions of DirectX provided for Windows Vista or later. For that reason, new versions of Windows fail to run applications and games that require Direct3D Retained Mode. Find more information at Microsoft’s Knowledge Base, article KB969150. Manually providing applications the d3drm.dll runtime library from an older version of DirectX should restore their functionality.

Game title: Hesperian Wars
Developer: Pterodon
Publisher: Modern Games
Released: 1998

Originally developed for: Windows 95/98, DirectX 5
Result: Unsolved

Problem: On newer versions of Windows, the game might fail to switch display modes after the introduction movie. Alternatively, the game’s main menu might display fine, but starting a scenario will lead to an access violation and the game crashing after the loading screen.

Status: This problem is unresolved, but does not happen on all system configurations. Installation works fine on all versions of Windows. For the game itself, the following have been tested so far:

On a laptop with Windows 7 32-bit and an ATI X600 graphics card, the game is fully working. The game’s executable has to be run with administrator privileges, but no other measures need to be taken.

On a desktop system with Windows 7 64-bit and an ATI HD 4870 graphics card, the game’s menu works, but starting a scenario leads to an access violation and crash after the display resolution change following the loading screen. No fix for this problem has been found yet.

The game was also tested on various virtual machines:

• Windows 95 (original release) on Oracle VirtualBox 4.0.2
• Windows 95 (original release) on VMware Workstation 7.1.3
• Windows 98 (original release) on VMware Workstation 7.1.3

On all of these configurations, the game plays the introductory sequence, then before the main menu appears notifies the user that the required display mode is not available, and quits back to the Windows desktop. No solution has been found for these configurations yet.

If you have any additional information on getting Hesperian Wars to run on these configurations, please add a comment below.

Game title: Motocross Madness
Developer: Rainbow Studios
Publisher: Microsoft
Released: 1998

Originally developed for: Windows 95/98, DirectX 5
Result: Unsolved

Problem: Some in-game text is not displayed. This includes the race information and freestyle score tallies in the top left corner of the screen, as well as the rider names – the boxes for the names show up, but they are empty.

Status: This problem is unresolved, and probably related to newer versions of DirectX. The game remains playable, while lacking some in-game information. Please write a comment if you have found a fix for this problem.

Status: This seems to happen on 64-bit systems only. The game runs fine in Windows XP, Windows Vista, and Windows 7 as long as it is a 32-bit edition. Neither switching to a 16-bit desktop nor using compatibility mode solves the problem. VMware’s 3D accelerator emulation has been tested and found not cooperating either, using Windows 98 SE as a guest operating system. Other operating systems under VMware have not yet been tested.

As of now, this problem seems to be unsolvable, and the only solution to run the game under a native 32-bit operating system (Wine under Linux is reported, but not confirmed, to work; I am about to test the game using Wine for Windows). If you know of any workaround to get this game to run in 64-bit Windows, please write a comment.

Game title: Moto Racer 2
Developer: Delphine Software International
Publisher: Electronic Arts
Released: 1998

Originally developed for: Windows 98, DirectX 6.0
Bent into shape for: Windows 7 64-bit
Result: Working

Problem: Although a 32-bit game, Moto Racer 2 is installed with a 16-bit version of InstallShield, which means that the installer cannot even be started on a 64-bit version of Windows.

Solution: The game has to be installed manually. Create a new directory on your harddisk, into which you want to install Moto Racer 2. Into that new directory, copy the data subdirectory from your Moto Racer 2 game disc. You may exclude the files moto16.dl_, moto32.dl_, and Moto.ex_ from the copy as they are not needed. However, you have to create, within the data subdirectory of your game installation, a new, empty subdirectory called tracks. The only thing still missing now is the main game executable. You should not use the one provided on the game disc (Moto.ex_) but the one from a fan-made patch that was designed to work on Windows XP and above. You can find this inofficial “XP Patch 1.36.3″, for example, at MegaGames. Copy the Moto.exe file contained in the patch archive into your Moto Racer 2 installation directory. You have now performed all necessary steps for a manual installation of the game.

You now need to enter the required information into the Windows registry. Open a text editor (such as Windows Notepad) and copy the following into a new text file:

REGEDIT4
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Wow6432Node\DelphineSoft]
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Wow6432Node\DelphineSoft\MotoRacer2]
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Wow6432Node\DelphineSoft\MotoRacer2\CurrentVersion]
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Wow6432Node\DelphineSoft\MotoRacer2\CurrentVersion\Moto]
"DataPath"="D:\\"
"SavingPath"="C:\\Program Files\\MotoRacer2"
"InstallType"=dword:00000002
"Language"="ENGLISH"
"Version"=dword:00000001
"PId"=dword:084b7e75


Note: Please copy and paste the whole block of text as-is, to have the line breaks in the right places.

You will probably have to adjust the three values that are marked red in the example above. The DataPath value should point to the drive letter for your Moto Racer 2 game disc. The SavingPath value should point to the directory into which you copied the game data. For both of these values, see that you also use double backslashes. The Language value, finally, is normally also set by the original game installer. If you want, you can change it to any one of these values: “ENGLISH”, “FRENCH”, “GERMAN”, “ITALIAN”, “SPANISH”, “SWEDISH”.

Save the file with the extension .reg anywhere on your computer and double-click it. Windows will ask you for confirmation. Accept the prompts to enter the information into your registry.

Note: As the registry keys have been entered manually and not by the installer, you will also have to remove them manually again when you want to uninstall the game. After deleting the game’s folder from your harddisk, run the Registry Editor (Start -> Run… -> regedit) and delete the “HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Wow6432Node\DelphineSoft” node. Be careful to not touch anything else. It’s not a big deal if you don’t delete the registry keys, but if you want to do a clean uninstall and not leave behind any clutter, you should do it.

‘The procedure entry point “SUnMapLS_IP_EBP_20″ could not be located in the dynamic link library “KERNEL32.DLL”‘

Solution: This is an incompatibility of the original game executable with NT-based versions of Windows. As described in the installation instructions above, there exists an unofficial, fan-made patch to make the game run on Windows XP and above. Download the 1.36.3 XP Patch and overwrite the Moto.exe in your Moto Racer 2 directory with the version contained in the patch archive.

Find the XP patch at MegaGames.

Solution: This seems to be due to an incompatibility with newer versions of DirectX. You’ll have to force the game to run in software rendering mode. Modern processors should be able to handle the load. Start Moto Racer 2 using the -NoD3D switch to disable Direct3D hardware rendering. Either open up a command prompt, change to the Moto Racer 2 directory and run Moto.exe -NoD3D, or simply create a shortcut for Moto.exe and add the switch to the end of the Target in the shortcut’s properties. You should now be able to play Moto Racer 2.

Solution: Videos are only played back in Compatibility Mode. Right-click Moto.exe, switch to the Compatibility tab, activate Compatibility Mode and choose Windows 95 or Windows 98 / Windows ME. Other modes might work as well, but these are the ones I tested.

Game title: Hitman: Codename 47
Developer: io Interactive
Publisher: Eidos Interactive
Released: 2000

Originally developed for: DirectX 7.0
Bent into shape for: DirectX 9/10/+
Result: Working

Problem: Instead of the usual music, only some strange piano notes are played.

Solution: This was a bug in some versions of Microsoft DirectX (supposedly of the 9.x and 10.x versions), more specifically the DirectMusic Synthesizer. For some reason, it will fail to load Hitman‘s own soundbanks. Note that even if you did not change your DirectX installation yourself, a Windows Service Pack or update might have upgraded your DirectX version to one of those in question.

The solution is simply to override which version of the Synthesizer the game uses. You can place the dmsynth.dll of an older DirectX version in the folder of the game’s main executable to make it use that library instead of the system-wide one. For your convenience, I uploaded an older version of dmsynth.dll which works fine with Hitman.

Download dmsynth.dll

Place the file in the main folder of your Hitman: Codename 47 installation (where Hitman.exe can be found). If you have acquired the game through Steam, this will be the “steamapps\common\hitman codename 47″ subdirectory of your Steam application folder. You can now start the game as usual, and music should be working again.

Version 11 of DirectX seems to have fixed the issue. The workaround will no longer be necessary for DirectX 11 systems.

Game title: Moto Racer
Developer: Delphine Software International
Publisher: Electronic Arts
Released: 1997

Originally developed for: Windows 95, DirectX 3.0
Bent into shape for: Windows 7 64-bit, DirectX 11
Result: Working

Problem: Although a 32-bit game, Moto Racer is installed with a 16-bit version of InstallShield, which means that the installer cannot even be started on a 64-bit version of Windows.

Solution: You will need to manually extract the game files from the installer. Download the free tool Universal Extractor and run it. As the archive/uninstaller to extract, choose the DATA.Z file from the DISK1 subdirectory of your Moto Racer disc. As the extraction target, choose the folder where you would have told the installer to install the game to. Both extraction methods should be fine, although I only tested the first one.

You now need to enter the required information into the Windows registry. Open a text editor (such as Windows Notepad) and copy the following into a new text file:

REGEDIT4
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Wow6432Node\DelphineSoft]
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Wow6432Node\DelphineSoft\MotoRacer]
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Wow6432Node\DelphineSoft\MotoRacer\CurrentVersion]
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Wow6432Node\DelphineSoft\MotoRacer\CurrentVersion\Moto]
"DataPath"="D:\\"
"SavingPath"="C:\\Program Files\\MotoRacer"
"InstallType"=dword:00000002
"Language"="ENGLISH"
"Version"=dword:00000000
"PId"=dword:084b7e75

Note: Please copy and paste the whole block of text as-is, to have the line breaks in the right places.

You will probably have to adjust the three values that are marked red in the example above. The DataPath value should point to the drive letter for your Moto Racer game disc. The SavingPath value should point to the directory into which you extracted the game data. For both of these values, see that you also use double backslashes. The Language value, finally, is normally also set by the original game installer. If you want, you can change it to any one of these values: “ENGLISH”, “FRENCH”, “GERMAN”, “ITALIAN”, “SPANISH”, “SWEDISH”.

Save the file with the extension .reg anywhere on your computer and double-click it. Windows will ask you for confirmation. Accept the prompts to enter the information into your registry.

Note: As the registry keys have been entered manually and not by the installer, you will also have to remove them manually again when you want to uninstall the game. After deleting the game’s folder from your harddisk, run the Registry Editor (Start -> Run… -> regedit) and delete the “HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Wow6432Node\DelphineSoft” node. Be careful to not touch anything else. It’s not a big deal if you don’t delete the registry keys, but if you want to do a clean uninstall and not leave behind any clutter, you should do it.

Problem: When trying to run moto.exe, the following message, or an equivalent one in the language you chose in the step above, might pop up:

“PROGRAM INCORRECTLY INSTALLED, PLEASE REINSTALL IT.”

Solution: Download and install the official 3.22 patch to fix this.

Problem: The game complains that it will only run in 16-bit colour mode.

Solution: Change your colour depth to 16-bit in the display properties. Right click the desktop and choose Properties or Screen Resolution (depending on your version of Windows) to change this setting. Note that the colour depth setting is hidden in Windows 7. In the Screen Resolution dialogue, click the Advanced Settings link, and in the upcoming dialogue choose to List all modes. Your current resolution will be selected in the list. Switch to the entry with the same resolution and refresh rate, but the note (16-bit). Click OK twice to apply the settings, and close the Screen Resolution configuration.

You should undo the colour depth
changes after playing the game!

Problem: The game complains at the start of each race that there is not enough VRAM available, and it falls back to software rendering. The framerate drops when doing sharp turns on Motocross courses, but lowering the visual detail level is not possible.

Solution: I did not find a solution to make Direct3D hardware acceleration work in case the game thinks there’s not enough memory. Modern CPUs are more than fast enough to do software rendering in Moto Racer, and I am not aware of any loss in visual quality. However, for some reason there may be a strange drop in performance when doing sharp turns on dirtbikes, and the visual detail setting in the options is not saved. For that reason, you should explicitly configure the game for software rendering.

You can do this either by disabling D3D in the game’s options menu, which will have to be redone every time you restart the game, or by starting the game with the command line parameter -NoD3D. Of course, the most comfortable thing to do is to create a shortcut for the game and add the parameter there. Now, the detail level setting is saved as well. On my system, I had to lower it to 3/5 for the Motocross courses to work fluently, while Road courses will work on 5/5.