FFXI + Vista = Stress-Induced Aneurysm? - Final Fantasy XI :: Dreams in Vana'diel :: Community

Niccador · 03-21-2006, 03:19 PM

Seriously....has anyone gotten FFXI to run properly on Vista (5308, 32-bit) following install, and if so, could you describe the process in detail?

Granted, this a Beta OS, and will have/has more than its share of bugs. In the long run, I may just be out of luck trying to get FFXi to run on this setup. Still, I'm wanting to give it a good run through...it shows a lot of promise.

forster · 03-22-2006, 12:34 AM

Havent tried it, but what seems to be the problem when you try and install it?

neighbortaru · 03-22-2006, 06:18 AM

FFXI is not supported on Vista. SE has basically said, if you want to play FFXI, don't use Vista (for now at least).

Niccador · 03-22-2006, 06:54 AM

Well, it being a Beta OS, *nothing* is official supported on Vista, but I was thinking someone was bound to have tried to get it up and running...

The game installs fine (from the Vana'diel Collection DVD).
Upon initially loading POL, it does it's first version check, flies through the checking of files (a little too fast, it appears to me), and the pops up with a POL-1155 error.

Tried running it in Compatibility Mode for XP SP2, which popped up a 1168 error upon loading POL.

Tried overwriting the install with an up-to-date copy from one of my other PC's...which seemed to *almost* work...I believe it gave a 1168 error, then tried to check files, then gave the 1155.

I suspect that it may have something to do with various user privileges while running the program, perhaps a few other things...I'm still trying to work on it in my spare time.

I had come across the following link while I was originally waiting for Vista to install:
http://doubleyewdee.livejournal.com/17104.html
Based on the date, he was most likely using Vista CTP1 (Build 5219), though, in theory, if it worked there, it should still work on 5308. But who knows.

(I should point out that POL never gave me the OS warning that he mentions in that post.)

Right now, Vista is merely a novelty for me (though a very, very pretty novelty), but I'd still like to find out just how far I can push it...find out exactly how much software I can get working on it.

I'll be sure to post any positive results for FFXI here.
(Or, any ultimate failure, if that proves to be the case.)

Intensity · 03-22-2006, 07:21 AM

Originally Posted by Niccador

Well, it being a Beta OS, *nothing* is official supported on Vista, but I was thinking someone was bound to have tried to get it up and running...

The game installs fine (from the Vana'diel Collection DVD).
Upon initially loading POL, it does it's first version check, flies through the checking of files (a little too fast, it appears to me), and the pops up with a POL-1155 error.

More than likely the reason you get errors when trying to run it is due to the fact that Vista has a built-in Windower for all games/programs. That's the main reason why SE won't support it iirc also. I'd guess that even in XP SP2 compatability mode the windower is still active. SE tried to eliminate windowers in a patch a while back that changed the name of the window for FFXI every few seconds. Archbell's windower is programmed to resolve this so you may want to just try installing that windower and hopefully it will bypass the Vista's integrated one.

Pure speculation btw, just figured it might be something to try. I'm sure Vista's windower doesn't have the name changing to compensate for FFXI so using the Archbell one is the only thing I can think of.

framerate · 03-22-2006, 09:28 AM

I tried to install on Vista yesterday as well, it wouldn't even pop up the installer... but that computer was a piece of crap anyways. It wouldn't even do any aero effects. So I reformatted back to XP2 (it's just my play computer).

Sorry I can't be of more help.

Omniblast · 03-22-2006, 09:58 AM

I read that there was a 64 bit loader for vista. I'm not sure if that would help at all.

Niccador · 03-22-2006, 02:58 PM

Thanks for all the replies so far.
I've not had a chance today to work with it, and probably won't get to until this weekend.

Intensity:
I can't say that I've actually heard of that at all.
I don't think Windowing has anything to do with it, as the problems are occuring in POL during the initial POL update process....haven't even made it as far as the FFXI updates yet, much less actually playing. But anything is possible at this point...

Framerate:
You're right, Vista doesn't popup the normal autorun menu.
Instead, it scans the disc, and says something to the effect of "Oh, look, there's an installer here....wanna run it and see what happens?" Heh. It will run the various Installshield .EXEs just fine.
An interesting note, though... In XP, I could navigate to the specific directories and use the MSI files to install from, rather than the EXEs, but Vista will not allow this.

Omniblast:
Haven't heard of this either, but interested in hearing more, if you're able to dig up anything.
Right now, I'm using the 32-bit version, on the chance that it has *slightly* better compatibility than the 64-bit version. But I do have both versions, and may yet try the 64-bit, if only to see the speed difference (I've heard from others that XP x64 really flies compared to the 32-bit....one might assume the same of Vista.)

Omniblast · 03-22-2006, 03:06 PM

Oops I think I got Vista 32 bit version confuzored with Xp 64 bit version. My apologies.

Niccador · 03-22-2006, 03:24 PM

64-bit is still 64-bit... So a 64-bit loader for XP x64, stands a much better chance of working on Vista 64-bit than the regular 32-bit software....

Niccador · 03-22-2006, 07:38 PM

Okay...finally got to sit down with Vista again...

Apparently the problem was with the user privileges. The User Account Protection on Vista is very safe, I believe, but extremely limiting...even under Admin.
Being the lazy type, I disabled UAP outright rather than dig through all the options to find which exact one(s) were causing the problems...

Once UAP was disabled, POL runs and updates properly, no Compatibility Modes needed.
(Actually making this post from my Vista box, with FFXI patching in the background.)

If anyone is interested, I can report later on exactly how well it runs, and any other issues (minor or major) that I run into.

ryuno · 03-23-2006, 03:34 AM

Originally Posted by Niccador

Okay...finally got to sit down with Vista again...

Apparently the problem was with the user privileges. The User Account Protection on Vista is very safe, I believe, but extremely limiting...even under Admin.
Being the lazy type, I disabled UAP outright rather than dig through all the options to find which exact one(s) were causing the problems...

Once UAP was disabled, POL runs and updates properly, no Compatibility Modes needed.
(Actually making this post from my Vista box, with FFXI patching in the background.)

If anyone is interested, I can report later on exactly how well it runs, and any other issues (minor or major) that I run into.

I would definetly be interested in hearing how it runs on Vista, and specifically whether it runs using the Vista built in Window Feature.

AKosygin · 03-23-2006, 01:38 PM

Originally Posted by Niccador

Okay...finally got to sit down with Vista again...

Apparently the problem was with the user privileges. The User Account Protection on Vista is very safe, I believe, but extremely limiting...even under Admin.
Being the lazy type, I disabled UAP outright rather than dig through all the options to find which exact one(s) were causing the problems...

Once UAP was disabled, POL runs and updates properly, no Compatibility Modes needed.
(Actually making this post from my Vista box, with FFXI patching in the background.)

If anyone is interested, I can report later on exactly how well it runs, and any other issues (minor or major) that I run into.

EXTREMELY IMPORTANT! DO NOT DISABLE UAP. The UAP, if I remember correctly, is for LEAST USER PRIVILEGE style safety. That means, what you are doing wrong (from a security standpoint) is that you are turning on full administrator mode and running it normally. That is an unsafe security practice. The correct way is to enable the protection, THEN at the NTFS security allow users to update the files by giving USERs Read and Write access.

This is also true in Windows XP, you should be running in Users mode and not as an admin. But no one does it anyways, because people are too lazy to set the security settings and then they get infected or lose files and cry about it.

I generally run in a protected user account, and then on the disk allow any INTERACTIVE login to modify the files. (INTERACTIVE account means anyone on the computer physically, as opposed to remotely). Then I am able to update and run FFXI without administrator access safely.

framerate · 06-08-2006, 05:41 AM

... so is FFXI running in Vista or not?

kuu · 06-08-2006, 05:51 AM

Originally Posted by AKosygin

EXTREMELY IMPORTANT! DO NOT DISABLE UAP. The UAP, if I remember correctly, is for LEAST USER PRIVILEGE style safety. That means, what you are doing wrong (from a security standpoint) is that you are turning on full administrator mode and running it normally. That is an unsafe security practice. The correct way is to enable the protection, THEN at the NTFS security allow users to update the files by giving USERs Read and Write access.

This is also true in Windows XP, you should be running in Users mode and not as an admin. But no one does it anyways, because people are too lazy to set the security settings and then they get infected or lose files and cry about it.

I generally run in a protected user account, and then on the disk allow any INTERACTIVE login to modify the files. (INTERACTIVE account means anyone on the computer physically, as opposed to remotely). Then I am able to update and run FFXI without administrator access safely.

You give up usablity to get safety, or usablity over safety. It has always been the case of the world.

If it gets ffxi to work, heck with it. Too muh effort is just as bad.

Just because it saves users from themselves doesn't make their life better.

This is why I always hated the IE version of popup blocking, it's like "block everything!" ideal, when there are more elegant blocking methods.

Some people like to bring an umbrella with them everyday, others shrug it off.