Eddie On Everything » video http://www.eddieoneverything.com Don't get me started Mon, 23 Aug 2010 16:19:28 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 en hourly 1 How To Force a Full-Screen Game To Run In A Window In XP http://www.eddieoneverything.com/windows-xp/how-to-force-a-full-screen-game-to-run-in-a-window-in-xp.php http://www.eddieoneverything.com/windows-xp/how-to-force-a-full-screen-game-to-run-in-a-window-in-xp.php#comments Tue, 09 Feb 2010 16:13:37 +0000 eddie http://www.eddieoneverything.com/?p=581 Man, nothing bothers me more than computer applications that insist on going full-screen in Windows. (OK, some things bother me more. But it *is* annoying.) This behavior seems to be prevalent in many computer games, and I can’t for the life of me understand why developers insist on abusing their users in this way. Hey people, I have a freaking GIGANTIC monitor with enough space to view many applications at once. Why should I have to devote all 26″ of my screen real estate to a game that can easily run in an 800×600 window?

Unfortunately, there is not always an easy solution to this problem. However, there are a few things you, kind user, can do to try to fix this broken-by-design behavior.

1. Try hitting “ALT-Enter” while the game or application is running. ALT-ENTER is a Windows key command that instructs an application to run in windowed mode. Depending on which game you are playing, this may work. (This is the easiest solution.)

2. Try altering the command line switch in the application shortcut to specify windowed mode. Here’s how:

  1. Right click on the shortcut of the file and go to properties.
  2. Go to the box that says “target.” It’ll look something like: “C:\Program Files\Warcraft III\Frozen Throne.exe”. Add the switch “-window” to end of the command. For instance, in the above example, it’ll then look like this: “C:\Program Files\Warcraft III\Frozen Throne.exe” -window
  3. If adding “-window” doesn’t work, try adding just “-w”. (This works for some Sims games, like Sims2.)
  4. If neither of those work, check the user manual to see if there is another switch that does work. If you find one, post it in the comments to help other people out!

For this method to work, the game developers must have specifically coded for this option. It will not work on all games.

3. Try using DXWNnd. There’s a program out there that’s called “dxwnd.” This program intercepts DirectX applications and forces them to run in windowed mode. I have had mixed results with this program – the colors don’t always render properly. Still, it’s worth a shot. To try this method, do the following:

  1. Download and save dxwnd.exe
  2. Right click the dxwnd’s window pane
  3. Select “Add”
  4. Use the “…” button to browse for your fullscreened executable
  5. Select the DirectX version of your executable if it’s known, if not, leave it set to “Automatic”
  6. If your executable runs in 256 (8-bit) colored mode, check the “Emulate 256 Color Palette” check box
  7. Click “OK”
  8. Now that you have an entry for your executable, simply double click it or run the game/application itself. What’s neat is as long as dwwnd is running, it will intercept the launching of the application itself, so it’s not necessary to use dxwnd itself to start your game/application

This is an old tool, and I was not able to get it to work properly on any of my games. I hope it works for you, though!

4. “Sizer” lets you automatically resize a window. Another option to try is the freeware Sizer application. Sizer allows you to resize any window to an exact, predefined size.

  1. Download and install Sizer.
  2. Run the program. It will appear in your system tray.
  3. Run the program you want to resize. Hit ALT-TAB to show the Windows Start Bar. Right click on the Application and choose the desired size.

I was able to get Sizer to work on my Magic: The Gathering game, but not on Jeopardy: 2003.

5. Virtualization method: If the above fail, and you still want to run this application in a window, consider setting up a Virtual PC and running the application within it. To do this, you’ll need to download virtualization software like Sun’s Virtual Box, set up a virtual PC running Windows (Or OSX, whatever your poison :), then install the software into that virtual machine. This is by far the most complicated method and may not be for everybody. But it *should* work each and every time.

I had to use the VirtualBox method to get my Jeopardy 2003 game to run in windowed mode. If you are able to get any of your games running in windowed mode, post how you did it in the comments!

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]]> http://www.eddieoneverything.com/windows-xp/how-to-force-a-full-screen-game-to-run-in-a-window-in-xp.php/feed 0 How To Watch Flash Videos Full-Screen on Dual Monitor Setup http://www.eddieoneverything.com/internet/how-to-watch-flash-videos-full-screen-on-dual-monitor-setup.php http://www.eddieoneverything.com/internet/how-to-watch-flash-videos-full-screen-on-dual-monitor-setup.php#comments Sun, 06 Dec 2009 03:08:05 +0000 eddie http://www.eddieoneverything.com/?p=467 If you have a dual monitor setup, you’ve probably tried to watch a flash video on one screen while working on the other. As you likely know by now, it doesn’t work – as soon as you click the mouse on the other screen, the Flash video snaps back to regular size. Pretty annoying, I know.

Fortunately, there’s a way around this. Polish blogger D.I.Z. has created a patch that will allow you to watch a full screen video on one monitor while working on another. The patch, a single DLL file, is available at his blog.

To install the patch, you simply download a single DLL file & replace the version on your system.

This hack should work in Windows XP, Windows Vista, and Windows 7.  And of course, if you upgrade your flash player, you will lose the changes.  Bookmark this page so you check back for new versions of the DLL file needed for future releases.

Link to D.I.Z.’s blog.

Found at  Lifehacker.

A Reddit thread on the matter.

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]]> http://www.eddieoneverything.com/internet/how-to-watch-flash-videos-full-screen-on-dual-monitor-setup.php/feed 0 How to fix the ialmrnt5 display driver error http://www.eddieoneverything.com/windows-xp/how-to-fix-the-ialmrnt5-display-driver-error.php http://www.eddieoneverything.com/windows-xp/how-to-fix-the-ialmrnt5-display-driver-error.php#comments Tue, 25 Jul 2006 23:35:45 +0000 eddie http://www.eddieoneverything.com/windows-xp/how-to-fix-the-ialmrnt5-display-driver-error.php I’ve been having a problem with my graphics adapter for a while now.

What happens is that my computer freezes up for about 10 seconds, then resizes the monitor resolution to 640×480 and displays everything in 4 colors. An error box then pops up with some nonsense about the ialmrnt5 driver malfunctioning, and I’m forced to reboot the PC to get back to my normal display resolution.

The odd thing about this error is that it doesn’t occur when I’m performing any graphics-intense functions – it usually happens when my PC is just sitting there, minding its P’s and Q’s, and I move the mouse to get the monitor to turn on. (hmm, maybe it’s a power-save feature error?)

Anyway, some research suggests that installing the latest Intel video drivers will fix the problem.  (Update: Page is down.  Here is a cached copy.)

  1. Download the drivers from here (Update:  Site looks down. Here is a cached copy.)
  2. Install and follow the instructions.

I haven’t had any problems since making the update — I’ll update if I do.

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