I decided to pick up DiRT 3 again since I haven't played it in a few years and wanted to post this because I can see that many other people are still going through many of the struggles I went through to just get the game started. I was somewhat surprised that a Vista and 7 era game did not load right off the bat on Windows 8.1. I do corporate IT for a living so getting old programs to run on new systems is something I'm pretty used to at this point. What I did to get it working was pretty simple but somewhat tedious and hopefully can act as a point of reference for others that continue to still have issues getting the game running properly. I tested the consistency of this on 3 machines all running 8.1 Pro x64.

Basically what seems to be at the root of all these problems is that the exe files need to be configured to run with forced administrator privileges (regardless of UAC level) and VIsta SP2 compatibility which I've found, ironically, to be the most reliable and consistent with allowing the game to run. I even had issues trying to do Windows 7 or XP compatibility mode but Vista SP2 seems to be the sweet spot. That coupled with some hiding Windows Firewall issues that need to be resolved seemed to patch both the Games for Windows Live issues and DiRT 3 launch issues.

***This is not a guide on how to get the Marketplace Items. Those were disabled by Microsoft since they discontinued the Games for Windows Live service. Valve says they are working on bringing it all under their umbrella so DLC can be re enabled.***

Everything from this point forward is assuming that you have downloaded DIRT3, let the Steam run all the installers and fail to launch the game.

Download the Games for Windows Live client using this link[www.xbox.com]

Before running it, Right-click the installer and go into the Properties.

• In Properties, went to the Compatibility tab
  
• Clicked on Change settings for all users
  
• Check off the box under Compatibility mode that says Run this program in compatibility mode for: and selet Windows Vista (Service Pack 2)
  
• Check off Run this program as an administrator
  
• Check off Enable this program to work with OneDrive files (I use because I have all my game saves set to redirect to my OneDrive account)

Once that is done, run the installer (that now always runs automatically as administrator because of the above settings) and allowed it to fully install. Doing this should not trigger any errors.

After it is finished installing, you need to set the GFWL executable's to the same compatibility mode as above. These are the file locations on a standard install.
C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Games for Windows - LIVE\Client\GFWLClient.exe
C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Games for Windows - LIVE\Client\GFWLive.exe

Run the GFWLClient.exe and it open up to the Live ID login. Sign in using my Xbox Live credentials and set it to Remember Proflie, Remember Password, and Sign In Automatically

If you can't get signed into the client, please test your account at http://xbox.com. If you can't log in there, you won't be able to log into the GFWL client.

Next step is to set compatibility to the same settings as above but this time on the DiRT 3 executables. Go to the DiRT 3 install folder, set compatibility on the dirt3.exe and dirt3-game.exe. These files should have the D3 logo on them.
**Don't confuse the above files with the dirt3_game.exe.cat or dirt3_game.exe.cfg**

Here are the settings again for reference

• Right-click and goto Properties, then to Compatibility tab
  
• Click on Change settings for all users
  
• Check off the box under Compatibility mode that says Run this program in compatibility mode for: and select Windows Vista (Service Pack 2)
  
• Check off Run this program as an administrator
  
• Check off Enable this program to work with OneDrive files (I use because I have all my game saves set to redirect to my OneDrive account)

The dirt3-game.exe will allow the settings to be configured from the Compatibility tab, however the dirt3.exe launcher will not have the tab available at all. You will have to Right-Click on the file and click Troubleshoot compatibility

This will launch the Program Compatibility Troubleshooter which will allow Windows to set the compatibility level of the program.

1. Select Troubleshoot program
   
2. Check the box for The program worked in earlier versions of WIndows but won't install or run now and The program requires additional permissions.
   
3. On the next page it prompts for Which version of Windows did this program work on before? Which needs to be set to Windows Vista (Service Pack 2)
   
4. Next from there, it prompts to test the setting and Test the program...

The game should actually launch properly now and into the DiRT 3 splash and intro screens. But we're not out of the woods yet!

Once compatibility settings are saved through the Program Compatibility Troubleshooter and the game is launched, there were still a couple more steps you will need to take to get it to get it to actually save and load a save profile.

• With the game actually running for the first time, it asks to sign in to the associated Live account or create a new account to be associated. Put the same Xbox live email address from the GFWL client and if you saved all the settings in the GFWL client previously, it should have your password already saved. I would set it to Sign-in Automatically so it doesn't bug you about signing in.
  
  
• It then will ask for the CD key and this is when I went back into Steam and found a Windows Security Alert prompt hiding! This is a Windows Firewall prompt because the game is trying to make a connection and is prompting to allow the dirt3_game.exe through the firewall! Something that will probably go away when exiting out of the game and is a huge factor in getting GFWL to work right.
  
  Here's the prompt you should be looking for in the background when signing in and putting in the key during initial setup.
  Screenshot of prompt
  
  Make sure to Allow the DiRT 3 executable to run on Private and Home Networks. So that it can sign into Xbox Live and download/upload the profile with out any issues.
  
  
• Once the program was allowed through the Windows Firewall, go back into the game, paste the CD key, continue on, and you will be prompted to download an update. It will specifically say to close the game out and the update will auto install before continuing. Once the game is closed, it automatically will finish installing the update. Just had to make sure to close the GFWL Client that may be open in the background to finish the install. It will tell you to close the GFWL if it's still open.

After that is done, you should be able to open the game with out any issues, it will automatically sign into Games for Windows Live, load your profile properly, allow you to save. With all the compatibility settings configured, including the Run as administrator, all that you will ever have to do is open up the desktop shortcut or run from Steam. No need to have to right click and run as admin everytime! =)

Following the steps should let you dive into the game with out any issues. Only thing left is for Valve to take over all the "Marketplace" so we can get access to the damn DLC!!

Happy Driving!