MechCommander 2.0: Known Video Adapter Issues (303901)

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General Video Issues

Slow or Choppy Performance

When you play Microsoft MechCommander 2.0, you may not be able to see the mouse pointer or you experience slow game performance.

To resolve this issue, follow these steps:

1. Click Start, and then click Run.
2. In the Open box, type the following, where drive is the letter of the hard disk where MechCommander 2.0 is installed, and then click OK:

   drive:\Program Files\Microsoft Games\MechCommander2\vidcard.csv

3. Right-click vidcard.csv, and then click Rename.
4. Type vidcard.csv.old, and then press ENTER.
5. Start the game.

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Update Your Video Driver

MechCommander 2.0 only fully supports Microsoft DirectX 8.0-compliant video adapters. It is good practice to always install the latest certified drivers for all your hardware.

It is important to have current drivers for your video adapter. Contact the manufacturer of your video adapter for information about how to obtain and install the latest version of the video driver for your video adapter. You may also visit the following Microsoft Windows Update Web site to see if applicable driver updates are available:

For information about how to contact the manufacturer of your video adapter, click the appropriate article number in the following list to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: Microsoft provides third-party contact information to help you find technical support. This contact information may change without notice. Microsoft does not guarantee the accuracy of this third-party contact information.

To identify the name and manufacturer of your video adapter, follow these steps:

1. Click Start, and then click Run.
2. In the Open box, type dxdiag, and then click OK.
3. Click the Display tab.
4. Under Device, look for Name and Manufacturer.
5. Click Exit.

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NetMeeting and Remote Desktop

Microsoft Windows NetMeeting disables Direct3D when Remote Desktop Sharing is enabled. To disable NetMeeting's Remote Desktop Sharing feature, follow these steps:

1. Start NetMeeting.
2. On the Tools menu, click Remote Desktop Sharing.
3. Click to clear the Enable Remote Desktop Sharing on this computer check box.
4. Click OK.
5. Quit NetMeeting.

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DirectX 8.0-Compliant Video Adapters

MechCommander 2.0 only fully supports Microsoft DirectX 8.0-compliant video adapters. It is good practice to always install the latest certified drivers for all your hardware.

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Hardware-Specific Video Issues

3DFX Voodoo3-Based 3D Accelerator Video Adapters

If you are running the Windows 2000 operating system, game performance may become sluggish. To resolve this issue, download and install the latest Windows 2000 Voodoo3 drivers from 3DFX. To download these drivers, visit the following 3DFX Web site: back to top

Voodoo 3 and Voodoo 4

The graphics extend off the right side of the screen. The program may not start, a black screen may appear at startup, and then a return to desktop occurs. To download and install the latest video drivers, visit the following 3DFX Web site:back to top

ATI Radeon

Minor graphic anomalies may occur at the edges of the game screen when you play at high resolutions. To resolve this issue, lower the game resolution or download and install the latest drivers specific for your ATI Radeon display adapter. To download these drivers, visit the following ATI Web site: When you play MechCommander 2.0, you may experience poor video performance. The display may not be updated smoothly and game play may be "choppy." To resolve this issue, follow these steps:

1. Click Start, and then click Run.
2. In the Open box, type the following, and then click OK:

   drive:\Program Files\Microsoft Games\MechCommander2\vidcard.csv

   where drive is the letter of the hard disk where MechCommander 2.0 is installed.
3. On line 40 next to ATI, delete Radion and type Radeon.
4. Change Vendor and Device ID to appropriate ranges. To locate Vendor ID and Device ID, follow these steps:
   1. Click Start, and then click Run.
   2. In the Open box, type Dxdiag, and then click OK.
   3. Click Save All Information.
   4. In the Save In box, click Desktop, and then click Save.
   5. Click Exit.
   6. Open the DxDiag.txt file on your Desktop, and then under the Display Devices section, find Device ID and Vendor ID.
   7. Copy the files into the Vidcard.csv line.
5. After you have changed the data, click File, and then click Save.

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ATI Rage Fury Maxx

Issue 1

Intermittent on-screen display anomalies or flashing may occur. This issue is related to the Maxx Alternate Frame rendering technology. To resolve this issue, disable this video adapter's dual-chip rendering feature. To do this, follow these steps:

1. Click Start, point to Settings, and then click Control Panel.
2. Double-click Display.
3. Click the Settings tab, and then click Advanced.
4. Click the Maxx tab.
5. Click to select the Disable dual-chip mode check box.
6. Click Ok two times.

Issue 2

When you start MechCommander, the computer may stop responding after the opening movies, during the fade into the menu. This behavior occurs with the ATI Rage Fury Maxx adapter with driver version 4.12.01.7942. To resolve this issue, use version 7925 of the driver. To obtain the latest drivers, visit the following ATI Web site:back to top

Diamond Monster 3D II

After several minutes of playing MechCommander 2.0, text and icons become pixilated. To work around this issue temporarily, press ALT+TAB to minimize the game. To resolve this issue, play MechCommander in software mode. To play in software mode, follow these steps:

1. On the main screen, click Options.
2. On the Graphics tab, click to remove Hardware Rasterizer.
3. Click Accept.

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Diamond Viper V550

When you use the retail drivers for the Diamond Viper V550 video adapter and you run MechCommander 2.0 on the Microsoft Windows Millennium Edition (Me) operating system, the game starts with a black screen or the monitor becomes completely inactive, forcing you to restart the computer. To resolve this issue, download and install the latest drivers from Diamond. To download these drivers, visit the following Diamond Web site: back to top

Matrox G-200 Series

There may be instabilities and minor graphical anomalies when you run MechCommander 2.0 on Matrox G-200 Series video adapters with older drivers. To resolve this issue, install the latest drivers. To download the latest drivers, visit the following Matrox Web site: back to top

Matrox G400 Dualhead

The hardware mouse pointer does not work with the secondary video port on the Matrox G400 Dualhead. To resolve this issue, set the pointer to non-hardware mode, or avoid using the secondary video port. To set the pointer to non-hardware mode, follow these steps:

1. On the main screen, click Options.
2. On the Graphics tab, click to remove Hardware Mouse Update.
3. Click Accept.

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Matrox Millennium II

The Matrox Millennium II display adapter does not have enough 3D feature support to run MechCommander 2.0 in hardware mode. For example, boxes appear around moving or nonmoving objects in the game. To resolve this issue, play MechCommander 2.0 in software mode. To change to software mode, follow these steps:

1. On the main screen, click Options.
2. On the Graphics tab, click to remove Hardware Rasterizer.
3. Click Accept.

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NVIDIA Chipset

TNT, TNT2, and GeForce

If you are running Microsoft Windows 2000, MechCommander 2.0 does not run in accelerated hardware mode with the NVIDIA display drivers that come with the operating system. To resolve this issue, contact your hardware manufacturer for updated drivers, or download and install the latest reference drivers from NVIDIA. To download these drivers, visit the following NVIDIA Web site: GeForce2 MX 100/200 - 32 MB/64MB

This adapter may not work with this game. Try updating to the latest released drivers. If these do not help, then you must upgrade the hardware.

To download the latest drivers, visit the following NVIDIA Web site: back to top

Other

GeForce 3 Ti 200 and 500, GeForce 4 Ti 4400

When you play MechCommander 2.0, you may experience poor video performance. The display may not be updated smoothly and game play may be "choppy." To resolve this issue, rename the Vidcard.csv file:

1. Click Start, point to Find, and then click Files or Folders.
   
   Note Microsoft Windows Millennium Edition (Me), Windows 2000, or Windows XP users click Start, point to Search, and then click For Files or Folders.
2. In the Name box or in the Search for files or Folders box, type Vidcard.csv.
3. In the Look In box, click My Computer or Local hard drives, and then click Find Now.
4. In the list of found files, right-click a copy of the Vidcard.csv file, and then click Rename.
5. Type oldVidcard, and then press ENTER.
6. Close the Search or Find Files window.
7. Start MechCommander 2.
8. Test the game. If the issue continues to occur, repeat steps 1 and 2 to delete the Badcard.csv file.

Number 9 SR9-Pro (Savage 4 Chipset)

After you start MechCommander 2.0, the operating system may stop responding (hang). This behavior may occur with the latest drivers for the SR9-Pro. To resolve this issue, start MechCommander 2.0 with the retail drivers for the SR9-Pro adapter or the reference drivers for the Savage 4 chipset. To download these drivers, visit the following Diamond Web site: S3 Savage/MX IX (Toshiba Tecra 8100)

Instability may occur when you start MechCommander 2. To resolve this issue, download and install the latest display drivers for the S3 Savage/MX IX display adapter. To download these drivers, visit the following Toshiba Web site:
The third-party products that are discussed in this article are manufactured by companies that are independent of Microsoft. Microsoft makes no warranty, implied or otherwise, regarding the performance or reliability of these products.


Microsoft provides third-party contact information to help you find technical support. This contact information may change without notice. Microsoft does not guarantee the accuracy of this third-party contact information.

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