C
CkRtech
Guest
Yo -
Hey - while laptops are in a breed of their own, you should still be able to run the game on hardware like that. Sure, it's old...but outside of video drivers, there usually isn't too big of a problem running FF7.
I just wanted to chime in since you said "Still sickened about the laptop though."
While clean installing the OS is an option, it is always good to try to salvage the current one as best you can. Laptop manufacturers love to run their own software in the background. You checked background processes and all that - but if you are experiencing slow down playing a game that was made for a CPU of 1997 speed, then *some* process has to be robbing CPU time from the game.
Also - 100% CPU usage is not normal. It should be just under that.
I would take a look at your Event log (My Computer->Manage) and make sure there aren't any errors logged in there during the times that your computer slows down. Also - check for software updates for applications you run. You said you have the latest drivers, might as well check software too. (Trying to find that rogue background process that might be causing you trouble - it could even be a Service having issues)
run msconfig and check out your Startup tab to see if anything looks out of the ordinary. You could even post a screenshot here if you want.
Finally, use a full install of FF7 and try to get the CDs out of the equation. You could even try running the game without sound, in software mode, etc...and see if perhaps your audio or video hardware itself is in a bad mood. (a reinstall driver scenario rather than just an "update driver" scenario)
Good luck.
Hey - while laptops are in a breed of their own, you should still be able to run the game on hardware like that. Sure, it's old...but outside of video drivers, there usually isn't too big of a problem running FF7.
I just wanted to chime in since you said "Still sickened about the laptop though."
While clean installing the OS is an option, it is always good to try to salvage the current one as best you can. Laptop manufacturers love to run their own software in the background. You checked background processes and all that - but if you are experiencing slow down playing a game that was made for a CPU of 1997 speed, then *some* process has to be robbing CPU time from the game.
Also - 100% CPU usage is not normal. It should be just under that.
I would take a look at your Event log (My Computer->Manage) and make sure there aren't any errors logged in there during the times that your computer slows down. Also - check for software updates for applications you run. You said you have the latest drivers, might as well check software too. (Trying to find that rogue background process that might be causing you trouble - it could even be a Service having issues)
run msconfig and check out your Startup tab to see if anything looks out of the ordinary. You could even post a screenshot here if you want.
Finally, use a full install of FF7 and try to get the CDs out of the equation. You could even try running the game without sound, in software mode, etc...and see if perhaps your audio or video hardware itself is in a bad mood. (a reinstall driver scenario rather than just an "update driver" scenario)
Good luck.