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First post, by adalbert

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SOLUTION: click here Re: [solved] How to run Steam without SSE2 (Pentium 3 + Win XP)

Hello,

I have a problem with running Steam on Pentium 3 with Windows XP SP3.
After running the executable it downloads the updates, login screen appears, and after I enter my password the window disappears, there is some HDD activity for few seconds and the application crashes silently. The last message in log file is "checking for available updates...".

I read somewhere that this might be caused by the requirement of SSE2 instructions. Does anyone have idea how to bypass this? I was able to use Steam on Pentium 3 last year without any problems.

Last edited by adalbert on 2017-02-24, 20:54. Edited 3 times in total.

Repair/electronic stuff videos: https://www.youtube.com/c/adalbertfix
ISA Wi-fi + USB in T3200SXC: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WX30t3lYezs
GUI programming for Windows 3.11 (the easy way): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d6L272OApVg

Reply 1 of 38, by FFXIhealer

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I have the same problem with a Windows XP system with an Athlon XP. Same behavior, even using Compatibility Mode. I haven't found out how to fix it yet, or which older version to use. Steam is the only verison of Half-Life 2 and all the Star Wars (Dark Forces+) copies I have.

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Reply 4 of 38, by mr_bigmouth_502

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candle_86 wrote:

I ran across a software sse2 emulator a few years ago, ill see if I can find it again it might help.

I'd love to see this.

Reply 5 of 38, by FFXIhealer

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leileilol wrote:

The Steamwebhelper is Chromium-based IIRC, and chromium required SSE2 for 7 years at least now.

The slowest computer i've got Steam working on is a Pentium M.

My laptop with a Pentium M runs Steam, so yeah. It supports SSE2.

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Reply 7 of 38, by Carlos S. M.

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Steam has been requering SSE2 since around 2015 if i remember, the Chromium engine also needs SSE2 as well, Chrome ditched non SSE2 support in 2014 with Chrome 35

What is your biggest Pentium 4 Collection?
Socket 423/478 Motherboards with Universal AGP Slot
Socket 478 Motherboards with PCI-E Slots
LGA 775 Motherboards with AGP Slots
Experiences and thoughts with Socket 423 systems

Reply 8 of 38, by adalbert

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All right, it finally works 😀 I looked into my backup HDD images and found a Steam installation dated 19 August 2015, from a Pentium 3 build. I just copied it to my P3 laptop and made a steam.cfg file, containing: BootStrapperInhibitAll=Enable (so it will block any potential updates) and it is working and logging into network without any problems 😉 I will look for other Steam backups, maybe I will find something newer, that still works.

I wonder how long the protocols of new and old version will be compatible so connecting will be still possible.

I can finally play HL1 deathmatch using Steam on P3 laptop with ATI Rage 128 Pro (well, actually the performance of retail Half-Life was stable 30+ FPS (Win98), and Steam version is like 3 FPS... probably not enough RAM and constant HDD swapping; I guess a Dell Inspiron 8100 with P3-M 1.2GHz and Radeon 9000 will be much better)
For really old PCs there is alternative to Steam, which works with retail copies of Half Life/Goldsrc games - https://won2.net/

// Little update:

I looked for more backups of my HDD, laptop, virutal machines and found more copies of Steam installation. Even 2016 versions still work (still you have to make that steam.cfg file).

Installation dated 02 August 2016 (3.55.92.67) works fine on Pentium 3. But you can't enter Store tab, you get message "The Steam Browser is disabled. See this Support Article for more Information (that's not a big problem, anyway... you can still access the library and you can use "Small Mode").

Installation dated 31 March 2016 (3.37.92.83), a bit older, works the same way, without steam Browser.

Installation dated 19 August 2015 (2.92.69.85), the oldest I have, also works fine, it even has working Store tab (apparently it uses od Chromium version without SSE2 requirement).

So, as you can see, Steam has been working out of the box without SSE2 half a year ago, so the incompabilities have been created recently. I checked today's update and it doesn't work. I don't know if they will bring back SSE1 support (there were some moments in 2014 when SSE2 was required, but they later removed that requirement)

// Another update:
After installing proper ATI Rage Mobility drivers on my P3 800 Presario laptop, the gameplay is smooth, just like in the retail version 😉

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Repair/electronic stuff videos: https://www.youtube.com/c/adalbertfix
ISA Wi-fi + USB in T3200SXC: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WX30t3lYezs
GUI programming for Windows 3.11 (the easy way): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d6L272OApVg

Reply 9 of 38, by Jade Falcon

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WilE I don't use steam nore will I ever, I recommend uploading the copy's of steam you got working. Others might find it useful.

Last edited by Jade Falcon on 2017-02-24, 17:34. Edited 1 time in total.

Reply 11 of 38, by Mr_ppp

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Theres a few installers on filehippo for steam from 2014 going back to 2010, going to see if its possible to install and use on my p3 laptop later! If fails I'll also try the original version on my hl2 disc - not expecting that to work though!

http://filehippo.com/download_steam/history/

Reply 12 of 38, by leileilol

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Steam installers (ever since the beginning) are all remote web installers that first download from the Steam server for the latest version as soon as it's executed, and they never contain any of Steam's vital files within themselves.

Backing up an archive of old Steam installers is rather fruitless.

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long live PCem

Reply 14 of 38, by adalbert

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OK, here you can find a redistribution of Steam Client, dated 02 August 2016. It doesn't require SSE to work. Steam Browser will not work on PC's without SSE2 (but the RAM usage will be reduced thanks to that).

It is a fresh installation, without any user data and stuff. It is safe, executables are unmodified and digitally signed. It was prepared on a fresh XP VM installation (installed from genuine CD).
Steam was forced to extract original package files located in C:\steam\packages, by creating a local file server and modyfing HOSTs files...

[code]# c:\windows\system32\drivers\etc\hosts
# copy c:\steam\packages\steam_client_win32.manifest and host it at local computer,
# for example using HFS software at 127.0.0.1/client/steam_client_win32 address (remove the extension)
# remove everything except C:\steam\packages and C:\steam\steam.exe
127.0.0.1 client-download.steampowered.com[/code]

This archive was not created by Valve, but it contains unmodified Steam Client (dated 02 August 2016), redistributed in compliance with Limited Redistribution License (1. B.).
Copy of Valve's License Agreement is included in license_agreement.txt file. You have to read and accept the License Agreement, before you start using this program.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/yanlw538z3ilkcj/ste … ug2016.zip?dl=0

There is also a Steam.cfg file that disables updates.

Original package files are still included, so you can do that trick yourself, if you wish.

Last edited by adalbert on 2017-02-25, 08:31. Edited 1 time in total.

Repair/electronic stuff videos: https://www.youtube.com/c/adalbertfix
ISA Wi-fi + USB in T3200SXC: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WX30t3lYezs
GUI programming for Windows 3.11 (the easy way): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d6L272OApVg

Reply 15 of 38, by Jade Falcon

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leileilol wrote:

^ i highly advise against doing this

that won't necessaily work and that may lead to compromised accounts from the storing of credentials locally

Because one cant remove that. the same goes for the game lib. just need the base files.

Reply 16 of 38, by adalbert

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I just found another old version of Steam (on the internet, so I won't post it here because I don't know if it's 100% safe - but I used only the package files again, so it should be pretty safe), dated 29 May 2014, and it still works fine (but I used a new, clean account). It even has a bit different skin.
Maybe someone here has even older Steam versions? I wonder how far the compatibility goes... maybe Win 2000 or Win 98 compatible versions still can work online 😜
(BTW I know that it would be better to not use Steam at all)

Repair/electronic stuff videos: https://www.youtube.com/c/adalbertfix
ISA Wi-fi + USB in T3200SXC: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WX30t3lYezs
GUI programming for Windows 3.11 (the easy way): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d6L272OApVg

Reply 17 of 38, by MrMateczko

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As Valve said themselves:

Support for Steam on Windows 98 and Windows ME operating systems will end on June 30th 2007. This means you will no longer be able to run Steam.

Best to look from that dates 😀

Reply 18 of 38, by Mercury048

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I just want to mention the trivia that the last version of Steam which runs without SSE2 was released October 13, 2016. About Steam dialog box shows:

Built: Oct 12 2016, at 17:53:48
Steam API: v017
Steam package versions: 1476379980

Steam dropped non-SSE2 support at least twice before this and restored it after a time (see here) but I'm not hopeful that it will happen again. After the second time, I got paranoid and started backing up my Steam folder after every update, which is why I was able to keep the last working version.

Reply 19 of 38, by Mr_ppp

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Tried the 2016 steam install succesfully! thanks for the share, can't locate the 2014 one at all, could a link be posted please? 😀

Edit:

Looking through my own backups I've found a backup of steam from 10/09/2013. Going to see how this one does for full functionality 😀