How can I run RetroArch on an Athlon XP CPU? (no SSE2)

RetroArch Windows devices
#1

Basically, title. I found a very, very old PC near a trash can on the streets. Surprisingly, everything was working no problem. It was missing a harddrive but my dad looked around in his office and found an old 40GB IDE drive along with a RIVA TNT2 64 GPU.

So, the computer is running an Athlon XP 2500+ CPU, which lacks the SSE2 instruction set. This is a big drawback for a lot of relatively modern applications, as they refuse to run without it. I’m not sure if RetroArch is one of them, but I do know that when I try to install it, it crashes. The OS is Windows XP SP3 32bit. Any ideas if I could get this running? I really want to see its emulation capabilities. I’d be surprised if PS1 runs acceptably, but anything below that I expect good performance. So, ideas?

1 Like
#2

Probably not related to the lack of SSE2, since it runs on many platforms that have no expectation of it.

You can try adding this manifest: http://bot.libretro.com/.bp/retroarch.exe.manifest

but really, you should strongly consider using a different OS than Windows XP, which is dangerous to have connected to a network and brings no advantages vs, say, linux.

#3

I was running Linux, but it lacks the NVIDIA drivers for the GPU I found, and being honest, if I want to use this machine for the retro-retro gaming, I need Windows. Also, the CPU lacks opengl support, so I need the GPU (which has it) to use it.

#4

Also, I don’t think the manifest is the issue. I can and could launch the installer no problem but it crashes a few seconds after starting the installation and I don’t know why. How do you use manifest files by the way? I just have the manifest in the same folder as the installer, and I made it so both of them have the same name (except for the .manifest extension of course). So this doesn’t work. It’s also worth noting that the DirectX 9.0 runtime thingy won’t be able to install, as that GPU only supports DirectX 6.0 max.

#5

I think this thread is your best bet for XP stuff: Retroarch 1.7.3 Windows XP 32bit - The parameter is incorrect

it could also be helpful to get a log and see why it’s actually crashing/failing.

#6

I can’t seem to be able to make any logs. I tried with the XP installer and it crashes, I tried with the 7z versions of both XP and 2000/98 and such, still nothing. They all crash. I tried to change the drivers to gl, d3d, sdl, nothing works, I have no clues and can’t make logs, or at least they don’t show up.

#7

You mean those ?

https://www.nvidia.com/Download/driverResults.aspx/35626/en-us (32 bits)

https://www.nvidia.com/Download/driverResults.aspx/35627/en-us (64 bits)

Not sure it’s worth bothering though, you would probably get better results with a raspberry pi 3 soc.

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#8

The DirectX limitation is probably more of an obstacle than the CPU. I wouldn’t bother, I tried initially to keep low DirectX versions on my Win98 Thin client but it turned out to be just too limiting, so I upgraded to DX 8.

#9

Thanks, I ran a program that came with the OS that looks for NVIDIA drivers for the GPU I have. It correctly identified the version I need, but said there was no Debian version of those, seems it was wrong. Either way, the point is I got the PC for free, I don’t want to throw it away or look for alternatives, the idea is to get use out of it.

#10

Im attempting to run Retroarch on an AMD Athalon X3 2.9ghz, 8 gb ram, its a nightmare, the sound is distorted and im about to give in. I cant find any reason why its not running. Any ideas?

#11

If you mean the sound is crackling, that usually means it’s not maintaining 60 fps. Is it clocking the CPU down below its max speed?

#12

Does that mean my PC is too old to run Retroarch?

#13

no, not at all. You can run RetroArch on an old DOS machine :slight_smile:

Try going to your OS’ power consumption settings and make sure it’s set to “max performance”.

#14

Ive done that and it makes no difference.

What if i try downloading an older version of Retroarch?

Ive tried updating my graphic card drivers, tho its an ancient Radeon HD5570 1GB. It crashed my pc and i had to press the reset button. Im getting no luck.