Playing Windows games on a MAC?

[CoolMarquis97]

My friend bought a stupid Macbook Pro laptop even though he avidly wants to become a PC gamer. I need help in knowing if there is such of way of being able to run windows games on his mac. Would I have to just dual boot windows 7 on there or could I use such programs as bootcamp or Wine? 

[Vacsol]

he could potentially use Parallels, but I would recommend just dual booting with bootcamp

[elecxonica]

Install windows with bootcamp and it'll work perfectly.

[Fulgrim]

Dual booting would be best imo.

[CoolMarquis97]

he could potentially use Parallels, but I would recommend just dual booting with bootcamp

 

 

Dual booting would be best imo.

 

Is there any sort of FPS drop or any known problems when dualbooting? 

[Fulgrim]

Is there any sort of FPS drop or any known problems when dualbooting? 

If you emulate windows within mac you will suffer a performance hit. If you dual boot you won't have any performance hit.

[elecxonica]

Is there any sort of FPS drop or any known problems when dualbooting? 

I've heard that macs don't get full capabilities in windows, but it'll work much better then say parallels.

 

"perfectly" as in what ever games a crappy integrated Intel GPU can play.

in other words old ass games and newer 2d indie games are about as good as those GPU can do.

True.

[CoolMarquis97]

I'm thinking that if me and him only play old games it may actually be worth it. 

[makkyun]

"perfectly" as in what ever games a crappy integrated Intel GPU can play.

in other words old ass games and newer 2d indie games are about as good as those GPU can do.

Hey, what do you know? Maybe he has a Mac with a dedicated GPU? (only if he's rich though, the most ripof- I mean, "cheapest" Macbooks I've seen has an iGPU when for the same price I could get something with an 870M) 

I've heard that macs don't get full capabilities in windows, but it'll work much better then say parallels.

You'll get the same performance on Windows on a Mac. I tested it by running Dota 2 on my brother's bootcamped Macbook and my sister's same speced laptop, both on same settings and screen res. Same FPS results (forgot what it was though, it was a year ago)

You can dual boot or you can try Wine.

I wouldn't really recommend Wine on a Mac. I'd say Wine is more for Linux and Parallels on OS X.

[allison1derland]

Anyone still paying attention to this thread?  Any advice on using Wine in OS X to get Steam games working?

 

Tried installing windows from a USB created with the bootcamp manager, it didn't boot into the installer.  Tried installing for a USB created with the Windows USB tool from a windows machine. Mac didn't boot into the installer.  I changed the plist file and deleted the "Pre" from the PreUSB... line and everything.  Didn't work.  I tried multiple DVDs too, and it goes further in that it gets the white line at the bottom of a black screen saying it's starting the process, but it doesn't go further.  Just says, can't find boot device.  

[TDP_Equinox]

"perfectly" as in what ever games a crappy integrated Intel GPU can play.

in other words old ass games and newer 2d indie games are about as good as those GPU can do.

its a pro, it has a dedicated GPU

[MblaZe7run]

its a pro, it has a dedicated GPU

AFAIK, only the highest end of the MacBook Pros have dedicated graphics. The Pro model I had about two years ago did not, and it was one of the 15" i5/8GB/512GB SSD, with Retina display. No dedicated graphics.

 

The only current model is the $2500 MBP i7, with GT 750M.

[watts300]

Anyone still paying attention to this thread?  Any advice on using Wine in OS X to get Steam games working?

My primary computer is a Mac, and I have a Wine wrapper -- Wineskin Winery. It works well for games with installers, but that's how it works the wrapper... it needs an installer to place the files into the .app package.   http://www.easypctutorials.com/windows-steam-on-mac-wineskin/ That link gives instructions on using it with Steam, but I haven't tried it or even read it thoroughly. 

 

 

Tried installing windows from a USB created with the bootcamp manager, it didn't boot into the installer.  Tried installing for a USB created with the Windows USB tool from a windows machine. Mac didn't boot into the installer.  I changed the plist file and deleted the "Pre" from the PreUSB... line and everything.  Didn't work.  I tried multiple DVDs too, and it goes further in that it gets the white line at the bottom of a black screen saying it's starting the process, but it doesn't go further.  Just says, can't find boot device.  

 

Which specific MacBook Pro (size and generation) did he get? Which version of Windows are you trying to install? 

 

What interface/connection does the DVD drive have? 

 

I would edit the plist back to default (or delete it so the system can make a new one).  

 

Did you follow all the prompts when you started the Boot Camp Assistant in the Utilities folder?

 

Would it be possible for you to post a video of the installation leading to the failure? 

[NelizMastr]

its a pro, it has a dedicated GPU

The MacBook Pro 13" only has Intel Iris, the 15" has Iris Pro unless you get a CTO model with GT750M, which is $2.5K+. Iris Pro is more capable than people think, but you shouldn't be buying a MPB because you want to game anyway. That's what Windows is for. 

[simson0606]

it depends on the game he plays, if theres a mac version of the game (steam can show that for you) he can just install it on os x otherwise he'd have to use bootcamp, that's really simple, all he needs is a windows dvd or iso and a 8 gig usb drive and then he just follow the steps of the bootcamp wizard as it will take care of the rest

 

bootcamp won't give a fps drop, maybe even an increase as the nvidia drivers on windows are often the first to be updated

[NelizMastr]

Most games these days come out for Win/Lin/OSX, and not just indy titles anymore, so if your Mac has a dedicated GPU, it should be fine.  If you like playing CS:Go, the Iris Pro should provide a playable experience at reduced resolution. Cities Skylines should also be fine @ reduced settings.

[allison1derland]

Thanks for reviving this thread.

 

My primary computer is a Mac, and I have a Wine wrapper -- Wineskin Winery. It works well for games with installers, but that's how it works the wrapper... it needs an installer to place the files into the .app package.   http://www.easypctutorials.com/windows-steam-on-mac-wineskin/ That link gives instructions on using it with Steam, but I haven't tried it or even read it thoroughly. 

 

 

 

Which specific MacBook Pro (size and generation) did he get? Which version of Windows are you trying to install? 

 

What interface/connection does the DVD drive have? 

 

I would edit the plist back to default (or delete it so the system can make a new one).  

 

Did you follow all the prompts when you started the Boot Camp Assistant in the Utilities folder?

 

Would it be possible for you to post a video of the installation leading to the failure? 

Thanks for the link.  I'll check it out soon.

Although I don't consider myself a computer novice, I have had a bad experience with a previous attempt at using Wine.  Spent a lot of time accomplishing nothing.

Any tips from personal experience of getting Windows Steam games working with Wine?

 

13" MBP mid 2010 (Yosemite on an Intel SSD w/ 8GB RAM).  I know it's no beast.  Crappy Intel HD 4000 integrated graphics.  I don't expect to do anything amazing on it.  I really just want to get 1 game playable - Dark Souls.  It doesn't have to look good, just run good enough to not suck.  I'm hoping this little Core 2 Duo can handle medium settings maybe at 25-30fps?? I know that this game largely uses the processor instead of the graphics (dedicated or integrated) resources, so that's why I'm hoping to pull this off.  I've also seen videos on YouTube of people running DSII on Macbook Airs.  I tried running it in VirtualBox, but I can't spare the processing resources from running OS X, the virtualization software, AND then the virtual OS + the game.  That was a failure.

 

At the time, I was trying to get Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit installed.  I recently read on another forum that people had problems with .iso files that included Service Pack 1, and advised trying an .iso without SP1 OR just trying Windows 10 Technical Preview because a lot more people had more success with 10, so I've been considering that.  Has anyone else discovered that 10 installs easier than 7?

 

The Superdrive is the standard SATA 2.

 

I just realized I may have added the boot ROM version # to the top of the list instead of in numerical order.  1 person in a forum said it should be in order.  Just switched it.  I hope that might help me boot from the USB???  

 

Yes, I followed all the steps to create a bootable USB that contains the mac drivers from within the Bootcamp Assistant application, partition the drive, and everything.

in the plist:

Deleted the "Pre" from PreUSBSupportedModels line

Deleted the "Pre" from PreUEFIModels line

Deleted my model 7,1 from the Windows7Only line

Added my bootROM version # to the corresponding array section

codesigned the file.

 

Question: could TRIM enabler be interfering with the boot up procedure?  I know it interferes with resets during updates that modify the kernel.  Could it interfere with Bootcamp installation too?

 

I'll see about recording my next attempt.

 

it depends on the game he plays, if theres a mac version of the game (steam can show that for you) he can just install it on os x otherwise he'd have to use bootcamp, that's really simple, all he needs is a windows dvd or iso and a 8 gig usb drive and then he just follow the steps of the bootcamp wizard as it will take care of the rest

 

bootcamp won't give a fps drop, maybe even an increase as the nvidia drivers on windows are often the first to be updated

No OS X version.  or Linux version for that matter.  If there was I'd consider trying reFind and using Ubuntu or Fedora, but no...just Windows.

It's not detecting a bootable Windows installation device whether I try DVD, USB made from Bootcamp, or a USB made from a Windows machine.

[watts300]

 

Any tips from personal experience of getting Windows Steam games working with Wine?

 

I've never actually tried, and until recently, I didn't really have any games on Steam.  I recently bought the first two Max Payne games, though, so I think I'll give it a try with #2. 

 

 

13" MBP mid 2010 (Yosemite on an Intel SSD w/ 8GB RAM).  I know it's no beast.  Crappy Intel HD 4000 integrated graphics.  I don't expect to do anything amazing on it.  I really just want to get 1 game playable - Dark Souls. 

 

HD 4000 isn't sooo bad. I'm typing on a mid 2012 with an i7 that has HD 4000, too. I played through all of Black Ops 2 on here and it was great. I never noticed any problems. Mind you, I'm not one of those gamers that always has a frame counter running... looking for problems. If the game looks good, I play it.  As long as you got a fair price for it, you made a good purchase. They're good computers... if only mediocre at video games. 

 

 

The Superdrive is the standard SATA 2.

 

I actually think the drive might be part of the issue. Do you have an external you could try?  Alternatively, this is from the Boot Camp FAQ:

--

Can I install Windows from an ISO image?

 

To find out if your Mac supports that feature, open Boot Camp Assistant, then click the Continue button. If you see a checkbox labeled “Create a Windows 7 or later install disk,” your Mac can install Windows from an ISO image.

--

 

I suspect the superdrive because once the computer creates the partition and restarts from the Boot Camp Assistant, everything else is all on the Windows installer unless you boot back into OS X.  OS X and Boot Camp don't have anything to do with the installation process. I suppose it could be your image or media, though. I seriously doubt the issue is anything other than those three things. 

 

 

Question: could TRIM enabler be interfering with the boot up procedure?  

 

That's a good question. I currently don't have TRIM enabled on my SSD. You could try disabling it... there is at least one app that can do it for you. I have one that's just called Trim Enabler. (v.3.3, latest one).  I think I remember there being Terminal commands for it, too.... Terminal does everything.

 

 

 

It's not detecting a bootable Windows installation device whether I try DVD, USB made from Bootcamp, or a USB made from a Windows machine.

 

I'm curious about this. Is this in regards to a bootable USB flash drive with the Windows image on it as I referenced above with the FAQ quote? 

 

 

I'm going to play around with my Wine wrapper for a bit. I haven't used it in a while.. it might need updating. If I do anything interesting, or otherwise have any interesting data to share, I will. 

[watts300]

@allison1derland The instructions in the first link I gave you were more or less right, but I think they're confusing. 

 

I found this video that I ended up following.  It's 11 minutes, but it's just really slow moving. The actual work in the video is just a couple minutes and is pretty easy. I used the "alternate method" because I had an error when trying his first video. 

 

But it totally works. I installed Max Payne and it opened.  It wraps things differently than I expected. I thought it was going to just end up being the game files in the wrapper. Turns out it's the Steam application and the games' download folder/library.  After I installed Max Payne, the new Steam application is 1.75GB.  So just keep it in your /Applications folder and give it a name like "Steam for Windows" so you don't confused it with the OS X version. (The app's icon will obviously be different, but you can customize that, too.) 

 

[allison1derland]

@allison1derland The instructions in the first link I gave you were more or less right, but I think they're confusing. 

 

I found this video that I ended up following.  It's 11 minutes, but it's just really slow moving. The actual work in the video is just a couple minutes and is pretty easy. I used the "alternate method" because I had an error when trying his first video. 

 

But it totally works. I installed Max Payne and it opened.  It wraps things differently than I expected. I thought it was going to just end up being the game files in the wrapper. Turns out it's the Steam application and the games' download folder/library.  After I installed Max Payne, the new Steam application is 1.75GB.  So just keep it in your /Applications folder and give it a name like "Steam for Windows" so you don't confused it with the OS X version. (The app's icon will obviously be different, but you can customize that, too.) 

 

Still having problems.  That video was a major help though.  It was very clear.  Thank you.  I followed all the steps. Got Steam installed.  Downloaded and installed the game.  But 10-15 seconds after launching the game, it crashes.  I've included the failure log.  I am not sure which settings within Wine this points to changing.

 

I have also included screenshots of me creating a supposedly bootable USB from Bootcamp Assistant and going through the Windows installation process and then pictures of it failing because on restart, the computer does not recognize the USB drive as being a bootable disk.  It just doesn't show up among my other volumes as you'll see.  I have also included a picture of what happens when I use a DVD to try to install Windows.  It just shows a blinking cursor in the top left of a black screen.  I have let it go for 15 minutes in case it was just being slow or something.  I think some progress should have happened in 15 minutes, but the superdrive just spun down and continued to show the same thing.  

 

Unhandled exception: page fault on read access to 0x4a9b3b50 in 32-bit code (0x4a9b3b50).Register dump: CS:001b SS:0023 DS:0023 ES:0023 FS:100f GS:000f EIP:4a9b3b50 ESP:12c5e8ec EBP:12c5e918 EFLAGS:00010206(  R- --  I   - -P- ) EAX:00000000 EBX:00000084 ECX:00000000 EDX:4a9b3b50 ESI:00840000 EDI:12c5e938Stack dump:0x12c5e8ec:  9a6b0569 12c5e938 00000000 12c5e9480x12c5e8fc:  9172162c a1015434 00000084 000000840x12c5e90c:  00840000 00000000 a1015434 12c5e9280x12c5e91c:  9a6b04a6 00840000 12c5e938 12c5e9480x12c5e92c:  9a6b0484 12c5e938 0000c500 ffff04000x12c5e93c:  00840000 00840000 a1015434 12c5e9880201: sel=100f base=7ffb0000 limit=00000fff 32-bit rw-Backtrace:=>0 0x4a9b3b50 (0x12c5e918)  1 0x9a6b04a6 (0x12c5e928)  2 0x9a6b0484 (0x12c5e948)  3 0x9a6af51a (0x12c5e988)  4 0x9badaa34 (0x12c5e9f8)  5 0x9baf5e12 (0x12c5eca8)  6 0x9bbafa03 (0x12c5ecd8)  7 0x4a8b4145 (0x12c5ef78)  8 0x4a737a2d (0x12c5efd8)  9 0x4a7aba11 (0x12c5f078)  10 0x4a7492e8 (0x12c5f318)  11 0x007a6f98 in darksouls (+0x3a6f97) (0x0b8472fc)  12 0x0b235db0 (0x0137ccbc)  13 0x0137cbb8 in darksouls (+0xf7cbb7) (0x01161ea4)  14 0x0062dfa0 in darksouls (+0x22df9f) (0x0040c4a0)  15 0xf18b5601 (0x042444f6)0x4a9b3b50: -- no code accessible --Modules:Module	Address			Debug info	Name (57 modules)PE	  340000-  389000	Deferred        fmod_eventPE	  390000-  3a6000	Deferred        xinput1_3PE	  400000- 15bf000	Export          darksoulsPE	 15c0000- 17bf000	Deferred        d3dx9_43PE	 17c0000- 190f000	Deferred        gameoverlayrendererPE	 fc80000- fd55000	Deferred        steamPE	10000000-101d4000	Deferred        fmodexPE	30000000-302c1000	Deferred        steam2PE	38000000-38978000	Deferred        steamclientPE	3b400000-3b41e000	Deferred        steam_apiPE	3f000000-3f0b1000	Deferred        tier0_sPE	3f600000-3f653000	Deferred        vstdlib_sPE	40540000-40544000	Deferred        msvfw32PE	40560000-40563000	Deferred        avicap32PE	405a0000-405a4000	Deferred        msacm32PE	40710000-40714000	Deferred        dsoundPE	40770000-40773000	Deferred        msacm32PE	40790000-40794000	Deferred        advapi32PE	41810000-41814000	Deferred        devenumPE	41840000-41843000	Deferred        midimapPE	42fe0000-42feb000	Deferred        winmmPE	43030000-4305e000	Deferred        user32PE	43170000-43174000	Deferred        gdi32PE	432d0000-432d4000	Deferred        versionPE	432f0000-432f8000	Deferred        ole32PE	43430000-43434000	Deferred        rpcrt4PE	434c0000-434c4000	Deferred        msvcr90PE	43580000-43584000	Deferred        wsock32PE	435a0000-435a4000	Deferred        ws2_32PE	435d0000-435d4000	Deferred        iphlpapiPE	43600000-43604000	Deferred        msvcrtPE	436b0000-436b4000	Deferred        d3d9PE	436f0000-436f4000	Deferred        wined3dPE	43840000-43844000	Deferred        dinput8PE	43860000-43864000	Deferred        setupapiPE	438e0000-439ef000	Deferred        shell32PE	43ae0000-43ae4000	Deferred        shlwapiPE	43b60000-43b67000	Deferred        oleaut32PE	43ca0000-43ca4000	Deferred        imm32PE	43d60000-43d64000	Deferred        psapiPE	43d70000-43d74000	Deferred        winex11PE	43fa0000-43fa6000	Deferred        crypt32PE	44030000-44033000	Deferred        imagehlpPE	44050000-44053000	Deferred        secur32PE	44080000-44083000	Deferred        netapi32PE	440b0000-440b4000	Deferred        dbghelpPE	45f70000-45f74000	Deferred        dinputPE	45fc0000-45fc4000	Deferred        uxthemePE	46bb0000-46bd0000	Deferred        comctl32PE	46d90000-46d94000	Deferred        mmdevapiPE	46dc0000-46dc3000	Deferred        winecoreaudioPE	4a720000-4a729000	Deferred        quartzPE	4a8a0000-4a8a4000	Deferred        wineqtdecoderPE	60000000-60021000	Deferred        cserhelperPE	7a810000-7a814000	Deferred        opengl32PE	7b810000-7b866000	Deferred        kernel32PE	7bc10000-7bc14000	Deferred        ntdllThreads:process  tid      prio (all id:s are in hex)00000008 Steam.exe	00000030    2	00000083    0	0000007c    0	0000007b    0	0000007a    0	00000079    0	0000005d    0	0000005c    0	0000002e    0	00000025    0	00000056    0	00000055    0	00000052    0	00000051    0	00000050    0	0000004f    0	0000004e    0	0000004d    0	0000004c    0	00000038    0	00000037    0	00000036    0	00000035    0	00000031    0	0000002d    2	0000002c    0	0000002b    0	0000002a    0	00000027    0	00000009    00000000e services.exe	0000001d    0	0000001c    0	00000014    0	00000010    0	0000000f    000000012 winedevice.exe	00000019    0	00000018    0	00000017    0	00000013    00000001a plugplay.exe	0000001f    0	0000001e    0	0000001b    000000020 explorer.exe	00000021    000000028 steamwebhelper.exe	00000059    0	0000004b    0	0000004a    0	00000049    0	00000048    0	00000047    0	00000046    0	00000045    0	00000044    0	00000043    0	00000042    0	00000041    0	00000040    0	0000003f    0	0000003e    0	0000003d    0	0000003c    0	0000003b    0	0000003a    0	00000039    0	00000029    000000057 steamwebhelper.exe	00000065    0	00000064    0	00000063    0	00000062    0	00000061    0	00000060    0	0000005f    0	00000058    00000006f (D) C:\Program Files\Steam\steamapps\common\Dark Souls Prepare to Die Edition\DATA\DARKSOULS.exe	0000008a    0	00000066   -1	00000068    0	00000089    0	00000088    0	0000007f    0	00000081    0	00000082    1	00000080    0	00000085    0	00000084    0	0000007e    0	00000077    0	00000078    0	00000075   15	00000076   -1 <==	00000074    0System information:    Wine build: wine-1.7.40    Platform: i386    Host system: Darwin    Host version: 14.3.0

 

Edited April 25, 2015 by allison1derland

[TDP_Equinox]

Still having problems.  That video was a major help though.  It was very clear.  Thank you.  I followed all the steps. Got Steam installed.  Downloaded and installed the game.  But 10-15 seconds after launching the game, it crashes.  I've included the failure log.  I am not sure which settings within Wine this points to changing.

 

I have also included screenshots of me creating a supposedly bootable USB from Bootcamp Assistant and going through the Windows installation process and then pictures of it failing because on restart, the computer does not recognize the USB drive as being a bootable disk.  It just doesn't show up among my other volumes as you'll see.  I have also included a picture of what happens when I use a DVD to try to install Windows.  It just shows a blinking cursor in the top left of a black screen.  I have let it go for 15 minutes in case it was just being slow or something.  I think some progress should have happened in 15 minutes, but the superdrive just spun down and continued to show the same thing.  

Can you screenshot or take a video of you creating the bootcamp partition, and the bootable USB drive?

I've never used bootcamp to make a bootable USB drive, but i'm pretty sure that is where it's fucking up. If you have access to a windows machine, make the bootable USB drive from that and try again. 

[allison1derland]

Can you screenshot or take a video of you creating the bootcamp partition, and the bootable USB drive?

I've never used bootcamp to make a bootable USB drive, but i'm pretty sure that is where it's fucking up. If you have access to a windows machine, make the bootable USB drive from that and try again. 

Sorry, I thought the attachments were visible to everyone because I could see them.  I just edited my previous post and hopefully it should include the pictures now.

 

I also tried making a bootable USB from a Windows machine before, but that didn't make a difference.  I used the Windows 7 USB tool from the MS website.  I then tried using another bootable USB installation creator tool that I previously successfully used to make a Linux installation USB and install on another partition on the Windows machine.  They work on the Windows machine, but not on my mac.

[watts300]

@allison1derland I found my 8GB flash drive and my Windows 7 Ultimate image. I'll try setting up Windows and see if I can replicate your error.  

[watts300]

@allison1derland In the first couple steps of Boot Camp Assistant, are you selecting the unmounted Windows image?   I recorded installing Windows on mine.  I edited it so that most of it is fast-foward, but it still is probably needlessly long. The link is below.

 

Did it take a long ass time to copy the files to your flash drive?  I have USB3 ports, but my drive is 2.0... copying the files probably took about 15 minutes. Then the downloading of the drivers (one of the three check-boxes in the beginning) took a while, too. 

 

 

 

My flash drive was already formatted to Master Boot Record, so I left it that way. It had no issues. 

In regards to your embedded question in your Disk Utility screenshot, "no partition map" is the same on my Windows image. 

[watts300]

@allison1derland I've updated Windows and installed Dark Souls on Windows 7 on my Mac.  It doesn't really run all that great.  As you probably know, it doesn't have many graphics settings. Just resolution, anti-aliasing, and motion blur.  It'll run with exactly 30 fps consistently with the last two settings off, 1280x800 (native on my 13"), and while the character is in shadows or there's no action.  Anything else cuts it to exactly 15 fps.  

 

Mine is an i7 3520M and 16GB ram.  Your Core 2 Duo probably won't run it too well either.