Skip to main content

Half Life and Windows XP

Posted August 2002 by Steve Sinchak

Half-life is unplayable on XP without tweaking.

  1. How to recover from incompatible drivers

Before you install new drivers set a system restore point. Start>All programs>Accessories>system tools>system restore

After your new drivers don't work reset your computer. Press F8 repeatedly as soon as the BIOS screen disappears, and before the Windows XP screen appears. Select safe mode. Use system restore again to undo your mess.

  1. Video Drivers

The NVidia drivers that come with XP do not allow you to run Half Life in OpenGL. Update to the newest drivers.
Despite the fact that they are not official drivers, 22.50 was the only set which worked

  1. Sound Drivers

Use windows update to update Creative drivers.

  1. Fixing screen flicker

Windows XP defaults to 60Hz for games. A fix is available here:

http://www.fileplanet.com/dl/dl.asp?/planetquake/ztn/nvreffix-setup.exe

Select "set: every resolution to monitor's maximum supported rate"

  1. Fixing lag

If you are having trouble with lag, try disabling the windows XP firewall. Go to control panel>network connections. Select connection, right click, properties, advanced, untick the firewall.

  1. Mouse

You can improve your mouse smoothness for games.
Control panel>mouse>hardware>properties>advanced
Change the sample rate to a higher one, eg. 200

Related Posts


If you own a Google Chromecast streaming device, you can easily share a browser tab in Chrome browser or even your entire desktop.  This can be very useful when presenting from your laptop or if you just want to watch something on a big screen that is only on your PC.  The only requirement is you must be on the same network as your Chromecast...

Read More

If you are a fan of minimalist desktop experiences, hiding the desktop icons are an easy way to clean up the Windows interface.  Instead of saving everything to your desktop, use the default profile folders such as downloads and documents.  Actually hiding all the icons on your desktop is a very simple customization hidden in the right-click context menu.  Just right-click on the desktop, select View...

Read More

Google security researchers have published details about a major security flaw found in the SSL protocol that is used to encrypt data transferred between your browser and a web server. SSL is typically used in situations where logon credentials are validated...

Read More

Enabling two-factor authentication is a great way to add an additional level of protection to your Microsoft account.  Even if your password is stolen, your account is still protected because two-factor authetication requires an additional level of verification to log in. Microsoft calls their version of two-factor authentication "two-step verification" and it works by providing you with a random code...

Read More