Video Blackout
 

Hey again you guys,

For background, I finally got a new setup of a motherboard, memory and hard drive for a much needed upgrade. So far everything is running smoothly with one exception. If I run a 3D accelerated game, the game will run but the monitor will black out once the game starts. Everything else is working as normal.

I'm sure in order to do this properly this will be a long post with all the info I know you guys will probably need.

The motherboard is a Gigabyte GA-K8NSC-939. The processor is AMD Athlon 64 3500+. I have 1gig of memory. My graphics card is a Nvidia GeForce FX 5200 256mg. This probably doesn't matter but, I have a 400w power supply and excellent cooling. My temperature is staying between 89 and 97 F.

I'm currently looking to grab the DirectX info to paste in.

I'm currently running running Windows 2000 for the OS (will probably change over to XP later once I have everything figured out and files downloaded, my disks are at another house for storage since I tend to lose things). It's upgraded to SP 4 and all updates possible except the Net Framework 1.1 (I have the 2.0 one).

I have the newest updates for the motherboard, chipset, bios, and videocard. As soon as I figure out what I'm doing wrong for the DirectX info I will post it as well. If I have missed any information that should be added please let me know and I'll grab it all.

I'm wondering if I have missed a setting in the bios for the video card or if these newest drivers are causing problems. I have the newest ForceWare ones. I can download the Omega ones if necessary.

Thanks in advance!

Holy damn.. I think this is the most comprehensively detailed question I've ever seen. You gave us all your specs, you told us what software you had and everything. All my "it must be X" solutions went out immediately, and I'm only down to a few left. :) What 3D games? For example, I had this problem with Diablo II but none other. Is it all of them? What bit depth/resolution are you running at? Are the games compatible? Do the games support Win2000? (Likely, but not always..)

EDIT: This really does sound like a DirectX issue. 9.0C? Can you run the DirectDraw/Direct3D tests in Run > dxdiag without a problem?

I'm not sure if they do or not.. but.. it could be a issue with the Windows 2000. The current games I was attempting to run to test out the machine to see what if anything was messed up are Black & White 2, Vampire: The Masquerade Bloodlines, and Zeus with the Poseidon expansion.

The first two are the only ones I'm having problems with (so far). Being that it's 3D accelerated. Zeus is a pretty old game but it was something to pass the time while downloading. ;)

I have the DirectX 9.0C update and I ran the DXdiag (thank you for that! :icare: ). The tests were all fine. The only problem through out the whole thing was one file was not digitally signed by Windows under the display.

I will upgrade to XP if necessary but I really don't want to. Everytime I do that I seem to have a buggy installation. :rolleyes: I've even had other people to do the install and it still tends to be weirded out after a week or so.

I really want to get this fixed before I finish updating Everquest 2. That was my sole purpose in upgrading my machine. (please don't bash me! :lol: )

Games usually switch resolutions from that used by your normal desktop. I'm guessing you haven't configured those resolutions to use a refresh rate compatible with your monitor, so the monitor is unable to sync with the signal and blanks itself (self-protection).

Go into display properties, advanced, and set the refresh rate for each resolution used by your games. Or, set your games to use resolutions for which you have configured the refresh rate.

No?

Cool... I changed the refresh rate up to 70 then up to 100.

However, I got B&W2 to run on the 70 but Vampire wouldn't run on any mode that I set it to. I don't think I can get into the game to change the setting on that just yet. Though, Vampire may be a Win XP game for all I know. I just happened to pull it out of a friend's case to check it out.

Awesome! I've got something working so far. :)

Thanks!

As you increase resolution the vertical refresh will decrease, and the reverse. 100Hz is on the fast side for the average consumer monitor even at low resolutions. 70Hz should be easy for any unless you're at it's max. Check the monitor manufacturer's website for specs. They'll usually have driver files so you don't have to guess and do this work yourself.

When you can't figure out a game resolution/rate switch, check the game's readme. They often contain the necessary command line arguments to force resolutions and refresh rates. Look in the game's directory. If not then it's time for a trip to the developer's website or just google.

I play Guk -- 54 Paladin. No bashing here. :) I've got masquerade, and it works at 60 Hz at 1280x1024. Try that? I believe it's got a seperate config program too, check the Start Menu.

Najena - 54 illusionist :)

I checked the start menu for something to change that one.. the only thing I have is a safe mode style one, the game startup, uninstall and documentations.

Maybe if I increased the resolution up to that setting I might be able to get into the game and change from there... hmmmmm :hmm:

It's all a matter of fiddling with things. Thankfully Black & White 2 started up with changing the montior to 70mhz.

I'm just worried about if there's a downside to playing with the monitor refresh.

The higher the refresh, the less eyestrain. The ONLY downside of a high refresh is that it will damage a monitor if it cannot support the refresh rate. However, if you've been running at 70 consistently, it's pretty likely that your monitor supports it.

Any luck with Masquerade?

nope i gave up and uninstalled it... lol i was getting very annoyed with... i know the computer can run it cause i hear it playing lol