Posted September 09, 2021
I did a reformat for Windows 7 and I am trying to remember the libraries and software required for games.
.Ra
Windows is DRM
Registered: Nov 2017
From United States
dnovraD
2023-08-14: Remember the Spaces!
Registered: Jul 2012
From United States
Posted September 09, 2021
Who knows.
Seeing as we don't even know what games you'll be running.
Could be something as early as VBRUN100.dll, to the 2021 update of Visual C++.
Seeing as we don't even know what games you'll be running.
Could be something as early as VBRUN100.dll, to the 2021 update of Visual C++.
Post edited September 09, 2021 by Darvond
pds41
New User
Registered: May 2009
From United Kingdom
Posted September 09, 2021
Install DirectX 9.0c (assuming it doesn't come with Windows 7 by default) and your system drivers. Everything else, just install it when you realise a game needs it to run. It's normally fairly clear what is missing (or a quick google answers your question).
Interesting decision to go for 7 on a reformat though; as much as I'm not a Linux advocate, I'd have thought that you would have been better off installing 10 or if your hardware couldn't take 10, a Linux solution.
AB2012
Registered: Sep 2014
From United Kingdom
timppu
Favorite race: Formula__One
Registered: Jun 2011
From Finland
Posted September 09, 2021
I want to keep one of my older gaming laptops as the "Windows 7-era" retrogaming PC where I can play some games that may have issues on newer Windows or newer hardware.
For instance, it seems to be much easier to get Star Wars: Dark Forces 2 run great on this, than on my Windows 10 PC. I did get it running on Windows 10 as well using dgVoodoo2, but for some reason I can't get the correct aspect ratio there no matter what I try, and the mouse controls seem odd for some reason.
But if it is his only PC, then I tend to agree with you. But who knows, maybe he is already running Linux or even Windows 10 on another partition, on that same PC? I am running Linux Mint on this same Windows 7 laptop.
Post edited September 09, 2021 by timppu
nightcraw1er.488
Boycott Nov 2020-…
Registered: Apr 2012
From United Kingdom
Posted September 09, 2021
https://www.techpowerup.com/download/visual-c-redistributable-runtime-package-all-in-one/
.NET 3.5 & 4.8:-
https://www.microsoft.com/en-GB/download/details.aspx?id=25150
https://dotnet.microsoft.com/download/dotnet-framework/thank-you/net48-offline-installer
Direct X9.0c:-
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=8109
Vulkan Runtime for Vulkan games:-
https://vulkan.lunarg.com/sdk/home
OpenAL is used by BeamDog games:-
https://www.openal.org/downloads/
XNA Framework is used by some XNA Engine games here:-
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=27598
MSXML 4.0 is used by some old Microsoft games (eg, Age of Mythology):-
https://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/download/details.aspx?id=36292
All GOG installers should contain this stuff though. It's mostly needed for when you're reusing pre-installed game files (eg, on a secondary disc) without re-installing them.
AB2012
Registered: Sep 2014
From United Kingdom
Posted September 09, 2021
Thanks. I've updated it to include the very newest .NET 5 and .NET Core 3 (which apparently is a totally new and different thing to .NET 3.5). Very few (if any) games use these at time of writing, though as games devs use newer toolkits, that's likely to change in future.
nightcraw1er.488
Boycott Nov 2020-…
Registered: Apr 2012
From United Kingdom
Posted September 09, 2021
Maybe add dgvoodo, and that other wrapper (dxwnd?)
.Ra
Windows is DRM
Registered: Nov 2017
From United States
Posted September 10, 2021
https://www.techpowerup.com/download/visual-c-redistributable-runtime-package-all-in-one/
.NET 3.5 and 4.8:-
https://www.microsoft.com/en-GB/download/details.aspx?id=25150
https://dotnet.microsoft.com/download/dotnet-framework/thank-you/net48-offline-installer
.NET 5.0:- (you only need the .NET Desktop Runtime x64)
https://dotnet.microsoft.com/download/dotnet/5.0
.NET Core 3.1:- (not the same thing as .NET 3.5 above)
https://dotnet.microsoft.com/download/dotnet/3.1/runtime
Direct X9.0c:-
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=8109
Vulkan Runtime for Vulkan games:- (eg, The Talos Principle)
https://vulkan.lunarg.com/sdk/home
OpenAL is used by BeamDog games:- (eg, Baldur's Gate EE)
https://www.openal.org/downloads/
XNA Framework is used by some XNA Engine games here:- (eg, Stardew Valley)
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=27598
MSXML 4.0 is used by some old Microsoft games (eg, Age of Mythology):-
https://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/download/details.aspx?id=36292
All GOG installers should contain this stuff though. It's mostly needed for when you're reusing pre-installed game files (eg, on a secondary disc) without re-installing them.
GamezRanker
Disagreement Verboten!
Registered: Sep 2010
From United States
Posted September 10, 2021
low rated
I believe this is it
What it can install(you can pick and choose from a list when installing):
(It also has a link to the old .net runtimes at the bottom of the page linked above)
.NET Framework 4.8 + Updates
Java Runtime Environment 8
DirectX 9.0c Extra files
General runtime files
Microsoft Visual C++ Runtimes (v2005 - v2019)
Microsoft Visual J# 2.0 SE
Microsoft Silverlight 5
Adobe Flash Player (Opera, FireFox, Internet Explorer)
Shockwave Player 12 (Internet Explorer Plugin)
Also: iirc, there are also other all-in-one runtime installers on the net as well, though I don't recall their names atm.
Post edited September 10, 2021 by GamezRanker
neumi5694
Survived the human apocalypse
Registered: May 2011
From Italy
Posted March 04, 2023
You might want to add OpenALSoft and IndirectSound.
https://openal-soft.org/
https://www.indirectsound.com/
OpenALSoft is a software implementation of OpenAL that does not rely on specific hardware.
I use IndirectSound to restore surround sound for games like Vampire The Masquerade Redemption.
It does not yet implement all EAX effects, but it's better than having no surround at all.
https://openal-soft.org/
https://www.indirectsound.com/
OpenALSoft is a software implementation of OpenAL that does not rely on specific hardware.
I use IndirectSound to restore surround sound for games like Vampire The Masquerade Redemption.
It does not yet implement all EAX effects, but it's better than having no surround at all.
KeoniBoy
New User
Registered: Jul 2018
From French Polynesia
Posted March 04, 2023
Y not just revert to good old Windows XP, or better yet, MS-DOS?((;--))
CYZLAK
New User
Registered: Sep 2012
From Australia
Posted March 05, 2023
Loads of GOG games in my collection are missing core Open GL libraries. I'm seeing errors for files glu32.dll, opengl32.dll and msvcr100.dll. You can manually download them from dll-files.com I know it's kind of sketchy, but I got the games working. Nothing linked here is related to OpenGL
neumi5694
Survived the human apocalypse
Registered: May 2011
From Italy
Posted March 05, 2023
Some manufacturers offer a separated download.
Links for the MS Visual C Redistributable are already in the post.
Post edited March 05, 2023 by neumi5694
metalinchains
New User
Registered: Oct 2012
From Argentina
Posted March 13, 2025
Visual C++ (all 2005-2022):-
https://www.techpowerup.com/download/visual-c-redistributable-runtime-package-all-in-one/
.NET 3.5 and 4.8:-
https://www.microsoft.com/en-GB/download/details.aspx?id=25150
https://dotnet.microsoft.com/download/dotnet-framework/thank-you/net48-offline-installer
.NET 6:- (you only need the .NET Desktop Runtime x64)
https://dotnet.microsoft.com/en-us/download/dotnet/6.0
.NET 7:- (you only need the .NET Desktop Runtime x64)
https://dotnet.microsoft.com/en-us/download/dotnet/7.0
.NET 8:- (you only need the .NET Desktop Runtime x64)
https://dotnet.microsoft.com/en-us/download/dotnet/8.0
.NET 9:- (you only need the .NET Desktop Runtime x64)
https://dotnet.microsoft.com/en-us/download/dotnet/9.0
Direct X9.0c:-
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=8109
Vulkan Runtime for Vulkan games:- (eg, The Talos Principle)
https://sdk.lunarg.com/sdk/download/latest/windows/vulkan-runtime.exe
NVidia PhysX:- (may be needed for AMD / Intel GPU's)
https://www.nvidia.com/en-us/drivers/physx/physx-9-21-0713-driver
OpenAL is used by BeamDog games:- (eg, Baldur's Gate EE)
https://www.openal.org/downloads/
XNA Framework is used by some XNA Engine games here:- (eg, Stardew Valley)
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=27598
MSXML 4.0 is used by some old Microsoft games (eg, Age of Mythology):-
https://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/download/details.aspx?id=36292
VP6 video codec is used for cutscenes by some games:- (eg, Commandos Behind Enemy Lines)
https://www.free-codecs.com/download/vp6.htm
DirectPlay:- (eg, Age of Empires 1-2, Diablo 2)
- This is "deprecated" from W10 but actually still included on W10-11 install ISO's. You need to go into "Programs & Features" -> "Turn Windows features on / off" -> "Legacy Components" -> tick "DirectPlay".
- If it ever stops being available online, you can still install it locally and offline by inserting your install disc / USB stick, then using the command line:-
dism /online /norestart /enable-feature /featurename:DirectPlay /All /Source:D:\sources\sxs /LimitAccess
(where /Source:D is the drive letter of your install disc / stick). This is needed for W10 / 11 but not for W7.
All GOG installers should contain this stuff though. It's mostly needed for when you're reusing pre-installed game files (eg, on a secondary disc) without re-installing them or for non-GOG games (eg, on disc or in zip file format).