Running X-COM under Windows XP/2k

Only the Collector's Edition (CE) of X-COM 1 & 2 will work properly under Windows XP/2000/ME (WinXP) Even with the Collector's Edition, most people will still have video problems when they try to run the game. For others, the music or sound will not come out right. This is because of the DirectDraw and DirectSound drivers the CE uses to create compatibility with WinXP. Unfortunately, the programmers did not get it quite right, hence the "garbled" video error when the game tries to initialize DirectDraw on the latest OSes. You can bypass this problem by running dxdiag.exe and disabling DirectDraw manually, but this is tedious and doesn't fix all of the problems. There is a file that actually fixes the conflict caused by DirectDraw by correcting the pitch that the game is sent to the video card with, in addition to fixing the sound/click delays in the game. It was written by a feller xcommer who goes by the name of F0dder. The file for UFO Defense is called xcom1fix.exe (or ldr_xcom1.exe) Run the fix file instead of "UFO Defense.exe" or "Terror From the Deep" to start the game.

Problems with xcom1fix.exe ("Couldn't CreateProcess")

(Note: All of these problems can apply to xcom2fix.exe and all the names of the files can be substituted to match "Terror From the Deep.exe" etc.)

Several people have emailed me with the error "Couldn't CreateProcess" that they get when they try to run xcom1fix.exe. This can be caused by several things. The most common is that people are trying to use the patch with a version of xcom other than the collector's ed. The patch will only work with the collector's ed. and the patch must be placed in the main directory of the game (i.e. wherever "UFO Defense.exe" is).

The next problem could be that somehow the "UFO Defense.exe" file has been renamed to a slightly different name. The executable file MUST be named exactly as follows: "UFO Defense" with the extension of an executable file, or application, as Windows classifies it under the Type category. If the name is different, the patch cannot find the file and returns the "Couldn't CreateProcess" error.

Another source of this error is when you try to run the patch from a shortcut created on your desktop or startmenu. Running the patch (and game) in this way is usually successful, but there have been reports and I have had the same problem of getting the "Couldn't CreateProcess" error. This source of this error has been remedied by either going running the patch directly via Windows Explorer or restarting the computer.

For any other problems, you might be able to get help from the author of the patch at http://f0dder.has.it/


FakeCD Installation

In order to cause the CD-checking program to believe you have the X-COM CD in your CD-ROM drive, you will need to use the FakeCD program included in the xcom14cd.zip file. After decompressing the .zip file with the "pkunzip xcom14cd.zip -d" syntax, edit the xcom.bat file. The batch file, by default, makes the assumption that you have put the game in the c:\xcom directory. If this is not the case, in the first command line in xcom.bat, that says "fakecd c:\xcom /l:z" delete the "xcom" part and insert your own directory (i.e. c:\games\xcom) Now run xcom.bat and it will load fakecd.exe into memory and make the desired directory into a logical drive letter, Z. You can also edit xcom.bat to change the letter Z to any drive of your choice. The batch file is very straightforward and simple to manipulate. If you have any problems, email [email protected] for assistance. If, by some miniscule and peculiar chance you're just wanting the FakeCD program itself, click here.