Hard Light Productions Forums
Off-Topic Discussion => General Discussion => Topic started by: MrBig101 on December 03, 2006, 06:04:07 pm
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Posting this for a friend, his comp's freaking out.
"Hello there, and first of all, thank you for taking the time to read this!
My computer issue is that everytime I start playing a full-screen game, my computer gets this checkerboard-like green and purple vertical pattern, like 4 or 5 sections of it. Sometimes, it just makes so many lines go crazy and it looks like the lines are dancing or something, and makes the game obviously unplayable. The games, if it even matters, it seems to effect every game I try fullscreened, are: Elder Scrolls Oblivion, Far Cry, World of Warcraft, and Star Wars Empires at War. Those are the only ones I have tried since having this problem, but like I said it probally will happen on any given full-screen game.
-But- when I run the same game in windowed mode (even if I check an option that makes the borders go away and everything else, so it appears to be full screen) it works just perfectly.
If I think of anything else to add to this I will, and I'll keep checking back frequently. Also, I am not the sharpest tool in the toolbox when it ocmes to computers, but my PC is a few years old, and the video card is only 1 year old. The video card is a Radeon x800 (I could be totally wrong, but I think it's something like that...) and my computer is a eMachienes. I have never had this problem before untill very recently, so it puzzles me...
If I can get full-screen games working again I will love you forever! (Because I just bought a game that doesnt support a windowed mode, and I'd hate to see 50 bucks wasted)"
"Okay, let me know if this information is not enough.
eMachienes
T6520
AMD Athlon(tm) 64 Processor
3400+
2.39 GHz, 1.00 GB of RAM
Physical Address Extension
Windows XP"
Anyone have any idea? We've already installed new drivers, rolled back to a month before, etc. It just started happening, and it's been fine for months.
Thanks.
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Ok. First off, try running hardware acceleration at full and then at nothing. Make sure the display is in 32-bit colour and is a supported resolution. I heard of some problems with blocky gameplay when you push toward the top resolution.
If that does anything, it was just a setting that messed how most games run (most depend on full, though some like FlightSim9 use 60%). Next thing is to check for AA and AT filters. Try to run and max and at minimum. that messes up some games. I really don't know what would fix it but if you force games to play using too high of a AA filter, it messes it up. Basically just drop both of those to 1x and checkout the actual settings. Does it still go blocky when settings are at minimum?
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Update the display drivers. If that doesn't help, run a memory tester (Google for 'ultimate boot cd'). If the memory's fine, I'd suspect the video card of overheating. I had an X800 which would do similar things when its RAM and/or GPU got too hot.
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Well, he's getting a new video card in a couple days, and we'll try that, and if the problem goes away or not, who knows. But I'll get back to you =D.
Thanks for the help/suggestions.
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The checkerboard pattern definitely points to a video card core problem. It could be just heat related or the GPU may be damaged in some way. A new one should probably fix the issue.
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Yeah, almost certainly a problem with the GPU or its RAM. I had a 9800 Pro that did exactly the same thing when changing resolutions, except that it occurred in 2D modes as well. Send it back if you still have the warranty.
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Hello there! This is Justin, MrBig101's friend with the computer problem. He has been bugging me trying to get me to sign up on this forum, so I figured there's no better time than now. Sure enough, it was the Video Card. I just upgraded to an ATI Radeon X1300, tested it out, and nothing is wrong now! I'm glad to see that you guys are willing to help out when needed, I'll browse around the forums whenever I get the chance, take care! :)
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@ Igam
:welcome:
{insert welcome speech here, if you browse the forums for a while I'm sure you will find one to your liking :D}
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try cleaning your computers ventilation every mont, theres probobly tons of dust stuck in the vid card cooling unit