Maybe the new machine is missing some older DirectX runtimes that are installed on the working machine.

Or maybe it has something to do with the GPU drivers.

Should be the drivers. Maybe try throwing dgvoodoo2 or DDrawCompat at those games.

The GPU described is an integrated GPU for Z1 Extreme processors, and I have never seen one of those in legacy gaming tests.

darry wrote on 2025-02-25, 06:19:

Maybe the new machine is missing some older DirectX runtimes that are installed on the working machine.

Or maybe it has something to do with the GPU drivers.

And where would I go about finding and installing those runtimes?

iconoclast12 wrote on 2025-02-25, 12:21:

darry wrote on 2025-02-25, 06:19:

Maybe the new machine is missing some older DirectX runtimes that are installed on the working machine.

Or maybe it has something to do with the GPU drivers.

And where would I go about finding and installing those runtimes?

Generally https://www.microsoft.com/en-in/download/details.aspx?id=35

However I am less confident of it solving anything. This should help for D3D9+ games, but probably nothing for older than that

Try plugging in a mouse and keyboard and see if that fixes some of them. You can also run dependency walker against the executables.

From DosFreak's idea, also try plugging in an external speaker, that actually fixed a game for me recently

BEEN_Nath_58 wrote on 2025-02-25, 16:55:

From DosFreak's idea, also try plugging in an external speaker, that actually fixed a game for me recently

The mouse and keyboard fix is out, because already had the legion go docked using a usb mouse and keyboard while doing a lot of the setting up and troubleshooting.

I can try the speaker thing though..

I'm going to try the earlier suggestions with the directx runtimes and dgvoodoo2 or DDrawCompat and will report back after those attempts.

Thanks.

I'm happy to report that dgvoodoo2 did the trick! Merely copying the .dll into the game directory fixed every game I mentioned above.

For the sake of it, I also downloaded the DDrawCompat .zip incase some games work better with different .dll's

Resident Evil 2 still needs some tweaking, because it still crashes shortly after startup, but it no longer throws the "Failed to initialize Directx(R)" error anymore, so I made some progress with it and did something right.. I suppose I will need to spend more time with that game.

But the other games all work now!

iconoclast12 wrote on 2025-02-26, 16:17:

I'm happy to report that dgvoodoo2 did the trick! Merely copying the .dll into the game directory fixed every game I mentioned a […]
Show full quote

I'm happy to report that dgvoodoo2 did the trick! Merely copying the .dll into the game directory fixed every game I mentioned above.

For the sake of it, I also downloaded the DDrawCompat .zip incase some games work better with different .dll's

Resident Evil 2 still needs some tweaking, because it still crashes shortly after startup, but it no longer throws the "Failed to initialize Directx(R)" error anymore, so I made some progress with it and did something right.. I suppose I will need to spend more time with that game.

But the other games all work now!

False: that was probably RE1.

Previously,

I don't remember well, but probably Resident Evil 2 starts from some .bin file. That is, you double click the EXE and it redirects to some .bin file (on the CD). And you would have to paste the dll adjacent to the .bin file.

iconoclast12 wrote on 2025-02-26, 16:17:

I'm happy to report that dgvoodoo2 did the trick! Merely copying the .dll into the game directory fixed every game I mentioned a […]
Show full quote

I'm happy to report that dgvoodoo2 did the trick! Merely copying the .dll into the game directory fixed every game I mentioned above.

For the sake of it, I also downloaded the DDrawCompat .zip incase some games work better with different .dll's

Resident Evil 2 still needs some tweaking, because it still crashes shortly after startup, but it no longer throws the "Failed to initialize Directx(R)" error anymore, so I made some progress with it and did something right.. I suppose I will need to spend more time with that game.

But the other games all work now!

Resident Evil 2 is totally broken on anything newer than Windows 9x. Your best bet is to use Classic Rebirth (https://classicrebirth.com/index.php/download … lassic-rebirth/), or the GOG version, both of them work flawlessly.

davidmorom wrote on 2025-02-27, 11:08:

iconoclast12 wrote on 2025-02-26, 16:17:

I'm happy to report that dgvoodoo2 did the trick! Merely copying the .dll into the game directory fixed every game I mentioned a […]
Show full quote

I'm happy to report that dgvoodoo2 did the trick! Merely copying the .dll into the game directory fixed every game I mentioned above.

For the sake of it, I also downloaded the DDrawCompat .zip incase some games work better with different .dll's

Resident Evil 2 still needs some tweaking, because it still crashes shortly after startup, but it no longer throws the "Failed to initialize Directx(R)" error anymore, so I made some progress with it and did something right.. I suppose I will need to spend more time with that game.

But the other games all work now!

Resident Evil 2 is totally broken on anything newer than Windows 9x. Your best bet is to use Classic Rebirth (https://classicrebirth.com/index.php/download … lassic-rebirth/), or the GOG version, both of them work flawlessly.

The last time I played RE2 on Win10 it worked fine.

Classic Rebirth is generally the better and easier way to play

BEEN_Nath_58 wrote on 2025-02-27, 13:03:

davidmorom wrote on 2025-02-27, 11:08:

iconoclast12 wrote on 2025-02-26, 16:17:

I'm happy to report that dgvoodoo2 did the trick! Merely copying the .dll into the game directory fixed every game I mentioned a […]
Show full quote

I'm happy to report that dgvoodoo2 did the trick! Merely copying the .dll into the game directory fixed every game I mentioned above.

For the sake of it, I also downloaded the DDrawCompat .zip incase some games work better with different .dll's

Resident Evil 2 still needs some tweaking, because it still crashes shortly after startup, but it no longer throws the "Failed to initialize Directx(R)" error anymore, so I made some progress with it and did something right.. I suppose I will need to spend more time with that game.

But the other games all work now!

Resident Evil 2 is totally broken on anything newer than Windows 9x. Your best bet is to use Classic Rebirth (https://classicrebirth.com/index.php/download … lassic-rebirth/), or the GOG version, both of them work flawlessly.

The last time I played RE2 on Win10 it worked fine.

Classic Rebirth is generally the better and easier way to play

If I remember correctly, last time I tried the original Spanish CD version, I managed to run the game with a bunch of compatibility shims and dgVoodoo, but I was unable to load saved games.

davidmorom wrote on 2025-02-27, 13:18:

BEEN_Nath_58 wrote on 2025-02-27, 13:03:

davidmorom wrote on 2025-02-27, 11:08:

Resident Evil 2 is totally broken on anything newer than Windows 9x. Your best bet is to use Classic Rebirth (https://classicrebirth.com/index.php/download … lassic-rebirth/), or the GOG version, both of them work flawlessly.

The last time I played RE2 on Win10 it worked fine.

Classic Rebirth is generally the better and easier way to play

If I remember correctly, last time I tried the original Spanish CD version, I managed to run the game with a bunch of compatibility shims and dgVoodoo, but I was unable to load saved games.

Saved games can be a problem. I remember the game can't change the directory while installing. Let me get the game once...

BEEN_Nath_58 wrote on 2025-02-27, 13:32:

davidmorom wrote on 2025-02-27, 13:18:

BEEN_Nath_58 wrote on 2025-02-27, 13:03:

The last time I played RE2 on Win10 it worked fine.

Classic Rebirth is generally the better and easier way to play

If I remember correctly, last time I tried the original Spanish CD version, I managed to run the game with a bunch of compatibility shims and dgVoodoo, but I was unable to load saved games.

Saved games can be a problem. I remember the game can't change the directory while installing. Let me get the game once...

Tried right now. I changed the save game location from the default Program Files (x86)... since I don't want to put random files there.

I downloaded some saves from the Internet, pasted it there and it loads perfectly fine.

I saw a couple of discussions online regarding FAT32 and NTFS, I don't know either how that will make a difference in game loading. The game truncates file names to 8.3 format, if that's an issue...

I made a quick test to refresh my memory. I mounted the Leon CD, copied the "REGIST" folder to the hard disk, dropped dgVoodoo on it and ran "LEONS.EXE". I got to the police station and saved the game on the first typing machine. Exited the game, entered again, and tried to load the saved game. I got the following:

The saved game is there, but is nameless, and trying to load it gives an error. So my memories were right, there are some issues loading the game. I played a bit with the Compatibility Toolkit and found that the EmulateFindHandles shim completely fixes the issue.

So in summary, in Windows 10, the game needs dgVoodoo or DDrawCompat, and the EmulateFindHandles compatibility shim.

davidmorom wrote on 2025-02-27, 22:03:

I made a quick test to refresh my memory. I mounted the Leon CD, copied the "REGIST" folder to the hard disk, dropped dgVoodoo o […]
Show full quote

I made a quick test to refresh my memory. I mounted the Leon CD, copied the "REGIST" folder to the hard disk, dropped dgVoodoo on it and ran "LEONS.EXE". I got to the police station and saved the game on the first typing machine. Exited the game, entered again, and tried to load the saved game. I got the following:

The attachment bad.png is no longer available

The saved game is there, but is nameless, and trying to load it gives an error. So my memories were right, there are some issues loading the game. I played a bit with the Compatibility Toolkit and found that the EmulateFindHandles shim completely fixes the issue.

So in summary, in Windows 10, the game needs dgVoodoo or DDrawCompat, and the EmulateFindHandles compatibility shim.

Likely the problem was the C:\Program Files (x86)... folder? Can you check if the game works loading saves at a simpler path, like C:\RE2

BEEN_Nath_58 wrote on 2025-02-28, 05:29:

davidmorom wrote on 2025-02-27, 22:03:

I made a quick test to refresh my memory. I mounted the Leon CD, copied the "REGIST" folder to the hard disk, dropped dgVoodoo o […]
Show full quote

I made a quick test to refresh my memory. I mounted the Leon CD, copied the "REGIST" folder to the hard disk, dropped dgVoodoo on it and ran "LEONS.EXE". I got to the police station and saved the game on the first typing machine. Exited the game, entered again, and tried to load the saved game. I got the following:

The attachment bad.png is no longer available

The saved game is there, but is nameless, and trying to load it gives an error. So my memories were right, there are some issues loading the game. I played a bit with the Compatibility Toolkit and found that the EmulateFindHandles shim completely fixes the issue.

So in summary, in Windows 10, the game needs dgVoodoo or DDrawCompat, and the EmulateFindHandles compatibility shim.

Likely the problem was the C:\Program Files (x86)... folder? Can you check if the game works loading saves at a simpler path, like C:\RE2

Same problem, only the EmulateFindHandles compatibility shim fixes the problem. Are you using Windows 95/98 compatibility mode? Those modes enable the EmulateFindHandles shim, among many others that are not necessary and are more likely to cause trouble than to fix anything.

davidmorom wrote on 2025-02-28, 08:30:

BEEN_Nath_58 wrote on 2025-02-28, 05:29:

davidmorom wrote on 2025-02-27, 22:03:

I made a quick test to refresh my memory. I mounted the Leon CD, copied the "REGIST" folder to the hard disk, dropped dgVoodoo o […]
Show full quote

I made a quick test to refresh my memory. I mounted the Leon CD, copied the "REGIST" folder to the hard disk, dropped dgVoodoo on it and ran "LEONS.EXE". I got to the police station and saved the game on the first typing machine. Exited the game, entered again, and tried to load the saved game. I got the following:

The attachment bad.png is no longer available

The saved game is there, but is nameless, and trying to load it gives an error. So my memories were right, there are some issues loading the game. I played a bit with the Compatibility Toolkit and found that the EmulateFindHandles shim completely fixes the issue.

So in summary, in Windows 10, the game needs dgVoodoo or DDrawCompat, and the EmulateFindHandles compatibility shim.

Likely the problem was the C:\Program Files (x86)... folder? Can you check if the game works loading saves at a simpler path, like C:\RE2

The attachment re2.png is no longer available

Same problem, only the EmulateFindHandles compatibility shim fixes the problem. Are you using Windows 95/98 compatibility mode? Those modes enable the EmulateFindHandles shim, among many others that are not necessary and are more likely to cause trouble than to fix anything.

If you don't mind, can you shed some more light on what the "EmulateFindHandles compatibility shim" is and how I can use it so that I can fix the savegame problem on my end?

Hi iconoclast12, of course, I can explain.

Compatibility shims are small tweaks to the Windows API that make it behave closer to old Windows versions. When you select a compatibility mode from the EXE properties window, you are, indeed, enabling A LOT of compatibility shims. The problem is that, usually, old games require only a couple of shims to work, and enabling more than the required ones tends to cause more trouble than it fix.

In this specific case, Resident Evil 2 only needs the EmulateFindHandles compatibility shim, but the Windows 95/98 compatibility mode contains another 75, that are unneeded for this game. You can try in first place to enable the Windows 98 compatibility mode, if it works for you, you are good to go.

If it doesn't work, or if it does but introduces another problems, you will have to enable only EmulateFindHandles. For doing that there is a tool from Microsoft called Application Compatibility Toolkit (ACT), but it is not very user friendly. This tool allows you to create databases containing specific fixes for specific programs. Fortunately, this tool is only needed for creating the databases, but not for installing them.

If the Windows 98 mode doesn't work for you, I can create a specific compatibility database for you. I just need to know what regional version of the game are you using, as I think the names of the executables are different from one version to another.

Also, you will need dgVoodoo or DDrawCompat, as this game, by default, uses the 320x240 mode, which is not supported anymore. These tools also allows you to apply resolution scaling and antialiasing, which makes the 3D models of this game look crystal clear, but it is up to you if you prefer the old low resolution graphics.