Alright guys.

I got it working. Finally got it working. I know how some of you guys feel. After hours and hours of slaving, of pulling your hair out, of watching that damn Aeris and meteor video, over and over and over again. Praying that this next time will be the final time. The time where you'll actually be able to see Cloud jumping off that damn train. The time where you can press enter when it says, "Newcomer, come with me!"

Well guys, the time is now. Here's what I did:

So, I have read every post on the internet concerning how to get FFVII to work on the PC.

Instructions:

1. Download the FFVII. Make sure to download the version with the separate CD's. Not the Ultima Edition download.

2. Then, download Daemon tools from download.com er somewhere.

3. Delete all codecs you have on your computer. Delete them ALL. Don't whine to me about this, you have to make sacrifices to play FFVII. If you are not willing to make these sacrifices then I hope you die by Cloud's buster sword.

4. Next, using Daemon tools, mount the install file (should be in .mds format)

5. Install that shit. Do not install the direct x 5, yamamha synth, and the other one. Don't install them.

6. Next, download these three codecs from http://wiki.qhimm.com/FF7/Technical/Customising

7. install them

8. if playing on a laptop, download the laptop key patch from http://www.ff7-universe.com

9. next, download the upside-down movies patch from http://www.ff7-universe.com/

10. Next, go to your upside-down movies patch file and right click. Go to properties and change compatibility to windows XP sp2. Run it as administrator. install it.

11. Next, go to your FFVII.exe file and right click. Change compatibility to win98, 256 colors, 640x480, run as administrator.

12. Next, go to FFVII config file. Change graphics to Nvidia and TNT, 640x480 full screen, Direct3D Hardware Accel.

13. Finally, mount the CD1 file that you originally downloaded using Daemon tools and then click on the FFVII.exe file and play the game.

That should fix it. If not, write back up on here and i will try to help you out. Good luck.

YOU DON'T HAVE TO UNINSTALL CODECS!!!!!!

That post is for EVERYONE WHO USE ffdshow.

Truemotion 2.0 codec have been replaced by a different one in the ffdshow and you have to disable it.

It's IN FFDSHOW VIDEO DECODER in the tab DirectShow Controls in the left.
Put ff7.exe in the exceptions : "Do not use directshow in these applications." Edit... and browse for the ff7.exe.

But you have to install Truemotion codec 2.0 http://wiki.qhimm.com/FF7/Technical/Customising the truemotion 2.0 codec

And for each time you update your K-lite mega codec pack or whatever have ffdshow, you have to rewrite ff7.exe in the exception and have to reinstall ff7.

That the bad news but it works

I followed all the imformation, patched the 3 patches, ran the game as well as the configuration at 98 compatible mode as admin. The Eidos movie didn't show, but the main menu was OK. The opening movie played smoothly, and there was no texture problem. I began to think all was well but simply I was wrong! After Barret's name was chosen, there should be a movie but instead the game crashed! I uninstalled the game 5 times, but simply no use. Does anyone know how to solve the problem? That movie is all right when playing out of the game.

I have the Final Fantasy VII Ultima Edition and it does not work on my Vista Ultimate 32 bit, I tried to ran it in Administrator, and Windows 98 mode and nothing changed. After I launched the program it crashed and it said ffvii.exe stopped working...
It is very strange because in last summer I have successfully ran Final Fantasy VII on Vista, and I think I didn't changed any hardware since then, only Vista reinstalls.
I hope someone can help me.

I was in the position where ff7 was working until i reinstalled windows and it wasnt working, i was getting the black screen and intro sounds and then freeze.
I simply disabled truemotion codec in k lite pack
and changed the windows compatibility to 98/me.
Thanks for the help guys.

here is my setup:

Vista Home Premium (32 bit)
Intel Core2Duo T7300 @ 2.00 Ghz
2GB RAM
NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GS

It's an HP nx9420 laptop, and has a numerical pad.

I tried every fix listed here, and on a few other sites I found and nothing is working. I don't have ffdshow decoder or k-lite codec pack. I am able to run every game under the sun, Call of Duty 4, Assassin's Creed, Medal Of Honor Airborne, Age of Empires 3, Bioshock etc. Yet I cannot run this game, I've installed every patch, the truemotion codec (had to do so in compatibility mode of xp just for it to install properly) and have tried running the ffvii.exe in every compatibility mode configuration possible. I tried every configuration possible on the ffvii.config also. And NOTHING is working, is there any help left for me or should I just give up??

I'm running ff7 on xp sp2, it works almost find without direct 3d, but after i met Tifa i saved and now I cant even start the game. After running i got black screen and an error messange:"ff7.exe has encountered a problem and needs to close. We are sorry for the inconvenience."
I have dell inspiron 1520 laptop wit geforce 8600

For anyone without the K-lite codec pacl who is getting the black screen with Eidos sound then a crash (like I was):
Thing that fixed this for me was to install the k-lite pack, then do the fix mentioned somewhere above (disabling ff7 in the fddshow video config). Seems that k-lite is necessary for video, but you need to fix it for it to work.
Also, when I first got into the game, (after the opening movie, the first rendered scene) the screen went black except for the "C'mon newcomer" text appearing. If this happens, hold the up key until you enter a random battle. The battle should appear as normal and after this all rendering issues seem fixed.

I am also having trouble getting it to work.
I am using windows Vista I downloaded all the patches but it freezes and the screen goes black right after I press NEW GAME.

I am running Windows Vista Home Premium 32-bit.
After some trial & error, I have been able to successfully, play FFVII: Ultima Edition.
The issue I was previously experiencing was the game .exe crashing on startup.

1. After installing the game normally, make sure you install the Truemotion codec 2.0.
2. Before doing anything else, go to the game folder and find the "movies" folder. Open at least one of them in media player.
3. Change compatibility for ff7.exe to win98, 256 colors, 640x480, run as administrator.
4. Run the configuration utility, and select Nvidia and TNT, 640x480 full screen, Direct3D Hardware Acceleration.

That worked for me.
This only works with a fresh install for me. If you have attempted to run FFVII prior to following these steps, reinstall.

So, I finally got it to work. I had been having issues with the textures rendering, ie, after the initial movie the guards and Avalanche weren't showing up and the screen turned black as the sounds of Cloud and company jumped off the train.

To fix this, I did the following here:
http://deadaimgames.spaces.live.com/blog/cns!23D808D5C5803715!427.entry

I also had to uninstall the k-lite codec pack. The workaround a few posts up did not work for me, but uninstalling did.

Good luck!

Thanks to ALL of you for your help. I tried out various methods from all of your posts, and this is what got mine to work...

I downloaded the latest K-lite codec pack:
http://www.free-codecs.com/K_lite_codec_pack_download.htm

I did full install of FF7 WITHOUT installing the included apps.

I ran the TrueMotion installer:
http://codec.alshow.co.kr/Page/en/true.htm

I copied the 1.2 patches over:
http://codec.alshow.co.kr/Page/en/true.htm

I disabled the TrueMotion thingy:
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Hi all, I'm getting the black screen problem under vista. After reading the above post I understand that it is the k-lite codec pack problem. So, to fix it, I did:
1. Goto K-lite codec pack -> Configuration -> ffdshow video decoder.
2. On the main codec tab, find the "TrueMotion 1,2" line, and click to disable it. (Since libavcodec is having a problem)
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I changed the compatability to 98, 256 colors and strict resolution, inside ff7.exe's properties.

I set up the config:
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12. Next, go to FFVII config file. Change graphics to Nvidia and TNT, 640x480 full screen, Direct3D Hardware Accel.
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I ran the game.

When the cut scene with the train ended, the screen was black. HOWEVER, I "held up":
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the screen went black except for the "C'mon newcomer" text appearing. If this happens, hold the up key until you enter a random battle. The battle should appear as normal and after this all rendering issues seem fixed.
-----


I didn't install the chocobo patch yet, but at least I know now that it's not gonna be a waste of time doing additional patches.

You've all been fantastic.

Using FF7 Luncher should help you to run it on Windows XP and Vista :
http://forums.qhimm.com/index.php?topic=7248.0

I have vista, but i dont think thats the problem.

I installed the game and ran these patches:

Official Patch the 1.2 one
Saints High Res Patch
NPC Recon
Truemotion Codec
& Sephiroth Patch

I followed the insructions precisely, and the patches installed perfectly w/o trouble.

Now heres the problem, When i run FF7.exe the game goes to a black screen as if its about to start, but then it just reverts back to my desktop :(, im not getting any errors, so i dont know whats wrong. No im not using the Ultima Edition, and im pretty sure i installed everything correctly.

My specs are as follows:

nVidia GeForce 8400
Intel Duo 1.8
2 Gbs of Mem
Vista 32 Bit Home Premium

Tested on Windows Vista Ultimate. Works perfectly without fail. Running on AMD X2 3800+ and ATI Radeon X1650 Pro AGP.

It goes to the black screen and after 5 seconds I get "ff7.exe has encountered a problem and needs to close....."

I'm a bit inconfident with some areas of computing, my specs are

Windows Ultimate Edition
512 RAM
Intel 82830M Graphics Controller
Mobile Intel Pentium III CPU - M 1200MHz

Can anyone advise how I can remedy the problem? I've tried the TNT patch (I don't have an nVidea card though) and I've tried the WinXP patch to no avail

nVidia 8800gt, vista ultimate 64
installed the 1.02, the chocobo race patch and the codec and the high-res/aa patch, all mentioned above. I have problems only with sound not playing in some movies or in some secquences following movies. otherwise everything else seems to be running just fine

Installed fine, patched fine, played fine in Win98 compatibility.

J'ai installé FF7 sur mon pc(win vista)
je lance le jeux,tous se passe bien mais lorsque le train s'arréte l'ecron devient noir.
si vous pouver m'aider à résoudre se probléme svp
nb: mon carte graphique est ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3470 et merci.

FF7 is the best game that i have play in my psone
but since i tryed to run it under win vista i think it will be the worst. I try everything you have said but nothing work.

This way FF VII seems to work.

my steps:
-install patch ff7_02, ff7input, FF7_chocobo_patch
from http://www.ff7-universe.com (1.02 patch, Laptop Keypad patch, Chocobo Racing patch

-uninstall K-lite codec

-install TrueMotion 2.0 codec
from http://codec.alshow.co.kr/Page/en/true.htm

-FF 7 Configuration settinges-> Graphics -> NVIDIA & RIVA 128, Renderer: Direct 3D hardware, Display: Primer

-move all movies from the cd's to a movie folder in data
-play in windows 98 compatibility

and enjoy

Hi,

My system is windows vista 64 bit
CPU is AMD Athlon x2 Dual-Core QL-60 1.9 Ghz
4G RAM
Graphics card is an ATI Radeon HD 3200

Now after I've installed it, I've gotten the movie part of it to work completely smoothly. No issues there. The problem is once the game starts (i.e. where Barrett and Cloud and the other figures jump out of the train) it blacks out, I can hear the sound of what they're doing and I even have the 'new comer follow me' speech bubble pop up, but then I can't do anything. Is there any fix for this? (yes I held up but didn't encounter any battle...) I've searched everywhere tried everything, anything you provide would be great, thanks!

Vista & XP Users:

After install, go into the installed folder and right-click on the ffvii.exe icon. Go to the "Compatibility" tab and change it to Windows 2000.

To make the movies work, download the True Motion Video CODEC by searching google for it.

If the game just stalls, run the configuration utility and check the NVIDIA box under the graphics tab. Then click the TNT circle to make the 8-bit Paletted Textures not applicable.

Hi,

I bought a new laptop this semester and tried running FFVII for old times sake.

My computer:

Windows Vista Home Premium Service Pack 1
AMD Turion X2 Dual Core Mobile RM-72 2.10 GHz
3GB Ram
ATI Radeon HD 3200

I had the black screen after i selected new game at first, but got past that with a codec, then i had a black screen after the opening train cinematic, but got past that by trying to maneuver blindly. Then things ran relatively smoothly with a few random crashes, that weren't consistenly in any one place or event after reloads, until i got to the gold saucer for the first time and got a black screen again. I again maneuvered past this blindly, but now my game is completely freezing in cosmo canyon after i see a few asteroids go into a black hole in the astro lab. I dont hear any sound, but i can see all the characters standing perfectly still around the solar system with only the closest character "blinking" their eyes occasionally. how do i get past this "cosmo canyon" crash?