I tried the setup program from the link you gave me, but it just said my operating system is not supported, and exited.
It's also possible to change the video driver using Device Manager. However, probably good idea first to check and see if "-w" works for you or not, as Simon suggested:
1) browse to the folder where the Lix program is located.
2) right-click on it and select "Create Shortcut" from the menu. A shortcut is created in the same folder.
3) right-click on the shortcut just created, and select "Properties" from the menu.
4) In the popup window, in the field that says "Target", add a space followed by -w to the end of the text.
5) Click OK to save the changes.
Now launch the game
using the shortcut and it will run Lix with the -w option.
Unfortunately I don't think there's any analog of this workaround that will help with the Cheapo editor.
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To change the video driver using Device Manager instead of the setup program.
1) open Start Menu
2) type "Device Manager" in the search box and press ENTER. Wait for program to launch.
3) find "Display Adapter" in the list, and click on the little triangle to the left of it
4) the list expands with at least one new item under "Display Adapter", that should read "Standard VGA graphics adapter" or similar, based on the dxdiag info. Right-click on it and select "Update Driver Software"
5) Click "Browse my Computer..." (second option button).
6) Click on the "Browse" button at the top-right of the page
7) In this 2nd popup window, find the folder you unzipped the contents of the zip file to. (Little triangle left of a folder entry means you can click on the triangle to expand and see all the sub-folders inside the folder.)
8.) Select the folder, then click OK.
9) Back to the main popup, click "Next".
10) If all goes well, Windows should find the driver somewhere under the folder you selected, and installs it.
Between steps 9 and 10 if it is trying to change the video driver, the screen may flash for a bit, but should eventually settle down into working video when installation finishes. If it ends up settling into a black screen, try pressing Ctrl+Alt+Del. That brings up the logon/user switch screen and can usually clear any transient black screens. If that doesn't work, force reboot the computer and see what happens. If video remains unusable after reboot, follow the steps given in the previous post to revert the change (including use of Safe Mode).
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it seems this computer isn't meant to support Windows Vista in the first place (no idea why everything else works, if that's the case). I'll have to blame the chaps at the computer shop for that, but I don't really want to go back and complain to them
It's not that unusual to try to run an OS on a computer that the manufacturer hasn't necessarily tested the OS on, so I don't think I'd go so far as to blame and complain, especially since as you said, almost all of what you need to do with the computer is working. Also remember that the computer manufacturer has more incentive to get you to buy a newer model than trying to squeeze every last ounce of working out of an older model.
it probably wouldn't be any good anyway.
Not sure where you got that from, just because it's older doesn't necessarily mean it's worse. In fact you may have less problems with compatibility on older OSes. I wouldn't rule out trying the old computer, but yes, no guarantees either.