dual boot on laptop with Windows (which version?)

[b_o_b]

Hi

I am maintaining some Linux setups for friends and family and need to add windows on one of them. The laptop is a Dell Latitude D630

Processor: Intel T7300 Core 2 Duo (2.0GHz, 800MHz FSB, 4MB Cache)
Graphics: Nvidia Quadro NVS 135M

I tried to work with wine for the last two years on this laptop but unfortunately the games are not working as expected (slow downs, and gui issues or not working with wine at all).
It costs me too much time fixing stuff so I want to create a dual boot with a version of windows without (or very limited) internet connection. Linux will be used for mail, browsing and other online activities;

Most important games that need to work without issues on this system are:

- red alert 1, 2
- command and conquer
- Dune 2000
- War Craft 1, 2

(basically all 2D RTS games)

- zylom games

Dell seem to support XP drivers only
http://www.dell.com/support/home/us/en/04/Drivers/SupportedOS/latitude-d630

I am not a Windows gamer so I hope someone here will know what is the best method to setup this system. I assume XP is my best bet based on the last supported Windows drivers? Tiny XP? 32 or 64 bit?

 

[Wally]

As you're running 32 bit applications you should stick with 32-Bit XP.

Tiny XP can sometimes cause problems with drivers, from experience anyway.. Try it out.

 

[b_o_b]

Don't like to spend too much time experimenting, will take the safe route and install full 32 bits XP prof. thx

 

[Wally]

Yeah it's not worth it but no problems at all!


I can imagine most of the stuff that doesn't' work in wine is the zylom games right? I have heaps of trouble with unregistered popcap / gamehouse games due to the activex component and it drives me bonkers!

 

[b_o_b]

I can imagine most of the stuff that doesn't' work in wine is the zylom games right? I have heaps of trouble with unregistered popcap / gamehouse games due to the activex component and it drives me bonkers!

Indeed, Zylom games almost all fail in wine and haven't seen progress on wine. Zylom is not planning any changes in their development process (toward linux) and there is a huge list of programs that are currently unsupported in Windows 10 as well. Go figure..
Unfortunately the Westwood Studios games that have good ratings on the wine dbase and even have deb installers on https://cncnet.org/ have slow downs. Shouldn't happen on this hardware so I blame issues with wine.

Haven't tried VM but I am pretty sure that will generate performance issues. The laptop isn't a powerhouse.

 

[___]

hey there. I just googled it quickly and there seems to be a lot of information about getting the zylom games working (or rather trying and failing), but it's in dutch, so I am not really sure, but it seems like people were successful using cedega instead of plain wine.

Also I have found this on the playonlinux forums, which might be a better choice then cedega, as cedega is proprietary and costs money:
https://www.playonlinux.com/en/topic-2488-Delicious_Deluxe.html

It's an install script for delicious deluxe, but I am sure it can be ammended and used for other zylom games.

I never had any kind of problems with the other mentioned RTS games, most of them just work with wine. For warcraft 1&2 you can easily set up dosbox, same for red alert 1 and c&c.

 

[TrashyMG]

lso I have found this on the playonlinux forums, which might be a better choice then cedega, as cedega is proprietary and costs money

I didn't even know Cedega was still a thing, I used it for a like 6 or 7 years ago when it first came out and they couldn't really keep up with all the changes in the mainline WINE which was making a much better free product.

 

[NetBLOKS]

For the RTS stuff: use OpenRA
www.openra.net
It might even be in the repo.
It's C&C1, RA1, Dune2000 and (in the near future) C&C Tiberian Sun in one package.
They completely reprogrammed all the games and added features like widescreen support, waypoints, right mouse button orders etc.
But of course you can disable all that.
Super fun on every LAN.
Only flaw is that the singleplayer campaigns are often not complete and every mission has to be started manually.

 

[b_o_b]

Problem with openra, at least the last time I played it... is that too much units in play are causing lag / glitches on older hardware.

Also I have found this on the playonlinux forums, which might be a better choice then cedega, as cedega is proprietary and costs money:
https://www.playonlinux.com/en/topic-2488-Delicious_Deluxe.html

It's an install script for delicious deluxe, but I am sure it can be ammended and used for other zylom games.

I never had any kind of problems with the other mentioned RTS games, most of them just work with wine. For warcraft 1&2 you can easily set up dosbox, same for red alert 1 and c&c.

Pleased with the win xp dual boot, it is working as expected so the enduser is satisfied and it saves me some time troubleshooting or adjusting a script. .

I agree that dosbox is probably a better solution than wine for 2D RTS win-games. I've installed RA1 in the past, but I think some of the expansion packs or downloadable map were not available for dos.

 

[ible]

i couldn't figure out how to change the default resolution on openRA or window move speed (maybe i'm an idiot, but i kept flying off into the fog of war), and was massively attacked before i could do much... i guess i also prefer games where i can sit and think a bit before being rushed.

 

[NetBLOKS]

i couldn't figure out how to change the default resolution on openRA or window move speed (maybe i'm an idiot, but i kept flying off into the fog of war), and was massively attacked before i could do much... i guess i also prefer games where i can sit and think a bit before being rushed.

You mean like turn based strategy?

 

[b_o_b]

Lack of balance in gameplay is a problem more OS projects have. Another thing they usually miss is polish, stability and playability of the commercial product. Also if you don't have a current GPU (as in the laptop I was referring to) a lot of commercial games that worked perfectly fine without will need a significant upgrade if you want to use the free counterpart.

OpenRa is still being worked on very actively and one of their goals is to provide the original gameplay/stability/polish. They released a new version a week ago. Might give it a try and hope for the best.

 

[ible]

eh, turn based strategy takes way too long. i get way too stuck in all the details.

(can't appease me!)

 

[b_o_b]

I thought the same, but Advance Wars changed my mind it feels like playing an RTS game and is very entertaining.

 

[ible]

i do tend to like hybrids, i guess... worms armageddon, earthbound (battles were turn based, but had rolling HP meters). i don't mind RTSs (C&C, RA, etc.), but i tend to play campaigns where you can sit and think a bit more... (i.e., easier AI, doesn't rush.) anyhoo, i probably am more invested in the stories rather than the actual battles themselves. at this point i don't game much anymore, but spend free time coding for fun .

though, i did find my old baldur's gate 2 cd's, and loaded them up on linux via gemdb today. haven't started playing yet (made a character, hit "biography" and froze the game), so we'll see if i get back into it...