Game Keeps Closing

  • Thread starter Thread starter Jamie M.
  • Start date Start date
J

Jamie M.

Every time I try to load some games, it just closes the
game and returns to the desktop. Especially Midnight Club
2. Is it because I only have 256Mb of RAM and a really
cr*p intergrated graphics card???
 
Hi Jamie,

Although 512MB is the *ideal* amount of RAM especially
since your integrated video shares it with the OS and game,
it still appears to be within acceptable limits.

I would focus on updating your chipset drivers, video and
sound drivers, and even your BIOS if you've done it before.
I will post video driver update and troubleshooting steps for you.

Updating video card drivers can solve most gaming issues.
Me & XP users should create a restore point before any upgrades:
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/pro/using/howto/gethelp/systemrestore.asp

* Shut DL accelerators, firewalls and antivirus programs off while downloading or installing.

Before you update your drivers, I recommend that you install DirectX 9.0b:
http://microsoft.com/downloads/deta...9E-07C1-462A-BAEF-5EAB5C851CF5&displaylang=en

Here are the steps I recommend you use to update your driver:

1. To identify the make and model of your card, right click your
Desktop, choose Properties / Settings / Advanced / Adapter.

2. Download the latest video driver for your card online, using
http://www3.sympatico.ca/nibblesnbits/Video.html#drivers
to find the website to download from. I also have advanced
video driver and direct X troubleshooting steps on that page.

3. Save the .exe driver (or uncompress the zip file) to a folder
in My Documents named after the driver version number.

4. Restart the computer in Safe Mode by pressing the F8 key
about once every second as it's rebooting to pick Safe Mode.

5. Click Start / (settings) Control Panel / System / Hardware
Device Manager / expand +Display Adapters / right click on
the adapter, pick "Uninstall", and click No if asked to reboot.

6. Use Control Panel / Add-Remove programs to uninstall the
previous driver (exe)software which may have been installed.

7. Restart the computer in Safe Mode by pressing the F8 key
about once every second as it's rebooting to pick Safe Mode.

8. If the driver is a (exe)program file, GO DIRECTLY TO step 10.

9. When Windows prompts you to install the video adapter, click
"Install from a list or specific location", click the "Browse" button,
browse to the My documents folder where you saved the driver,
and finally click on one of the driver files to begin installation.
Skip step 10 and go directly to step 11.

10. When Windows prompts you to install the video adapter, click
"Cancel" and Double click the driver program to begin installation.

11. After you reboot, go to Control Panel / Display / Settings and
choose 32 bit Color Quality, and 1024x768 Screen Resolution.

TROUBLESHOOTING:

Test your drivers using DXDiag: Click Start / Run / type: DXDIAG
Click the "Test" buttons in the Display, Sound, Music & Network Tabs;
If any of the Display options are Disabled and you cannot Enable them,
your most likely solution would be to update your Chipset Drivers as per:
http://www3.sympatico.ca/nibblesnbits/Video.html#v11

Along with your Video card, Sound Cards, Motherboard Chipsets,
and Video Monitors may also require updated drivers. Even your
motherboard's BIOS may need to be updated for compatibility with
your Video card. These steps are listed at: http://NibblesNbitsVideo.tk

Perhaps the old Nvidia drivers did not completely uninstall. If that's the
case, use this utility to completely uninstall the drivers and go to step 7:
http://content.guru3d.com/index.php?page=detonatorrip&menu=0

The latest video drivers sometime don't work with a particular game.
(Check the Video suggestions in the readme.txt file in your game folder/CD)
If there's no suggestions, try an older (WHQL) driver, and/or if you still
experience problems try a Beta driver, or even an Omega driver instead:

BETA Drivers: http://download.guru3d.com/
OMEGA Drivers: http://www.omegacorner.com/

There you have it, if you have any questions feel free to post them! :-)

--
Cheers,
Jimmy S.

Additional Support Resources: My Zone.com Helpsite: http://nibblesnbits.tk
Microsoft Online Tech Support: http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=376
Game FAQ's: http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=FH;[LN];gms
My advice is donated "AS IS" without warranty; nor do I confer any rights.
_________________________________________________________

| Every time I try to load some games, it just closes the
| game and returns to the desktop. Especially Midnight Club
| 2. Is it because I only have 256Mb of RAM and a really
| cr*p intergrated graphics card???
 
Jamie M. said:
Every time I try to load some games, it just closes the
game and returns to the desktop. Especially Midnight Club
2. Is it because I only have 256Mb of RAM and a really
cr*p intergrated graphics card???
Click to expand...

There is a possibility the default setting for the integrated
graphics chip is set to a low value (like 4mb)...be sure to
have at least 16mb (64mb if you can go that high) to play
any post '98 era game properly.

Also...set the AGP aperture to 1/2 of your ram (so 128mb)
as your onboard video chip will not have it's own cache for
graphics and must use the systems main memory.
Typically one sets agp aperture to same as video card ram
size...and some dx9 games like 256mb aperture.

NB: The Radeon models were defaulting to 64mb agp aperture with
8mb in reserve for 2cnd monitor/dvi or tv output...the latest Catalyst
drivers support 128mb agp aperture fine....and you should get a
small_performance (fps) gain, or smoother graphics set that way.

Even at 128mb most games will play well, and 256mb ram is
more than enough for all but the toughest (heavy graphic)
adventures. However...integrated video chips are notorious
for poor performance compared to even budget video cards
so if you have an AGP slot...you can find most any newer
video card with 64mb ddr ram or higher will be a big treat.

If you don't have an AGP slot...then consider a radeon 7500 pci
or equivalent which should at least improve the game color/quality
as well as reduce the load on the cpu/ram so everything runs well.

Onboard sound is not such a big issue as it uses very little cpu
and even for ram it only needs bits and pieces here and there.
They also operate (regardless of manuf claims) at a very low
bus speed and bandwidth...just be sure to have good drivers.

Onboard nic/modems aren't too bad as long as not winmodem
models as they use main cpu instead of their own processing
power for transmitting/receiving signals.
 
Glad to be of service! :-)

"Jimmy S." <Private> wrote in message | Hi Jamie,
|
| Although 512MB is the *ideal* amount of RAM especially
| since your integrated video shares it with the OS and game,
| it still appears to be within acceptable limits.
|
| I would focus on updating your chipset drivers, video and
| sound drivers, and even your BIOS if you've done it before.
| I will post video driver update and troubleshooting steps for you.
|
| Updating video card drivers can solve most gaming issues.
| Me & XP users should create a restore point before any upgrades:
| http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/pro/using/howto/gethelp/systemrestore.asp
|
| * Shut DL accelerators, firewalls and antivirus programs off while downloading or installing.
|
| Before you update your drivers, I recommend that you install DirectX 9.0b:
| http://microsoft.com/downloads/deta...9E-07C1-462A-BAEF-5EAB5C851CF5&displaylang=en
|
| Here are the steps I recommend you use to update your driver:
|
| 1. To identify the make and model of your card, right click your
| Desktop, choose Properties / Settings / Advanced / Adapter.
|
| 2. Download the latest video driver for your card online, using
| http://www3.sympatico.ca/nibblesnbits/Video.html#drivers
| to find the website to download from. I also have advanced
| video driver and direct X troubleshooting steps on that page.
|
| 3. Save the .exe driver (or uncompress the zip file) to a folder
| in My Documents named after the driver version number.
|
| 4. Restart the computer in Safe Mode by pressing the F8 key
| about once every second as it's rebooting to pick Safe Mode.
|
| 5. Click Start / (settings) Control Panel / System / Hardware
| Device Manager / expand +Display Adapters / right click on
| the adapter, pick "Uninstall", and click No if asked to reboot.
|
| 6. Use Control Panel / Add-Remove programs to uninstall the
| previous driver (exe)software which may have been installed.
|
| 7. Restart the computer in Safe Mode by pressing the F8 key
| about once every second as it's rebooting to pick Safe Mode.
|
| 8. If the driver is a (exe)program file, GO DIRECTLY TO step 10.
|
| 9. When Windows prompts you to install the video adapter, click
| "Install from a list or specific location", click the "Browse" button,
| browse to the My documents folder where you saved the driver,
| and finally click on one of the driver files to begin installation.
| Skip step 10 and go directly to step 11.
|
| 10. When Windows prompts you to install the video adapter, click
| "Cancel" and Double click the driver program to begin installation.
|
| 11. After you reboot, go to Control Panel / Display / Settings and
| choose 32 bit Color Quality, and 1024x768 Screen Resolution.
|
| TROUBLESHOOTING:
|
| Test your drivers using DXDiag: Click Start / Run / type: DXDIAG
| Click the "Test" buttons in the Display, Sound, Music & Network Tabs;
| If any of the Display options are Disabled and you cannot Enable them,
| your most likely solution would be to update your Chipset Drivers as per:
| http://www3.sympatico.ca/nibblesnbits/Video.html#v11
|
| Along with your Video card, Sound Cards, Motherboard Chipsets,
| and Video Monitors may also require updated drivers. Even your
| motherboard's BIOS may need to be updated for compatibility with
| your Video card. These steps are listed at: http://NibblesNbitsVideo.tk
|
| Perhaps the old Nvidia drivers did not completely uninstall. If that's the
| case, use this utility to completely uninstall the drivers and go to step 7:
| http://content.guru3d.com/index.php?page=detonatorrip&menu=0
|
| The latest video drivers sometime don't work with a particular game.
| (Check the Video suggestions in the readme.txt file in your game folder/CD)
| If there's no suggestions, try an older (WHQL) driver, and/or if you still
| experience problems try a Beta driver, or even an Omega driver instead:
|
| BETA Drivers: http://download.guru3d.com/
| OMEGA Drivers: http://www.omegacorner.com/
|
| There you have it, if you have any questions feel free to post them! :-)
|
| --
| Cheers,
| Jimmy S.
|
| Additional Support Resources: My Zone.com Helpsite: http://nibblesnbits.tk
| Microsoft Online Tech Support: http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=376
| Game FAQ's: http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=FH;[LN];gms
| My advice is donated "AS IS" without warranty; nor do I confer any rights.
| _________________________________________________________
|
| | | Every time I try to load some games, it just closes the
| | game and returns to the desktop. Especially Midnight Club
| | 2. Is it because I only have 256Mb of RAM and a really
| | cr*p intergrated graphics card???
|
|
 
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