Minecraft at School: Getting It to run on a potato

[Amaxter]

So at my school we have some free time during lunch and advisory to be on the computers, which are really crappy HP Compaqs with Intel Q45 Express Chipsets from 2008. They're crap, but Minecraft isn't that demanding and I'm sure I can get it to run. I've tried downloading drivers to not get the "Open GL" or "Bad videoc ard driver" crash, but I don't have administrator privileges to do so. Is it possible that I can get the game to run at all?

[TwoTails]

sorry, I don't think you can.

the only program that can run on PotatOS is GLaDOS.

but, have you tried it? if its from 2008 it should work.

[Belone]

I'd personally say your biggest stumbling block would be the version of Java on the school's PCs. Back when I used to support schools' IT, there was a requirement (due to other software) for Java to not be upgraded beyond 5u17 (though that was a few years ago now and is probably higher now). While it is possible to have two versions of Java installed on a machine it's fiddly and, personally, if I was asked to install the latest just so the kids could play Minecraft in their free time, then I wouldn't - but your school's IT admin might be nicer than I am.

If you could get past the Java stumbling block (and also updating the video drivers) then I see no reason why Minecraft wouldn't run on the machine - like you say it doesn't have very high requirements, especially in the lowest graphic settings.

[Amaxter]

I'd personally say your biggest stumbling block would be the version of Java on the school's PCs. Back when I used to support schools' IT, there was a requirement (due to other software) for Java to not be upgraded beyond 5u17 (though that was a few years ago now and is probably higher now). While it is possible to have two versions of Java installed on a machine it's fiddly and, personally, if I was asked to install the latest just so the kids could play Minecraft in their free time, then I wouldn't - but your school's IT admin might be nicer than I am.

If you could get past the Java stumbling block (and also updating the video drivers) then I see no reason why Minecraft wouldn't run on the machine - like you say it doesn't have very high requirements, especially in the lowest graphic settings.

Yeah, I understand about Java. But they're running Java 7u45, the graphics drivers are the problem. Whenever I try to install the intel integrated graphics media accelerator for graphics I'm not allowed to as I'm not the administrator. Well, guess I can just play Happy Wheels in that case! XD

[freakachu]

Yeah, I understand about Java. But they're running Java 7u45, the graphics drivers are the problem. Whenever I try to install the intel integrated graphics media accelerator for graphics I'm not allowed to as I'm not the administrator. Well, guess I can just play Happy Wheels in that case! XD

yeah you're pretty much SOL in this case unless you wanted to bring like, a live CD of linux or something with everything already setup. assuming you can either boot from CD/usb or access the BIOS that is

[Amaxter]

yeah you're pretty much SOL in this case unless you wanted to bring like, a live CD of linux or something with everything already setup. assuming you can either boot from CD/usb or access the BIOS that is

Or maybe I could setup remote desktop with my personal computer at home?

[TheBytemaster]

Or maybe I could setup remote desktop with my personal computer at home?

Unless you have some kind of dedicated high-speed direct link, the latency from that would likely be horrible enough to make any games unplayable. In any case, IIRC most remote desktop schemes need admin to install.

Like freakichu mentioned, if you're allowed to boot to portable media at your school, I'd go with some kind of live Linux setup. LiLi's nice for doing those on flash drives, (super user-friendly, it even auto-downloads your chosen distro for you), and it also has a way to setup Linux with persistent storage for your install, so you wouldn't have to re-install things like java on every reboot. You'd essentially have your own computer on a stick. This path becomes all the more plausible if the computer has USB 2.0 onboard. Either way, even if it's a bit laggy because of the I/0, it's miles ahead of trying to use a remote desktop for gaming, at least in my experience.

(You could also use a portable hhd for this for more room, and if there is a SATA port on the computer, (often combined with a USB port), you could likely get near-full-speed I/0 to it.)

Link to LiLi; http://www.linuxliveusb.com/

EDIT: I forgot, it even automatically does virtualbox setup on the stick too. That might be an option if you aren't allowed to boot to your own media, as long as the computer can handle the overhead, but it's also just plain cool.

:iia:

[Amaxter]

Unless you have some kind of dedicated high-speed direct link, the latency from that would likely be horrible enough to make any games unplayable. In any case, IIRC most remote desktop schemes need admin to install.

Like freakichu mentioned, if you're allowed to boot to portable media at your school, I'd go with some kind of live Linux setup. LiLi's nice for doing those on flash drives, (super user-friendly, it even auto-downloads your chosen distro for you), and it also has a way to setup Linux with persistent storage for your install, so you wouldn't have to re-install things like java on every reboot. You'd essentially have your own computer on a stick. This path becomes all the more plausible if the computer has USB 2.0 onboard. Either way, even if it's a bit laggy because of the I/0, it's miles ahead of trying to use a remote desktop for gaming, at least in my experience.

(You could also use a portable hhd for this for more room, and if there is a SATA port on the computer, (often combined with a USB port), you could likely get near-full-speed I/0 to it.)

Link to LiLi; http://www.linuxliveusb.com/

EDIT: I forgot, it even automatically does virtualbox setup on the stick too. That might be an option if you aren't allowed to boot to your own media, as long as the computer can handle the overhead, but it's also just plain cool.

I'll give it a shot, would a 4 GB Flash drive be enough though?

[TheBytemaster]

I'll give it a shot, would a 4 GB Flash drive be enough though?

That's plenty for everything you could need. You could probably install java, the Technic launcher, have a handful of packs, (and a box full of worlds), in there, and still have ~2 gigs left. I'd recommend trying out some of the free Linux stuff you can get from whatever software store is bundled with your distro while you're at it. Heck, dump some tunes to listen to on there too. (Some tunes. You don't want to fill the thing up too full. As for the distribution to use, I'd recommend Mint.)

[Amaxter]

That's plenty for everything you could need. You could probably install java, the Technic launcher, have a handful of packs, (and a box full of worlds), in there, and still have ~2 gigs left. I'd recommend trying out some of the free Linux stuff you can get from whatever software store is bundled with your distro while you're at it. Heck, dump some tunes to listen to on there too. (Some tunes. You don't want to fill the thing up too full. As for the distribution to use, I'd recommend Mint.)

I'm not familiar with Linux, does the Mint distro have a Web Broswer or GUI for me to install Java and Minecraft?

[TheBytemaster]

I'm not familiar with Linux, does the Mint distro have a Web Broswer or GUI for me to install Java and Minecraft?

Of course! Most every distro does. (except for the bare-bones ones, like ARCH which even works on super low-end machines. Minimum system requirement for that is 64 MB of RAM.)

I'd give either mint or ubuntu a go. Flip a coin or something, their main difference for you would probably be the UI. Try out both and see which one you like/which one works better for minecraft. You might also want to try out a slightly lighter distro, like Xubuntu