My computer is running an Intel Pentium 4 3.0GHz with 1GB RAM processor and a NVIDIA GeForce 5600 graphics card with Windows XP Professional. When attempting to play some old games, in particular The Need for Speed: High Stakes and Midtown Madness: Chicago, these do not seem to be compatible with the graphics card. The games only run in ’software rendering’ mode, and the graphics quality suffers as a result. Is it possible to have these games run using the graphic acceleration on a new computer?

While you may have already tried these suggestions, make sure you have downloaded the latest drivers for your video card (the latest NVIDIA ForceWare drivers are available from www.nvidia.com). Also, make sure you have the latest version of DirectX, which is available from www.microsoft.com/downloads. The next thing to check is whether you have correctly specified the rendering engine to use. The Need for Speed has a separate utility called 3DSetup which is used to specify which graphic rendering engine to use. The default engine is Software Rendering, so if you have not been into this utility before, the problem may be that your graphics card has not been selected as the rendering engine. Go to the directory containing the game and then open the 3dSetup sub-directory (e.g. C:Program FilesElectronic ArtsNeed For Speed IV:High Stakes3dSetup). Run 3DSetup, and select something other than ‘Software Renderer’ (e.g. Direct 3D Device 1). Once you have selected the device, click OK. Start the game to see whether this makes a difference. Otherwise, go back into the 3DSetup utility and try selecting another device, provided there are any others. If the game is still unable to use your GeForce card to render the graphics, then I am unsure how proceed. If any other readers have suggestions please write in.