MA 2.25 3d picture problem on XP

tofuanna · 06-11-2005, 03:16 PM

Hi,

I just bought a standalone version of Marine Aquarium Version 2.5. It did not come with my XP Pro software. I installed MA on my machine, got the menus, played with it but am unable to fix the following problems:

1.The 3D image of the aquarium tank has parts of the image missing.
2.When the fish move across the "missing parts" of the 3D image, they leave a "paint trail" of color.
3. Parts of the fish are also missing. However, fish in the forefront of the image have no problem; I assume the partial fish are in a different part of the the 3D image.

I have attached a jpg image to give you an idea of what it looks like, and what I am attempting to fix. I need your help.

My computer stats are:
AMD 1.1Ghz, 1028 RAM, 33.3 G
XP Professional with SP2
NVidia GeForce2 MX/MX400 Version 6.14
Direct X 9.0
CTX Monitor settings: 800x600x16 - Refresh rate 60Hz

What I checked so far:
1. Direct X: checked it with DXDIAG - all works fine on all other graphics and screensavers.
2. MX400: Can't update it - There are no updates available for my particular graphic card according to NVidia Techs online.
3. Windows: The Indexing Service is disabled in services.msc
4. Antivirus was off during installation: I disabled the antivirus prior to installing the program.
5. Task Manager and MSconfig was minimal prior to installation.
6. FRS variation was tried: I modified the FRS from 55 to 90 - did not resolve 3d and background problems.
7. Screen resolution: I tried different resolutions - did not resolve problems. Its is currently back at original settings.
8. CTX Display refresh rates: I changed the refresh rates - did not resolve problems.
9. Tried the registry checker suggested here - didn't fix it.
10. I rebooted each time - didn't reset or fix anything.

So...
Why does 3d aquarium image have missing areas, why does the fish leave trails over the blank areas when passing it, and why does the fish in the background only partially show?

Any help you can offer would be greatly appreciated.

Tofuanna

Jim Sachs · 06-11-2005, 03:48 PM

It looks like some bytes may have been mangled during or after the download. Try uninstalling the program, downloading a fresh copy, and re-installing. Bad drivers can also cause this.

To answer your specific question regarding the symptoms - The background is made of 256x256 squares. On your copy, the program did not recognize some of these squares as valid data, so it did not load them. Each time the fish move, the program would ordinarily redraw the background, then draw the fish over it. With the missing squares, it has no picture to draw in those areas, so the previous image of the fish remains, leaving trails.

feldon34 · 06-11-2005, 03:52 PM

Time to ignore what Windows Update or nVidia are telling you and change drivers on that video card.

GeForce2 MX/MX400

That card *should* run the latest nVidia Detonator drivers available here:
http://www.nvidia.com/object/winxp_2k_71.89.html

They are optimized for more recent cards such as GeForce 4 and 5, but should still work.

They're pretty old, but I recommend 12.41 drivers for GeForce 2 cards:
https://www.feldoncentral.com/Sachs/help.html
https://www.feldoncentral.com/Sachs/...s/W2K-1241.exe

Tarkus · 06-11-2005, 06:11 PM

Yeah, Windows Update is great for a lot of things, but keeping up to date on drivers is not one of them. I don't know how many times it's tried to get me to update to an older driver. And nVidia drivers in particular.

tofuanna · 06-11-2005, 06:19 PM

Thank you for advising me that the issue may rest with the display drivers and to ignore NVidia and Windows advice.

Turns out that, at least on my machine, the newer NVidia drivers were causing the problem -so I removed all of them and started from scratch.

After I cleaned them out, I went through the device manager and updated the display driver. I ended up with Version 6.14.10.4523 - not the latest 71.89 - and your beautiful screensaver works fine!

Think I will keep it this version as everything else is working just fine too. Thank you for your help!

Tofuanna

feldon34 · 06-11-2005, 07:11 PM

When you look at driver version 6.14.10.4523, the actual driver version that nVIdia uses is the last 4 digits. So you are running nVidia Detonator 45.23. Clear as mud.

tofuanna · 06-12-2005, 05:44 AM

Feldon,

I appreciate your clearing up the confusion about driver version versus driver names. I did not know that nVidia driver version 6.14.10.4523 is actually nVidia Detonator 45.23.

For me, such is not clear as mud...but one day it will be. I am having to learn everything about software and computers on my own - and now the situation makes more sense.

Thank you!
Tofuanna

tofuanna · 06-12-2005, 06:44 AM

[quote=tofuanna] For me, such is not clear as mud...but one day it will be.

Sorry about that! Never heard that statement before - I live under a toadstool!

Thanks again!

Tofuanna

MattNW · 07-06-2005, 05:21 PM

One thing I've learned about video drivers is that if they aren't working then an update often fixes things or even rolling back a version but if they are working then it's often best to leave well enough alone until a problem crops up. Or at the very least before updating any driver you should set a restore point.

06-11-2005, 03:48 PM	#2
Jim Sachs Developer Join Date: Dec 2000 Location: Southern Oregon Posts: 9,771	It looks like some bytes may have been mangled during or after the download. Try uninstalling the program, downloading a fresh copy, and re-installing. Bad drivers can also cause this. To answer your specific question regarding the symptoms - The background is made of 256x256 squares. On your copy, the program did not recognize some of these squares as valid data, so it did not load them. Each time the fish move, the program would ordinarily redraw the background, then draw the fish over it. With the missing squares, it has no picture to draw in those areas, so the previous image of the fish remains, leaving trails. Jim Sachs Creator of SereneScreen Aquarium

06-11-2005, 06:19 PM	#5
tofuanna Registered Join Date: Jun 2005 Posts: 4	Drivers were the problem - its fixed!! Thank you for advising me that the issue may rest with the display drivers and to ignore NVidia and Windows advice. Turns out that, at least on my machine, the newer NVidia drivers were causing the problem -so I removed all of them and started from scratch. After I cleaned them out, I went through the device manager and updated the display driver. I ended up with Version 6.14.10.4523 - not the latest 71.89 - and your beautiful screensaver works fine! Think I will keep it this version as everything else is working just fine too. Thank you for your help! Tofuanna

06-12-2005, 05:44 AM	#7
tofuanna Registered Join Date: Jun 2005 Posts: 4	Thanks for clearing the confusion! Feldon, I appreciate your clearing up the confusion about driver version versus driver names. I did not know that nVidia driver version 6.14.10.4523 is actually nVidia Detonator 45.23. For me, such is not clear as mud...but one day it will be. I am having to learn everything about software and computers on my own - and now the situation makes more sense. Thank you! Tofuanna

06-12-2005, 06:44 AM	#8
tofuanna Registered Join Date: Jun 2005 Posts: 4	Oops! Didn't understand! [quote=tofuanna] For me, such is not clear as mud...but one day it will be. Sorry about that! Never heard that statement before - I live under a toadstool! Thanks again! Tofuanna

06-11-2005, 03:52 PM	#3
feldon34 Forum Administrator Join Date: Dec 2000 Location: Rock Hill, SC Posts: 10,938	Time to ignore what Windows Update or nVidia are telling you and change drivers on that video card. GeForce2 MX/MX400 That card should run the latest nVidia Detonator drivers available here: http://www.nvidia.com/object/winxp_2k_71.89.html They are optimized for more recent cards such as GeForce 4 and 5, but should still work. They're pretty old, but I recommend 12.41 drivers for GeForce 2 cards: https://www.feldoncentral.com/Sachs/help.html https://www.feldoncentral.com/Sachs/...s/W2K-1241.exe

06-11-2005, 06:11 PM	#4
Tarkus Shark Bytes Join Date: May 2005 Location: Las Vegas Posts: 158	Yeah, Windows Update is great for a lot of things, but keeping up to date on drivers is not one of them. I don't know how many times it's tried to get me to update to an older driver. And nVidia drivers in particular.

06-11-2005, 07:11 PM	#6
feldon34 Forum Administrator Join Date: Dec 2000 Location: Rock Hill, SC Posts: 10,938	When you look at driver version 6.14.10.4523, the actual driver version that nVIdia uses is the last 4 digits. So you are running nVidia Detonator 45.23. Clear as mud.

07-06-2005, 05:21 PM	#9
MattNW Registered Join Date: Aug 2004 Posts: 11	One thing I've learned about video drivers is that if they aren't working then an update often fixes things or even rolling back a version but if they are working then it's often best to leave well enough alone until a problem crops up. Or at the very least before updating any driver you should set a restore point.