Links 2003 not working with Windows 10

[pmgolf]

Here is the RuKsHuK.exe file:

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/cderjb86 ... vgrt4&dl=0

Rename the one in your /Links 2003/directory (to "old" plus RuKsHuK.exe) and put this new one in that directory with the name RuKsHuK.exe. Now it will not ask you to put in Disk #1 when you play the game.

VideoCard.txt file in the /Links 2003/ directory. If your videocard is NOT listed in it! Run "DxDiag" on the command line, "save" the printout, and follow these instructions:

Command line: Type DxDiag and "save" the results [ This will help you add a line to your VideoCard.txt file in /Links 2003/ ]

[[ DxDiag.txt listing]]

------------------
System Information
------------------
Time of this report: 9/19/2024, 19:28:20
Machine name: PM
Skip to here!
Windows Dir: C:\WINDOWS
DirectX Version: DirectX 12 >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> #1
[[ look down to Display Devices! ]]
------------
DxDiag Notes
------------
Skip!

--------------------
DirectX Debug Levels
--------------------
Skip!
---------------
Display Devices
---------------
Card name: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti
Etc.
Chip type: GeForce GTX 1050 Ti
DAC type: Integrated RAMDAC
[[ more text - look down to the line: Device Identifier ]]
Device Identifier: {D7B71E3E-5FC2-11CF-B563-1DA61BC2D735}
Vendor ID: 0x10DE >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> #2 A (look in the Videocard.txt's Vendor area of "nVidia")
Device ID: 0x1C82 >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> #3 B (look in the Videocard.txt's Device ID area of "nVidia")

****** finished with DxDiag printout ******************************************************************DxDiag

>>>> open Videocard.txt printout <<<<====================================================Videocard.txt

>>>> Find this line: "Vendor = 0x10b4 "nVidia" <<<< First line of nVidia Section!

Vendor = 0x10b4 "nVidia"
Vendor = 0x12d2 "nVidia"
Vendor = 0x10de "nVidia" --------------> This is what we're looking for - matches the DxDiag listing
Vendor = 0x1022 "nVidia"

Look down the list for your 6 digit Device ID number (far left column)

0x0181 = "GeForce4 MX Integrated GPU A" [[ last nVidia Device ID listed ]]
RenderEqualZ [[ This is some parameter for the above device ID ]]
0x1C82 = "GeForce 1050 Ti" [[ Your nVidia Device ID - Added! ]]

>< I couldn't find a line for mine: "GeForce 1050 Ti", so I added it with the quotes and the Device ID. Your card name will replace mine. ><

Post if you have any questions.

Pete

[Shufordsc]

Thanks Pete.

My card wasn't listed so I modified the Video.txt file without any problem and added my card, unfortunately it didn't help, the game still won't run.

[Lobofan]

I'm not sure if this will help Shufordsc, but the discussion at the end of the first page of this topic got me thinking about native resolution and how that might affect my problem, which sounded similar to yours.

Background: I had done everything mentioned in this and multiple other topics on the board (Regedit, adding my video card to the Videocard.txt tile, using the wrapper, running 2003 in every possible compatibility mode, running from the shortcut, LinksLauncher, LinksMMIII, etc.), and still nothing worked. And then I uninstalled/reinstalled 2003 and did it all again . . . and STILL nothing worked. I was getting the same thing every time - the program would launch and run for a few seconds, then minimize to my toolbar. I could hover over the tab and see a small window appear on my screen but when I clicked on the tab directly or in the box when I hovered over the tab, I would get the "black screen", hear a few moments of game sound, then the program would minimize again. On rare occasions, if I did this enough times, the game would eventually start, but wasn't fully functional (e.g., landing zone cam wouldn't work etc.). But mostly, the game wouldn't start, and I would have to run task manager to close the program.

And then, I remembered the aforementioned discussion about native resolution. Remembering that my native resolution, 3840x2160, is not supported by 2003 per that discussion (think it was GoBucks?), I went into in Display Settings, changed my resolution to half that (1920x1080, i.e., a multiple of my native resolution that is supported by 2003) and started 2003 from the vanilla (i.e., no compatibility settings) desktop shortcut . . . and voila, it ran like magic. After burning the better part of two afternoons (ahh, retirement) trying far more complicated solutions, it turns out that, for me anyway, the solution was a simple as dialing back my display resolution. I should also mention that I was using the edited Videocard.txt file and had run regedit to change the mode value to 14 as was suggested in this thread before I changed my display resolution, but 2003 didn't run UNTIL I changed said resolution. I don't know if either were a factor in getting 2003 to run (others who are more technical than I would probably know for sure), so that is something to keep in mind.

I don't know if this will help Shufordsc, but your problem sounded similar to mine (i.e., I noticed that your native resolution was also higher than that supported by 2003 and you were getting similar results to mine), so figured I would post my solution here.

Good luck, hope you get this figured out! And thanks to Pete, GoBucks, dwg, etc. - I would have given up by now trying to get 2003 to run were it not for you folks!

[dwg]

I do not have any machine with a resolution higher than 1920 x 1200 so cannot say anything specific about higher resolutions, but I have had my share of resolution problems.

I've had problems with various resolutions and have found I have had to use resolutions with the same aspect ratio as the native resolution. I have aslo seen problems with just getting a black screen with just sound playing, real hair pulling stuff.

I have used scaling in Links to effectively fit a lower resolution links settings to the native screen resolution, but the aspect ratios had to match. Using Links Windowed mode is also something else that can be tried.

[Lobofan]

Good point, dwg, regarding aspect ratios. If simply changing display resolution to any that are supported by 2003 doesn't work, then maybe changing it to one that is supported by 2003 AND has the same aspect ratio as one's native resolution will. And there may or may not be monkeying that needs to be done with regedit as well . . . all I know is 2003 now runs like a champ for me, , and I'm not going to mess with it anymore for fear of jacking it up.

And I will add this as well: I was having more or less the same problem with another older, completely unrelated to the Links, game (circa 2004) and changing my display setting ALSO allowed this game to run flawlessly. So, I really do think there is something to the idea of lowering display settings on more modern rigs that allows older games to run. And yes, one does have to change the display setting back to native when running more modern programs to get them to look right, but that's like three mouse clicks - hardly an "inconvenience" really.

[dwg]

I have or had Links running with Windows 10 & 11 as well as with Linux.

Most grief was with one notebook, no matter if it was running Windows or Linux it gave video problems of one sort or another, missing golfer, black screen, slow video. With it being a Gen7 i5 you would think a program like Links would run well without drama.

It now runs well but it was a matter of finding the resolution it was happy with and trying both its Nvidia and Intel GPUs - Intel won there.

[Titus]

Hello,

I have a question about the resolution.
I'm also having trouble getting Links 2K3 to run under Windows 11. Sometimes it works, but not always.
My current problem is that I can't get a resolution above 1366x766, and in Regedit, the maximum resolution is 10
(e.g., 1600x1200 and 1920x1080 are missing).
I've installed the Nvidia patch several times.

Have any of you had this problem?

Regards

[Mailman]

Hello,

I have a question about the resolution.
I'm also having trouble getting Links 2K3 to run under Windows 11. Sometimes it works, but not always.
My current problem is that I can't get a resolution above 1366x766, and in Regedit, the maximum resolution is 10
(e.g., 1600x1200 and 1920x1080 are missing).
I've installed the Nvidia patch several times.

Have any of you had this problem?

Regards

You are not alone.

Been trying since early April with a new rig (new components and fresh installs of both Windows 11 and Windows 10 on a dual-boot setup) and my experience matches yours except I cannot get Links to run on Windows 10 either. I have poured over all the threads here and am increasingly frustrated having tried throwing the kitchen sink at it . I can play Links without crashing on another much older PC (without crashing/failing to load on startup) that I managed to update to Windows 11 at the back end of 2024 but cannot on this new rig. Both PCs use the same monitor that runs at 1920x1200 resolution.

Things I have tried:

Running the install from the CDs (Xplosiv).
Running the install from the Links Download version.
Running the patches in a slightly different order (e.g. Nvidia patch before 1.07 Final patch)/Not running the Nvidia patch.
Running the install as an adminstrator.
Running the exe's in different compat modes.
Changing the resolution settings within the registry to match/not match my native monitor resolution as per a recent post here.
Changing the Nvidia scaling settings with its control panel.
Tried different Nvidia drivers.
Altered the videocard.txt file
Tried running from MMIII.exe rather than Linkslauncher
Changing the compat scaling settings.
Set Windows Defender to ignore the Links .exe
Installed on other locations apart from default C:\Program Files (x86)
Tried the wrapper

It feels like I am trying to shove a square peg into a round hole. I've even had anisotropic filtering worked again but the experience is a transient one. Occasionally Links works on this new PC which confuses me even more but subsequent attempts to run Links within the same session are almost always doomed to fail and more confusing in that no settings have been changed. Rebooting seldom makes any difference either .

Each time I try a fresh install of Links I ensure Links is unstalled and that the registry is clear of Links 2003. My attempts to get Links2003 installing (this is difficult enough) and running correctly (without crashing on starting) have failed on both of my dual boot OS's.

I too am happy to give more detail but fear this is one battle I'm not going to win

[Titus]

Hi,

yes, I've done everything and had the same experience as you.

But I've never had the problem that the higher resolutions weren't selectable.

Run the patches in a slightly different order (e.g., Nvidia patch before the final patch 1.07)/don't run the Nvidia patch.

I might try that.

On the other hand, I'm wondering why I'm even doing this. On my old Win 10 PC, the left is perfectly set for me (Swingmeter speed throttled) and I get such good results.

For me, the new PC is much too fast to get the snapshot anywhere near as good.

Regards

[Mailman]

Sometimes it works, but not always.
My current problem is that I can't get a resolution above 1366x766, and in Regedit, the maximum resolution is 10
(e.g., 1600x1200 and 1920x1080 are missing).
I've installed the Nvidia patch several times.

Have any of you had this problem?

Regards

After putting bread into the oven I was just about to fire up Links and lo and behold it started (Windows 11) - in 1920x1200 (mode 15) resolution as set in the registry. albeit taking 3 tries to do it i.e. launcher tries, the screen goes to 'wholescreen' nearly loads but fails and MMIII.exe fails to start. So the third restart on the resulting window. I have changed no settings prior to this latest try.

The trouble is that if I now exit the game, I won't be able to get back into it.

EDIT: Yes just tried it and back to the usual failure

EDIT 2 Yes just played a couple of holes at Bethpage Black HD. Took me maybe 10 goes at restarting The only thing I disabled was MS Onedrive Bread now onto 2nd prove looking good

EDIT 3: Now back to normal crashing at start again rebooted and still the same carry on.

EDIT 4: Fired up Links again at Whistling straits HD

I guess you get the picture of my Links experience