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get a Dr Watson error message whenever I run the
config utility or try and enter the game

Received the follow messages:
1) It works with the "Secret" compatibility update from Microsoft! Here's how you can make it work: 1) Download and install this file: http://msdn.microsoft.com/compatibility/act.exe 2) Run AppFix.exe, located in the applications subdirectory in the ACT install folder. 3) Play FF7!
2) Even using the 1.02 patch for my TNT in Direct 3D mode, Final Fantasy 7 does not work. You need to click on a FF7 movie file on one of the CD's so Media player will ask you to download the codec or else the in-game movies won't play at all. Even then, when you are in a battle and a spell is cast the game crashes with an access violation. The hard drive is constantly swapping playing the game also, which makes it very slow, and I have 128 MB of RAM
3)The game seems to work fine using appfix.exe, but it will freeze in any 3D subgames, such as chocobo races an snowboarding. Running a P3 700, V 5500, 256Mb ram. Tried with Dx8 compatible drivers and whitout, still no go.
4) Will load up to first scene. However, game is forcefully terminated upon ANY transition (battle, scene, etc.). Occurs regardless of 3D or MIDI mode. All applicable patches and updates in place. Using DirectX 8. Crashes regardless of the nVidia fix.
5) As said before, it works with the appfix patch, but freezes on the subgames. Unfortuniately, these sub games are vital to the plot and thier not working pretty much make the game unplayable. In fact, after about 4 hours (more or less depending on how you play) of game time, you will hit a point in the game you cannot pass because of crashes.
6) Works fine including sub games. Follow the instructions here:
http://www.ntcompatible.com/vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=14382
7) FF7 now works *perfectly* under Win2k. You need the new App Compatibility Toolkit (1.5). You also need to have installed the DirectShow drivers (on the FF CD) or the movies will play with no video. You have to run FF7 through the QAppFix utility for it to work, unfortunatly.
8) The ones of you using QFixApp, to make FF7 run under Win2000 with bad results should read this. When you are setting which fixes to use with ff7.exe, *MAKE SURE* you have unselected the "Win2000VersionLie.dll" since this will make the game to hang, also, if it works, you can bake the fixes into the exe by pressing advanced; checking filesize and checksum and press "Create fix support". One other thing I am not certain about is that Win2000 DX8.1 may cause the game to hang, just try DX8.0a since it may get your FF7 to work. Good luck.

My (needed) steps:

1. Install ;-)

2. Install Directshow (Movieplayer) from the FF7 CD (to see the Moviesquences

3. Install the UpsideDownMovie patch:
http://ftp.eidos.com/pub/patches/final_fantasy7/ff7betap1.exe
4. Get theWindows Application Compatibility Toolkit 3.0 (search Microsoft.com)

5. Start the ACT hit fix, Enter Name and Publisher (FF7//Squaresoft and browse to the ff7.exe Hit next. Select None, hit next, enable: Shrinker, EmulateWriteFile,Virtual Registry. Hit Next. SelectAll and then finish. Run should do it now! (thanks to: http://www.ffseven.com/faq.php).

6. I don't know whether you need the chocoborace patch afterwards (or before), since i just get it to work yesterday.. If you expirience crash at the chocoborace: http://www.qhimm.com/ff7_chocobo_patch.zip

7. You may also consider:
http://www.eidosinteractive.com/support/search.html?gmid=44
8. I have little graphic glitches, when using HardwareAcceleration, the fonts look a bit clumsy, but works fine in both software or hardware rendering.

Received the follow messages:
1) Played through the entire game under WinXP Beta 2 Build 2463 and it worked perfectly; compatibility mode WAS NOT used. The test system was a p3 866, 256 RAM and a Voodoo3 3000, based on a Tyan S1854 Trinity 400 mobo.
2) Will use USB joysticks. Crashes on Chocobo races.
3) What I want to know is, how can some people claim that this game is green, and that they played all the way through the game, when Square has OFFICIALLY stated that the game WILL crash on Win2000/XP at the Chocobo races (at the least, I might add)?! Not maybe. It will. Which means that the game is effectively unplayable on these OS's, since it can't be completed.
4) need codecmaj.exe
http://www.eidos-france.fr/support/search.html?gmid=47
5) Didn't work at first but I changed a few things and finaly got it running smooth.

First just try changing the installation so the optinal game components are not selected this may work so just try it... thats how I got it to work.

I am using a Geforce 2 MX400 I had a little trouble but the FFVIII Nvidia patch from the Edios site cleared that up

There is a unofficial patch. Download this and run the app and the races should work.

Works fine.

Just install the game, apply these patches:
http://www.qhimm.com/ff7_chocobo_patch.zip
http://ftp.eidos.com/pub/patches/final_fantasy7/riva_TNT.exe (might not need this, but...)
http://ftp.eidos.com/pub/patches/final_fantasy7/ff7betap1.exe

And run the game in Win98/ME compatibility mode (this fixes the world map memory leak).

Works perfectly, i just put the patch for geforce video cards to prevent some early detected bugs

System specs: Intel P4 3Ghz on Intel 845PE, 512Mb RAM, Geforce 4 Ti4600, Sound Blaster, using NTFS.

The game works if you install these two fixes. (including the 3d mini-games and the chocobo races)
Fix #1
Fix #2

There are a few graphical glitches if you use FSAA or anisotropic filtering. The text isn't as great looking as on a Voodoo card, I am currently looking for a voodoo/glide emulator.

On the tech support website it states the game will work the same way with a radeon and you must install the two patches mentionned above.

The games works like charm, never had problems with the chocobo races

First attempt without installing DirectShow drivers included on CD but with DX9 gave black screen. Configuration utility shows nothing wrong.

Second attempt with DirectShow drivers - works like a charm to play, including bike minigame and videos. CTD at Chocobo race.

Third attempt using the "FF7 Unofficial Chocobo Patch", unsupported but mentioned on EIDOS' website, chocobo races and everything else works.

What I want to know is, how can some people claim that this game is green, and that they played all the way through the game, when Square has OFFICIALLY stated that the game WILL crash on Win2000/XP at the Chocobo races (at the least, I might add)?! Not maybe. It will. Which means that the game is effectively unplayable on these OS's, since it can't be completed. For those who haven't tried it yet, ignore the others who have claimed this as green and spare yourself the hours of aggravation and wasted effort that I went through trying to get it to work before Square's announcement. Some result submitters are just morons.

Works fine under 2k3 if you use all of the appropriate xp patches.

Using 2k3 Enterprise Edition with an nVida Quadro2 MXR and an Opteron 144 CPU.

Ok well I installed FF6 on my p3 (550mhz 385ram) and it was working, all good. The intro went no problems and I got to the first battle, then it freezes. In the middle of the first attack it just freezes up and gives me an error message. Nothing I can do. I have been looking for diffrent patches but I cant find one for FF7 or for my problem.

Installed fine in Windows Vista, used nVidia patch and selected TNT in the config program (I have a 7600GT card). No graphical anomalies, no crashing. Works a treat! Text even looks great!

It does not work at all in vista and I have a X800 graphics card which under XP worked fine but without the xp patch, it doesn't work at all!!

Does not work under vista anyone have an idea? I have an ati graphics cards (powerful) and normally works in windows xp

Ok, I've got winxp sp2 with a 3800x2 cpu 7800gt 2gb ram.

ff7 eidos version w/ 1.4 xp patch running without the nvidia option checked in the config, look below for details.

Now everything seemed to work right except for 3 things.

1. I haven't played far enough to check the sub or snow boarding mini games but the bike mini game runs at a really fast speed. It doesn't make the game unplayable but its far more difficult to control.

2. When I tried to get yuffie my game would crash after the fight when it tries to go to the screen where you answer the questions. The only way I could get around this was to go to the config app and change my 3d rendering from software to D3d and enable the nvidia check box, the riva/tnt didnt really seem to make a difference. once i did that, i got in the fight, did the little scene saved, quit, changed my settings back to normal.

3. Ok, the really annoying part so far is when your in corel prison, you have to go fight dyne and then do the chocobo race. Well, funny thing happened, I got in the race and it was fine but once i finished it, the game crashed. I don't know if it was a one time thing or not but it seemed that changing the nvidia option and doing d3d render fixed most of my problems before. The reason I say its annoying is it crashes and u have to start over and fight dyne again and do everything over, thats why i didnt try it a 2nd time.


Main reason I don't run with the nvidia option on and d3d rendering is because the games next to unplayable. Color distortions and if your not in a fight or on the world map, you cant seem anything but the characters and savepoints/chests/loot on the ground. when i check in config when i run in software rendering without the nvidia box checked. my 8-bit pallated(cant remember how its spelled) textures fails but as far as I can see, the game runs just fine except for those minor problems.

I don't know if its my computer but I did notice that every once in a while when I start the game up that its running in turbo. Everythings ultra fast but the music running normally. Restarting the game til its fixed is what i've done to compensate but I tried a speed hack but all that seems to do is mess with the musics tempo and not the game at all.

I'll post more as I run thru the game but if anyone knows any possible fixes for any of these issues please post. :)

I have a X1300 ATI card, this game does not work on Vista.

I have Vista as well and it does not show movies at all.

After installing Vista, I re-ran the configuration utility and this game worked fine.

Worked fine with vista, but i installed Direct X9, and didnt work after installing this, this might be the problem

After I pass the chocobo races.. I can play that final fantasy vii game well.. but when going to cosmo canyon,nanaki hometown. his grandfather bugenhagen gave us shows his lab.. when in lab..a meteor falls and it hang at there..can't move anymore..

I open FF7, shows a black screen, then it exits. Was fine before I installed vista.

Dear friends i have FF8 pc version and both copies are fresh I had no prob when I was using it on my p3 celeron 850
and since i am using my new p4 2.8 or my laptop celeron 1.7 I can't play the game
prob.. ' game installed perfectly but after that when i insert my disk one and click on ff8 game menu open to new game continue and credit menu after that when i clicked on the new game damn the black screen come and stopped nothing happen

I have g force 256 graphics card also in my p4 2.8 with 256 mb ram

Video is off center (top left is shown) and wont get past intro in full screen, and wont get past menu in quater screen, aslo it sasys my PC fails 8-bit palletes in the config

Specs:
AMD Opteron 165 1.8GHz (dual core)
1GB RAM
ATI X850XT

I have a Geforce 6600 PNY AGP 8x but can goto 4x if necessary DDR 256MB Video RAM with XP SP2 version 2002 Upgrade Edition and I have what I think you would a minor issue regarding the screen resoulution of 640x480, also regarding the FMV and that resolution and I was wondering if there was a way to fix such an issue!!

It basically is too slow and out of sync with my sound on the FMV's and that resolution "640x480"

I was simply wandering because on 320x240 as they call it certain parts of the game would be outlandishly way to fast for me to handle such as for example:

The 1st time on the motorcycle minigame and at end where you woould fight a BOSS Fight past the Shinra Headquarters part of the game!!!!

Thanks and I look forward to finding out what you all have to say about this particular issue!

Signing clear from
jcroft3524 at peoplepc.com

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Does anyone have any ideas as to how to get the game to run with vista???? I have an nVidia GeForce Go 7300 gpu 1GB Ram, 1.6GHz Core 2 Duo processor but all I get when I run the game is a black screen... I did a full install of the game including all the video software... Does anyone have a step-by-step guide on how to get it to run on vista?

I can't get to press the "start" button to start playing the game. Somebody help? I'm using vista.

I tried this game on Windows Vista, and it works pretty much perfect with no modifications necessary.

A few things to note for those experiencing problems with vista:

1) When the game first starts, the screen goes black and stays that way until it receives some sort of input from the keyboard... basically press any key to bring up the New Game/Continue menu.

2) When selecting from New Game or Continue, I thought the game froze, as the arrow keys did not do anything, but I dont think they are supposed to work. The keys to use for this game are on the numerical pad. Use those arrows.
If you have a laptop (or dont have a numerical keypad), you can download a patch to have the arrows work here: <http://ff7-universe.com/Downloads/ff7input.zip>

Other than that, the game should work just fine. I am running 32-bit Vista Business on a V2000 Compaq laptop.

Every time I try to open the game I get a black screen and I hear the Edios logo opening in the background. The music will stop right before the end and my entire computer crashes. I don't have a Nivida video card. I'm running it on a Sony Vaio VGN-N350E on Vista premium. I've tried to install the XP patch but I just get the same results.

Nvidia GeForce 6000+ series.

Set compatability mode to win 98/me.

Number pad patch in order to use arrows (laptop no have num pad).

Able to get black screen with sword and "new game", "continue".

Select New Game and it goes to black screen and nothing more.

Any fixes out there? What patches do I need?

Well first of all here are my specs.

Packard Bell Easynote SW51, 1.8GHz Dual Core AMD Turion 64bit, 1024GB RAM, nVIDIA GeForce Go 6100 GPU, and running on Windows Vista Home Edition.

I have done 2 installations in total on my laptop, first time round nothing worked, i had installed everything i could, i found every patch out there i could and installed em', including the XP patch even tho im running vista. everytime i opened ff7.exe it just went black for about 1 minute, and then vista prompted ''ff7.exe has stopped responding'' i sent off to microsoft about this and no explanation.

Now, i uninstalled the game because i basically couldnt be ars*d trying to work around it, but another week after i was getting withdrawal symptoms, so i gave it another go installed a fresh copy of FF7 on my laptop, tried running without the patches....still nothing, so i made a coffee and had a cigarette thinking of stuff to do to get it to work, and the simplest thing that popped to mind solved it... just right click the FF7 icon and go to properties - compatability, then just hit Windows 98/ME and apply the change. after this it worked perfect, no patches at all needed ive passed disc 1, but i still dont know if I am going to have to install the chocobo patch yet, but thats how i got it working, and so far not one flaw.

Hope this long boring story helped some of you final fantasy addicts out there, ill keep updated once i get passed the chocobo, oh btw one downfall to the PC version which is down to the publisher not the specs of your machine is on the motorbike chase after shinra HQ it goes really fast for the eyes, and proves difficult to play especially if your using the keyboard rather than gamepad.

I am having the same problems as a lot of the people here. I start the game, and get a black screen. I am press enter to bring up the New game/ continue menu. Then i can use the Function key with the numbers (for laptops) and it goes to a black screen again. Nother happens. Does anyone have a new solution not listed in here?

The game works fine for me when i run it on vista.. except that i can't hear any sound effects. At least i believe i don't, because i'm pretty certain that attacks and also in the menu there should be sound, right? Music works fine though.

if you get a black screen, install the directshow filters.
there is also an unofficial patch floating around (from animevamp ) , but i previously got good results with just qhimm's chocobo patch.

also you should take the 'full install' option ; loading movies from the cd seems to be rather slow.

FF7 works fine under Vista. The best way to do this is go to http://www.ff7-universe.com/ and get the three main patches:

1.02 Patch: Makes FF7 play nice with your modern ATI or nVidia card and drivers.

Chocobo Racing patch: Solves the "Crashes during the chocobo races" error in WinXp.

Upside-down movies patch.

Just follow the directions. Then run the program under compatability mode for Windows 98/ME or XP SP2 (either worked for me).

My only problem is sometimes there is no sound during a movie or a scene. ATI users may have problems using their display drivers however. The config file has a patch for Nvidia users (select TNT).

Couldn't get it to work for the life of me on my Thinkpad T60. XP Pro, Core 2 Duo T7200, ATI X1400 Video Card.

Downloaded the free version of Virtual PC, installed Windows 98SE and the game works fantastic. (Plus, I can play all my old games now as well.)

I found that after installing vista, the game isn't detecting the sound driver. The sound has to be selected manually from config, or the game will crash immediately, and so will config.

I have the same problem, the black screen sword

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Im using windows 2000 profesional. And allways when i try run Final Fantasy VII im just getting a black screen?... i have downloaded all the patches what i have found but still not working.? whats the problem?..
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 2000 Service Pack 4
System: Manufacturer ASUSTeK Computer INC.
BIOS: Phoenix-Award BIOS v6.00PG
Processor: AMD Athlon(tm) XP300+, ~2,2GHz
Memory: 1536MB RAM
DirectX Version: DirectX 9.0c
Graphics card: GeForce FX59000XT

I Have Windows XP, It runs perfectly until I get to the part when I Mount in the Rope car In Mt. Corel. I See three videos and in the third the car stops in the entrance of The Gold Saucer and the screen turns black. I can quit the game and everything, but nothing happens from there, just a black screen. Maybe a Broken video??? I don't know because the videos run perfectly (except that sometimes the sound dissappear) I have Windows XP Professional and a GeForce Fx5200. It's a little weird don't you think???

Im using windows 2000 professional. And always when i try run Final Fantasy VII im just getting a black screen?... i have downloaded all the patches what i have found but still not working.? whats the problem?..
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 2000 Service Pack 4
System: Manufacturer ASUSTeK Computer INC.
BIOS: Phoenix-Award BIOS v6.00PG
Processor: AMD Athlon(tm) XP300+, ~2,2GHz
Memory: 1536MB RAM
DirectX Version: DirectX 9.0c
Graphics card: GeForce FX59000XT

I have a problem just like you are. I can play FF7 with my 9800 pro without problem but when I change my video card to x1950pro FF7 can not run anymore.

I got the blank screen after i hit the new game option this is when the movie should start but didnt so i did some searching and the answer is to download a codec from here:

http://wiki.qhimm.com/FF7/Technical/Customising

Once U installed this the game worked! and U was so happy hope this helps the rest of you.

I have the following specs on my PC:

MoBo: Gigabyte GA-965P-DS3P

Processor: Intel(R) Core2Duo(TM) CPU E6420 @ 2.13GHz (2 CPUs)

Memory: 2046MB RAM

Hard Drive: 250 GB Western Digital SATAII 8MB, 250 GB Western Digital SATAII 16MB

Video Card: HIS Radeon X1950 Pro 512MB Turbo 590MHz

Monitor: 19" Samsung 931C LDC Monitor

Sound Card: C-Media USB Headphone Set

Speakers/Headphones: C-Media USB Headphone Set

Keyboard: Standard 101/102-Key or Microsoft Natural PS/2 Keyboard

Mouse: Logitech USB Mouse

Operating System:
Windows XP Professional (5.1, Build 2600) Service Pack 2 (2600.xpsp_sp2_gdr.070227-2254)

All I get is a black screen and the music playing the sound from the first movie loaded.

I agree with the person two above me, download the codec (the third download option) from http://wiki.qhimm.com/FF7/Technical/Customising (and the other patches will probably help too) and it'll work. Good luck playing!

System: Acer Aspire 9300; AMD Turion 64X2 1.6; Nvidia GeForce Go 6100; Realtek audio

After original install. Game only went to New Game or Continue. Then dreaded black screen.

Installed the first three patches from this site http://wiki.qhimm.com/FF7/Technical/Customising

Chocobo Races Patch
FF7 v1.02 Official Patch
TrueMotion 2.0 Codec

Ran FFVII Configuration utility.

Under Graphics:
Direct3D Hardware Acceleration
Nvida
TNT

Under Sound:
Left it alone

Under Midi:
- Changed Midi Data to Yamaha XG Midi and was missing sound in some parts, and the battle song was sometimes delayed.
- Chanded MIDI Data to General MIDI and game runs completly flawlessly.

Hope this helps.

I'm using a notebook with a core2duo 2x 2.00Ghz and 2048MB Ram and a graphics card Geforce 8600 GT with 512MB internal Ram.
I tried everything. At last I managed it to hear the Eidos beginning! But without pictures or whatelse. And then the game gone frozen!
It doesn't works! I'm using the german version of FF7.

Try installing the movie player from the install CD main menu, and perhaps your problem with the blank screen will go away. It worked for me.

I'm using Vista and have tried to run FF7 on my laptop. I could get the game going but the graphic moves too slow and it irritates me a lot. Does anyone know how I could fix this problem?

Hi everybody, here my specs :

OS Name: Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate 32-Bit
MOBO: Asus P5L-VM 1394
Processor: Pentium Dualcore, 1.80GHz
RAM: 2048Mo
Pages Files: 4096Mo
HDD: Western Digital 400Go SataII 16Mo
HDD: Western Digital 500Go SataII 16Mo
Graphic Card: MSI PCI-E GF8 NX8600GT-OC 256MB DDR3
DVD Drive: HL-DT-ST DVD-RAM GSA-H54N ATA Device
Sound Card: C-Media USB Headphone Set
Headphones: C-Media USB Headphone Set
Keyboard/Mouse: Logitech Cordless Desktop LX710 Laser
Monitor: Old IBM 17" CRT lol

Note : Not tested on isos, I used the original game. So use the original game like me! ;)

First : Install your FF7 Game (Uncheck the Yamaha, the directx and the directshow cases) and choose the Maximum install.
Follow the steps until the end.

Second : When installed, apply :
1.02 patch,
the chocobo patch,
truemotion codec
in this order.
*Available at : http://wiki.qhimm.com/FF7/Technical/Customising*


Third : Apply the goodies if you want.

Avatar mod for Advent children avatar in the menu
*Available at : http://wiki.qhimm.com/FF7/Technical/Customising*

HD Patch to have better graphics for some characters (all mains and many others).
*Available at : http://www.ffdream.com/out.php?table=file_2&id=833322&type=*
(Accept the popup below the adress bar to download it)


Fourth : Run FF7.exe, and the config utility will pop-up,

Graphics : I used 640 x 480 Full Screen and checked NVIDIA TNT
with renderer Direct3D hardware acceleration.

Sound : Don't touch it.

MIDI : MIDI Driver Microsoft GS Wavetable Synth and MIDI Data General MIDI


Fifth : My game started perfectly and it plays well!!!!!!

I wish to thanks everybody here cuz I didn't think I could play anymore to FF7 cuz I got Vista, until I found this forum, I read all thoses topic under vista and tried every solutions. Without any results, yesterday, my game crashed with an error in the startup of FF7, so I uninstalled it and I thought "I give up". But the day after (so, today) I said "I'll try a last time, everything or nothing", I follow exactly theses steps and here we go it works fine and I didn't use this damn compatibility mode.

I hope that was helpful.
Long Live FF7!

To the person above me: I run Vista Home Premium. I did everything you mentioned in this post to the letter, with absolutely no change. As soon as I start the game, no opening movie plays, and as soon as I select New Game, it crashes. There has to be some solution here. I downloaded the 1.02 patch and chocobo patch, and the True Motion codec. Nothing helped. Suggestions?

Vista Business
Intel Duo Core 2.16 GHz
2.00 GB RAM
NVIDIA GeForce Go 7900 GS

Black screen at start up; can hear music at first but then stops and shows only a black screen. Must force close with alt+ctr+del. I have tried the number of proposed fixes above.. appears as though this game cannot run on this computer.

Has anyone else with similar specs/problem found a solution?

I cannot even install FF7 on my computer. I have tried running the setup program with every compatibility option from Windows 95 to Vista. Setup opens, and when I click "install" my computer appears to be doing something for a few seconds, but the installation never starts.

At first I could not get it to run at all. I thought it was all Vista's fault but I tried some things. First i installed the 1.02 patch. Then I realized that I had installed the directory in a weird place and that I put all my movies from all cd's into the movie folder in data. So i ran regedit and I corrected the paths for everything and it finally worked - I also have it running under windows 98/me compatibility.

i can run the game just fine but after a while it crashes for no aparent reason anyone got any ideas

Here are the steps I have taken (still not working)

-Installed from perfectly legal cd's
-Installed 1.02 patch
-Installed XP Compatibility patch
-Laptop Keypad patch
Try to run game...it loads the SOUND only from the first movie (the eidos movie, before the new game/continue menu) It will be a black screen, nothing goes, I have to CTRL-ALT-DEL to get out.

I have tried many combinations of compatibility modes, patches, video codecs.

Then I edited some registry entries to point where the movie folder is. The movies will not load, neither sound or video. But now I can get into the game (New/continue menu) but when I click new game the movie does not load. So i tried multiple places to place the movie location. CD, .iso image (copy of cd), and moving the movies folder into the game directory. I am still not able to play this game. I know it has something to do with the game not being able to read movies from the cd (but i can explore through the cd and play them in media player.) Any help is appreciated!

I'm replying to my own post...I uninstalled my k-lite codec pack. Now it works fine. Just a little bit messed up video but i'm sure i can work it out on my own! thanks for everyone's help!

Windows Vista (Ultimate) SP1 RC1
Yup you heard it right, I'm running the game on Vista SP1 RC1.

I followed the step-by-step guide found a few posts above to the letter (except for the mods). However, I noticed that the exe wouldn't load and turned on in compatibility settings: Windows 98/Me compatibility, Run the app in 640x480 (for redundancy) and let the game run in Administrator Mode

Also for those who're getting Please Insert Disc 1,2,3; It's probable that you may be inserting the Disc in a secondary Drive. In regedit for my case, the game always points to the primary DVD drive I have, probably due to the nature of Windows 95 PCs having 1 CD Drive at that time (remember how expensive CD Drives were?).

The video issue is probably caused by the removal of a very old codec in Windows that FFVII uses, that's why we have to get a compatible codec in order for the movies to run.

Download the Codec patch on this link http://www.ffdream.com/?cat=downld&rub=divers
If it goes black when you open the game.

I have windows vista, and the setup was easy... but the issue is when i try to click new game, nothing works... i juss bought a new numeric keypad for my laptop but i cant get pass this screen

Hi all, I'm getting the black screen problem under vista. After reading the above post I understand that it is the k-lite codec pack problem. So, to fix it, I did:
1. Goto K-lite codec pack -> Configuration -> ffdshow video decoder.
2. On the main codec tab, find the "TrueMotion 1,2" line, and click to disable it. (Since libavcodec is having a problem)

Voila...everything just worked. Note: You of course have to install the TrueMotion codec first. Check above posts if you don't know where/how to get it.

For anyone that is using k-lite codec pack....there is no need to uninstall it. :)

Have a good time!

Well I was thinkin of buying a brand new PC edition of this game off play.com... but by sounds of things it's a bugger to run, shame an all cus i'd of kept it in mint condition 4eva with it bein such a great game.

I am suprised people with duel procesors are getting it to run, i know with some older games I had to dsable one of the processors to stop them crashing (eg. System shock 2 / Grim fandango)

So for people above who claim it does run but crashes/freezes now again for no reason, this may be due to you having a duelcore proccesor which can sedd older games into a frenzie... try disabling the 2nd proccesor in the task manager section whilst playing the game, this may prevent it from freezing completely :)

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Alright guys.

I got it working. Finally got it working. I know how some of you guys feel. After hours and hours of slaving, of pulling your hair out, of watching that damn Aeris and meteor video, over and over and over again. Praying that this next time will be the final time. The time where you'll actually be able to see Cloud jumping off that damn train. The time where you can press enter when it says, "Newcomer, come with me!"

Well guys, the time is now. Here's what I did:

So, I have read every post on the internet concerning how to get FFVII to work on the PC.

Instructions:

1. Download the FFVII. Make sure to download the version with the separate CD's. Not the Ultima Edition download.

2. Then, download Daemon tools from download.com er somewhere.

3. Delete all codecs you have on your computer. Delete them ALL. Don't whine to me about this, you have to make sacrifices to play FFVII. If you are not willing to make these sacrifices then I hope you die by Cloud's buster sword.

4. Next, using Daemon tools, mount the install file (should be in .mds format)

5. Install that . Do not install the direct x 5, yamamha synth, and the other one. Don't install them.

6. Next, download these three codecs from http://wiki.qhimm.com/FF7/Technical/Customising

7. install them

8. if playing on a laptop, download the laptop key patch from http://www.ff7-universe.com

9. next, download the upside-down movies patch from http://www.ff7-universe.com/

10. Next, go to your upside-down movies patch file and right click. Go to properties and change compatibility to windows XP sp2. Run it as administrator. install it.

11. Next, go to your FFVII.exe file and right click. Change compatibility to win98, 256 colors, 640x480, run as administrator.

12. Next, go to FFVII config file. Change graphics to Nvidia and TNT, 640x480 full screen, Direct3D Hardware Accel.

13. Finally, mount the CD1 file that you originally downloaded using Daemon tools and then click on the FFVII.exe file and play the game.

That should fix it. If not, write back up on here and i will try to help you out. Good luck.

YOU DON'T HAVE TO UNINSTALL CODECS!!!!!!

That post is for EVERYONE WHO USE ffdshow.

Truemotion 2.0 codec have been replaced by a different one in the ffdshow and you have to disable it.

It's IN FFDSHOW VIDEO DECODER in the tab DirectShow Controls in the left.
Put ff7.exe in the exceptions : "Do not use directshow in these applications." Edit... and browse for the ff7.exe.

But you have to install Truemotion codec 2.0 http://wiki.qhimm.com/FF7/Technical/Customising the truemotion 2.0 codec

And for each time you update your K-lite mega codec pack or whatever have ffdshow, you have to rewrite ff7.exe in the exception and have to reinstall ff7.

That the bad news but it works

I followed all the imformation, patched the 3 patches, ran the game as well as the configuration at 98 compatible mode as admin. The Eidos movie didn't show, but the main menu was OK. The opening movie played smoothly, and there was no texture problem. I began to think all was well but simply I was wrong! After Barret's name was chosen, there should be a movie but instead the game crashed! I uninstalled the game 5 times, but simply no use. Does anyone know how to solve the problem? That movie is all right when playing out of the game.

I have the Final Fantasy VII Ultima Edition and it does not work on my Vista Ultimate 32 bit, I tried to ran it in Administrator, and Windows 98 mode and nothing changed. After I launched the program it crashed and it said ffvii.exe stopped working...
It is very strange because in last summer I have successfully ran Final Fantasy VII on Vista, and I think I didn't changed any hardware since then, only Vista reinstalls.
I hope someone can help me.

I was in the position where ff7 was working until i reinstalled windows and it wasnt working, i was getting the black screen and intro sounds and then freeze.
I simply disabled truemotion codec in k lite pack
and changed the windows compatibility to 98/me.
Thanks for the help guys.

here is my setup:

Vista Home Premium (32 bit)
Intel Core2Duo T7300 @ 2.00 Ghz
2GB RAM
NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GS

It's an HP nx9420 laptop, and has a numerical pad.

I tried every fix listed here, and on a few other sites I found and nothing is working. I don't have ffdshow decoder or k-lite codec pack. I am able to run every game under the sun, Call of Duty 4, Assassin's Creed, Medal Of Honor Airborne, Age of Empires 3, Bioshock etc. Yet I cannot run this game, I've installed every patch, the truemotion codec (had to do so in compatibility mode of xp just for it to install properly) and have tried running the ffvii.exe in every compatibility mode configuration possible. I tried every configuration possible on the ffvii.config also. And NOTHING is working, is there any help left for me or should I just give up??

I'm running ff7 on xp sp2, it works almost find without direct 3d, but after i met Tifa i saved and now I cant even start the game. After running i got black screen and an error messange:"ff7.exe has encountered a problem and needs to close. We are sorry for the inconvenience."
I have dell inspiron 1520 laptop wit geforce 8600

For anyone without the K-lite codec pacl who is getting the black screen with Eidos sound then a crash (like I was):
Thing that fixed this for me was to install the k-lite pack, then do the fix mentioned somewhere above (disabling ff7 in the fddshow video config). Seems that k-lite is necessary for video, but you need to fix it for it to work.
Also, when I first got into the game, (after the opening movie, the first rendered scene) the screen went black except for the "C'mon newcomer" text appearing. If this happens, hold the up key until you enter a random battle. The battle should appear as normal and after this all rendering issues seem fixed.

I am also having trouble getting it to work.
I am using windows Vista I downloaded all the patches but it freezes and the screen goes black right after I press NEW GAME.

I am running Windows Vista Home Premium 32-bit.
After some trial & error, I have been able to successfully, play FFVII: Ultima Edition.
The issue I was previously experiencing was the game .exe crashing on startup.

1. After installing the game normally, make sure you install the Truemotion codec 2.0.
2. Before doing anything else, go to the game folder and find the "movies" folder. Open at least one of them in media player.
3. Change compatibility for ff7.exe to win98, 256 colors, 640x480, run as administrator.
4. Run the configuration utility, and select Nvidia and TNT, 640x480 full screen, Direct3D Hardware Acceleration.

That worked for me.
This only works with a fresh install for me. If you have attempted to run FFVII prior to following these steps, reinstall.

So, I finally got it to work. I had been having issues with the textures rendering, ie, after the initial movie the guards and Avalanche weren't showing up and the screen turned black as the sounds of Cloud and company jumped off the train.

To fix this, I did the following here:
http://deadaimgames.spaces.live.com/blog/cns!23D808D5C5803715!427.entry

I also had to uninstall the k-lite codec pack. The workaround a few posts up did not work for me, but uninstalling did.

Good luck!

Thanks to ALL of you for your help. I tried out various methods from all of your posts, and this is what got mine to work...

I downloaded the latest K-lite codec pack:
http://www.free-codecs.com/K_lite_codec_pack_download.htm

I did full install of FF7 WITHOUT installing the included apps.

I ran the TrueMotion installer:
http://codec.alshow.co.kr/Page/en/true.htm

I copied the 1.2 patches over:
http://codec.alshow.co.kr/Page/en/true.htm

I disabled the TrueMotion thingy:

"Hi all, I'm getting the black screen problem under vista. After reading the above post I understand that it is the k-lite codec pack problem. So, to fix it, I did:
1. Goto K-lite codec pack -> Configuration -> ffdshow video decoder.
2. On the main codec tab, find the "TrueMotion 1,2" line, and click to disable it. (Since libavcodec is having a problem) "

I changed the compatability to 98, 256 colors and strict resolution, inside ff7.exe's properties.

I set up the config:

"12. Next, go to FFVII config file. Change graphics to Nvidia and TNT, 640x480 full screen, Direct3D Hardware Accel. "

I ran the game.

When the cut scene with the train ended, the screen was black. HOWEVER, I "held up":

"the screen went black except for the "C'mon newcomer" text appearing. If this happens, hold the up key until you enter a random battle. The battle should appear as normal and after this all rendering issues seem fixed."

I didn't install the chocobo patch yet, but at least I know now that it's not gonna be a waste of time doing additional patches.

You've all been fantastic.

Using FF7 Luncher should help you to run it on Windows XP and Vista :
http://forums.qhimm.com/index.php?topic=7248.0

-

I have vista, but i dont think thats the problem.

I installed the game and ran these patches:

Official Patch the 1.2 one
Saints High Res Patch
NPC Recon
Truemotion Codec
& Sephiroth Patch

I followed the insructions precisely, and the patches installed perfectly w/o trouble.

Now heres the problem, When i run FF7.exe the game goes to a black screen as if its about to start, but then it just reverts back to my desktop :(, im not getting any errors, so i dont know whats wrong. No im not using the Ultima Edition, and im pretty sure i installed everything correctly.

My specs are as follows:

nVidia GeForce 8400
Intel Duo 1.8
2 Gbs of Mem
Vista 32 Bit Home Premium

Tested on Windows Vista Ultimate. Works perfectly without fail. Running on AMD X2 3800+ and ATI Radeon X1650 Pro AGP.

It goes to the black screen and after 5 seconds I get "ff7.exe has encountered a problem and needs to close....."

I'm a bit inconfident with some areas of computing, my specs are

Windows Ultimate Edition
512 RAM
Intel 82830M Graphics Controller
Mobile Intel Pentium III CPU - M 1200MHz

Can anyone advise how I can remedy the problem? I've tried the TNT patch (I don't have an nVidea card though) and I've tried the WinXP patch to no avail

nVidia 8800gt, vista ultimate 64
installed the 1.02, the chocobo race patch and the codec and the high-res/aa patch, all mentioned above. I have problems only with sound not playing in some movies or in some secquences following movies. otherwise everything else seems to be running just fine

-

Installed fine, patched fine, played fine in Win98 compatibility.

J'ai installé FF7 sur mon pc(win vista)
je lance le jeux,tous se passe bien mais lorsque le train s'arréte l'ecron devient noir.
si vous pouver m'aider à résoudre se probléme svp
nb: mon carte graphique est ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3470 et merci.

FF7 is the best game that i have play in my psone
but since i tryed to run it under win vista i think it will be the worst. I try everything you have said but nothing work.

This way FF VII seems to work.

my steps:
-install patch ff7_02, ff7input, FF7_chocobo_patch
from http://www.ff7-universe.com (1.02 patch, Laptop Keypad patch, Chocobo Racing patch

-uninstall K-lite codec

-install TrueMotion 2.0 codec
from http://codec.alshow.co.kr/Page/en/true.htm

-FF 7 Configuration settinges-> Graphics -> NVIDIA & RIVA 128, Renderer: Direct 3D hardware, Display: Primer

-move all movies from the cd's to a movie folder in data
-play in windows 98 compatibility

and enjoy

Hi,

My system is windows vista 64 bit
CPU is AMD Athlon x2 Dual-Core QL-60 1.9 Ghz
4G RAM
Graphics card is an ATI Radeon HD 3200

Now after I've installed it, I've gotten the movie part of it to work completely smoothly. No issues there. The problem is once the game starts (i.e. where Barrett and Cloud and the other figures jump out of the train) it blacks out, I can hear the sound of what they're doing and I even have the 'new comer follow me' speech bubble pop up, but then I can't do anything. Is there any fix for this? (yes I held up but didn't encounter any battle...) I've searched everywhere tried everything, anything you provide would be great, thanks!

Vista & XP Users:

After install, go into the installed folder and right-click on the ffvii.exe icon. Go to the "Compatibility" tab and change it to Windows 2000.

To make the movies work, download the True Motion Video CODEC by searching google for it.

If the game just stalls, run the configuration utility and check the NVIDIA box under the graphics tab. Then click the TNT circle to make the 8-bit Paletted Textures not applicable.

Hi,

I bought a new laptop this semester and tried running FFVII for old times sake.

My computer:

Windows Vista Home Premium Service Pack 1
AMD Turion X2 Dual Core Mobile RM-72 2.10 GHz
3GB Ram
ATI Radeon HD 3200

I had the black screen after i selected new game at first, but got past that with a codec, then i had a black screen after the opening train cinematic, but got past that by trying to maneuver blindly. Then things ran relatively smoothly with a few random crashes, that weren't consistenly in any one place or event after reloads, until i got to the gold saucer for the first time and got a black screen again. I again maneuvered past this blindly, but now my game is completely freezing in cosmo canyon after i see a few asteroids go into a black hole in the astro lab. I dont hear any sound, but i can see all the characters standing perfectly still around the solar system with only the closest character "blinking" their eyes occasionally. how do i get past this "cosmo canyon" crash?

My pc specs:nvidia geforce9800gtx+
intel core2quad
sound card x-fi sound blaster

after I installed the game, I run ff7.exe what came out is a black screen with some sound...

it used to work beautifully, haven't changed a thing on my laptop, but get black screen, no eidos movie, only the sound, then nothing. cant exit. cant alt-tab to desktop. have to hard reset the laptop, then change my resolution back. a friends laptop i installed the game on is having the same issue - he runs xp.

my specs: AMD Turion 64 x2 2.00 GHz processor, 3GB RAM, NVidia MCP67M vid,

as i said, it used to run, haven't changed a thing, but get just black screen now... i'm confused on it.

Alrighty, everything seems to work just fine, except there is no sound during the cinematics.
I use Vista Home Premium 32-bit.
NVIDIA GeForce 8400M Gs with 512Mb internal RAM
Is there a specific patch to fix this?

how to get pass red XIII hometown? crash

Tried to install on my Gateway P-6860FX laptop running Vista Home Premium 64 bit, click on install, looks like its working and then nothing happens. Can't even get it to install.

I installed the Ultimate Edition on Vista64 almost perfectly. During some FMV's, I get no sound. Everything was default. Using Software Rendering.

OS: Windows Vista 64bit
CPU: Intel Duo Core E8400 OC: 3.20ghz
Mobo: Gigabyte P45 DS3L
Ram: Mushkin DDR2 800 2gx2
VC: ATI HD4870x2

Only problem I am having is I can't find any patches or mods that will work for the Ultimate Edition. Supposedly there is a 1.02 patch out there for this version but I can't find one, nore use any other patches. Anyone able to get it working with this version? I want to use the HD patch.

I tried applying all the patches. truemotion codec, various compatibility modes, etc. All I get when I load this game though is a black screen. I hear the Edios logo music, and then after that nothing.

Windows 7 Beta 7000
AMD X2 5400+
2GB DDR2-800
Geforce 7900 GTO

Can't even get the install to start in Vista 64, says it's not a compatible file, is there a known workaround for this that I just missed. I've tried running in different compatibility modes thats not it.

I installed the K-Lite Codec package and Final Fantasy VII works fine on Windows Vista Home Premium for me now. :)

here is the link:

http://www.filehippo.com/download_klite_codec_pack/

I followed post: #25832

I downloaded the 1.02 patch. But when I try to run the patch. The patch says: Please insert FF7 Game Disc 1,2 or 3.

I think this has something to do with Daemon tools.

Can somebody help me out?

Thanks

I have tried FF7PC on Windows 2000 Pro SP4.
I have used The official 1.02 nVidia TNT Patch, the Saints Hi-Res Patch and MGP. I have no problems with movies or FMVs or anything like that but the game keeps crashing when I press the Menu Key (Default Num +) also it crashes after the first battle.

I have tried FF7PC in Windows XP Pro SP3 With official patch. I have also not used Compatibility mode (since using it prevents me from running FF7 again until i log out and log in). The game runs ok. But FMVs are a bit delayed. The game runs fine upto the end of Midgar missions on Disk 1. It shows frequent crashes in battles after I leave Midgar. Also for some reason, the usual field model of Cloud is not displayed. The regular town model is used instead. I am not satisfied with the result. The crashes makes it nearly impossible to continue after the Midgar stage. You would be lucky if it doesn't crashes.

Crashes on 1st fight scene anyone know why? I am running on windows vista.

Hi there.

I just installed FF7 last night on my laptop. After setting it up and installing it I tried to launch the game, but after the credits I got stuck on a black screen with "NEW GAME" and "Continue?" on it because for some reason I can't manage to click on the NEW GAME, or even move the cursor.

I don't know, maybe because I'm using a laptop and it obviously doesn't have a number pad on it. I tried to download the ones that are mentioned here and there like "laptop keypad patch" and copied it to the game's directory, but still I can't click on the NEW GAME.

Can someone please help me?. I'm really eager to play this game again because I wasn't able to finish it years ago.

I was also having the problem where there's no intro, just loads up the Continue/Saved Game screen, then nothing. After over an hour I finally got my game to work. I followed these previously posted instructions:

First : Install your FF7 Game (Uncheck the Yamaha, the directx and the directshow cases) and choose the Maximum install.
Follow the steps until the end.

Second : When installed, apply :
1.02 patch,
the chocobo patch,
truemotion codec
in this order.
*Available at : http://wiki.qhimm.com/FF7/Technical/Customising*


(Although I did have to install the Yamaha in order to get sound.)

That still didn't resolve the issue so I used this Movie Tweak:
STEP ONE) First, make a new folder ANYWHERE on your HD, and name it.
I suggest *your FF7 directory*\movies\ , but you can put it in ff7\data\movies\ ,
or windows\sucks\ , or even a different DRIVE. HOWEVER, your best bet is
*Your FF7 Directory*\movies\ .

*Optional* You don't have to follow this suggestion, but make sure the folder
you use won't have anything else in it. So no sub folders, other files, etc.

STEP TWO) Now, plop Disk 1 into your cd drive, and COPY/PASTE ALL the FILES
in the "movies" subfolder (CD DRIVE\FF7\Movies\) into thier new home on your HD.
Simple so far, right? Now, repeat with play disks 2 and 3.

A LOT of the files are going to be the same, so either hit "yes to all" when
asked to overwrite, or just find the files you don't already have and just
copy those. I suggest the former, though, as missing only one file will cause
your game to stop at a possibly critical juncture.

Note also that there's more than just movies in the movies folder. Make sure
these files make it to your HD, as well!

Okay, that was all basic stuff. NOW we need to tell your computer and FF7.exe
where to find the movies. This is where things get a liiiiiitttttle techy. On
later Operating Systems (2000, ME, XP...) you -may- need administrative access
to do the following, so log on to the main account (or get your parent/whoever
owns the machine) and try again if the following doesn't seem to work.

STEP THREE) The "hard" part. Click "Start", and "Run". Type "regedit" in
the little box that pops up and hit "OK".

On the list on the left, EXPAND the folder titled "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE".
Expand the folder labled "SOFTWARE". A
llllllllllloooooooooooooooooooooonnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnggggggggg list will be
exposed. Scroll down to the folder called "Square Soft, Inc." Expand it.

There you'll see "Final Fantasy VII" (along with any other Squaresoft games
you have). CLICK it (dont expand!). A bunch of values will appear in the
big area on the right. At the bottom of this list should be an item named
"MoviePath".

Right-click this item, and select MODIFY. A box will pop up with two text
fields in it. The lower one will say something like "E:\ff7\movies\" (Or
whatever letter your CD drive is assigned). First, WRITE THIS DOWN in case
you need to change it back! Then, CHANGE this value to relfect where you
put the movies on your HD. For instance:

C:\program files\SquareSoft,inc\Final Fantasy VII\movies\

or

C:\Games\FF7\Movies\

or

D:\ff7movies\

or wherever you put them. Notice that the slashes are \, NOT / like you
may be used to. Also, REMEMBER TO PUT IN THAT FINAL SLASH!!!

Note that this is CaSe SeNsItIvE. So if your folder is named "movies"
but you typed "Movies" in the registry key, it might not work. Still,
only one way to find out!

(An issue I did have since I'm on Vista is it doesn't have the address bar set up so I can cut and paste the location and I made a typo at first. Best thing to do, go into the movie folder you made, right click on one of the files and select properties. Copy everything where it says Location and paste that into the Modify box then add a \ to the end.)

Close regedit. If you're working in Win 9x, you may need to restart
your machine first. Otherwise, load up FF7 and see if it works!

Now movies will play better, the sound will synch, you can move your
characters without chop, and you don't have to stare at a black screen
waiting for cutscenes!


For me, everything worked fine after this. Good luck!