Games won't launch on my new Windows 7 32-bit partition on an iMac.

Rear Windows · 26 Feb 2012

Hey guys, I'll preface this by saying I have an iMac Snow Leopard with a high end graphics card, but for gaming purposes I partitioned a Windows Vista to play a few video games. If you don't know what this is it means it runs just like Vista but on a iMac screen.

This worked well (for gaming) the past few years, but in order to advance my system I installed a Windows 7 32-bit over the Vista. As you know this means I have to reinstall (and replay) my games. There was no problem installing these older games such as Far Cry 2 and MW3, but once they install the games won't launch and begin like they did on Vista, I can hear the computer make noise like it's about to run but nothing happens.

Despite this I am still extremely pleased with my Windows 7 in every other aspect, but gaming is the main reason I have it so being able to launch games is really the only thing I NEED the Windows 7 32-bit to do.

Is there anyone who can help me resolve this problem? Thank you.

Rear Windows · 28 Feb 2012

Is there anyone out there who can help me?

chris1neji · 28 Feb 2012

When you run the game do you get any message at ALL? Can you run a SINGLE game?

Please update your system specs, if you do not know how or what you have you can use this tool made by one of the members from seven forurms.
System Info - See Your System Specs

One common thing i can think of is drivers not installed or update.

Have you tried going into the program files folder and finding the game, launching from it instead of the desktop shortcut?

seavixen32 · 28 Feb 2012

It could well be your games are not compatible with Windows 7.

Have a look at the Windows 7 Compatibility Center here: Windows 7 Compatibility: Software Programs & Hardware Devices: Find Updates, Drivers, & Downloads

As chris1 points out, it could well be a driver issue too.

Out of interest, are you using Boot Camp to dual-boot Windows with Snow Leopard or are you using a virtual machine?

Rear Windows · 28 Feb 2012

To chris1neji,
1. I get no messages when I try to run the game
2. I'll admit I haven't installed every game of mine but I've installed about 5 and I get the same outcome each time so as of now no single game will run
3. What would I need to do to update my drivers as it has been difficult to find compatible drivers for an iMac
4. Yes, I've tried going into the computers files to launch the game, but no luck

To seavixen32
1. I'm sure these games are compatible for Windows 7, but thank you for the tip.
2. What would I need to do to update my drivers for an iMac
3. Lastly, I'm using Boot Camp to partition

chris1neji · 28 Feb 2012

You shouldnt be looking for drivers for your Imac OS.

You should be looking for drivers for your Windows 7 32 bit OS.
Windows can check for updates itself as long as it is connected to the internet. By default it's set to automatically check for updates.

However please check to see if any updates are pending.

Click the start orb button in the search bar type in "Windows Update" and click on it to open it.
See attachment one if confused.
Click optional updates, a lot of the drivers especially from graphics are placed under optional updates.

Do you have any updates pending?

Rear Windows · 28 Feb 2012

Thanks I'll try that. Also, sorry for all the questions, but would drivers be a problem on Windows 7 even if they weren't on Vista?

Rear Windows · 28 Feb 2012

Apologies, but I just installed all the important and optional updates on Windows Update but still no progress. Is there any other problem I may be overlooking? Thank you.

Rear Windows · 07 Mar 2012

Still no success, is there anything else I can do to make games launch on my Windows 7 32 bit?

Skulblaka · 07 Mar 2012

From what I've seen here so far, you haven't posted any messages you get when trying to run a game. Can you tell us what happens when you try to run a game? An error message can help us figure out what's wrong.