DaMilli Posted February 16, 2001 Share Posted February 16, 2001 After reinstalling Win2k, CM will only run in 640x480@120 software mode. If I accept this option on the initial config screen, CM will use the software renderer which looks awful (have you ever tried this? Reminds me of old C64 games...). If I skip, CM will bail out and display the following message: Could not initialize Direct3D graphics Other games (Counterstrike) show no problems with Direct3D or OpenGL. My config: Duron800@1000MHz, Epox8KTA3, 128MB SDRAM, Win2k SP1, DirectX8.0a german, GeForce2MX, NVidia reference drivers 6.50, Quicktime 4.0, Dell 1226H monitor P.S.: Does this problem have something to do with monitor refresh rates? ------------------ "I am no fool!" Michael Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schrullenhaft Posted February 16, 2001 Share Posted February 16, 2001 What current resolution are you running at right now on your desktop ? What monitor does Win2K say you have installed (most likely a "Plug-n-Play" if not your actual model) ? The error you're seeing occurs with some systems when you reach the last possible resolution/refresh-rate that CM recognizes under DirectX (instead of cycling back to the first resolution you were offered, it errors out). Delete your Prefs file in the CMBO directory and try again. You may need to experiment around with your DirectX display options to see if anything helps. For some reason CM is only seeing 640 x 480 as the only resolution available. If this doesn't work, then you may want to try the drivers that came with your card or that are offered from the manufacturer's website (rather than the NVidia Reference drivers) to see if this makes any difference. To be honest, Windows 2000 is not a good OS to play CM in considering the video card that you're using. A number of users have complained of problems with NVidia-based video cards under Win2K. Even with the latest drivers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaMilli Posted February 16, 2001 Author Share Posted February 16, 2001 What monitor does Win2K say you have installed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaMilli Posted February 16, 2001 Author Share Posted February 16, 2001 UBB SHOULD BE ON What monitor does Win2K say you have installed Win2k does recognizes my monitor as a Dell1226H. You may need to experiment around with your DirectX display options to see if anything helps. I´ll check this out. I recently installed a tool called "NVidia Refresh rate fix", a small program which sets the default refresh rates higher than initial 60MHz (this comes handy if you play games like CS). Maybe this is the cause of trouble. To be honest, Windows 2000 is not a good OS to play CM in considering the video card that you're using. I know. Win2k is not the best for games (especially elder, DOS based; that´s why I had to say goodbye to PanzerGeneral95, sniff), but I choose it for many other good reasons and won´t change it again. Thanx you for your help, ------------------ "I am no fool!" Michael Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaMilli Posted February 16, 2001 Author Share Posted February 16, 2001 What current resolution are you running at right now on your desktop ? 1280x1024@85Hz, TrueColor16bit, Big Fonts (120dpi) ------------------ "I am no fool!" Michael Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maximus Posted February 16, 2001 Share Posted February 16, 2001 You know what's ironic here? The human eye can only see refresh rates up to about 75 Hz. Anything faster is a waste. Also your overclocking the CPU may be the problem also. Because way back there was mention that oevrclocking your CPU or video card could cause problems in CM's performance. ------------------ "Upon my signal, unleash Hell."--General Maximus, Gladiator "Aim small, miss small."--Mel Gibson, The Patriot Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Madmatt Posted February 16, 2001 Share Posted February 16, 2001 Originally posted by Maximus: You know what's ironic here? The human eye can only see refresh rates up to about 75 Hz. Anything faster is a waste. Actually thats untrue Maximus. I can look at any given monitor and tell you EXACTLY what the refresh level is up to 120 Hz. Don't ask me how I just have always been able to. I used to win money off of people at work betteing them on this! I can even look at a flourescent light and see it flicker while others say it doesn't. Some people are just really sensitive to that sort of stuff I guess... Then again, maybe it is cause I am not from this world... Madmatt [This message has been edited by Madmatt (edited 02-16-2001).] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaMilli Posted February 17, 2001 Author Share Posted February 17, 2001 I solved the problem! As I mentioned earlier, it had something to do with that little program I installed. It´s called "Windows 2000 NVidia Refresh Rate Fix" and you can find it here: http://www.planetquake.com/ztn/ I don´t know exactly what it does, but as far as I understood it will raise the default refresh rates that come with NVidia reference drivers under Win2k. It worked really fine with Counterstrike to achieve refresh rates above 60Hz, but somehow CM refused to work with this settings. I reloaded all the default NVidia settings (there is a restore function) and now I use CM with 1024x768@85Hz. The human eye can only see refresh rates up to about 75 Hz. Anything faster is a waste. Contrary to this statement I must agree with Madmatt. I do see a differernce between 75 and 85Hz for example. It is a small almost not noticable flickering when you take a look parallel to your monitor. As far as I can remember biology lessons this has something to do with the human eye´s ability to detect moving objects better in it´s lateral field of view. Anyway, thanks for your help. ------------------ "I am no fool!" Michael Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wako Posted February 17, 2001 Share Posted February 17, 2001 One other thing will cause this. Running netmeeting in win2k can cause this. Apparently netmeeting shuts off directdraw and directx when it is running, so if it crashes, you are screwed. The only way I got my directdraw & directx back were to do the following: run netmeeting again turn on filesharing server (I think it's in the tools or options menu) close them both and disable the filesharing server (i.e. set it to not be used in netmeeting) reinstall my nvidia drivers After this, direct everything worked again, and so did CM! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maximus Posted February 17, 2001 Share Posted February 17, 2001 Originally posted by Madmat: Actually thats untrue Maximus. I can look at any given monitor and tell you EXACTLY what the refresh level is up to 120 Hz. Don't ask me how I just have always been able to. I used to win money off of people at work betteing them on this! I can even look at a flourescent light and see it flicker while others say it doesn't. Some people are just really sensitive to that sort of stuff I guess... Then again, maybe it is cause I am not from this world... Madmatt Well, we never said you were normal, LOL! I was just going off what my assistant was saying because he watches TechTV regularly and he keeps tabs on all this computer crap, etc. However, I can detect a slight flicker in my screen too. I've got my refresh rate set at "optimal" so I'm not sure what is set at and what I could go up to. Besides, what's the benefit of raising the fresh rate? Faster framerates? Less flickering? What? [This message has been edited by Maximus (edited 02-17-2001).] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schrullenhaft Posted February 18, 2001 Share Posted February 18, 2001 Higher refresh rate = less flickering (there really shouldn't be any other benefit to my knowledge - in fact it is possible that the card could get slower with a higher refresh rate, but most video cards today won't have this problem). You may notice flickering the most in "high contrast areas" (large dark areas near large white/light areas). Your lighting (flourescent, etc.) will also affect your perception of flicker. In Windows you can change the refresh rate from Control Panel > Display control panel > Settings tab > Advanced button > Adapter tab > Refresh rate drop down dialog. The settings available here are dependent on the monitor that Windows has recognized/defined and your video card. If your monitor is "Default" it may not show much in terms of available refresh rates. "Optimal" sometimes isn't. If your monitor is defined in Windows and your video card can handle it, you can change your refresh rate to something higher (often higher than "Optimal"). Lower resolutions will typically have higher refresh rates available (this is a function of the frequencies involved in drawing on the screen). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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