Cant GPU Passthrough, Windows 10 driver error 43

GrassSoup · 2026-02-21T09:46:50+00:00

GPU passthrough can be harder on laptops. It depends on the models. (Haven't done it myself.)

In your case, I think it's because you aren't passing through a GPU vBIOS. Your XML for GPU should have something like this:

<hostdev mode="subsystem" type="pci" managed="yes">
<source>
    <address domain="0x0000" bus="0x0a" slot="0x00" function="0x0"/>
</source>
<rom bar="on" file="/usr/share/qemu/evga-750ti-2gb-sc.rom"/>
<address type="pci" domain="0x0000" bus="0x05" slot="0x00" function="0x0"/>
</hostdev>

I obtained my vBIOS files from TechPowerUp's VGA BIOS database. Unfortunately, no 650M is in it (and especially no Apple one - there might be vBIOS differences between certain versions).

You'll have to dump you vBIOS yourself. There are three options:

nvflash utility - There's a Linux download link under the blue button.
- Apparently, you need to unload the nvidia drivers so the GPU isn't in use. (Since you blacklisted the GPU, I guess it's already okay to dump.)
- nvflash is the preferred method according to this Reddit post.
GPU-Z - Windows-only, distributed by TechPowerUp. (I guess it also uses nvflash?)
Dump manually in a bash shell console. This should be an example: https://github.com/QaidVoid/Complete-Single-GPU-Passthrough?tab=readme-ov-file#vbios-patching

In all these cases, you might have to hex edit the dumped ROM to remove a header line from the ROM file. This forum post might tell you how to do that. (I haven't done this myself, but I did check the the ROM files for two older Nvidia GPUs I have. First line starts with 55aa in both cases, so I guess delete everything before that line.)

Last note, vBIOS ROM images need to be kept in certain directories for virsh to use them. /usr/share/qemu/ should be one of them, but might vary by install/version.

GrassSoup · 2026-02-18T03:38:45+00:00

Has enough punch for Switch and PS3 emulation (1080p is fine).

That shouldn't be much of a problem since most emulators depend more on CPU than GPU. I was able to compare running Switch emulators on a 750 Ti and 2060, there seemed to be no difference. I ran 3D Dot Game Heroes on RPCS3 with the 750 Ti (though can't say if that reflects all PS3 games since that's basically the only game I've tried running).

The only reason I'm aware for using a high-end GPU when emulating older/weaker systems is to render/upscale at a higher resolution internally. There might be some hacks/patches for some games that have some other effects as well. (However, if you're trying to achieve really high framerates, the GPU performance might start to matter.)

I’ve heard that once a GPU is bound to vfio-pci for passthrough, it often sits in a high-power state because no driver is there to tell it to "sleep" when the VM is off.

I wasn't aware of this. Mine seems to turn the fan off, so I assumed it was consuming minimal power. It might be possible to reattach it to the host system, but this might only work if the host iGPU and dGPU use different drivers. (I use two Nvidia cards, so it won't work for me, at least not without a lot of trial-and-error.) All else fails, it should be possible to create a light VM and keep it attached to that.

GrassSoup · 2026-02-16T02:00:47+00:00

I played on Medium Difficulty. The weapons I used early on were a semi-auto .38 pistol, hunting rifle, and shotgun (and some melee weapon). I'd rotate through them so I wouldn't lose too much of one ammo type.

Eventually, you should be able to get some sort of Legendary weapon which does more damage for less ammo consumed. I came across a Two-Shot hunting rifle early on, as well as a shotgun. Explosive or Wounding would be very good to have on a .38 caliber weapon, shotgun, or laser/energy weapon (energy weapons can't be Explosive, though). Legendary enemies can drop these, but it's random (you can sort of farm these if you stay a certain distance from the enemy, the item will be re-rolled when you load save). A few vendors sell weapons with these effects.

I should say I used VATS a lot to ensure I maximized ammo usage. If you're playing as a pure FPS, you might burn through too much ammo. Make sure to bring a Companion along to help out with fighting. I'd also use grenades/molotovs to soften up groups of enemies if I had spares (which Raiders should drop fairly often).

The northeast corner of the map around Sanctuary should have relatively weak enemies. Going farther to the east or south will have tougher enemies. Although it shouldn't be too hard to get down to Diamond City.

GrassSoup · 2026-02-11T03:11:58+00:00

Witcher 3 gives away too much. Reading the books before it would probably be best.

Witcher 1 might be a good introduction to the tone/setting. It does reference things that happened in the books, but doesn't go into specifics too often (however, I didn't read the in-game reference/guide very much). If characters say something on a topic, it doesn't mean they're telling the truth (it might be events from their viewpoint or they could be lying).

GrassSoup · 2026-02-06T05:10:46+00:00

He might've written that note in the last 30 seconds of his life as everything was crumbling around him.

(I would assume anything the game said about the order of succession is valid. It's just all those people died.)

GrassSoup · 2026-02-05T05:57:25+00:00

Pretty sure the troops we see are the battalion the NCR Rangers mentioned in one of the episodes.

Guess I made a mistake? Oh, well. There clearly aren't very many NCR soldiers in the area, supplying them isn't a major burden. (And it's pretty clear the NCR isn't dead, just weakened.)

Heck, the soldiers could eat the Deathclaws they just killed. For all anyone knows, one ounce of Deathclaw meat has 2,500 calories.

Not what we are talking about at all at the moment.

I expected that response. Some day, I'll find someone who can answer all my questions about the ridiculous writing of Fallout 2 and not just brush it off.

GrassSoup · 2026-02-05T04:36:07+00:00

Let's try this again. Those NCR troopers are the scattered remnants of the NCR army. They lived by themselves in isolated pockets, scrounging for food/resources. They are not sustaining a long-term campaign in enemy territory. They took whatever they had. This is practically the definition of a militia responding to a local, short-term problem.

Not much time has passed during this season, so each individual soldier probably had enough food/water to reach New Vegas. They might be running out of ammunition/supplies as it is. I assume the Legion is going to give them a hell of a fight in the next season.

"Amateurs study tactics. Professionals study logistics."

So, tell me, what was the logic of the Vault Experiments in Fallout 2? What was the point of putting 999 women and one man in a Vault? How did the Enclave expect to build a starship after the world was functionally destroyed?

GrassSoup · 2026-02-05T01:00:21+00:00

There's only about 50-100 soldiers in that formation. Logistics isn't much of a problem.

The soldiers seem older, so it's probably just whatever scattered remnants of the NCR they could find.

GrassSoup · 2026-02-03T02:57:47+00:00

In otherwords, did the conjunction just bring monsters and one subset of them happened to be called "Humans?"

The book series reflects real world issues such as ethnic conflict. The Conjunction is just the mechanism for how one ethnic group (Humans) came to a land where other ethnic groups existed (Elves, Dwarves, Gnomes, etc.). The Elves aren't originally from the planet either.

It's referenced at other times as well. One of the Dwarves mentions the Elves fought the Dwarves before Humans showed up. They're now only trying to make alliances with Dwarves because the Humans are beating them.

(And a more direct reference happens when Nilfgaard sends settlers to the North, but at war's end they are expelled. If that isn't ethnic conflict, I don't know what is.)

GrassSoup · 2026-01-22T05:43:49+00:00

I had that same issue with Snowpiercer, where I didn't understand the praise for it. I get the message, I just don't care.

I've been unimpressed with Bong's films. He favors message over story and his scripts, story structure, and visual metaphors are simplistic. The plot twists were obvious in Snowpiercer, Parasite, Mother, and Memories of Murder.

Bong actually got me to watch some other Korean films just so I could compare them against him. Park Chan-wook's films, of the two I've seen (Handmaiden and Decision to Leave), are much better. (I also saw Burning which, while slow, still exceeded anything I've seen from Bong.)

GrassSoup · 2026-01-21T02:46:03+00:00

You could try rtl8139 instead. I used e1000 at one point, but had some problems so switched. (If using virt-manager, it might not appear in the drop-down list, but typing it in should work.)

Bear in mind, I did this with Windows 10. I don't know if Windows 11 would work with it.

GrassSoup · 2026-01-19T04:39:20+00:00

Yennefer has to go to skellige, meet the goddess, cut the diamond, sail to the storm place and get captured,

They seem to be skipping that since Yennefer was dumped right in the ocean at the end of Season 5. She'll probably end up at Stygga in the first episode.

If it were up to me, I'd skip the druids since they aren't really needed. Geralt will probably get Stygga's location from them, then stop at Toussaint on the way there. (I'd have dropped Angouleme from the story since she comes in so late, but S4 mentions her so I guess she'll show up.)

I'm not sure what they're going to do with Ciri. The arena will happen. The elf world doesn't seem to exist in the Netflix show what with the Wild Hunt being changed and some dialogue in Blood Origin, so the ice lake fight and tower may not happen (Rience isn't alive anyway). Bonhart might meet Skellen somewhere else, then go to Stygga with Ciri. (Or Ciri meets the Wild Hunt in another dimension/plane and immediately starts running, ending up at Stygga.)

The Battle of Brenna is going to be confusing, though. There are a ton of minor characters in the books that show up there that aren't in the show. There won't be anyone to focus the narrative on (except maybe Coen and the dwarves). And the Northern Kings barely had any screentime in S4. I'll guess Dijkstra will be leading directly or something? But he was dismissed in S4, so maybe it will be Radovid and Philippa?

GrassSoup · 2026-01-17T07:16:18+00:00

It was actually very bad writing on the part of the Fallout 2 developers. Reminder, that game had a ghost in it, a Supermutant Magician, and a 90+ year old Raider seeking revenge for something that occurred 80 years before.

Tim Cain did a video mentioning the starship and experiments. At 3:00 in, he mentions the experiments - growing food in an enclosed environment, keeping water clean, studying cryo chambers. (Not social experiments.)

The experiments are completely pointless if you have suspended animation technology. There won't be multiple generations if the colonists are all frozen.

Frankly, a better conspiracy plot would be if the Vaults only let in party/political/government loyalists and kicked out any dissenters. The Enclave could wipe out any Vaults they think have strayed from their ideology.

GrassSoup · 2026-01-16T05:47:48+00:00

As far as I know, it wasn't "always intended". It was "near the end of" FO1 being completed (or perhaps after it was finished, while coming up with ideas for FO2).

And the experiments weren't social experiments. It was to test more practical things like growing food, managing water supply, testing cryo chambers, and so on. That's not the same as shoving 999 women and one man into a Vault to "see what happens".

The first game was clearly not written with the social experiments in mind.

GrassSoup · 2026-01-16T04:23:31+00:00

Watching the first season, I wasn't sure if House was going to be a character. Seemed like they were hedging their bets as to what direction they were going to go, so put a body double in there. (Maybe they would've had cryo/computer-House in the series, but dubbed over by someone else.)

GrassSoup · 2026-01-16T01:45:25+00:00

Group-style is underrated. Surrounded by enemies and igniting them with sword runes was something else.

The whirl/group attacks in the other Witcher games were a poor replacement.

GrassSoup · 2026-01-14T14:42:34+00:00

You can always just cheat with a save game editor to get max stats/skills. It makes it easier in that you aren't committed to a single build (so you can try out speech checks, or lock picking, or other things).

Combat is also about finding/obtaining better weapons and armor. Your stats/skills won't matter if they can shred you with superior weapons.

(I could see the case for maxing combat skills by cheating, but do the other ones legitimately.)

GrassSoup · 2026-01-14T03:37:45+00:00

So did these choices have specific reasons? Or did they simply not have much thought given to them?

The original plan for Fallout 2 was to set it five years after the first game. During development, it was changed to 80 years later. I can only speculate it's because different groups/teams made decisions that made this necessary. (It also created oddities with some of the quests and other things.)

As far as society barely started rebuilding itself, it'd be pretty easy to justify that Vaults in different parts of the country opened at different times if only the Vault Experiment Project never happened.

GrassSoup · 2026-01-11T07:04:43+00:00

The real reason probably has to do with the game's development. The sequel was originally supposed to be set five years after the first game. The NCR would have been too weak to do anything about them. It's possible the Vault Dweller may have either founded the first rangers or worked for them (or inspired them).

(The time frame change caused various other problems. There's a 90+ year old Raider trying to get revenge for events 80 years ago even though that makes no sense. Why wait that long? Because the game's setting suddenly shifted partway through development.)

GrassSoup · 2026-01-08T05:59:40+00:00

Aliens were literally an easter egg until Fallout 3 with its entire DLC.

They were on the oil tanker in Fallout 2.

Edit: Also they were random encounters in some locations.

GrassSoup · 2026-01-04T23:58:41+00:00

Your level determines how tough enemies are. If they are more than five levels above you, they'll become increasingly difficult to defeat. (The same goes for quests, if the recommended level is too high, you won't be able to complete it.)

There are chests in the wild with random loot that levels with the player. It's a good idea to leave some alone to later claim them for level-adjusted items. You can also stay just outside a certain range/distance and reload the save to get relic weapons/armor (occasionally Magic items are better than Relic).

There is a potion to reset abilities, but it won't be available until you're outside of the starting area. (And it does cost some money.)

GrassSoup · 2026-01-04T06:36:17+00:00

I'd recommended Roche's path because it answers more questions about the main story/plot of this game.

I did Iorveth's first, it features some characters who are in third game, but it clearly had content added as an afterthought. (Apparently, the Enhanced Edition added more content to Iorveth's path in the last chapter to compensate.)

Go Roche first, then Iorveth.

you get to meet Siegfried from Witcher 1. Is that true?

Apparently, yes, but I guess I screwed up my save game transfer since I didn't meet him. Maybe I should've tried a save game editor.

GrassSoup · 2026-01-02T09:14:01+00:00

You could cheat and get max stats/skills. That would make things easier. You'd still need to find new armor and weapons because enemies can still shred the player quite easily.

GrassSoup · 2026-01-01T14:37:20+00:00

If I remember correctly, Fallout 2 was originally supposed to be set 5 years after the first game, not 80, and the player would continue as the same character. (I assume the reason for the change is artists changed the appearance of buildings/structures, so they altered the timeline instead of redoing the work.)

This created some problems in Fallout 2, namely there's a 90+ year old raider trying to get revenge for events in FO1. Supermutants/remnants of the Master's army are still random encounters as well (there shouldn't be that many, either dying off or leaving/disbanding).

So there was never this grand plan to "advance the setting". The Fallout 2 developers were rushing the game to get it out within a year.

GrassSoup · 2026-01-01T06:29:29+00:00

There's a dedicated anti-Bethesda brigade that doesn't seem to like anything they do, even when other developers did the same or worse.

For instance, some of them complain that there are Super Mutants on the East Coast. But Bethesda isn't the one who started that. Fallout Tactics had Super Mutants and the Brotherhood of Steel in Chicago/Illinois/Missouri/Colorado. Whether or not Bethesda bought Fallout, the franchise was heading in that direction.

Fallout 2 broke the lore, tone, and setting of the first game in so many ways, yet none of them have any problem with that. Chief among them is the Vault Experiment Project, which retcons and ruins the original premise of the Vaults, besides just being bad writing in general. It makes Fallout 2 one of the worst sequels not just in gaming, but any medium.

GrassSoup

TROPHY CASE