Diablo Backwards Compatibility Guide

[Slayer_X64]

Ok, so I finally came back and updated the guide a little to include multiple installs(got re-interested in things since im building a new computer next month). This makes integrating mods a little easier for people now as well.

Oh, before I forget... when I read through this thread, I didn't see any mention of the multi-core processor chat crash. As far as I know this isn't a very common problem, but I still experience it to this day and have seen several other players over the past few years with the same problem.

When you press Enter to send a chat message on some multi-core processor systems, Diablo will sometimes crash to the desktop. This happens in Windows XP, not sure about newer ones. I don't run any mods that could be responsible or anything like that.

The fix for this is easy, but a little inconvenient. You need to use the Task Manager to tell Windows to run Diablo only on a single process core/thread each time you start the game. I have never crashed when sending a message after doing this.

I would explain step-by-step how to do this, but there are tons of guides all over the web with pictures that may be easier to follow than a lengthy explanation. Google "set processor affinity Windows ####" and replace #### with your operating system (XP, Vista, W7, etc) for the instructions.

It is rather frustrating for the players that do experience it, especially if they were the one who opened the Town Portal and were chatting in town with their companions! I hope that this helps someone.

Wow, thanks for bringing this up! I had noticed this, but had just accepted it as something that just happens from time to time. I'll see if I can include this in something like an easy to use batch file, or an equivalent, so that Task Manager doesnt need to be opened up every time, just to make things a little more user friendly.

Also Belix, i'll be sure to add Hellfire Compatability Stuff as soon as i get around to it.

EDIT: fiddled around with the "/affinity" command, and figured out a way to set the CPU to run diablo using only one core in a nice neat package. I'll edit the main post later, but for now, here is the code i used:

@echo off
start /affinity 1 Diablo.exe
exit

or for the second way that involves killing explorer:

@echo off
taskkill /f /im explorer.exe
start /affinity 1 Diablo.exe
pause
start explorer.exe
exit

This should fix the multicore chat crashing problem I think. Let me know how it works for you.