Gsdx and Winxp ... broken ?

[Shikifuyin]

Hello everyone

I'm not really used to post about about problems but I must admit I'm
quite confused and stucked ...

First of all I'm a game developper, so you can go with technical stuff
easily on me ! (not that often you see that uh ? xD).

Here is my problem, I've played a few games, FFX in particular, quite a
long time ago using pcsx2 and got through the whole game without any
problem, full speed, etc ...
Again, I want to play this wonderful game, I get the latest updates
(pcsx2 0.9.8, gsdx r4600 and that's probably my big mistake in not
keeping/saving my old setup), get all the settings done etc ...
I don't use speedhacks of any kind (not needed).

But ! You were expecting it ...
Gsdx just won't run in any way, crashes just after plugin opening and
gamefixes application (according to log) !
Same goes for slightly older versions.

Some gsdx9 versions are just obsolete and pcsx2 0.9.8 rejects them.
Some versions did make it to the new game screen but on first menu
(SphereGrid Normal/Expert selection) I get an instant dramatic drop to
~7-9 fps and a crash within a few 2-3 seconds (gsdx 1479, 1534, 1650,
didn't test any further ...).

The best I was able to get is with gsdx 846 (very old) with normal fps
but it ended up crashing randomly upon in-game battles and/or cinematic
transitions (not FMVs).

Anyway I didn't tried ALL the builds of course ... xD
I think the good one(s) might be between releases 2416 and 4XXX,
probably in the 3XXX's ...
I was using pcsx2 0.9.7 but can't remember gsdx/zerogs versions I used.
I think I was using zerogs, but again versions 0.96.0 -> 0.97.1 all have
the fps drop-crash problem from above ...

The fact is i'm still using winxp sp3 and it seems newer versions of gsdx
have broken dx9 backward compatibility (just my guess at the moment).

So, if someone can give me either an old but stable version to get back to
what I had working OR help me make gsdx 4600 run on winxp ... and run
FFX, that would be greatly appreciated xD !

Config :
CPU = Core2 Duo E7200 (2.53GHz)
GPU = GeForce 9800+ GTX, 512Mb
RAM = 3.0Gb, DDR3

Absolutely nothing was changed to my config / installation since last time
it was working, no window reinstall, nothing except driver updates I
guess. I just uninstalled 0.9.7 (full delete) and got 0.9.8 instead.

As I have some development in progress on that platform, switching to
win7 is VERY problematic (would force me to code DX10/11 frameworks
for all my projects which would kill the free time I use to play and thus,
kill the purpose xD).
In the worst case, it would require me to do it on another PC, something
I want to avoid as much as possible ...

Thanks in advance

Shikifuyin

[Shadow Lady]

XP and GSdx run just fine together normally.

PCSX2 settings? plugin settings? content of emulog.txtx after you get the problem?

[Squall Leonhart]

try downgrading your drivers the user above found reduced performance in several games with her old card due to changes in how the driver use the cpu D:

[Bositman]

Did you update your direct X to the latest?

[Shikifuyin]

=> Squall :
I've though about something like that, but unfortunately downgrading
video drivers would require me to remember which version I had too xD !
Still this is something I want to avoid if possible, same reason as not switching to 7 ...

=> Bositman :
Of course , anyway there hasn't been any update to Dx9 ever since Dx10 and Dx11 were released ...

=> Shadow Lady :
I use european BIOS v2.00 (2004) and FFX SCES-504.90/91 ...

PCSX2 setup =
- Recompiler both EE and IOP
- Rounding Chop/Zero
- Clamping Normal (tried Extra+Sign too as FFX prefers
this if I remember well ... no change)
- VU both uVU & legacy superVU, no change
- Same rounding / clamp methods as EE/IOP tested, no change
- GS default setup, kept framelimit, frame skip disabled
(I'd prefer not to rely on frameskipping)
- Tried various windowed / fullscreen setups with/without native
internal resolution, bug can vary according to this and versions
I tested. Fullscreen tends to crash on FMV load / battle enter
and allways crash on win-focus switch. Windowed modes tend to
be more stable but crash upon window resizing ...
Using native resolution doesn't seem to affect anything.
- No VSync
- Speedhacks : none, I know FFX supports almost everything but
it's allways a thing to get out first, right
- Gamefix : FFX (of course)

GSDX setup :
- D3D9 hardware, no interlacing, no filtering
- Tried both native / custom resolutions, see above
- Texture filtering, FBA, LogZ, tried with/without palettized textures
but I hardly believe games use that anymore ...
- Older versions setting include FFX geometry hack (moved to
gamefixes), but I didn't tried all custom flags yet (just a few that
seemed to be related, again no change ...)

EmuLog :
- Nothing ! No message at all, here is a dump :

Loading language translation databases for 'French' [fr_FR]
pcsx2_Main not found -- translation dictionary may be incomplete.
pcsx2_Iconized not found -- translation dictionary may be incomplete.
pcsx2_Tertiary not found -- translation dictionary may be incomplete.
SetLanguage: Requested translation is not implemented yet.
PCSX2 0.9.8.r4600 - compiled on Apr 27 2011
Savestate version: 0x9a010000

Host Machine Init:
Operating System = Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition Service Pack 3 (build 2600)
Physical RAM = 3069 MB
CPU name = Intel® Core™2 Duo CPU E7200 @ 2.53GHz
Vendor/Model = GenuineIntel (stepping 06)
CPU speed = 2.539 ghz (2 logical threads)
x86PType = Standard OEM
x86Flags = bfebfbff 0008e39d
x86EFlags = 20100000

x86 Features Detected:
MMX.. SSE.. SSE2.. SSE3.. SSSE3.. SSE4.1

Loading language translation databases for 'French' [fr_FR]
pcsx2_Main not found -- translation dictionary may be incomplete.
pcsx2_Iconized not found -- translation dictionary may be incomplete.
pcsx2_Tertiary not found -- translation dictionary may be incomplete.
SetLanguage: Requested translation is not implemented yet.
Reserving memory for recompilers...

Loading plugins...
Binding GS : C:\Games\Emulators\PS2\PCSX2\Plugins\gsdx-ssse3-r4600.dll
Windows 5.1.2600 (Service Pack 3 3.0)
NVIDIA GeForce 9800 GTX/9800 GTX+ (6.14.12.6658)
Binding PAD : C:\Games\Emulators\PS2\PCSX2\Plugins\lilypad-r4600.dll
Binding SPU2 : C:\Games\Emulators\PS2\PCSX2\Plugins\spu2-x-r4600.dll
Binding CDVD : C:\Games\Emulators\PS2\PCSX2\Plugins\cdvdGigaherz.dll
Binding USB : C:\Games\Emulators\PS2\PCSX2\Plugins\USBnull.dll
Binding FW : C:\Games\Emulators\PS2\PCSX2\Plugins\FWnull.dll
Binding DEV9 : C:\Games\Emulators\PS2\PCSX2\Plugins\DEV9null.dll
Plugins loaded successfully.

(GameDB) 9082 games on record (loaded in 310ms)
HLE Notice: ELF does not have a path.


Initializing plugins...
Init GS
Windows 5.1.2600 (Service Pack 3 3.0)
NVIDIA GeForce 9800 GTX/9800 GTX+ (6.14.12.6658)
Init PAD
Init SPU2
Init CDVD
Init USB
Init FW
Init DEV9
Plugins initialized successfully.

Opening plugins...
Opening GS
Opening PAD
Opening SPU2
Opening CDVD
isoFile open ok: C:\Temp\Final.Fantasy.X.Pal\FINAL_FANTASY_X.iso
Image type = DVD
Fileparts = 1
* CDVD Disk Open: DVD, Single layer or unknown:
* * Track 1: Data (Mode 1) (2245200 sectors)
Opening USB
Opening FW
Opening DEV9
McdSlot 0: C:\Games\Emulators\PS2\PCSX2\_memcards\MemoryCard01.ps2
McdSlot 1: C:\Games\Emulators\PS2\PCSX2\_memcards\MemoryCard02.ps2
Plugins opened successfully.
EE/iR5900-32 Recompiler Reset
Bios Found: Europe v02.00(14/06/2004) Console
(UpdateVSyncRate) Mode Changed to NTSC.
(UpdateVSyncRate) FPS Limit Changed : 59,94 fps
(UpdateVSyncRate) Mode Changed to PAL.
(UpdateVSyncRate) FPS Limit Changed : 50,00 fps
(SYSTEM.CNF) Detected PS2 Disc = cdrom0:\SCES_504.90;1
(SYSTEM.CNF) Software version = 1.00
(SYSTEM.CNF) Disc region type = PAL
ELF (cdrom0:\SCES_504.90;1) Game CRC = 0xA39517AB, EntryPoint = 0x00100008
(SYSTEM.CNF) Detected PS2 Disc = cdrom0:\SCES_504.90;1
(SYSTEM.CNF) Software version = 1.00
(SYSTEM.CNF) Disc region type = PAL
(UpdateVSyncRate) Mode Changed to NTSC.
(UpdateVSyncRate) FPS Limit Changed : 59,94 fps
(UpdateVSyncRate) Mode Changed to PAL.
(UpdateVSyncRate) FPS Limit Changed : 50,00 fps
(GameDB) Enabled Gamefix: IpuWaitHack
EE/iR5900-32 Recompiler Reset

Then Crash !

Hope this is enough information ...
Thanks again for your replies, I keep trying stuff without success TT.

Shikifuyin

[Bositman]

Huh does your game happen to have a NTSC or PAL selector at the start?

[Shikifuyin]

Ok now I feel very very sorry for wasting your time !
Just got gsdx r4600 running ...

I just forgot to switch back to retail Dx9 as I was using debug dlls
for dev ... Sooooooooo stupid me ... xD

Thanks anyway for the "help" as I thought about this while writing
my reply ... xD

As a sidenote, this already happened to me a while ago with an online
game (caused geometry data losses / bad memory mappings), and
crashing or having artifacts when running with debug is quite common for
optimized builds ...
But it would have been nice to spawn some warning in the log xD.

This might be a security concern too, due to dll versions not being
rejected strictly enough. This might allow downgraded versions exploits
and many online games are vulnerable to code injection at least
client-side because of this ... (Firefox 5.5-6.0+ has that bug too,
causing memory leaks in D3D9 and crash-on-exit xD)
I don't think you care too much with that anyway ... xD

Thanks again,

Shikifuyin

[Squall Leonhart]

=> Squall :
I've though about something like that, but unfortunately downgrading
video drivers would require me to remember which version I had too xD !
Still this is something I want to avoid if possible, same reason as not switching to 7 ...

Release 197 or older. possibly 185 even.