Returning to GP4 after long absence. [Fixed]

My experience is that of many of you, I'm sure!

I started my simracing obsession with Crammond's F1GP (World Circuit), enhancing my enjoyment with the modest tweeks to the game offered by the generous friends I made online thanks to CompuServe. In 1996, I marveled at the graphics upgrade in GP2. In 1998, I thought I'd be blown away by GPL, but couldn't enjoy it because of the low frame rate and twitchy handling my weak computer and little joystick provided. My confidence in the future of simracing was restored in 2002, when I got the Logitech Momo Red and first fired up GP4. I thought life couldn't get any better! From 2002 through 2006, I spent hundreds of hours fully immersed in this game, to the occasional annoyance of my wife, children, and dogs! Every so often, I'd load up Need for Speed of some other less demanding arcade game, but I kept coming back to GP4 for its unparalleled intensity and authenticity.

Then, in 2007, I discovered GTR2 and rFactor, and my engagement with simracing jumped to a new level for about 18 months. I followed the latest developments on four or five simracing sites, and even dabbled (more hundreds of hours) in track building. Increased job and family responsibilities in 2009 forced curtailment of my simracing activities, but I never left completely. Now the last of my three children is "out of the nest" and I'm mostly retired, so I have more time again to spend travelling...through the many virtual worlds available in simracing!

Having put GP4 "on the shelf" for 10 years, I had no idea until I revisited this site last week how much good work had been done to produce mods for my once favorite game. GTR2 is still my favorite game. I love the "world movement" and "g force acceleration" effects, and this is the most noticeable difference when I watch YouTube videos of GP4. Since finally getting a Logitech G25 a couple of years ago, I now even enjoy driving GPL, though the more forgiving 1965 cars are my favorites. But now I want to experience GP4 again, and try out the many, many season mods available.

SO...
All of this introduction leads to a simple question: What and where are the patches and files I'll need to run GP4 on my Windows XP Professional gaming computer, and on my Windows 10 laptop? Please somebody, point me in the right direction with some friendly advice!



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 06/01/2017 10:22AM by mortal.

Welcome, all the information you need is in the FAQ, also stickied is the GP4 Database, a comprehensive list of mods available.

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[www.mediafire.com] Some say you should click it, you know you want to. [www.gp4central.com] <----GP4 Central

[docs.google.com]

I got GP4 running well for the most part, after installing the 9.6 patch and replacing GP4.exe with the No CD version, and am happy using the G25 configuration files, but the game freezes sometimes when I press the ESC key. Is this just something I'm going to have to live with, or is there another patch or tweak I've overlooked?

Also--and more worrisome--since installing GP4, I can't get any of my Simbin games (GTR2, P&G, rFactor, GTL) to run for more than a minute or two before they freeze or crash. Could this be related to the GP4 installation instruction to install Direct X 8.1? Did installing Direct X 8.1 from the GP4 CD somehow overwrite or corrupt a more recent version of Direct X that the Simbin games depend on? If so, can I simply re-install a more recent version of Direct X (a version of 9.0?) on my computer without affecting GP4? Is it important WHERE on the hard drive the Direct X file(s) are installed?

My problem with crashes and freezes seems to be limited to the Simbin games, and this never happened before I installed GP4, so its hard to imagine that's just a coincidence. I'm having no trouble running old favorites Grand Prix Legends and SBK2001. My gaming computer OS is Windows XP Professional, and the specs are:

Intel Pentium D (3 GHz)
NVidia 7800 GTX (256 MB)

Not very robust by today's standards, I know, but it plays the games I want to play. Some day I hope to be able to afford a whole new system so I can enjoy Assetto Corsa and iRacing or what comes next, but right now I'm barely covering the bills! So please let me know if you deduce from my description above the solution to my Simbin crisis!

EDIT: I just went to the GP4DB site for the 1988 and 1991 carsets, but my effort was blocked by my "SmartScreen Filter" because the RAR files were judged "unsafe to download." The link to the 1991 carset at drivingitalia.net seems to be broken. I WAS able to get the 2008 carset, all 710 MB (!!!). Can anyone point me to good sources for the 1988 and 1991 mods?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/14/2017 08:02AM by WeeScot.

I have changed the topic header so more users will see your new questions. First you must confirm if GP4 is actually causing a Simbin conflict. There is only one way to do this, uninstall and clean the registry, reboot and test. I suggest installing GP4 and related tools to c:/GP4, it may help. As for the download issues, it may require a new topic to address the problem. You should be able to disable smartscreen anyway.

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[www.mediafire.com] Some say you should click it, you know you want to. [www.gp4central.com] <----GP4 Central

Thanks. I posted my CTD issues, including a trace log, in the GTR2 forum at nogripracing, where I've developed some good friends over the past 10 years. I'll wait another day and see what they suggest before going through any uninstall/reinstall headaches. Do you mean that uninstalling GP4 and "cleaning out the registry" (whatever that means...), then reinstalling from mediafire instead of my original game CD might fix the problem? Or are you talking about uninstalling/reinstalling my Simbin games? If I have to reinstall GTR2, I might just have to jump off a bridge instead, because I've modified it so many times in so many ways over the years without keeping a "change log" that I don't think I could possibly get it back to the way I like it.

Next I'll see if I can figure out how to disable MicroTrend's SmartScreen filter so I can download those carsets from GP4DB. I'll let you know.

Thanks for offering your advice!

I did figure out how to disable my over-active virus protection and download those carsets from GP4DB. But I'm still waiting for a response from someone at nogripracing to my GTR2 CTD trace log.

I meant to uninstall GP4 and see if the problem with the Simbin games continues. Use CCleaner to clean the registry, it's free. The game link on GP4 Central is a ready to play iso, that might be easier as it contains required patches. You shouldn't have any issues with the latest DX version either.

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[www.mediafire.com] Some say you should click it, you know you want to. [www.gp4central.com] <----GP4 Central

OK, thanks. I'll try that.

Well, it turns out I didn't have a software conflict issue. I supposedly had a power unit that was failing and finally failed this morning! My computer started shutting itself down (going to black screen) sooner and sooner after startup, until this morning it wouldn't boot at all, just sat there with the power button blinking amber at me. The effects of the failing power unit supposedly impacted my playing of GTR2 more than they did my playing of GP4, GPL, or SBK2001 because those older games are less demanding on a system. Whether or not that's actually what happened, the good news is that I have hand-me-down CPU, GPU, and power supply that are all more robust than the Pentium D/Windows XP/256 MB GPU system I'd been using! And with luck, by this time Wednesday I'll have them all put together and be up and running again! I'll let you know...

Mark your topic header [FIXED] if everything goes well.

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[www.mediafire.com] Some say you should click it, you know you want to. [www.gp4central.com] <----GP4 Central

Nine days ago, a friend of my son came over to test my hardware and put together a much better system than I had been using. He brought an Intel i7 chip/motherboard from a 2010 Dell XPS 8100 and a 1 TB hard drive and was going to put that in the Gigabyte Poseidon case I was given by a friend a few years ago, along with a 500-watt PSU and Radeon HD 5850, both also hand-me-downs from the friend. Unfortunately, the PSU didn't work, so he couldn't finish the build and I'll have to wait another week until I get a paycheck that doesn't all need to immediately go to paying bills and can buy a new PSU. But HOPEFULLY, by the end of NEXT week I'll be able to report that I'm back up and running and either happily playing GP4 from the installation I did on my old hard drive, or from a new installation I do to the new hard drive!

My hardware issues have been resolved and I'm now happily using an i7 processor with 8 GB of RAM, a salvaged 750 GB hard drive, and a Radeon HD 5850 video card (to play GTR2...). Now I'm ready to play some GP4!

More than a month ago, mortal helpfully suggested: "The game link on GP4 Central is a ready to play iso, that might be easier [than starting with my original game CD] as it contains required patches. You shouldn't have any issues with the latest DX version either."

Problem is, I'm not sure which of the 4 files available in the GP4 Central Downloads/Game index I should use, and in which order. There are no "instructions," as far as I can tell. My GUESS is that I should first download and install the 566 MB Grand Prix 4.iso, and then download and run the 170 MB Grand Prix 4 v1.02..., but that's only a GUESS and I don't want to get this wrong. Does the 170 MB "package" already contain BOTH the "GP4 Official Patch" AND the "Decrypted GP4 exe" or will I also need to download and use one or both of these?

Thanks for the clarification!

Ask TomMK.

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[www.mediafire.com] Some say you should click it, you know you want to. [www.gp4central.com] <----GP4 Central

Thanks. I sent him a PM

BTW, I didn't realize "iso" is a type of compression archive until after I wrote my last post. I thought "iso" was a "typo" in your message! Then, after I downloaded the 566 MB file, I saw that it was identified as an "iso Archive" and it hit me that everything I needed was probably in there. My 7-zip unpacked it fine, and I was going to wait for instructions from TomMK, but I got impatient (I've never had a lot of patience...) and told myself that if something went sideways, I could always start over. So I double-clicked on the setup application and followed the directions to install the game. The installation finished and I was looking at the last dialog box, with "Read readme" and "Play GP4" checked. I un-checked both and closed the box. I had been expecting at least one configuration step in the installation process. Well, I thought, maybe when I double-click on the desktop shortcut for the first time... But when I did that, NOTHING happened. Well, I thought, must be a Windows 10 compatibility issue. Damn, I knew I should have waited for TomMK's instructions... Well, might as well try to fix this myself. I used File Explorer to get to the game, right-clicked on GP4.exe, and checked the boxes for "Run as administrator" and "Windows XP SP3" compatibility. Went back to the desktop shortcut, double-clicked it, and... nothing. Now I'm totally frustrated and waiting for a response from TomMK.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/29/2017 01:34PM by Wee_Scot.

Did you start it through GPxPatch?

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Tahitian GP Circuit
[www.grandprixgames.org]
Easter Island Circuit
[www.grandprixgames.org]

You can try checking "windows 98" compatibility mode (instead of "Windows xp sp3", both "GP4.exe" and "GpxPatch.exe", eventually check "run as administrator" also.

What do you mean, "Did you start it through GPxPatch?"

In my May 28 post, I asked for explicit guidance as to which of the 4 "game" downloads at gp4central to use, and in which order, but have so far gotten no guidance I can use.

As I wrote most recently, the only file I've downloaded and run (setup) so far is the 566 MB "Grand Prix 4.iso," which I THOUGHT from mortal's advice was "ready to play" and "contains required patches". I see that the 170 MB "Grand Prix 4 v1.02..." includes "GPxPatch v 4.44". So PLEASE TELL ME: WHICH OF THE FOUR "GAME" DOWNLOADS AT GP4CENTRAL DO I NEED TO USE, AND IN WHICH ORDER? HAVE I ALREADY SCREWED UP THE INSTALLATION BY FIRST RUNNING THE "SETUP" APP THAT CAME IN the Grand Prix 4.iso archive?

Please have MERCY on me and lead me by the hand (nose?) step-by-step so I can get GP4 running on my Windows 10 machine!

You need gpx_patch, that is how you start GP4. Just download the latest version, possibly it's standalone on GP4 Central. gpx can limit the number of cpu cores, the setting would either be 1, all or 0, you must test for your system. gpx performs many other functions, reading the documentation will put you on track. Please donj't post in caps, we get that your pissed off with it.
If GP4 still does not function satisfactorily after installing gpx, get the 177mb download and start again. After uninstalling GP4, strip the registry clean with CCleaner, reboot and do the installation. Set the GP4 v1.02 exe to run in Windows SP2 compatibility and run as admin. This is not required for gpx afaik.
Also, do not install to program files. I suggest you create a sub dir C:/GP4 and install to that. Remove any desktop icon direct to GP4, rename the gpx desktop icon to Grand Prix 4. Always run from gpx.
After you have GP4 up and running, I recommend you download CSM, and ignore any update warnings as the server is down indefinitely afaik. There is info in the FAQ on CSM and installing GP4 mods, which you will want for sure.
For additional questions that are unrelated to your current situation, please start a new thread. edit the thread header to show [solved] or [fixed] if you get sorted thanks.

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[www.mediafire.com] Some say you should click it, you know you want to. [www.gp4central.com] <----GP4 Central

Thanks, mortal, for advice, but I'm unclear as to EXACTLY how to proceed...

As far as I can tell, the "latest version" of gpx_patch is not available separately at gp4central. Version 4.44 is included in the 170 MB "Grand Prix 4 v 1.02" archive. Should I download that, unpack it, and use ONLY the gpx_patch it contains? Or are there other files in that archive I'll ALSO need to use?

Assuming that, at this point, I should only use GPxPatch v4.44 from that 170 MB archive, you then advise me that "gpx can limit the number of cpu cores, the setting would either be 1, all or 0, you must test for your system." How, exactly do I "test" my system, or "for" my system, to determine the best setting for that system (Intel Core i7 CPU (870 @ 2.93GHz), 8 GB of DDR3 RAM, Radeon HD 5850 GPU, Windows 10 Enterprise (64-bit OS))?

Then you advise me, if just "applying" the gpx_patch to what I've already installed doesn't work (If GP4 still does not function satisfactorily) to uninstall everything, "strip the registry" (a process I have no idea how to perform...), and "get the 177mb download and start again." Start with what? Is there a "setup" application in the 170 MB archive? Do I use it BEFORE using the setup application in the 566 MB iso archive, or INSTEAD OF those files??? And at what point in this process do I use GPxPatch v4.44? After running a setup application to install the whole game?

Finally, you advise me to "Set the GP4 v1.02.exe to run in Windows SP2 compatibility..." I assume you mean Windows XP SP2. Or should I set compatibility to Windows 98, as konradkid recommended?

Do you understand my continuing frustration?

Please answer these questions so I can complete this Vision Quest...

BTW, on May 28 I tried (again) to change the topic header, and the change appeared on that and subsequent posts, but not on the thread itself, as displayed on the forum page. How can I change THAT? (sorry, all caps again...)



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 05/30/2017 07:13PM by Wee_Scot.