Graphics Corruption, tried everything - help. Hey guys, I wanted to know if anyone could help me here. My computer is very new, the specs are fine and collabrate with the ones on the box and website. I've updated my graphics drivers, everything and I still get graphics like this. Sometimes the game works fine, but lately this has been happening. Can anyone think of a solution? :bunny:
Total WAGs follow: Does the corruption change if you kick the computer? Maybe it even crashes if you try this? If so, maybe you have a loose board. Also, does this happen only occasionally, or every time your computer starts? Is your computer hot? Have you ever seen anything like this anywhere else? You could try ventilating the case better. Try leaving the panels open with a fan blowing into it. If all else fails, try kicking it some more.
Hmm. Back when I had my TNT2 (may it RIP) I would get problems like that in several games, a very severe one in particular being Tribes 2... looked exactly like that. What video card do u have? Is your card overclocked? Even if it were, I doubt any amount of stable overclocking could result in something like that...
I think the board might be loose actually because I had to hoover my boards out a while back because they were dusty. The thing is, the game was working fine initially, now it's gone all fubar on me. How could I secure the boards in better? Sorry for sounding niave, but my field is definately software rather than hardware. :bunny:
just make sure they are seated properly. simply having them snug in the slots should be fine. but screw them in if you wanna be safe.
Hmmm...I'll try that. I hope it works. Maybe when I was hoovering the boards I dislodged it slightly and then by moving the comp around it moved out of place. If not I don't know what the hell could be wrong with it...:(
Still, a pre-assembled computer should already have any and everything screwed down at all possible points. Also, most, if not all motherboards today have that clip thing which (assuming it's AGP) locks the card securely into the AGP slot. Do these graphical problems show up in any other apps?
I tried reinserting the graphics card, making sure it was secure. That worked at first, but then after playing the game for about 10 minutes it kept screwing up. I tried restarting. That didn't work. So I tried backdating/updating/reloading graphics drivers, but that made things worse and everything went scrambled again. Any graphics drivers you can recommend for my card? I'm going to take the whole thing apart again after they're updated.
Um, given the fact that you have not posted any information on your system specs, driver recommendations are a bit... difficult to give out at this point
Sorry I was sure I'd posted my diagnostics here earlier. I apologise again. Right here they are: ------------------ System Information ------------------ Time of this report: 10/15/2004, 22:24:13 Operating System: Windows XP Home Edition (5.1, Build 2600) Service Pack 2 (2600.xpsp_sp2_rtm.040803-2158) Language: English (Regional Setting: English) System Manufacturer: MEDIONPC System Model: AWRDACPI BIOS: Award Modular BIOS v6.00PG Processor: Intel(R) Pentium(R) 4 CPU 2.80GHz Memory: 512MB RAM Page File: 242MB used, 1004MB available Windows Dir: C:\WINDOWS DirectX Version: DirectX 9.0c (4.09.0000.0904) DX Setup Parameters: Not found DxDiag Version: 5.03.2600.2180 32bit Unicode -------------------- DirectX Debug Levels -------------------- Direct3D: 0/4 (n/a) DirectDraw: 0/4 (retail) DirectInput: 0/5 (n/a) DirectMusic: 0/5 (n/a) DirectPlay: 0/9 (retail) DirectSound: 0/5 (retail) DirectShow: 0/6 (retail) --------------- Display Devices --------------- Card name: NVIDIA GeForce4 MX 420 Manufacturer: NVIDIA Chip type: GeForce4 MX 420 DAC type: Integrated RAMDAC Device Key: Enum\PCI\VEN_10DE&DEV_0172&SUBSYS_87301462&REV_A3 Display Memory: 64.0 MB Current Mode: 1024 x 768 (32 bit) (75Hz) Monitor: Plug and Play Monitor Monitor Max Res: 1600,1200 Driver Name: nv4_disp.dll Driver Version: 6.14.0010.6672 (English) DDI Version: 9 (or higher) Driver Attributes: Final Retail Driver Date/Size: 9/20/2004 07:09:00, 3721344 bytes WHQL Logo'd: Yes WHQL Date Stamp: n/a VDD: n/a Mini VDD: nv4_mini.sys Mini VDD Date: 9/20/2004 07:09:00, 2738592 bytes Device Identifier: {D7B71E3E-4232-11CF-C26D-3AA702C2CB35} Vendor ID: 0x10DE Device ID: 0x0172 SubSys ID: 0x87301462 Revision ID: 0x00A3 Revision ID: 0x00A3 Video Accel: ModeMPEG2_A ModeMPEG2_B ModeMPEG2_C ModeMPEG2_D Deinterlace Caps: {212DC723-3235-44A4-BD29-E1652BBCC71C}: Format(In/Out)=(YUY2,0x3231564e) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)=(0,0,1) Caps=VideoProcess_YUV2RGB VideoProcess_StretchX VideoProcess_StretchY DeinterlaceTech_MedianFiltering {335AA36E-7884-43A4-9C91-7F87FAF3E37E}: Format(In/Out)=(YUY2,0x3231564e) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)=(0,0,0) Caps=VideoProcess_YUV2RGB VideoProcess_StretchX VideoProcess_StretchY DeinterlaceTech_BOBVerticalStretch {212DC723-3235-44A4-BD29-E1652BBCC71C}: Format(In/Out)=(NV12,0x3231564e) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)=(0,0,1) Caps=VideoProcess_YUV2RGB VideoProcess_StretchX VideoProcess_StretchY DeinterlaceTech_MedianFiltering {335AA36E-7884-43A4-9C91-7F87FAF3E37E}: Format(In/Out)=(NV12,0x3231564e) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)=(0,0,0) Caps=VideoProcess_YUV2RGB VideoProcess_StretchX VideoProcess_StretchY DeinterlaceTech_BOBVerticalStretch Registry: OK DDraw Status: Enabled D3D Status: Enabled AGP Status: Enabled DDraw Test Result: Not run D3D7 Test Result: Not run D3D8 Test Result: Not run D3D9 Test Result: Not run -------------------------- If you need any other info let me know.
Okay, you say you securely screwed the card down, and things were fine, until about 10 minutes into the game? All of your drivers appear to be correct and current. I know that Service Pack 2 has been known to cause problems in games, but TS2 was supposedly made to work with DX9c and SP2, so it SHOULD work. However, the symptoms you describe, where you serviced the card physically, everything worked fine, and then 10 minutes later, things went south again, combined with the weakness of your card itself, as well as the visual artifacts you demonstrated, makes me inclined to point the finger at heat. Nvidia MX-series cards often scrimp on extras like fans and VRAM heatsinks, and just downclock everything. Of course, TS2 is a demanding program, and your aging card will probably heat up when forced to exert itself. Once the card is overheated, it will begin to miscompute data, resulting in visual artifacts and potential crashes. The fact that it SOMETIMES works, at the beginning, makes me very much inclined to blame heat, especially since you have a very low-end MX-series. IIRC, the GF4 series had a heat-dissipation weakness to begin with at release time.
In that case, you could try underclocking the card, e.g. lowering the clock/memory speeds by around 50mhz or so. There are quite a few programs out there which enable driver-level over/underclocking, and this simple registry addition adds overclocking functionality to nvidia drivers. However, the inherent weakness of the card itself reduced even further by underclocking will most likely result in nigh-unplayable framerates.
Haha, ok enough cussing of my graphics card. I know it's bad, it was just all I could afford at the time. I'm very thankful for all your help though. Would leaving my side panel open reduce the heat by any chance? Just until I get my cousin to install another fan or something?
Opening the side panel could reduce the heat, but only if your circulation is adequate: If you do not have enough fans, the core of the chips will still heat up, and even with the panel open, you may not be able to dissipate the heat fast enough to prevent an overheating problem. It's not the case temperature, it's the core temperature of the individual chips. Opening the panels can help, but you also need much improved air circulation. And maybe a cup of liquid nitrogen sitting inside.
