Grim DirectDraw Fix - Readme
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1. INTRODUCTION

I wrote this tool because I wanted to play Grim Fandango. However my nVidia 8600GT could not render the image properly. I googled for tips to make it playable and the one that worked for me was to disable 'DirectDraw Acceleration' from DxDiag applet so that the game switches to software-mode.

Basically this tool disables hardware acceleration before launching the game and when you quit the game, it restores hardware acceleration so that you don't have to do it manually each time. 

 
2. INSTALLATION

Download and unzip all the files into a folder and you are ready to go. You may create a shortcut, if you want. Additionally an INI file is created to save the settings. 


3. USAGE

Before running this program, start Grim Fandango in full screen and set '3D Hardware Acceleration' to 'On' then you can quit the game. 

Now double-click on the exe of this program or the shortcut (if you had created one). The program will look for GrimFandango.exe in the default location. However if you had not installed in the default folder then you will be prompted to locate the GrimFandango.exe file.

When the exe file is successfully found, the program will disable hardware acceleration and launch Grim Fandango. It will stay resident in the system tray until you quit the game, after which the hardware acceleration will be restored and the program will exit.

 
4. IMPORTANT NOTES

This tool was written for Windows XP and with nVidia graphics card in mind. If your game is working fine, then you do not need this tool.

Due to the nature of this program where it changes the registry key, some anti-virus programs will flag it as a malware. However, rest assured that there are no virus or spyware of any kind contained in this program. It is also imperative that you download from the default website location or compare MD5 checksum of the exe file before launching it.

Here is the GrimDDFix.exe's MD5 checksum: a2c8913e653b9ad05e334c2f1f179444

For the technically-inclined, the two registry entries that get changed are:

HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Direct3D\Drivers, SoftwareOnly
HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\DirectDraw, EmulationOnly   

Which is set to 1 so that hardware acceleration is disabled. This way the game will revert to software mode. 


5. DISCLAIMER

This software is provided "as is" and is without warranty of any kind. The author of this software does not warrant, guarantee or make any representations regarding the use or results of use of this software in terms of reliability, accuracy or fitness for purpose. You assume the entire risk of direct or indirect, consequential or inconsequential results from the correct or incorrect usage of this software even if the author has been informed of the possibilities of such damage. Neither the author nor anyone connected to this software in any way can assume any responsibility.


6. ABOUT/CONTACT

Written by: Lanux128

If you experience any problems when using this tool, feel free to write in the DonationCoder forums but do provide some info about your graphics card, DirectX version, etc. Your feedback is very important to improve usability and I appreciate if you take the time to do it. Also if you send an email, please prefix the subject field with "GrimDDFix: <your subject here>". 

This software is freeware and you can use it as long as you want, though if you feel inclined to show your appreciation then please click on the donation link. Thank you for your support!

Website: Not available at the moment.
Forum: http://www.donationcoder.com/Forums/bb/index.php?topic=17831.0
Email: lanux128 AT gmail DOT com 
Donation: Please email me for PayPal link.

