help - graphics problem

[dave h.]

installed a geforce2 graphics card.

using the driver that came with the card, the game freezes up shortly after entering a scenario.

I installed the latest driver from the nvidia site. Now, the game goes further. but shortly after entering a scenario, i have another graphics issue - the screen starts flashing red.

i'm looking for a slightly older driver that might work, but not finding any.

help!! I need to start sinking some flat-tops or I'll go nuts!

(other computer components meet required specs - over 256k ram, pentiumIII 840+mhz, direct x9c, etc.)

thanks for any help,
dave

[Marc von Martial]

Please post a DirectX dialog file.

[dave h.]

marc,

thanks, trying to attach direct x dialog file (the one tab did say, 'no problems found')

[alexs]

Hi Dale,

Thanks for the dxdiag. Your machine is at the extreme low end of our specs, so you may have to modify some settings to get it to work optimally.

Go to the options screen, and try lowering the screen size until your at the minimum (1024x768) if it's not already. Try setting the color settings to 16 bit. Then go to the "Map" options section and change the zoom ratios to the "Minimum" setting.

[dave h.]

yes, I downgraded all game options to minimum levels.

tried to uninstall and reinstall various drivers.

with latest nvidia driver, still get the problem where the screen goes flashing red.

my computer specs exceed minimum required ram, and cpu speed.

it seems like a graphics problem, with the geforce2 card and driver i'm using.

slightly frustrated, i can taste those flat tops sinking...

thanks for your help,
dave

[Erik Rutins]

Hi Dave,

Just jumping in here, are you still having trouble getting the game running? If so, have you tried running Driver Cleaner Pro after uninstalling just to make sure everything is cleared out from the previous driver installations? Basically, uninstall drivers, reboot, run DriverCleaner, reboot, install latest drivers, reboot.

If that still shows the same results then another thing to look at is your audio driver, which is from 2001. Is there any newer driver for your audio?

If we can't get it working for you, given that you are within the required specs we'll offer you a refund but we'd like to see if we can get you up and running first.

Regards,

- Erik

[GoodGuy]

ORIGINAL: dave h.

yes, I downgraded all game options to minimum levels.
tried to uninstall and reinstall various drivers.
with latest nvidia driver, still get the problem where the screen goes flashing red.
my computer specs exceed minimum required ram, and cpu speed.
it seems like a graphics problem, with the geforce2 card and driver i'm using.....

Hi...
well, it sounds like the drivers are causing these freezes ...

Try this first: Try to update your audio drivers. If it's an onboard soundcard go to the mainboard's manufacturer site, and get the lates drivers. In case u still get the freezes, open DXDIAG, go to the sound tab and set audio/sound "hardware acceleration" to "basic".

If the problem still persists go back to "full hardware audio acceleration", then, with such an old video card, you should switch to an old NVIDIA driver version (you should try version 32 or lower {make sure to pick a non-beta version}), but be warned, new games might not like them. You can find older versions in NIVIDIA's driver archive, or just use Google.

The latest Nvidia drivers do NOT support GF2 / GF2 MX cards anymore, although they "seem" to be downward compatible, since they seem to support most/or all of the GF2 functions once they're installed. NVIDIA ceased to support these cards' chips (means: no bugfixes or adjustments for newer DX versions for example) with version 40 something, but I've read that they cleaned out the drivers, so there's a good chance that core functions are missing in drivers version 40.x and above.

When I used to play "Tribes 2" (a FPS game, running under OpenGL) with a GF2 MX (Creative) and then with a GF2 Ultra (Leadtek) later on, I had to switch back to nvidia reference driver version 32.x, which was the last version working correctly under OpenGL/Direct 3D with my cards, at least. Newer versions gave me freezes, CTDs or totally borked graphics.

Also, you should try to find out what type of NVIDIA card you have: Is it a card manufactured by NVIDIA, did the manufacturer use NVIDIA's reference layout, or did they make substantial changes?

You should use the reference drivers from NVIDIA if it's a NVIDIA/reference card, but if the card has a "tuned" layout (changed by the manufacturer) you should always use the drivers which came with the card or get the latest one from the manufacturer's site.
If you don't know these details you should check the card for the model no. and google for some reviews, most reviews contain that info.

Another reason for the crashes might be that you've got a mix of different nvidia driver versions on your 'puter:
This is the best (but a bit cumbersome) way to get to a clean state:

1. Uninstall the current drivers
2. Reboot and go to protected mode (F8)
3. Search the "system32" directory and use this search term: nv*.*
4. Most of the files found should be remnants of the nvidia drivers, but check each file's file properties ("version" tab, "company" name entry) if it's a nvidia file or not, then delete all NVIDIA files (tray, driver, helper, etc blehbleh). If you have an NFORCE mainboard, then don't be too trigger-happy [:D], since u don't want to delete your chipset (mainboard) drivers.
5. Reboot and install the drivers of your choice.

Using old drivers (as described above) in conjunction with "basic hardware acceleration" (SOUND tab in dxDIAG) does do the trick for some games/computers at times, too. Disable/Enable "V-sync" in your video card driver settings then start the game.

Hope that this made sense and that it helps.