MOST PROBABLE SOLUTION FOR GRAPHICS RELATED LOCKUPS!!!!

[Guest Ol' Blood & Guts]

Ok, I've mentioned this on several threads, but as you can see, most threads now these days aren't getting into those long hard debates like they did before the Gold Demo. So therefore, my snipettes seem to get lost within a day or so.

So here's what you do if your experiencing lock-ups.

First of all. If you have had to install/re-install DirectX 7.0 or 7.0a for any reason. Re-install your video and audio card drivers. Why?? Because DirectX overwrites some of your video or audio card drivers with its own files. Therefore your computer is getting conflicting "reports" from your drivers on how to handle the display and sound. Re-installing the video and audio card drivers will restore stability.

Secondly, (well actually firstly )make sure you have the latest DirectX 7 combatible drivers. This will help with the stability also.

Lastly, if your video card has an over-clocker, turn it off (or down to 1X). Apparently, CM doesn't like overclocking.

And that should do it.

Mouse drivers really shouldn't be the culprit.

Hope this helps, my advice has already helped one individual I know of with the overclocking issue.

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"Why don't we say that we took this one chance, and fought!"

"Stupid humans. Hahahahahahaha!"

--from the film Battlefield Earth

[JeffRaider]

You're the ****, OBG, rock on.

(Smiley added to ensure friendly tone. )

[This message has been edited by JeffRaider (edited 05-18-2000).]

[Guest Big Time Software]

All good tips from good ol' OB&G. Much appreciated.

One extra thing though - sometimes it is the mouse driver that causes problems. Several people have reported this to us. So try all of OB&G's suggestions first but if all else fails (or if you're using a Microsoft "Intellimouse" and don't have a recent driver!) then you really should consider installing the most recent mouse driver you can get your hands on.

Charles

[Guest Scott Clinton]

Just a reminder:

I have done all this, and just as in the Beta Demo I can not multitask.

If hit Alt-Tab and go to the desktop (to say email a turn) and then return to CM the actual IN GAME view is trashed (massive flicker, multi-colors, etc.) and totally unusable. The menu system screens work fine. The only 'fix' is to shut down CM entirely and NOT multi-task.

PC Specs:

Win98

PII/400

256-RAM

32meg Savage4 video card

Sound Blaster Live! audio card

Intellimouse

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Please note: The above is solely the opinion of 'The Grumbling Grognard' and reflects no one else's views but his own.

[Guest Madmatt]

Scott,

Have you tried to just hit Escape to go back to the deskptop instead of Alt-Tabbing?

Perhaps your Savage video card doesnt like to task switch out of a Direct 3D task. Does any other Direct 3D program do this?

Madmatt

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Both now proud members of the Combat Mission WebRing

[Guest Scott Clinton]

> Have you tried to just hit Escape to go

> back to the deskptop instead of

> Alt-Tabbing?

Yes, same problem.

> Perhaps your Savage video card doesnt like

> to task switch out of a Direct 3D task.

> Does any other Direct 3D program do this

No, none I have noticed it on. Its not a 'killer' just thought I would mention it again. My main CM worry is that it might also affect S3 cards...and there are a LOT of those floating around.

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Please note: The above is solely the opinion of 'The Grumbling Grognard' and reflects no one else's views but his own.

[Guest Ol' Blood & Guts]

Scott,

That definately sounds like a Savage 4 card problem. May just be an issue with that card. I have a 32MB Diamond Viper 770 TNT2 Ultra and don't have that problem. It must be something in the Savage chipset.

Charles,

I do have a M$ Intellimouse but haven't had any of the forementioned problems. I guess I've just been lucky. It's a year old. Haven't checked for new drivers. Would I check Microsoft's site for those?

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"Why don't we say that we took this one chance, and fought!"

"Stupid humans. Hahahahahahaha!"

--from the film Battlefield Earth

[Hawk]

Scott, I have a Creative S4 card, and I've had a lot of problems like the ones you have. I upgraded the S4 drivers, AND the drivers for my Logitech mouse at the same time (so I'm note sure which one did the trick). After that, both the BD and the GD workes like a dream!

Have you tried upgrading the S4 bios?

Hawk

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Our's is not to reason "why", our's is but to do and die!

[Guest Molyneaux]

OB+G, I have done all of that and more. I have tried the latest DX7a, I have tried the latest Diamond drivers, I have tried the NVidia Detonator drivers, I have tried the leaked 5.16 drivers, I have tried the latest mouse drivers for my MS Explorer, I have installed the latest sound drivers, I even bought a Diamond MX400 to replace the SB64 that came with the system. I have tried to run the game in every resolution offered in 3D. The only way I have been able to play without locking up is to play in software mode, which is NOT how I want to play this game. I have run the windows file checker and nothing seemed to be corrupt.

I can run all the other 3D games I own on this vid card without locking up or other troubles, that includes Q2,Q3, Rainbow 6, Hidden and Dangerous, Tribes, Halflife, EQ, Air Warrior, EAW, Red Baron3D, Myth 1 and 2 etc. etc.

Here is my system info again, maybe someone can help......

P2 450

Intel 440Bx motherboard/AWARD bios

128 meg RAM

Diamond Viper 770 TNT2 Ultra

Diamond MX400 sound

KDS 19" monitor

MS Explorer mouse

15 gig HD

Generic Keyboard

Hope someone can find a fix, I have tried everything short of reformatting and reinstalling Win98, but was really hopin not to go there yet, my system is only 3 months old, was gonna wait till 6 months or so to wipe it lol.

Thanks,

Molyneaux

[This message has been edited by Molyneaux (edited 05-18-2000).]

[Guest Big Time Software]

Have you tried tweaking the control panel settings for the various modules of DirectX? Or for your video card?

Charles

[Guest Molyneaux]

Charles, yes I have fiddled with the different settings, to no avail

Will report back after I have fooled with all of them, but the number of possible combinations of settings is rather daunting considering each failure means a reboot.

Hope it works, I really want to see more than a turn or two.

Molyneaux

[Iconoclast]

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Ol' Blood & Guts:

So here's what you do if your experiencing lock-ups.

Lastly, if your video card has an over-clocker, turn it off (or down to 1X). Apparently, CM doesn't like overclocking.

<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

CM doesn't seem to like over-clocking in general! I had a *terrible* time getting the demo stable on my system--a Celeron 300A running at 504mhz. At random intervals--anging from every turn to every ten turns-- it would lock up during the "Computer player thinking" phase, sometimes requiring a hard reboot and other times responding to Control-Esc. I updated all my drivers incl. Direct X, reinstalled and even downloaded the game again (a non-trivial task w/ a V.90 modem), all to no avail.

I finally began to suspect a 128meg SIMM I had recently added, since the rest of the system has been rock-stable since I built it in late '98. My last option before opening the case, however, was to go into my bios and increase the CPU voltage by 0.1v, since this sometimes helps stabilize marginal components at the cost of some extra heat.

This worked like a charm, and I didn't pick up enough heat to measure. (Nine fans count for something, I guess!). But CM is the only program I've encountered in eighteen months I've had this system that required this tweaking. Any other CPU overclockers out there with problems might consider this!

[Guest Scott Clinton]

Hawk:

> Scott, I have a Creative S4 card...I

> upgraded the S4 drivers...

Yep, same card. Mine is a 'lame-o' PCI card though. But that SHOULD not make a difference for the drivers.

I just RE-installed the same set of drivers from the Creative site yesterday (just to make sure). These are dated 11/99 IIRCC. Are these the latest drivers you have? Where did you get the ones that work for you?

> AND the drivers for my Logitech mouse...

Well, my is the Microsoft 'wheel' mouse (whatever the damn name is)... I upgraded those about a month ago...

> Have you tried upgrading the S4 bios?

No I have not. There is a bios upgrade on the Creative site (is this the one you speak of?) but it lists only 1 or 2 specific reasons why it might be needed, and none apply to me so I did not see the need to flash my bios.

Thanks for any help!

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Please note: The above is solely the opinion of 'The Grumbling Grognard' and reflects no one else's views but his own.

[This message has been edited by Scott Clinton (edited 05-18-2000).]

[stodge]

Same problem with an ATI Rage 128 Pro. If I go to the Windows desktop, and back again to CM, the graphics are all trashed.

I'll confirm if I switched using Alt-tab or Escape. I really don't remember.

[Guest Robert Hall]

I am suffering the same switching problem with the Gold Demo. Sometimes (50%) on a switch it will go back to CM successfully, other times (50%) all I get is a black screen and the only option is to reboot. It happens whether I Alt+Tab or Escape to the desktop originally

Specs:

PII 400 Win95

128MB RAM

nVidia Riva 128 4MB - yes, I am about to upgrade to a GeForce so the problem may go away

TBS Montego Sound Card

MS Intellimouse

All drivers are the latest. The switching problem never once happened with the beta demo.

Robert

[stodge]

It definitely happens when I press ESC.

[Guest Ol' Blood & Guts]

Robert Hall, I think the culprit is probably the 4MB video card. The Gold Demo suggests using at least a 16MB video card, so I'd say that is the problem.

[Guest Username:]

when I have my computer on 24 bit color the mouse stays an hourglass. Game plays OK but its wierd to see that hourglass all the time.

Lewis