Download DiRT 2

NoDVD showed few warning on VirusTotal, it is safe to use, nothing to worry about. As alternative, you can use mini-image to bypass disc check

The game with patch 1.1, NoDVD and Xliveless has been tested on Windows 7 64-bit, Windows 10 and Windows 11, it works fine, the game supports widescreen and high resolutions up to 4k. You may experience some small 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).
• It is recommended to install the game not in default path, but in some other, non-system folder, like C:/Games/DiRT 2, so you won't have troubles with NoDVD or fixes. Also, the installation path should have ONLY English letters
• After you installed the game - install patch 1.1
• Then install NoDVD, simply copy files from the archive and put it into game directory, agree to replace original file
• Now install Xliveless that will disabled Games for Windows LIVE in the game - simply copy files from the archive and put it into game directory
• Once you installed the game with patch 1.1, NoDVD and Xliveless - delete Games for Windows LIVE to avoid possible troubles with Xliveless
• Also make sure that you enabled DirectPlay if you didn't make it before, read this or this guide how to do it (if you're using Windows 7 or older - just install DirectX from the disc)
• Open the directory with the game and find DiRT2.exe. Right click on DiRT2.exe - Properties - Compatibility - Set "Run this app in compatibility mode with Windows 7" and "Run as administrator"
• Launch the game and play. If the game doesn't work in compatibility mode with Windows 7 - try to launch it in compatibility mode with other version of Windows (Win98, Windows ME, Win2000, etc.)

You can find some mods for the game on ModDB, NexusMods and RallyGamer

Notes:

• If the installation doesn't start - try to launch Setup.exe in compatibility mode with old version of Windows (98, 2000 or XP)
• NoDVD is required for the launch because the game is using SecuROM DRM protection, which doesn't work correctly on modern systems. That NoDVD "breaks" DRM protection and allows the game to work on modern systems
• It is recommended to install all versions of Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributable, and NET Framework for the correct work of the game
• Also it is recommended to install RAD Video Tools and K-Lite Codec Pack for the correct work of in-game videos
• The game works on DirectX 9, 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
• The game installer will automatically install Rapture3D sound utility, that utility is required for the correct work of sound in game. Also, it is recommended to install OpenAL too
• Xliveless disables Games for Windows LIVE (GFWL) in this game, so you can play it without being annoying with it. But don't use GFWL and Xliveless at same time, make sure to delete GFWL if you use xlive.dll from Xliveless!
• If you want to play with Games for Windows LIVE anyway - delete GFWL и GFWL Redistributable that comes with the game (it is old version for Windows Vista and Windows 7), and install Microsoft Games for Windows - LIVE, that version is compatible with Windows 8 and newer systems. Then create local GFWL profile
• Sometimes, when you create new profile and start entering the player's name, the game may switch to Windowed mode. Press Alt+Enter to switch to Fullscreen mode. Also, if the game shows black screen during profile creation - try to press Alt+Enter few times, to switch between Windowed and Fullscreen modes, black screen should disappear
• It is not recommended to select QCSAA anti-aliasing in game options! Most of modern graphics cards doesn't support QCSAA anti-aliasing, and the game will show just black screen
• For unknown reason the game can crash if you have some utilities for gaming keyboard or mouse. If the game crashes with no error - try to disable any utilities of that kind. Also, the game conflicts with Wallpaper Engine, if you see black screen at launch of the game - close Wallpaper Engine app
• In very rare cases the game can crash on intro videos, looks like that happens only on some updates of Windows 10 & 11. If that happens with you - try to use No Intro mod
• Some users of 8-cores processors, like Ryzen 5800X, reported about troubles with the game. If you have troubles on multi-core processors - use this fix, simply drop bat-file in game folder and run it, it will make the game to work maximum only on 4 cores, for better performance
• By default the game in Fullscreen works at 60 FPS max, but you can try to run it on higher FPS with Special K app, read this guide for details. Also, looks like the game in Windowed mode doesn't have framerate limit, so you can try to use Borderless Gaming app and play in Borderless Windowed mode. However, it is not recommended to run the game on more than 120 FPS, because in that case in-game "flashback" feature can break
• If you have poor performance, unstable framerate or the game "heats" your CPU/GPU - enable Virtual Synchronization (Vsync) in game options, it will force the game to run at 60 FPS
• If you want to change FOV (Field of View) in game - use Dirt3FovChange. It is recommended to not set FOV too high, to avoid occasional texture pop-in glitches
• If you want to disable bloom - read this guide. As alternative - you can install graphics mod (simple edit of game configs) that disables bloom and color filter
• The game has full controller support, but to enable it make sure that both keyboard and gamepad are connected before the launch of the game. After you launched the game - use keyboard to go to Settings and choose which controller you want to use
• Xliveless also disables multiplayer functionality, including LAN multiplayer. Online multiplayer servers were closed over 10 years ago, but it is probably still possible to play DiRT 2 in multiplayer via LAN emulators like Tunngle or Hamachi. So if you want to try to play the game in multiplayer via LAN, do the next: don't use Xliveless, delete GFWL that was installed with the game and install Games for Windows LIVE Software (if it doesn't install - read this), then create local GFWL profile. After that you can try experimenting with LAN multiplayer
• Patch v1.1 for European version compatible with English, French, German, Italian & Spanish languages but not compatible with any other languages. If you have Polish retail version - download patch v1.1 for Polish version
• You can change the language of installed game by edit of Windows Registry, without re-installing the game. Open DiRT 2/language folder, you will see the list of available language files. Then start Windows Registry Editor (press Win+R and run regedit.exe), go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/SOFTWARE/Wow6432Node/Codemasters and change Language parameter; in example if you want to change from English language to French, change Language=eng to Language=fre. In some cases the game can start crashing after change of Language parameter - in that case revert the changes
• Polish translation patch includes full audio and text localization taken from official Polish retail version and adapted for Steam release of DiRT 2, but should work on any other version of the game, check this page for details. Russian translation patch includes full audio and text translation taken from official Russian retail version. Hungarian translation patch is unofficial, created by fans of the game, and includes only text localization
• Don't forget to check PCGamingWiki if you have troubles, it's very useful!

Visit MacintoshGarden for more information about Mac version