FFXI and Vista: Downgrade to XP?

[Gazoya]

Hey guys, I was wondering if you can help me out. I recently started playing FFXI on my laptop and was sad to see that FFXI had poor frame rates. I started reading and people say Vista is just not good with games and XP is better for it. My friend who plays FFXI on really bad XP laptop can play with exceptional frame rate. Will I see a huge improvement if I switched to XP with my laptop's current hardware? Attached is my laptop's spec. Thanks a bunch in advanced.

[Shadowneko]

Re: FFXI and Vista: Downgrade to XP?

Vista is...well in my opinion a Junk OS so far(it has not impoved much if any since it came out last year). FFXI is mostly an XP program and under vista(well besides the Vista POL) it runs in compatibility mode which can cause troubles.

I don't know of any fixes but downgrading on some machines is hard due to the fact that XP drivers may or may not exsit for the machine you're using...

[Mhurron]

Re: FFXI and Vista: Downgrade to XP?

Vista works just fine. Find a version of Forceware 169.17 or higher for your Go card.

[Gazoya]

Re: FFXI and Vista: Downgrade to XP?

Hmm I see. I just remember long ago that I played FFXI on XP with a Geforce 5700 FX and 512 ram and it was pretty good. Hmm I don't know, I'm still up for more opinions.

[Nuriko]

Re: FFXI and Vista: Downgrade to XP?

I saw the thread title, and thought you were asking if Vista was a downgrade FROM XP...

[Gazoya]

Re: FFXI and Vista: Downgrade to XP?

I tried loading Forceware 169.17 but an error popped up saying that the setup program couldn't locate any drivers that are compatible with my current hardware. Now what?

[Feba]

Re: FFXI and Vista: Downgrade to XP?

FFXI and Vista: Downgrade to XP?

I would hardly call XP a Downgrade from Vista.

Maybe retrograde. But hardly downgrade.

[Ameroth]

Re: FFXI and Vista: Downgrade to XP?

While I'm not here to debate which is the better OS, Vista or XP, they both will run FFXI. Vista may require a little more attention to system specs and/or GPU drivers, but it will still run FFXI.

Also, "downgrading" from Vista to XP on a laptop is going to be tricky (if at all possible) because most pre-built laptops with Vista only have the drivers for Vista and not XP. Uninstalling Vista for XP might even render your laptop useless in some cases.

I'd do what Mhurron said and get the right driver/firmware for your hardware. FFXI is not by any means an up-to-date game in the graphics department. If XP can run it, Vista can too.

[Sabaron]

Re: FFXI and Vista: Downgrade to XP?

I have Vista and haven't had a single problem. It's not your OS, it's something else. Remember, that Vista has a larger memory footprint than XP especially if you're doing things in the background--Vista Media Player is a behemoth which I had to stop using favoring WinAmp because for some odd reason, Vista MP kept "doin' stuff" while I was trying to play! I don't care about "updated licenses" and "cataloging" or whatever the hell else it does--I just want my playlist played without any guff.

Turn off all that crap you have running. The game should run perfectly unless you've installed Vista on a computer that's too old for Vista in which case, yeah, go back to XP.

[Gazoya]

Re: FFXI and Vista: Downgrade to XP?

Eh, the firmware won't even load so I guess I'm out of options.

[Mhurron]

Re: FFXI and Vista: Downgrade to XP?

I tried loading Forceware 169.17 but an error popped up saying that the setup program couldn't locate any drivers that are compatible with my current hardware. Now what?

Default drivers are not going to, you'll have to find modified ones with INF files that will reference the Go cards.

[Kurokawa]

Re: FFXI and Vista: Downgrade to XP?

Go to playonline.com and find the POLv Vista download and get that if you haven't. That will allow it to run normally (not in compatability) and it will run fine.

As for Vista being a bad OS. That's for people who only use the surface of a computer. Vista is a great OS that has a lot of stuff if you know where to look and what to do down in the deeper levels of it.