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G r a n d T h e f t A u t o III
ReadMe.txt
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CONTENTS
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CONTACT INFORMATION
SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
GENERAL INFORMATION
INSTALLATION
KNOWN ISSUES
3D VIDEO CARD DRIVERS
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CONTACT INFORMATION
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Thank you for purchasing

Grand Theft Auto III .

This ReadMe contains last minute information and troubleshooting tips.

For news, hints, and the Grand Theft Auto III community, check out
www.rockstargames.com
www.take2games.com
www.gta3.com
For Technical Support
Web: www.take2games.com
Email: support@take2baltimore.com
Phone 410-933-9191 Monday to Friday, 9am-5pm EST.
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SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
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Supported Operating Systems:
Grand Theft Auto III uses Microsoft DirectX 8.1.
Supported Operating Systems are:
Windows
Windows
Windows
Windows
Windows

98
98 Second Edition
Millennium
2000 Professional (Workstation)
XP (Home and Professional)

The following operating systems are NOT supported:

Windows 95
Windows NT (any version)
Mac OS

Linux
BEOS
Minimum Hardware Requirements
450 MHz Intel Pentium III or AMD Athlon processor
96 MB of RAM
4 speed CD / DVD drive
700 MB of free hard disk space
16 MB video card with DirectX 8.1 compatible drivers
DirectX 8.1 compatible sound card
Keyboard
Mouse
Recommended Hardware Requirements
700(+) MHz Intel Pentium III or AMD Athlon processor
128(+) MB of RAM
8 speed CD / DVD drive
700 MB of free hard disk space
32(+) MB DirectX 8.1 hardware video card
DirectX 8.1 compatible sound card with surround sound
Gamepad (USB or Joystick Port)
Keyboard
Mouse
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GENERAL
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DirectX:
Grand Theft Auto III requires Microsoft DirectX 8.1 to run. As a
consequence we recommend that the video and sound drivers installed are
also DirectX 8.1 compliant. Even better, use a true hardware DirectX
8.0 / DirectX 8.1 card.
Windows XP:
We recommend manufacturer distributed drivers for Windows XP (i.e.
drivers that expose the user controls for changing settings on the
particular piece of hardware), instead of the default drivers installed
by Microsoft as part of the machine setup process.
Memory:
Grand Theft Auto III requires at least 96 MB of memory to run. For
optimal performance at least 128 MB is recommended (256 MB preferred).
Running Applications:
Grand Theft Auto III has been designed to take best advantage of the
available machine it is running upon, therefore we recommend that you
close down all applications before running Grand Theft Auto III.
Video Memory:
Grand Theft Auto III requires a video card with 16 MB of video memory
or greater to run. Grand Theft Auto III will refuse to run if it is
launched on a machine with less than 16 MB video memory.
AMD K6/2 and K6/III processors:
These AMD processors both play Grand Theft Auto III at too low a speed
to be acceptable.

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INSTALLATION
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Insert Grand Theft Auto III disc one into the CD / DVD drive.
If you have Autoplay enabled then the setup routine will automatically
launch.
If you do not have Autoplay enabled, then use Explorer to navigate
Grand Theft Auto III disc one, and manually launch setup.exe
Footprint
Grand Theft Auto III requires approximately 700 MB of hard disk space.
Save Games
Grand Theft Auto III uses the My Documents directory of the currently
logged in user to store the GTA3 USER FILES directory. This is where
we store save games. This was chosen to allow each user on Windows 2000
or Windows XP to have their own saves.
Uninstallation
When Grand Theft Auto III is uninstalled, we do not delete the MP3 ,
SKINS and GTA3 USER FILES directories. It is up to the user to
remove these manually.
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CONFIGURATION
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Sound Provider:
The sound API selected inside Grand Theft Auto III options can effect
game performance - try alternative sound providers to achieve better
results. Try Software, MSS Fast, RSX, Direct Sound Hardware, Direct
Sound Software.
Dynamic Acoustic Modeling
Turn off Dynamic Acoustic Modeling in the Sound Options for a small
performance gain.
Trails
Turning off the Trails effect in Grand Theft Auto III display settings
will help increase speed.
Screen Resolution
Selecting lower Screen Resolutions in Grand Theft Auto III display
setup will allow faster gameplay on lower end machines. Also using 16
bit color, instead of 32 bit color, will help in these circumstances.
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TROUBLESHOOTING
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Windows XP + nVIDIA based cards (possibly other brands):
We have found a possible problem with Windows XP that manifests itself
as graphical problems both in the game menu and also during game play.
We have traced this problem to be a Windows XP problem.
Technically this problem is solved by the use of a newer version of
d3d8.dll than is shipped on CD with Windows XP. (The version on the

Windows XP CD that has problems is 5.1.26000.0

versions tested
without error include 5.1.2600.15 and 5.1.2600.29)
Currently the only way we know to update this dll file is to install
the Windows XP Patch: The Computer Cannot Enter Standby or Hibernate
If a Direct3D-Based Screen Saver Is Running (Q306676) downloadable
from the following Web Site:
http://download.microsoft.com/download/whistler/Patch/Q306676/WXP/ENUS/Q306676_WXP_SP1_x86_ENU.exe.
This update may in the future be available as part of an official
Windows XP Service Pack, a Windows XP Compatibility Update, or possibly
a DirectX 8.1 update.
Power VR Kyro 2 video cards
We have been unable to fully support this card due to the nature of
rendering on this card, and as a consequence some texture effects do
not display correctly, though these are minor. We recommend this video
card is used with a 32 bit screen mode, as in 16 bit we discovered a
rare depth buffer issue, which is solved in 32 bit. We would also
recommend making the following settings changes:
=> Go to the advanced display properties dialogue
Select the Direct 3D page, and create a new profile for gta3.exe,
Then inside this profile:DISABLE W buffer
ENABLE external depth / stencil buffer format
ENABLE Direct 3d / stencil buffer format
ENABLE depth / stencil buffer format
ENABLE depth / stencil buffer loading
Aureal sound cards:
We have noticed a lot of crashing problems reported with Aureal sound
cards. This manufacturer has ceased trading and is not issuing new
drivers. We have had many problems with supporting Aureal cards in the
past, and with currently existing drivers these cannot be cured though trying non-Aureal Sound Providers may prove to be more
successful than the native Aureal Provider. (i.e. Software, MSS Fast,
RSX, Direct Sound Hardware, Direct Sound Software).
Motherboard based sound chips:
We have found certain motherboard based sound chipsets do not report
having a hardware sound buffer, and crash with Grand Theft Auto III. We
found that running Microsoft s DXDIAG and performing the sound tests,
will present the user with an error message saying that a hardware
buffer is not supported, and would you like to use a software buffer.
Selecting a software buffer will allow this sound chipset to work with
Grand Theft Auto III.
Hard Disk Defrag
If you are experiencing short, periodic slowdowns whilst driving, Grand
Theft Auto III may be having trouble retrieving data at a fast enough
rate from your hard disk. It is recommended that you run your systems
Defragmentation utility regularly to allow optimum speed in the game s
performance.
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3D VIDEO DRIVERS
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We recommend using the latest available Video drivers for your video
card. Where available use the video chipset manufacturers Reference

drivers in preference to video card manufacturer customized drivers or

Microsoft WHQL certified drivers.
Below for convenience are common video card manufacturer s websites.
Grand Theft Auto III may not support some or all video cards by a
particular manufacturer. Inclusion of a manufacturer in this list does
not mean there are any assurances of compatibility.
3Dfx Interactive
3Dlabs
Asus
ATI
Aztech Labs
Canopus
Creative Labs
Diamond Multimedia
Elsa Technology
Guillemot
Hercules (see Guillemot)
I/O Magic
Jaton
Leadtek
Matrox
NVIDIA
Orchid (see Diamond MM)
SIII Incorporated
SiS
VIA Technologies
VideoLogic

http://www.3dfx.com/
http://www.3dlabs.com/
http://www.asus.com/
http://support.atitech.ca/
http://www.aztechlabs.com/
http://www.canopuscorp.com/
http://www.creativelabs.com/
http://www.diamondmm.com/
http://www.elsa.de/
http://www.guillemot.com/
http://www.guillemot.com/
http://www.iomagic.com/
http://www.jaton.com/
http://www.leadtek.com/
http://www.matrox.com/
http://www.nvidia.com/
http://www.diamondmm.com/
http://www.sIII.com/
http://www.sis.com.tw/
http://www.viatech.com/
http://www.videologic.com/

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This software and documentation
Copyright 2002 Rockstar Games.