Tag: Windows 7

Photo of UAC prompt.

Steam Game Always Asks for UAC Confirmation or Installs VC Redist

I recently picked up Assassin’s Creed III during the Steam Summer Sale. The first few times I played the game, I noticed that I was getting a UAC prompt and that Steam was was running a first-time setup for VC Redist (as though I had just installed the game). This was mildly annoying, and neither…

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Screenshot of DOOM using hq3x scaling in DOSBox.

Optimize DOSBox for Modern Screens

Compared to today’s high-definition games, DOS games used low resolutions, so playing old games in DOSBox on a modern LCD monitor or HDTV is not an optimal experience without some configuration. The dosbox.conf file controls how DOSBox displays old games and software. These settings can be changed by opening the DOSBox Options from the Start menu. First,…

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Screenshot of Windows 3.1 running at 800x600 with a 256 color wallpaper.

Run Windows 3.1 in DOSBox

My family’s first computer was an AST desktop with an Intel 486SX 25Mhz processor and 4MB of RAM that my parents purchased when I was in grade school. It had MS-DOS and Windows 3.1 on its 160MB HDD. I can remember creating graphics in Paintbrush, playing Solitaire and Minesweeper, listening to audio CDs using the CD-ROM (we…

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Screenshot of DOSBox commands to run Doom setup.

Install and Configure DOSBox

Over the past five years or so I’ve installed and configured DOSBox several times to enjoy some retro gaming. I grew up playing games like Star Wars: X-Wing, Warcraft: Orcs & Humans, and Kings Quest VI in MS-DOS, and it’s nice to revisit those classics. I tend to reformat my computer once a year, and…

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Screenshot of GRID running in 1080p resolution.

Enable Higher Resolutions for GRID on PC

I’ve had the game GRID for a few years, but never got around to playing it. Now that I’m using an nVidia GeForce 770 video card, I wanted to enjoy the game in 1080p with all graphics options turned on. Unfortunately when I installed and started up the game, I was only able to select…

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Fix Windows 7 Homegroup Service that Will Not Start

I recently upgraded my primary desktop computer with a new motherboard, CPU, RAM, and video card, so naturally I had to reinstall Windows. When I booted into Windows and connected to my home network, I was prompted to choose the type of network; I chose Home because, well, it’s my home network. I have a…

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Fix S3 Standby Not Available with Intel Haswell CPU

I just upgraded my primary desktop PC and installed a fresh copy of Windows 7. Unfortunately the Sleep option in the Start Menu was grayed out, and any power options related to S3 standby mode (a.k.a. Sleep) were also not available. I opened the command prompt (Start Menu > type “cmd” in the search and…

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Fix Blank Screen in Spider-man 3 for PC

I never played the Spider-man 3 video game when it came out (although I loved Spider-man 2 on the original Xbox), but I recently received the PC version as a gift from my girlfriend (we occasionally buy random items off each others’ Amazon.com wish lists) and installed it on my desktop PC. Unfortunately, when I…

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