Trying to make Steam work on Dell Inspiron 8600

[Plarndude]

The Steam client is installed, I was able to get it to run at least for getting logged in, but now it gives an error that it needs nVidia driver 304.22 or above.

The GPU on this laptop is GeForce FXGo5200 64M rev a1

I'm trying to get a newer driver installed but it's being a major pain. I just want a straight Yes or No answer. Will this hardware run Steam? If the answer is no, then this whole thing has been a lost cause.

[The Giving One]

Are you trying to install legacy drivers for it ?

http://www.nvidia.com/object/IO_32667.html

The 173.14.xx driver supports the following set of GPUs:
Note: Support for the 173.14.xx series is discontinued. No further releases from this series are planned.

(more GPU versions listed) and then yours....

GeForce FX Go5200

The list that supports the 304 is later on in that linked page.

The 304.xx driver supports the following set of GPUs:

And I do not see your GPU in that list on the page. It looks like yours is just outside the range of support, according to that list.

[Plarndude]

Originally posted by The Giving One:

Are you trying to install legacy drivers for it ?

http://www.nvidia.com/object/IO_32667.html

The 173.14.xx driver supports the following set of GPUs:
Note: Support for the 173.14.xx series is discontinued. No further releases from this series are planned.

(more GPU versions listed) and then yours....

GeForce FX Go5200

The list that supports the 304 is later on in that linked page.

The 304.xx driver supports the following set of GPUs:

And I do not see your GPU in that list on the page. It looks like yours is just outside the range of support, according to that list.

Thank you so much! I was going out of my mind trying to get it working. Now I know it's just not possible with this hardware. At least I can get some things running, just not Steam.

[Plarndude]

If only Valve would offer support for older machines, making it clear as crystal what games Can be played and what games Can't be played. I purchased games on Steam that I KNOW will run on the Dell Inspiron 8600, I just can't get the Steam Client/Launcher to run.

[The Giving One]

Originally posted by krepta3000:

If only Valve would offer support for older machines, making it clear as crystal what games Can be played and what games Can't be played. I purchased games on Steam that I KNOW will run on the Dell Inspiron 8600, I just can't get the Steam Client/Launcher to run.

It may be covered on the install Steam download page you see under requirements. It seems a bit unclear I admit, but the DirectX 9.0 requirements is what I am guessing they let cover it.

You are not the first person to suggest that the client should work on older hardware. Seems they could have a version for that if someone had time at Valve to develop it, but sadly I guess there are not enough users to warrant the time and money to develop.

Do you know how to run the DsDiag command from your version of OS ?

If you can post what version of Directx you have now, we may be able to answer you question more specifically here but maybe you are happy with the answer you have now. You can do it if you like....

EDIT..in the case of Windows XP, this would not be an good idea because support for that OS has ended as pretty much everyone knows.

[фосфорик]

qq all

[Bad 💀 Motha]

If you are getting an error requesting the need for required minimum driver, that is the game doing that. It's not Steam's fault that your hardware is so outdated.

It is a laptop from around 2006/2007, what do u really expect. Once Driver support ends, it becomes useless except for legacy OS' and Apps. And much like the debate over OS (like WinXP) you can not expect the software/hardware maker (or OEMs) to support a product beyond it's originally intended warranty life.

And by around the end of this year, or the sometime 2016, any NVIDIA GPU older than 400 / 400M series will be considered "Legacy" as ones older than that don't support DX11

You expect way too much from a laptop, seriously. Desktops parts from those years are in the same boat basically, so again, it's just way too old to keep up. Even if it could run Steam, what would u be installing besides maybe indie games that don't require much to run them.

[Plarndude]

Originally posted by Bad-Motha:

If you are getting an error requesting the need for required minimum driver, that is the game doing that. It's not Steam's fault that your hardware is so outdated.

It is a laptop from around 2006/2007, what do u really expect. Once Driver support ends, it becomes useless except for legacy OS' and Apps. And much like the debate over OS (like WinXP) you can not expect the software/hardware maker (or OEMs) to support a product beyond it's originally intended warranty life.

And by around the end of this year, or the sometime 2016, any NVIDIA GPU older than 400 / 400M series will be considered "Legacy" as ones older than that don't support DX11

You expect way too much from a laptop, seriously. Desktops parts from those years are in the same boat basically, so again, it's just way too old to keep up. Even if it could run Steam, what would u be installing besides maybe indie games that don't require much to run them.

No, that is not the game doing it. Please read what I wrote. The Steam CLIENT will not run. Should I take pictures with my phone to prove it to you? No, of course it's not Valve's fault that I have old hardware. I'm not blaming them for not supporting old stuff, I just really want them to, that's all. I'm poor and can't afford new stuff, so, yah, of course I want my old stuff to still be useful and fun to play with.

It's an Old laptop machine running Lubuntu 12.04 LTS because it can't even run a newer version of the linux kernel. I don't blame linux developers for leaving my poor old computer behind in digital dust either.

The situation is plain and simple, Old hardware meets New software, New software says "Haahahaha, too old!" and shuts down. Period. The only solution, really, is getting new hardware, which I can't afford, so, sucks to be me.

[Plarndude]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jkJBMzHVzt4 Watch this video Showing how the Steam Client shuts down after giving the error I wrote about. If you Still don't comprehend, I can't do anything else to help you, your brain is just broken.

[Bad 💀 Motha]

Yes, IDK why people don't understand.

You realize that laptop is from early 2000s; I mean just look up GeForce FX GO series.
That is the Mobile version of GeForce 5 series; like 9 or 10 Gens ago. Of course nothing will work if it requires a certain Driver.

[Plarndude]

Yes. I realize that things won't work if they require a certain driver that is uninstallable due to lack of appropriate hardware. But, this issue is no longer a problem because I now have a new computer that runs Steam just fine. Well, New to me anyway, how about we call it Newer. :p Thanks for all the help guys! :D