GOG Mafia 1 runs just fine on Windows 10, but I'm having problems with Windows 7 Professional. I've done every suggestion from GOG (installed Directx 9, to install and run as administrator, white listed in antivirus/firewall), running in compatibility mode. What happens is Galaxy opens, and then the typical (DOSbox?) Black window appears which normally resolves into the game playing, as it does in Windows 10. In the case of 7, the black window seems stuck in nowhere land, with a Zzzz at the top of the window. Sometimes, when I make changes in compatibility, I also get the LS3 Engine name of the top, but nothing plays.

When I encountered a problem with a different game in Windows 10 I again following all the suggestions that the nice people at GOG offered, including updating the video driver. This is the only step I have not taken with this problematic installation of Mafia 1, as trying to update the video driver (something I'm always apprehensive about) caused my Windows 10 computer to crash utterly. Only a skilled technician I know was able to get me up and running again. For this reason that I am trepidations about updating the video driver on my Windows 7 machine.

I'm wondering if any member of this forum encountered similar difficulties, and resolve them. I've heard different things about DirectPlay,some saying that it is already enabled in Windows 7, some saying that you have to enable it in Legacy Components, but Legacy Components do not appear in the Add New Windows Features.

I'm hoping for a solution that does not make me: calamitously update the video driver.