Problems with Max Payne 1 & 2 in Vista, Windows 7, and Windows 8
Last Updated: July 20, 2023
Question: I bought Max Payne 1/2 and can't get it to work in Windows Vista, Windows 7, or Windows 8. Help!
Answer: Here are some things to try that may resolve issues when running these older games in newer OSs:
Running in various Windows compatibility modes (right click the application and go to Properties->Compatibility). For example, try an older version such as Windows XP SP3 or Windows 95.
Running the setup.exe rather than the installer.
Launching the game from within Steam if you are using the Steam version (not the .exe outside of Steam).
Creating a custom resolution in the control panel or using regedit to modify the display entries in \Software\Remedy Entertainments\Max Payne\Video Settings (at your own risk -- please be careful!).
Roll back drivers to 32 bit rather than 64 bit (some Nvidia drivers like 196.75 to 197.34 appear to not be supported, as well as ATI 13.1 and the 12.11 beta drivers. However, ATI 12.8 and 12.10 or earlier are confirmed to work).
If your sound is missing in parts of the game, there are some user-created workarounds available which have not been tested by Rockstar Games. Use of these workarounds are at your own risk.
If you are experiencing mouse lag, try turning off mouse acceleration if your mouse has its own control panel and allows this.
On some PCs (especially ATI), you may need to configure the game to run off of only a single core.
Hit start and type ‘System Configuration’ (search for ‘msconfig’ on Windows 8).
This should bring up a window that has a ‘Boot’ tab
Select the ‘Boot’ tab and hit the ‘Advanced Options’ button.
Tick the ‘Number of processors’ box and set the number of cores to 1.
Hit ‘Ok’, ‘Apply’ and then ‘Ok’ again.
You are then asked to restart your PC.
After a restart, you should only have a single core activated.