Delfs Posted August 2, 2002 Share Posted August 2, 2002 I've just bought this supposedly great game, but i haven't been able to get it started yet. The problem is, that upon launching the game, the screen goes black. I am able to return to windows, via alt+f4, but the problem repeats itself every time i launch. I've tried re-installing both windows and the game, to no avail. Having searched the posts, i've tried the proposed solutions, such as holding down either shift or space, in order to quit the intro movie, and downloading the new drivers for my video card. No effect... So now i ask: Can anyone help me? My specs are: 800 mhz Athlon 256mb Ram NVidia Geforce 2 MX with version 30.82 drivers WinXP CDV version of CM with bonus CD 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schrullenhaft Posted August 2, 2002 Share Posted August 2, 2002 In your CMBO directory can you find a file called 'Combat Mission Bynd Ovr Prefs' ? This file stores the resolution setting for CMBO. If you can't find it, then it isn't being generated and CM isn't getting fully initialized. When you launch CM for the first time you will automatically be taken through some resolution selection screens. Your screen will go black with the exception of a large white box in the middle of the screen with the current resolution and refresh rate that is being attempted. The first resolution that will be tried is your current desktop resolution, however the refresh rate may be higher than what you're currently set to. This should be limited to what your monitor definition specifies, but sometimes this doesn't work and you end up with a vertical refresh rate that your monitor can't display (in which case you screen should look scrambled on these resolutions). If you press Enter while you can't see the screen in this state, then you may have selected an inappropriate resolution. Assuming that you're seeing the resolution selection process, you can just wait several seconds and another resolution and refresh rate combination will be tried (the next lower refresh rate supported by your video card - until 60Hz is reached then the next lower resolution at its highest refresh rate). I'm not sure if the CDV plays any sort of movie like the Internet version does. I believe CDV has a splash screen which shouldn't go away with any kind of keystroke combination. Before you installed the 30.82 drivers what was your version ? Windows XP typically comes with the 12.40 Detonators, which should generally be OK to install over (since XP automatically recognizes GeForce 2's and older NVidia chips). If you've installed an NVidia driver that didn't come with XP, then you may have a problem. I've often seen driver installs not completely correct the problems that they should because they were installed over a previous version. In order to correct this you would have to uninstall your GeForce drivers until you got back to the set that originally came with XP (or - after uninstalling the drivers - attempting to install your video card as an SVGA rather than a GeForce 2MX). After this, then you may want to try a newer driver. I'm not sure how to recommend the latest betas over the current official drivers which are 29.42. Sometimes the latest drivers improve things for people, while often they do not. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Delfs Posted August 2, 2002 Author Share Posted August 2, 2002 Thx for the quick response. To further clarify: - I have no "prefs" directory in the root of my CM-folder - I do not see a white box, when i launch CM. The screen is completely black, and no matter how long i wait, it remains that way. - I tried starting the game up with the original XP drivers, and after that hadnt worked i tried re-installing the newest certified drivers. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schrullenhaft Posted August 3, 2002 Share Posted August 3, 2002 If there is no Prefs file in the root of the CMBO directory then CMBO isn't finishing its initialization (which isn't surprising at this rate). You may want to uninstall and reinstall CMBO. I suggest making sure you turn off any antivirus protection and possibly unload any utilities that may be running in the background. Also, do NOT patch CM with the 1.12 patch found on the Battlefront website. Your CDV version has the latest version already and patching it with the internet release patch will definitely cause things not to work (typically it won't be able to see the CDROM for copy protection purposes if you install the patch). Run the DirectX Diagnostic and see if it reports any problems (Start Menu > Run > type in c:\program files\directx\setup\dxdiag). Go to the Display tab when it loads and check the settings to see that they are all enabled (the 'disable' will be a button if they are enabled). Run each of the three tests for DirectDraw and Direct3D to see if they pass. Do you know if your Athlon is a Slot A or a Socket A ? Do you know the model and manufacturer of your motherboard ? I know some older AMD chipsets had problems with NVidia cards (fast writes, etc.), though most of those issues I think we resolved with driver updates. Have you installed any chipset patches for your motherboard ? These can sometimes help with AGP issues. Do you run any other games, especially DirectX games that are 3D in nature ? Do you have any problems with them ? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Delfs Posted August 3, 2002 Author Share Posted August 3, 2002 I've tried re-installing both windows and CM to no avail. I'm running no antivirus program in the background, and only zonealarm and messenger are active when i launch the game. I've never before encountered problems with 3D games, and have without problems been able to run games such as Neverwinter Nights, Tony Hawk, Sacrifice and Black & White. All my Direct X properties are enabled and test positively without any problems. I have the latest version (8.1). Any good ideas? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schrullenhaft Posted August 3, 2002 Share Posted August 3, 2002 Post your email and I will send you a Prefs file. Tell me the resolution and refresh rate that you run on your monitor. CMBO on supports certain resolutions and typically queries the DirectX display driver for what refresh rates are supported. I don't know if the Prefs file that I may eventually provide you will work or not with the CDV release. I assume that it will, but there may be enough differences that it may not. The hope here is that for some reason or another you cannot see the resolution selection screens and CM is essentially error'ing out on you (though you're not seeing that either). It's possible that a Prefs file may be enough to get CMBO to come up. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Delfs Posted August 3, 2002 Author Share Posted August 3, 2002 Ok, worth a try. My email is M_Delfs@get2net.dk. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schrullenhaft Posted August 3, 2002 Share Posted August 3, 2002 OK, I've emailed you the Prefs file and we'll see if it works. It's set to 1024x768 @ 85Hz vertical refresh. The QuickTime movie turned off (though I don't think that is something that your version plays anyway). 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Len Posted August 4, 2002 Share Posted August 4, 2002 Just my twopence-worth about the movie - On the CDV version, it's an AVI file - 1000.AVI, located in the CMBO\AVI directory. It can be turn off permanently by the usual method of pressing the Shift key during startup. (You can also just rename it to skip it). Regards, Len. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Delfs Posted August 4, 2002 Author Share Posted August 4, 2002 Now it works! I got the file and put it in the root of the folder, and when i started the game it showed a white box, where i could accept a screen resolution. Thanks for all your help. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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