Is there a Preferred Download Source for Windows 10 Users?

[Hazelwood]

I was an SH4 enthusiast in Windows 7 days but dropped out for several years until yesterday when I got the urge to sail again, this time under Windows 10. My SH4 is my original paid-for download from "Direct2Drive". It appeared to install properly but the activation code was rejected. I went to my D2D account and re-downloaded everything with same result except now the DirectX 9 installation failed. Tried installing the 1.4 patch but got a message saying the patch was incompatible with my SH4 download (version 1.3). I struggled for a day following a number of recommendations found on the Internet but feel I could benefit from some advice on this forum. Here is the question:

Is there a preferred download source out there for SH4 and the 1.4 patch? By this, I mean a source of these files someone has successfully installed and got working on Win 10.

I am entirely willing to pay again if that's what it takes.

System specs:

Windows 10 - 64 bit/i7-2600K/16GB RAM/Radeon 7970 GPU/Sandisk SSD

Best wishes,
JH

[Hazelwood]

Just adding to my first posting. Got it to work by using an earlier download. With that the "Official" patch found here works. The DirectX 9 installation fails but the sim runs anyway. You will NOT, however, see anything unless you specify "Full Screen = No" in main.cfg.

So, my question now is - are other captains able to use Full Screen from within Windows 10?

[De Ruyter]

Just adding to my first posting. Got it to work by using an earlier download. With that the "Official" patch found here works. The DirectX 9 installation fails but the sim runs anyway. You will NOT, however, see anything unless you specify "Full Screen = No" in main.cfg.

So, my question now is - are other captains able to use Full Screen from within Windows 10?

Yes, I do. I bought and downloaded it from Amazon, and it works fine, as far as I can tell.:ping: I am still working on the sub school, so I have not done a career yet, but I have not yet had any issues. I downloaded it onto a computer that had Windows 10, as opposed to upgrading to Windows 10, don't know if upgrading a computer with SH4 already on it to Windows 10 would affect anything.

[Hazelwood]

Yes, I do. I bought and downloaded it from Amazon, and it works fine, as far as I can tell.:ping:

Thanks De Ruyter. As indicated in my last reply to myself I got the thing working just fine except the full screen setting does not work. As my monitor is native mode 2550 x 1600 and 28 inches the simulation area is too small. My workaround is to use Control Panel to lower the display resolution temporarily to 1440 x 900 which looks very nice. I might still try the Amazon offering. Does full screen mode work for you?

[Hazelwood]

Today I installed to another of my big PCs and full screen works perfectly without having to alter screen resolution so ... went back to the first machine where I could not get full screen yesterday and it works there too - without changing a thing. DirectX 9c still will not install but who needs it. Everything displays s it should with what's already installed for Windows 10.

[Rockin Robbins]

I was an SH4 enthusiast in Windows 7 days
JH, THESE are the Windows 7 days. It is the most advanced, the best operating system Microsoft has ever made and there is no immediate prospect of that changing in the next five years.

The newer operating systems from that company have redefined "operating system" from an umbrella program that helps you to run the software on your machine, to a vector for advertising and collection of personal information. On a PC, that is unacceptable.

[Hazelwood]

JH, THESE are the Windows 7 days. It is the most advanced, the best operating system Microsoft has ever made and there is no immediate prospect of that changing in the next five years.

The newer operating systems from that company have redefined "operating system" from an umbrella program that helps you to run the software on your machine, to a vector for advertising and collection of personal information. On a PC, that is unacceptable.

There's some merit in your observations and I agree Windows 7 is a great OS but really do enjoy Win 10. I managed to turn off the the so-called "Windows as a Service" stuff and find the user experience almost identical to Win 7. I enjoy computers for their own sake and did my graduate work in the area so being on the "bleeding edge" is what I like. I have had Win 10 since January 2015 (was a Beta tester) and not one glitch so far.

Anyway, I got SH4 running perfectly on Win 10. I discovered that not all downloads from the various sources are the same and you may have to hunt for a good one. I ended up with one obtained years ago from an unknown source and it was the "charm". I downloaded the 1.4 version update from this forum thinking (correctly) it would be one I could trust to work. The full screen problem evaporated as if by magic. It may be the choice in sim resolution that is finicky. I'm using 1280 x 800 and looks great on my 2550 x 1600 monitor.

Thanks for commenting,
JH