Frequently Asked Technical Questions

Table of Contents

1. What are the minimum system requirements?
2. Is there a demo?
3. Is there a patch?
4. Why won't Fallout install?
5. The game runs slow or crashes often. What can be done to fix this?
6. How can Fallout be installed on WinNT/2000/XP?
7. How do you install Fallout on Windows Vista?

What are the minimum system requirements for Fallout?

The DOS PC version requires: Pentium-90, 32 megs of RAM, 2x CD-ROM drive, SVGA (VESA-compliant), SoundBlaster-compatible.

The Windows 95 version requires: Pentium-90, 16 megs of RAM, DirectX 3.0a or 5.0, 2x CD-ROM drive, SVGA, DirectSound compatible sound card.

The Mac version requires: PowerMac with 16000k free memory, CD-ROM, System 7.1.2 or higher, and a variety of extensions (which are included on the CD).

All versions require 10+ megs of hard drive space and a mouse.

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Is there a demo?

Yes, there are demos available for both Windows and Macs. Please go to the Fallout 1 downloads page on this site to find links to download them.

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Is there a patch?

Yes, there are patches available for Fallout. All patches can be found on the Fallout Downloads page of this site.

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Why won't Fallout install?

According to Interplay, there have been reports of bad CD-ROMs. Basically, it is believed to be a compatibility issue between some CD-ROM drives and the format of the Fallout CD. However, there has been no sure solution released as of yet. Of course, you can always try one of the following suggestions: disable the read-ahead cache, disable the CD-cache altogether, REM out the CD-ROM drives from your CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT and let Win95 handle the CD-ROM, change the Win95 CD-ROM driver, or try installing under DOS.

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The game runs slow or crashes often. What can be done to fix this?

A few things can be done to correct this. First off, if you are running under DOS, make sure that you have 32megs of RAM. If you don't, try to run the game on a different operating system. Also, you can try installing a larger amount of the game on your hard drive. Also, make sure that you have the latest version of DirectX and that your video card drivers are up-to-date.

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How can Fallout be installed on WinNT/2000/XP?

For NT users, Fallout can be installed manually. However, in order for the game to be playable, you must have at least NT 4.0 with Service Pack 3. Just follow the following instructions, and keep in mind that the letter D is being used for the CD-ROM drive in this example. Please replace it with your CD-ROM drive letter when doing this:

1. Create a folder called fallout for the game (example: C:\Program Files\Fallout)
2. Copy D:\program\win\falloutw.__ to the folder you created. Then, rename the copied file to falloutw.exe .
3. Now, depending on the installation size you want, do one of the following:
• Small Installation:

Do not copy anything else.

• Medium Installation:

Copy D:\master.dat (318 MB) to your fallout folder.

• Big Installation:

Copy D:\master.dat (318 MB) and D:\critter.dat (150 MB) to your fallout folder.

• Humongous Installation:

Copy D:\master.dat (318 MB), D:\critter.dat (150 MB) and the entire D:\data folder to to your fallout folder (example: C:\Program Files\Fallout\data).

4. Create a text file in your file folder (example: C:\Program Files\Fallout) called fallout.cfg and add the following line to it, depending on your installation:
• Small Installation:

[system]
master_dat=d:\master.dat
critter_dat=d:\critter.dat
[sound]
music_path2=d:\data\sound\music
free_space=0

• Medium Installation:

[system] master_dat=c:\games\fallout\master.dat
critter_dat=d:\critter.dat
[sound]
music_path2=d:\data\sound\music
free_space=0

• Big Installation:

[system]
master_dat=c:\games\fallout\master.dat
critter_dat=c:\games\fallout\critter.dat
[sound]
music_path2=d:\data\sound\music
free_space=0

• Humongous Installation:

[system]
master_dat=c:\games\fallout\master.dat
critter_dat=c:\games\fallout\critter.dat
[sound]
music_path2=c:\games\fallout\data\sound\music
free_space=0

To play Fallout under Windows XP, make a shortcut to the falloutw.exe file. Then, right click on the shortcut, select 'Properties->Compatbility', and select either Windows 95 or Windows 98. The game should work fine then.

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How do you install Fallout on Windows Vista?

A guide for installing Fallout on Vista can be found here.

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