VOGONS


First post, by Reiwas

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Hello everyone hope this is the right section. I finally got lucky and got my dream retro gaming laptop IBM T42 for really cheap. I installed win98se on it and went to try some games. But the problem I am having is they just freeze after a minute or two. RTCW I can get though intro np but as soon as first mission tries to load it freezes and I have to use the power button to shut the laptop down. Tried Max payne, same thing I can get through first mission freezes on the second one. Only game that runs flawlessly is need for speed porsche unleashed. Weird thing is the laptop came with win xp and I tried the RTCW on it just to try how well it does and played it for like 30mins without an issue. So I think it might be software related rather than hw.

Reply 1 of 8, by RandomStranger

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There are a lot of things that can go wrong. Maybe just the Windows didn't install properly. It happened to me a couple of times. Last time with my P4-XP build. It seemed alright at first, but whenever I started a game, it crashed. After formatting the hard drive and reinstalling XP everything was perfect.

Which version is it though? I think it came with Mobility Radeon 7500, 9000 and maybe 9600.
I'd love to see some performance tests once you get the games running.

sreq.png retrogamer-s.png

Reply 3 of 8, by Reiwas

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Its pentium m 1.7ghz, mobility radeon 7500 and 512mb of ram. I think HDD shouldn't be an issue as it ran on XP but freezes on 98se. I was planning to record some videos of gameplay with fps counter once I get it running so can report back. So far I tested the NFS porsche unleashed which runs 30-60 fps (30 with full grid of cars) 50-60 racing alone on high details and 1024*768 res. If there is some win98 benchmark for games let me know I can try it.

Reply 4 of 8, by Intel486dx33

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Did you apply the Win98se updates and Directx ?
I use to have a thinkpad T43 but it came with Win2000.
Check IBM website for drivers and updates for your Thinkpad.
Games also run good on Win-2000

I think those hard drives can just pop out for easy quick replacement.
You want an IBM 7200 RPM sata drive

Reply 5 of 8, by Reiwas

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Yes I have the dx9c and the latest drivers from lenovo site. But i found some topic here that has some different ones for the t42 so I will try that. Yeah I know about t43 but I prefer the older t42 and win98.

Reply 6 of 8, by pentiumspeed

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I have T42 with 96oo video chip motherboard stuffed into R52 chassis for best cooling. I intended it for 98SE or XP light gaming or other uses.

Cheers,

Great Northern aka Canada.

Reply 8 of 8, by Reiwas

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OK I tried the GPU drivers from this topic Guide: Windows 98SE/ME on Thinkpad T42 and RTCW started working. Max payne still froze tho so I switched it from HW to SW acceleration and now it works too. It still seems to run worse than on xp but i guess it might be normal? Strange. I might do another fresh win98 install and get just the drivers from that guide just to be sure.

Warlord wrote on 2021-01-21, 01:32:

bad drivers, bad ram sticks, or inadequate cooling. one of the 3.

RAM is tested and passed,Cooler has fresh Kryonaut paste and is cleaned out. Not to mention same game run fine on XP. I guess it must be the drivers