My shiney new video card is making me crazy
jrd:
Have you tried disabling the shaders?
boolProp useShaders false
If the game runs with this setting, you are running into the bug.
syberspunk:
Quote from: KellyQ on 2007 August 21, 14:28:38
Strangel, I hate to sound like an idiot but could you give me instructions on how to disable the onboard graphics setup?
You could probably go to Control Panel -> Administrative Tools -> Computer Management -> Device Manager -> Display Adapters
If there are any listed as Integrated something or other (that is obviously not your new Nvidia 7600 GT), right click -> Protperties -> Driver tab -> Uninstall.
When you install a new graphics card, there might already be instructions on how to uninstall/disable your existing graphics adapter. It might be best to uninstall your onboard and your Nvidia. You could probably uninstall both and reboot. When your machine reloads, depending on your settings, it may attempt to auto install the graphics card. Assuming you're running XP, you'll probably get that plug and play adapter thingy that says it found a new hardware device or whatever. Cancel out of that wizard, and install the latest Nvidia drivers you downloaded. Reboot again and cross your fingers. :P
I've been having problems with my machine. Now and then I get reboots or BSODs. I tried a buncha stuff and still couldn't figure it out. It complained about IRQL conflicts, among other things. I tried uninstalling and reinstalling, but as of yet, I am not sure that fixed it. I've tried almost everything, short of reformating and reinstalling or RMAing the damned grapihcs card (which it might be too late to do :P). I suspect it may be a temperature issue, as my parents had purchased a new A/C for me, and I haven't had a reboot since (my old A/C was weak, it would take forever to get to a moderately cool temp, and it was screwy, because it pretty much only had two temps, despite having a dial - it was either piss poor weak and barely better than a fan, or super freezingly arctic ::) ). I can't tell if it's the RAM or the graphics card. But I haven't played Sims in several weeks now (currently obsessed with my PS3).
Ste
Hegelian:
Quote from: KellyQ on 2007 August 21, 14:28:38
Strangel, I hate to sound like an idiot but could you give me instructions on how to disable the on-board graphics setup?
If your motherboard has an on-board graphics controller, you need to disable it in the BIOS. You do this by entering Setup as soon as the machine powers up (if Windows begins to load, you've gone too far). Each motherboard vendor uses a different key to get into the BIOS setup, but the common ones are F1, F2, and DEL. The text that appears on the screen when you you first power up tells you what key it is, but on newer machines this can go by pretty fast. (If you are quick, you can use the Pause key to freeze the start-up screen. Press any key to resume.) The user manual for your motherboard should tell you the key, and also show a screen capture of the Setup page where you disable on-board devices like graphics controllers and sound devices. If you don't have the manual, you should be able to download one from the manufacturer's Web site. If you don't know the manufacturer, you can find out using a free tool like CPU-Z.
Typically, the on-board graphics controller is disabled in the BIOS section called Integrated Peripherals or something similar, but you will need to look around your particular BIOS to find the video settings. You navigate the selections with the Up and Down arrow keys, and make your selection with the enter key. To change a value you use the arrow or Page UP/Page Down keys (but you may need to experiment to see how to change setting in your particular BIOS). Escape moves back up through the screens to the top level. After making your changes, be sure to Save Changes and Exit.
If you are using an plug-in sound card like a Sound Blaster, you can disable the onboard audio while you're in there (look for AC97 audio).
You can tell if your motherboard has on-board graphics by looking at the I/O cluster at the back of the case. If there's a video connector there along with the parallel, audio, and USB ports, then you have on-board video that needs to be disabled.
Also, it may be that you need to completely remove the driver files for the FX5200 before installing the drivers for the 7600. The last I checked, nVidia didn't offer a driver-removal tool, but you can get one here. Stray driver files can cause video problems.
Lorelei:
Laptop or desktop? If the former, you'll have to go to the comp. manufacturer's site to get updated drivers.
I assume it is a desktop, because swapping cards in a laptop tends to be a non-trivial chore.
KellyQ:
Quote from: Jordi on 2007 August 21, 15:12:07
Have you tried disabling the shaders?
boolProp useShaders false
If the game runs with this setting, you are running into the bug.
Well this seems to have done the trick (crossing fingers). I played for 2 hours last night after adding a userstartup.cheat file to my game with the above command in it and the game didn't freeze or dissolve into a black screen. Just to be on the safe side, I saved every 20 minutes or so because I was tired of Groundhog's Day gameplay.
Lorelei, it's an HP desktop and I am using the latest drivers from Nvidia's site. I wouldn't have a clue on how to even open my laptop and tinker around. :-[
I do have a few more questions though. I followed Hegelian's directions and poked around in the BIOS last night; what I found was puzzling to me. The graphics card is in an AGP slot but the BIOS was marked PCI instead of AGP/Board...I'm guessing had it been marked AGP/Board, then that's what I would have needed to disable? I guess I am confused as to why since it's an AGP slot would it be marked as PCI? That may be a stupid question but I would really like to understand.
Also, when I quit the game, there is quite a bit of time where the screen goes black and it takes several minutes before it slowly starts booting up my regular desktop. Is that normal? It didn't do that with my old card.
I had one more question, regarding disabling the onboard audio as Hegelian suggested, but I'll be darned if I can remember what it was right now. Something to do with the BIOS being set to auto and if that's what I need to disable....I may have to edit this post if I can remember exactly what it was I wanted to ask. :-\
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