TRS 2009 and Windows 7 64-bit

[vonhammer_87]

Hey all, I just got a new laptop on Tuesday, (The hard drive in my 2yr old Dell died. Thankfully i was able to recover my files.) Anyway, the specs for my new laptop are:

Toshiba Satellite A505
4gb Ram
500GB HDD
Intel i3 Dual Core Processor @ 2.13GHz
Intel Media Accelerator Graphics Card HD with 1696 available memory, updated to latest driver.
16" LCD display, current display mode 1366x768
Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
Dolby speakers
12-cell battery

My only concern is that will TRS09 run on 64-bit?

 

[yutzk]

I ran TRS 09 on Windows 7 Pro 64-bit with no issues. Im now running TRS 2010 on the same box.

This is however a desktop and my worry for your experience would be this:

Intel Media Accelerator Graphics Card HD with 1696 available memory, updated to latest driver.

Doesnt seem like the greatest Graphics card so thats really where i think you MAY have issues.

 

[vonhammer_87]

Intel Media Accelerator Graphics Card HD with 1696 available memory, updated to latest driver.

Doesnt seem like the greatest Graphics card so thats really where i think you MAY have issues.

All right, so far I havent had that many issues with it, but hey other than the graphics card, i think i got a good deal

 

[shaneturner12]

Yes, it will run on Windows 7 64-bit, but there are a couple of things to be aware of:

Firstly, you need to install it in Program Files (x86) not the standard program files folder (you may have to edit it in the installer)

Secondly, you will need to run it as an administrator (by default, Windows 7 runs with standard permissions - not admin ones)

To do this (and to avoid permissions problems later down the line):

After installing, go into the Trainz 2009 folder.

Once there, you will need to do the following for each application file (not application extension) - there is 1 in the main folder and several in the Bin folder - there may also be a couple in the Extras folder, you probably won't need to worry about these unless you use them)

1.Right click it, then select Properties.
2.Click the Compatibility tab, then tick the box at the bottom marked 'Run as administrator'
3.Click OK, followed by Continue (The extra stage is due to User Account Control, if you have previously used Vista or a 32-bit version of Windows 7, you will recognise it).

Repeat for the other application files in the Trainz folder and the Bin subfolder.

When you load Trainz, you will need to click Yes in the User Account Control box.

Shane

 

[djt]

Firstly, you need to install it in Program Files (x86) not the standard program files folder (you may have to edit it in the installer)

It will run fine without installing it in the Program Files (x86). I run all of my applications/games on a separate drive with Windows 7 64. Both TS2009 and TS2010 are both in their own folders on this drive and they both run without any problem just like every other game I have installed.

Secondly, you will need to run it as an administrator (by default, Windows 7 runs with standard permissions - not admin ones)

To do this (and to avoid permissions problems later down the line):

If you want full access rights to a Windows 7 install take a look at the “The Real Administrator Account” section of this guide -



http://www.evga.com/FORUMS/tm.aspx?m=134048

 

[shaneturner12]

Only one danger to the method described regarding the admin account - I have just read the linked page, and it is advising users to remove their current (semi-admin) account in order to use the full admin account which will mean they will loose any favourites, any documents in the Documents folder, and any personal settings.

Also, it is a major security risk - I would strongly advise people use the 'Run as administrator' option rather that the full admin account because if a rootkit or virus hits the system, it can do far greater damage under the full admin account.

In terms of the folder structure, as you said, Trainz can be installed virtually anywhere but may still require the use of UAC.

Shane

EDIT: The instructions in the linked document do not work with Windows 7 Home Premium or Windows 7 Starter edition - it only works with the Professional or Ultimate editions.

 

[Pencil42]

I run TS2009 and 2010 as a standard user, and I have no issues doing so. I get a UAC popup when I patch, but that's it. (Windows 7 Professional; x64)

Curtis

 

[djt]

Only one danger to the method described regarding the admin account - I have just read the linked page, and it is advising users to remove their current (semi-admin) account in order to use the full admin account which will mean they will loose any favourites, any documents in the Documents folder, and any personal settings.

Also, it is a major security risk - I would strongly advise people use the 'Run as administrator' option rather that the full admin account because if a rootkit or virus hits the system, it can do far greater damage under the full admin account.

In terms of the folder structure, as you said, Trainz can be installed virtually anywhere but may still require the use of UAC.

This is one of the reasons why I always recommend running sims/games on a dedicated machine, one that is not regularly exposed to the Internet. Setting up a machine to run performance applications (games) and setting up a machine for office/Internet chores (which requires security) do not mix.


By the way, turning off UAC is one of the first things I do when setting up Vista or Windows 7 to run performance applications. You also won't lose “any favorites, any documents in the Documents folder, or any personal settings” if you set up the system for full administer rights from the beginning.

 

[Technous285]

This is one of the reasons why I always recommend running sims/games on a dedicated machine, one that is not regularly exposed to the Internet. Setting up a machine to run performance applications (games) and setting up a machine for office/Internet chores (which requires security) do not mix.

Don't forget more and more games are going heavily online right from the get-go, ESPECIALLY for multi-player mode.

Want some examples? Nearly every single game produced by Blizzard Entertainment has 'local' solo-player, LAN multi-player and Battle.Net, the only 2 games that don't have all three are Original Warcraft (Solo/LAN) & World of Warcraft (pure Battle.Net).

And for those who run games like Star Trek Online, City of Heroes/Villains, World of Warcraft, Second Life, Perfect World, Final Fantasy XI, you NEED a machine with a high-speed (Broadband) connection to the internet just to play them, so putting them on a dedicated machine that rarely hits the net is a waste of time.

Heck, in StarCraft II (currently in Beta, but due out in Aus late-July) you've got solo play, but to LAN for multiplayer, you've got to go through the Battle.Net system to authenticate the fact that your copy of the game is genuine (else, Battle.net is most likely gonna prevent you from getting any further with your 'pirate' copy of SC2), kinda like how XP SP2 brought in WGA which often screwed up and told folks with Valid copies of XP that they were Pirate and needed to be shut down... But that's a story for elsewhere.

Oh! And let's not forget doing things like getting updates for your games or using things such as the Content Manager to download data for your games!

TL;DR - Dedicated gaming machine that rarely (if ever) hits the internet - stupid idea no matter WHO you are!

 

[RRSignal]

If you properly firewall your gaming machine, you can participate in online gaming, but the requires using an appropriate firewall and figuring out the IP addresses you will allow, which not many people know how to do. In my case, my Trainz rig is only allowed to talk to the DLS at 174.121.103.178, or firstclass.auran.com and is pre-resolved in my HOSTS file. I also use a really lightweight firewall (Kerio 2.1.5), since I'm behind a hardware firewall.

Still, running a machine offline is the way to go if you want top security and better performance. Although it's a pain, one could download content or patches from their internet machine and transfer them via thumbdrive.

 

[djt]

Don't forget more and more games are going heavily online right from the get-go, ESPECIALLY for multi-player mode.

I didn't forget on-line game play at all, I run plenty of on-line games. One example is an on-line only racing sim called iRacing which I've been running for a while now without any problems with the way my OS is setup.


All it takes is a decent hardware firewall.

 

[Antrain]

Yes, it will run on Windows 7 64-bit...
Shane

How about TS2009 on 32 bit?

 

[shaneturner12]

Yes, it will run on 32-bit as well.

Be aware though that Trainz uses a lot of memory when in use, which is normal for a 3D graphical simulator, which will reduce the resources available for the operating system.

Shane