Fallout 3 on Windows 7

On Steam there is a note that Fallout 3 is not optimized for Windows 7. Does this mean it will not work at all or that it may harm your computer? I'd love to play this again but am wondering if anyone else has tried it on Windows 7. I have a Windows 7 laptop.

I have Fallout 3 installed on my Windows 7 computer using compatibility mode with Vista Service Pack 1 and running as the administrator, but it does crash from time to time. A friend of mine has tried the same thing on his Windows 7 computer and he can't even get the game to run past the main menu screen.

There are plenty of folks playing this on Windows 7, though, and if you google "Fallout 3 on Windows 7," you will see several suggestions as to how to get the game running properly if you have encountered difficulties (some people don't seem to have any problems at all).

Thanks, Marian

Rowan, I don't have it. Good luck Let us know how it works for you!

It may crash if you have more than two cores. Here is a fix for that.

http://forums.steampowered.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1328904

Thanks Pokey

Thanks, Pokey; we will try this.

Thank you all for your input. I have the disc copy but was thinking of repurchasing a steam version because they patch everything. When using a disc version I have to figure out how many patches to apply, in which order, or whether the last patch includes all previous ones. Also where on the computer do you find how many "cores" you have?

If you run dxdiag, the number of cores will be on the first page. Mine has 8.

And if you can't find run on Win 7, try this...

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/what-happened-run-command#1TC=windows-7

Late to the show, but I have no problems with playing Fallout 3 on Win 7 without using compatibility mode or running it as an administrator.

Thanks Smiley

I installed it from my disc and it wouldn't run. It crashed right at the first screen. Then I couldn't find where it was installed. I looked through every folder that I had and search would also not reveal anything. I uninstalled it. I'm disappointed that I am not one of the lucky ones for whom it works.

Off to look for another game.

Awwww Rowan, sorry to hear that

Pokey, my friend tried the fix that you linked to and he is now having no crashes or freezes. Many thanks for posting this.

Marian, you're welcome. I had the same problem when I played Thief on my older 2 core processor, so I am familiar with it.

If you picked the "easy" option during the install, then it's in C:\Program Files x86\Bethesda Softworks\Fallout 3.
The reason the game crashes at the first screen is because the game was bundled with the wrong version of Games For Windows Live. But here's the download link for the version that I have. Just don't forget to install the last patch afterwards (1.7) for bug fixes and such.

MediaFire

Note: This is for the Steam free disc version

Thanks, Smiley

I appreciate everyone's helpfulness. However, since I uninstalled it I will save these suggestions for another try later on. Gameboomers are great.

Btw, the Eascapist Magazine bears news that Fallout 3 will no longer require Games For Windows Live. Link: http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/vie...e-Functionality

And a quote:

Thanks Karsten :wave: