Fallout 2 Won't load

[Maer]

I bought fallout 2 when i was running windows 7. All was going good back then. but i wanted to update to windows 10. And i hadent tried playing the game untill now. The game would open the launcher but i couldent get it to load the actual game for my life. I tried compatability and all that ♥♥♥♥, none of it worked. So i installed resolution patches and restoration stuff but it still didnt work after compatability or befor. Here are the specs for my pc.
os: windows
cpu: Intel(R) CPU g3258 @ 3.20GHZ (dual core)
gpu: Nvidia GeForce GTX 970
ram: 2 4GB ram sticks
Motherboard: MSI MS-7850

[Instigator Toad]

Yeah, I was trying to help someone with this problem today. We still haven't found a fix.

Maybe you could try deleting ddraw.dll and ddraw.ini to see if that makes a difference - restore them if your game still doesn't work. You can also try running the game in DirectX 9 mode at native resolution and setting the compatability mode to Windows 7 / Windows XP (Service Pack 3).

[stcaFylnO]

I had a similar problem between Win8.1 Pro and Win10 Pro, this is what worked for me:

Accidental Workaround:
-I still had a vanilla Steam install, to default location, from when I had Win8.1.
-Shut down Steam.
-Created a shortuct to .exe on desktop with this new Win10.
-Launched game from shortcut.
-Loaded save game from when I had Win 8.1 Pro.
-During subsequent launches, it worked with Steam running.

Notes:
-Error on screen: Missing executable.
-I still can't get it to run via Steam though, only via shortcut.
-Once running, I fooled around with compatability settings, etc., but reverted to default.
-Filepath: C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\SteamApps\common\Fallout 2\fallout2.exe
-Alt-Tab gets funky. The taskbar won't have an icon sometimes, but swapping with Alt-Tab or via Task Manager still works. Also, other apps may leave graphical artifacts (trails of images), but they intermittently clear-up on thier own.

Version:
Fallout II: 1.02
SFALL: 3.2

[Maer]

Thanks for all your guys help, but it hasent changed anything :( I may try to get a simulated pc to run it, but that would be a lot of work for a game.

[stcaFylnO]

I've been poking around and still don't see a fix, but in the spirit of spit-balling, here are some things to look at:

Try launching directly from both .exe's, just incase one is corrupted:
Fallout2.exe: Prefers not to have "Disable display scaling on high DPI settings".
Falout2HR.exe: Prevers to *have* "Disable display scaling on high DPI settings".
Location: C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\SteamApps\common\Fallout 2\

Try some basics none of us have mentioned, sometimes they have helped my Steam games:
Unintall, reinstall, veryify cache, verify permissions (admin). However, I did not need to set Steam or game to admin, in my case.

I've just noticed I have problems with the high resolution .exe. If I Alt-Tab from that one, I can no longer tab back and it seems to have closed; however, it is still listed as active within Task Manager; furthermore, changing any compatability settings causes problems, just like the readme indicates. To date, I still can't launch via Steam's client, just directly from executable.

Look in the FAQ.txt and sfall-readme.txt files:
Location: C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\SteamApps\common\Fallout 2\
I don't see your specific issue, however, they may provide a tip. For instance, the FAQ explains why our attempts with compatability modes have failed. Perhaps the install issue with Win7, then changing to Win10 is the problem? Possibly combined with "resolution patches and restoration stuff", or some unidentified element? There is also information regarding DirectX, ddraw.dll, and ddraw.ini, within the files. Also, SFALL is a mod, I didn't realize that, until I read more carefully.

Example from FAQ.txt:

==================================================================
Fallout refuses to run, displaying the message 'Fallout appears to be running in compatibility mode'
==================================================================
sfall doesn't play nicely with any compatibility mode settings, so it refuses to run with them turned on. Turn them all off. Do this by right clicking fallout2.exe, switching to the compatibility tab and unchecking everything. If options are greyed out, you need to click the change settings for all users button to access them. (Note that run as administrator is excluded from this check.)

[stcaFylnO]

WOOT! Making progress and got a fix, on my end anyway. I've verified cache before, but it still didn't work; this time I was faster than the AV.

Issue: Fallout 2 can only be launched via executable, not Steam's client.
Error: Missing executable.
Culprit: Anti-virus quarantine.
Solution: Verify cache and launch, before Anti-virus quarantines file.
File: Fallout2Launcher.exe
Location: C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\SteamApps\common\Fallout 2\
Note: If this continues, edit AV settings to omit file, or replace prn.

[Maer]

well ♥♥♥♥. I thought that it could have been a firewall issue, but i never actualy checked. I will try to fix this. I only now noticed your posts, If this works, Thanks!!! if it doesnt, thanks for the help. Btw, this pc was fresh with windows 10, No upgrade. i built this earlier this year. Gunna go check my 3 firewalls. :D

[stcaFylnO]

No problem, i just learned a bunch of that today and slapped it on here for ya.

[Maer]

welp, sofar its not looking good. i havent found any quarantines.

[Maer]

aaaaaand nope. I added all of the .exe files to the acception list, still nothing is helping. Good news tho! i will probably hard wipe my pc soon. perhaps that will help anything.

[stcaFylnO]

Yeah, since you don't get the same error message as me, it was a long shot.

When you intalled on Win 7, was it to the default location, or did you change it like the SFALL doc recommends? Since Win 7 needs an altered path, but Win 8 & 10 don't, maybe the shift from 7 to 10 is the issue.

Other than that, those text files indicate issues with the following, like Kurtz mentioned earlier: DirectX, ddraw.dll, and ddraw.ini.

[Maer]

I never shifted from 7 to 10. 7 was on a different pc. i scraped that and made this new one with all new parts. Nothing was the same. but i just clicked install like any normal dumb american would. documents. blah. they are for lawers

[stcaFylnO]

Oh I see. I didn't read carefully I guess. Now that makes me afraid to unintsall mine ever. I can see a nightmare workaround now... wipe system, install win 8, install game, re-upgrade to 10, deal with AV issue :D

[Maer]

Yeah im uninstalling now so i wont respond for awhile Bye! i hope i dont break ♥♥♥♥.

[Maer]

well that worked. wasnt really expecting it to tho.

[stcaFylnO]

What did you reinstall, just the game, Steam, or OS?