Microprose's Grand Prix 2 is one of the last DOS games to come out in a time when Windows-based gaming took over, and with Windows XP, most felt all was lost. GP2 would run, but no sound would come out as Windows XP does not emulate Adlib-based cards such as SoundBlaster.
All is not lost, though! For those of you with a very fast machine, DOSBox might be your answer. If your computer is fast enough (2 Gigahertz), it may actually work fine with DOSBox, and you won't need to take these steps below. Otherwise you will need to do the following. For the average user, you will first need to download the utility VDMSound. You can download it at SourceForge here What one will experience without tweaking settings, though, is erratic gameplay as the game will play way too fast. I've just run multiple laps in GP2 and I believe I've found the solution — the perfect cocktail, if you will — you'll need to not only run Grand Prix 2 on Windows XP, but have it run flawlessly.
What you'll need is to do the following: First, install Grand Prix II on your machine. Do an “optimal” installation, the 8MB option.
Second, grab the NOCDROM utility. You can find it here or here. This is in essence a tool that disables the game from checking if the GP2 CD is in your drive, but it is what you'll need to do this.
Last you will need VDMSound, available at SourceForge here.
If you haven't worked with NOCDROM before or patched your game before: Skip this if you already patched. Otherwise, you will need to make the game work without its CD. Unzip the NOCDROM program in your GP2 folder and create a new folder or directory entitled “CIRCUITS”. Take the files enumerated F1CT01.dat (etc) off of the GP2 disc and place them in that CIRCUITS folder.
What next?: Installing VDMSound creates a new option within Windows Explorer, which if you right-click on an .EXE file allows you to “Run with VDMS”, with a music icon at left. Go to the folder or directory you have Grand Prix 2 installed in and right-click on Setup.exe. Run that with VDMSound.
Within GP2's setup utility, set it to autodetect your sound card. If it selects one, try a sound test. The sound test might crash your machine or work beautifully, it is somewhat luck of the draw based on your sound card. The game should work fine regardless.
After you have done the setup, right click on GP2.EXE and set it to “Run with VDMS.”
Here is the kicker: There are some tweaks you will need to do to get it to work without the erractic gameplay that some complain about. What I've found is to do the following tweaks to GP2 in Windows. Right click GP2.EXE and do the following under these tabs. 1) In “general settings”, select “close DOS window on exit”. 2) In the “DOS Environment” settings, allow the program to run with HIMEM.SYS and set FILES at 40. 3) (Most important) Under “Performance”, select the option to Cap DOS Timer Frequency. This appears to be what creates erratic gameplay. Do not select “Try to reduce CPU usage” unless you have a very fast computer. It will slow the game down dramatically. 4) Under “Compatibility”, uncheck the EMS (extended memory) option.
The rest of the options should be fine.
I have done full races on these settings in Grand Prix 2 with Windows XP and found the erratic response has stopped completely. There are minimal glitches, but gameplay is smooth. The big thing seems to be capping the DOS Timer, as it kicks in at random intervals and creates choppy gameplay (which causes it to run very quickly and make the car uncontrollable). That should be all you need to do.
How to run: VDMSound creates a shortcut that has an icon with black box and a “C:>” in it. Always use that link to play GP2 properly. As a convenient aside, by setting the NOCDROM patch in, you have the ability to modify Grand Prix II limitlessly thanks to such programs at GP2Edit and GP2 Track Manager — meaning you can install new cars, new tracks, new everything. Read the instructions for those programs before using them, but I've been modifying the game for ten years and not run out of new options yet.
How to run Grand Prix II on a dual processor computer: VDMSound is very finicky about having a single processor. More information on how to fix this issue is here.
Epilogue: There are many hardcore GP2 players who have been itching to get Grand Prix II running under Windows XP. If your computer is fast enough (2 Gigahertz), it may actually work fine with DOSBox, but otherwise you will need to mess with VDMSound. The game will potentially run without sound in XP without these additional steps (often crashing), but above should be the steps you'll need. I must credit Marc Aarts with the original step-by-step instructions, located here. Use his guide if this one does not work. The additional modifications I've listed above will ensure the game will run smoothly, though, and that is the key to any enjoyable gaming experience, isn't it? Cheers.