Colin McRae Rally

How to Play

The game with patch v1.5, Windows 7 fix and dgVoodoo has been tested on Windows 7 64-bit and Windows 10, it works fine. You may experience some troubles when you play the game on modern systems, check our Guide and Notes for details

Install & play guide:

• Mount the disc image. You will need the utility for mounting disc image files, like WinCDEmu, UltraISO, Alcohol 52%/Alcohol 120% or Daemon Tools Lite
• Install the game (if autorun doesn't work - simply launch the installation from Setup.exe inside the disc)
• You can skip installation of DirectX 6 and DirectX Media, since they don't work on modern systems. Also, skip installation of Indeo video codec, since it is disabled in new Windows systems by default. On the step when you need to choose your video card - choose "Auto select"
• If you're using Windows 8, 8.1, 10 or 11 - make sure that you enabled DirectPlay if you didn't make it before, read this or this guide how to do it
• After you installed the game - install the patch 1.5
• Then use Windows 7 fix by kFYatek - simply run cmr_w7.exe and it will automatically update game's files and add compatibility with Windows 7 and newer systems, plus it will remove CD check
• Now you will need to download and install dgVoodoo, because the game has graphics problems on modern machines. To install dgVoodoo copy the dll-files from the MS/x86 folder, dgVoodooCpl.exe and dgVoodoo.conf to the game folder, if you want to change dgVoodoo settings - open dgVoodooCpl.exe. Also, you can download pre-configured dgVoodoo files from our website, simply extract files from the archive and put them in game folder
• Open the directory with the game and find Game.exe and Rally.exe. Right click on both exe-files - Properties - Compatibility - Set "Run this app in compatibility mode with Windows XP SP2 or Windows XP SP3" and "Run as administrator"
• Launch the game and play. If the game doesn't work in compatibility mode with Windows XP - try to launch it in compatibility mode with other version of Windows (Windows 95, 98, 2000, etc.)

How to play the game in widescreen:

• The best and most recommended method is to use dgVoodoo, in combination with Windows 7 fix. To install dgVoodoo copy the dll-files from the MS/x86 folder, dgVoodooCpl.exe and dgVoodoo.conf to the game folder. Then open dgVoodooCpl.exe, go to DirectX tab and select "Force Vsync", for the best performance. In Resolution menu set the new display resolution for the game. Run the game from Rally.exe and in Settings disable Motion Smoothness, that way the game will work more stable. Also, with dgVoodoo you can play the game in high resolution with anti-aliasing and texture filtering, to get better graphics. You can select the settings you want in dgVoodooCpl.exe, then click "Apply" to save settings, close dgVoodooCpl and run the game. We checked the game with different dgVoodoo settings, the game worked fine
• Another method is to not install Windows 7 fix, only the game with patch v1.5, and then edit exe-file with HeX-editor, to enable new resolution. Here's a video guide how to do it. Also, here's Widescreen fix for 16:9 resolution, with already edited exe-files. Edited exe-files are compatible with dgVoodoo too, just don't select new resolutions in dgVoodoo Control Panel

Notes:

• If the installation doesn't start - try to launch Setup.exe in compatibility mode with old version of Windows (98, 2000 or XP). Also, try to launch Setup.exe inside CD/Setup folder, if Setup.exe in main CD folder doesn't run
• Patch v1.5 removes disc protection and fixes some bugs, that patch is required if you want to use any of fixes. Please note that for Italian version you must use the patch v1.4 for Italian version. Polish version must be already patched for the latest version, because we uploaded 2003 release by eXtra Klasyka
• It is recommended to install all versions of Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributable and NET Framework for the correct work of the game for the correct work of the game
• The game works on DirectX 6, so if you're using Windows 8, 8.1, 10 or 11 - you need to enable DirectPlay: Go to Control Panel, and select 'Programs'. Select 'Turn Windows features on and off', click on 'Legacy Components' and check the box 'DirectPlay'. Select OK, once the installation is done, restart your computer
• For users of Windows 8 and later: if Windows 7 fix by kFYatek doesn't work for you - try alternative fix by Patrxgt, that fix also adds compatibility with modern systems and removes CD check, but seems that it has some small troubles
• On modern systems, 3D-models of cars in main menu may appear with broken textures - they become grey or blue color. That bug is random, but luckily it is non-critical, and cars in game itself appears with correct textures
• If Motion Smoothness is enabled in game settings, the game's framerate is locked at 30 FPS. It is recommended to disable it (switch to "OFF") for better framerate, because the game can work up to 111 FPS. But it can result in weird camera behavior, to fix it enable Vertical Synchronization (Vsync) in control panel of your video card or, if you use dgVoodoo, in dgVoodoo Control Panel
• Very rarely but sometimes when you disable Motion Smoothness and the game runs on more than 60 FPS, it works "weird". If you have any troubles on high framerate - try to limit the game's framerate to 60 FPS. If you use dgVoodoo - open dgVoodoo.conf, find the line FPSLimit = 0 and change "0" to "60". Alternatively, you can set framerate limit in video card panel or with one of framerate limit utilities
• When you play the game with dgVoodoo, you may experience the situation when the intro videos for the Rally School courses have sound but no image. If you get that problem - open dgVoodoo Control Panel and check that Alt+Enter shortcut is not disabled. Then you can switch to windowed mode when you want to see those videos
• For users of Windows XP: the game with patch v1.5 should work with no problem on Windows XP and older systems, but if the game doesn't run even with patch - use Windows XP fix, simply run cmronw2k.exe and it should fix the problem. Also, that fix works for Windows 2000 too
• The game was using Indeo codec for intro videos. By default that codec is disabled in modern Windows systems, so when you run the game and see black screen - simply press Esc button few times, to skip intro videos. Or run the game from Rally.exe inside game directory, in that case intro videos will be skipped automatically. If you want to enable Indeo codec anyway - check this thread for scripts that can enable/disable Indeo codec in your system. Indeo codec was disabled in modern Windows OS by Microsoft by default, for safety reasons, so we recommend to disable it again, once you don't need it anymore
• Don't forget to check PCGamingWiki if you have troubles, it is very useful!