# OpenGL and Windows 7

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opengl-and-windows-7/544438>\
**Category:** The Game Room\
**Created:** [June 25, 2010, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opengl-and-windows-7/544438 "2010-06-25T02:59:42Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![zoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zoid/32/336_2.png) [@zoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoid)\
**Post date:** [June 25, 2010, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opengl-and-windows-7/544438/1 "2010-06-25T02:59:42Z")

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Sorry if this has been gone over before…

I have Windows 7 with intell GMA 4500M graphics on my laptop.  
It runs Half life 2 at the highest settings just fine and I thought I’d like to try Doom3.

I downloaded the demo for Doom3 from Steam but I get OpenGL errors.

Are Windows 7(and/or intel GMA) and OpenGL just never going to work or can this be fixed?

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**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\
**Post date:** [June 25, 2010, 8:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opengl-and-windows-7/544438/2 "2010-06-25T08:11:33Z")

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Doom has to be patched to work on Windows 7. You’d think Steam would patch it, but who knows. It could also be a driver problem.

Either way, OpenGL is supposed to work on Windows 7.

Were you running as an administrator when you used Steam to install the game? And are you running the game as an administrator? That’s something you often have to do with older games.

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**Author:** ![Kinthalis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kinthalis/32/16084_2.png) [@Kinthalis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kinthalis)\
**Post date:** [June 25, 2010, 11:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opengl-and-windows-7/544438/3 "2010-06-25T11:00:11Z")

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Make sure you are running the latest video drivers. Although this: [Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 4500MHD (GMA X4500MHD) - NotebookCheck.net Tech](http://www.notebookcheck.net/Intel-Graphics-Media-Accelerator-4500MHD-GMA-X4500MHD.9883.0.html) says that the game is unplayable even at the lowest graphical settings on that video chip (under 20 fps).

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**Author:** ![Zeriel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/58956e/32.png) [@Zeriel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeriel)\
**Post date:** [June 25, 2010, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opengl-and-windows-7/544438/4 "2010-06-25T17:57:06Z")

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I’m not sure the GMA4500M actually “really” supports OpenGL, to be honest. Judging by the numbers on the page Kinthalis linked, I would not be surprised to find that it’s doing OpenGL emulation in software which is totally unsuitable for actual gaming.