ATI Customer Service Responds To Game Issues!

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I just noticed a good post in the Rage3D Forums where the user remmic posted an Email reply he received from ATI Customer Service Canada. He was asking about issues with NHL 2002 shadow transparent problem, Max Payne's freezing and other games that he has encountered on a VIA Apollo 133A Pro based mobo. Unfortunately he gave no information a the graphics card used. There may be vital information about issues with your ATI board embedded so make sure to read the info given by ATI. You can discuss any of those options suggested in our forum (special thread opened)

Based on our experience, games issues are usually due to system configuration errors. We believe that you may find your issue addressed at our Games FAQ section on our web site located at:

http://support.ati.com/faq/games.html

If you have one of our Radeon products, then please visit:

http://support.ati.com/products/pc/...eon_issues.html

If your issue is still unresolved, you should consider trying some of the most common troubleshooting steps listed below.

You may also consider using the new SEARCH ATI function on our web site. It can be found at:

http://support.ati.com/search/index.html


Regards,


Customer Service Canada
ATI Technologies, Inc.

http://www.ati.com for Sales/Marketing and Product Information
http://support.ati.com for Technical Support, Driver Download, FAQ's, etc.
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Common Troubleshooting steps for Games issues:

Try to fix your problem by downloading our latest drivers from the following URL's (if you don't already have them):
For a card based on the Radeon chipset:
http://support.ati.com/products/pc/...on_drivers.html
For a card based on the Rage 128 / Rage 128 Pro chipset (same driver for AGP and PCI cards):
http://support.ati.com/products/pc/...ro_drivers.html
For a card based on the Rage Pro chipset (same driver for AGP and PCI cards):
http://support.ati.com/products/pc/...ro_drivers.html
You may also consider installing our Special Purpose drivers as they are optimized for 3D and OpenGL performance. They are located at http://www.ati.com/na/pages/spdrivers/index.html .
Other drivers can be found at http://support.ati.com/drivers/index.html .
If these issues started occurring AFTER updating your ATI display driver, you may consider reverting back to the previous driver build until a newer build is released.
Before proceeding with the trouble shooting steps, ensure that your system meets the minimum system requirements outlined by the game manufacture (usually listed on the game box). You may also want to check with the game manufacturer's web site for any patches that may be posted for the game(s).

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IMPORTANT: Computer systems which are Over-clocked, may become unstable, and should be tried with the default clock speed.

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If your game requires 3DFX "Glide" support, please visit http://support.ati.com/infobase/2982.html .

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For AGP cards:

With AGP, 3D rendering data structures are moved from local graphics memory to main system memory. This reduces graphics memory requirements, which lowers overall system cost. AGP provides several performance improvements over PCI, including higher bus speed. The GART hardware is built into the AGP chipset. The GART table, which resides in physical memory, remaps contiguous, AGP device addresses to their corresponding physical addresses residing in system memory. The chipset reads the GART table and finds the physical addresses of data. This action is transparent to the graphics controller. The GART table is managed by software called the GART mini-port driver. This software verifies that GART table entries are valid and coherent.
ATIGART.EXE is the program that checks the motherboard CHIPSET and determines which GART driver bundle to install. ATIGART reads the PCI VENDOR ID and PCI DEVICE ID of the CHIPSET. ATIGART.EXE may attempt to install a GART file on every system start-up. Ensure that you disable the ATIGART.EXE file if it exists on your system.
Use MSCONFIG and check the STARTUP section for Atigart. To prevent Atigart from launching, Launch MSCONFIG Click the STARTUP tab UNCHECK "Atigart".
Also, go to START, FIND, FILES OR FOLDERS, type ATIGART.EXE in the Named box, and C: in the Look In box. Click on FIND. Rename the file(s) found from ATIGART.EXE to ATIGARTOLD.EXE . You may not see the EXE extension which should be fine (just add the word OLD to the end of the filename). (To rename, click the right mouse button on the file and select rename.) You need to rename ALL the files found (there may be more than one).
IMPORTANT: You will want to reinstall all the latest patches/drivers for your motherboard/chipset (more information at http://support.ati.com/faq/agp_chipset_drivers.html) after disabling ATIGART.EXE. Be sure to install the chipset drivers in Normal mode (as opposed to Turbo mode) if the option is presented.

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For PCI cards:

Try moving the ATI display adapter to another PCI slot (be sure to shut down and UNPLUG the computer first).

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Ensure the ATI card is NOT sharing an IRQ:

An INTERRUPT (IRQ) is a signal sent to the central processing unit (CPU) by a peripheral component or device, which indicates that the device requires attention. Even though most hardware designs allow for multiple devices to share an interrupt the interrupt program routines, (i.e. system BIOS or operating system), are rarely designed to allow for sharing. For this reason it is general practice to assign each device a unique interrupt.
This issue may be related to the allocation of resources, particularly IRQs. You want to ensure that the ATI display adapter IS assigned and NOT sharing an IRQ. Before proceeding, please ensure that you have the latest BIOS for your motherboard. Contact your motherboard manufacturer to confirm that you have the latest BIOS installed (please refer to the following section for more information on the system BIOS).
To determine the IRQ allocations:
1. Open the Device Manager (right click the My Computer icon and select Properties).
2. Computer should be highlighted, if not, select it now.
3. Click on the Properties button (this will bring a list of all the IRQ's, and the devices they are assigned to).
If the ATI card is NOT assigned an IRQ, enter the system's set-up (also called the BIOS or CMOS) by pressing the key indicated on-screen to Enter Set-up (during start-up). Note that the mouse will not function here and arrow keys on the keyboard will navigate the user around the settings in here. Consult your owner's manual for specifics on your system's set-up, BIOS, or CMOS settings.
- Ensure that "Plug and Play OS" is set to "YES" or "ENABLED" if your operating system supports it (Windows 95, 98, 98SE, & ME)
- Ensure that NONE of the IRQ's listed are "reserved".
- Ensure that "ASSIGN IRQ TO VGA" is set to "YES" or "ENABLED"
Save Changes (if any changes were made), then exit the set-up utility. The system will reboot. The ATI card should now have an IRQ assigned.
Ensure that the ATI card is NOT sharing an IRQ with ANY OTHER DEVICE (it is adequate for the ATI card to share an IRQ with "IRQ Holder for PCI Steering"). If it is sharing with any other device, then the recommended method to reassign an IRQ to a device is to physically move the device (card) to another PCI slot (shut down the system and be sure to UNPLUG the computer). Either the ATI card or other device can be moved. If the ATI card is an AGP, then obviously the shared device must be moved. If there are no free PCI slots, then removing the shared device (as a temporary measure to test) is recommended. Restart the computer and check the IRQ assignments again. Repeat above steps if necessary. For more assistance in reassigning IRQ's, you may consider contacting the system/motherboard manufacture.

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BIOS update/settings:

The system BIOS is a set of routines that works closely with the hardware to support the transfer of information between elements of the system. In most cases the only reason to get a BIOS upgrade is to add support for a new form of hardware you are adding to your system that is not supported by your current BIOS.
Consult your system/motherboard manufacturer to see if a BIOS upgrade is available for your system. If an upgrade is offered, the supplier should be able to provide appropriate information and support along with the appropriate programming utility for your system.
If you are not an experienced computer user, you should probably contact your PC manufacturer or local computer store for assistance. You should not modify your BIOS Setup or other system features unless you have technical experience, and are aware of the consequences of any modifications you make.
You may consider using these settings in your BIOS to help troubleshoot your issue. If you are changing any of the options in your BIOS, please be sure to note what you are changing and what it was set to initially.
NOTE: These options may vary depending on the type/version of your system. You may or may not have all these options. Please consider changing the settings that correspond to those listed below.
-- Video BIOS Shadow and Video BIOS Cacheable - DISABLED
-- C8000-CBFFFF Shadow and CC000-CFFFF - DISABLED
-- AGP Aperture size - 64 MB
-- AGP Turbo - DISABLED
-- VGA Frame Buffer and Primary Frame Buffer - DISABLED
-- PnP OS installed - YES
-- Assign IRQ for VGA - ENABLED
-- Resource Control - AUTO
-- AGP Bus Mastering - ENABLED
-- VGA Palette Snooping - DISABLED
-- Disable any UCSW or Write Combine options in the CMOS
-- Disable any manual configuration of PCI by setting these options to AUTO
-- System Bios Cacheable - DISABLED
-- Video BIOS Mode Cache - UC
-- Try lowering the AGP support (i.e. from AGP 4X to AGP 2X). If this resolves the issue, you may consider contacting the motherboard/chipset vendor for more information regarding the GART support available on the motherboard/chipset.

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Please add the following line in the section [386Enh] of your SYSTEM.INI:
Click on Start > Run and type sysedit, then hit O.K.
Scroll down the SYSTEM.INI until you find the section [386Enh]
Now add at the end of this section the following line:
EMMExclude=C000-CFFF
Save changes and exit. Restart the system and test for the issue again.

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You may have to modify your CONFIG.SYS file:
Click on Start > Run and type sysedit, then hit O.K.
You may find the following line under the CONFIG.SYS:
DEVICE=C:WINDOWSEMM386.EXE
If this line is not here, please exit.
If there is this line, do the following:
add X=C000-CFFF at the end of this line and leave a space between EMM386.EXE and X=C000-CFFF.
Your line should now look like:
DEVICE=C:WINDOWSEMM386.EXE X=C000-CFFF
Save changes and exit. Restart the system and test for the issue again.

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If you have any SCSI devices, disable the Video Shadowing in the Setup Program when the system boots up.

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Try re-setting the Windows monitor type
Use the following steps to select a "PnP Monitor":
Open DISPLAY PROPERTIES from the Windows CONTROL PANEL.
Select the SETTINGS tab and click the ADVANCED button.
Select the MONITOR tab and then click CHANGE.
NOTE: If you are using Windows 98 the Update Device Driver Wizard will appear. Click NEXT, select "Display a list of all the drivers in a specific location", then click NEXT again.
Select "Show all hardware" and then "(Standard monitor types)" under MANUFACTURERS. Choose the "PnP Monitor" monitor type from the models listed. Click NEXT.
Click NEXT again and wait for the process to complete. Click the FINISH button when it appears. Click APPLY, then OKAY, then OKAY again in the DISPLAY PROPERTIES panel.
2. Restart Windows
3. Repeat the above steps, but this time choose the monitor which is actually attached to your system.
4. Restart Windows again.

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Changing Refresh Rate:

On some systems when changing the resolution, the monitor may enter standby (suspend) mode, indicating that the display signal is not available.
Alternatively, when selecting a resolution, the display may blank for several seconds then returning to the previously selected resolution.
These issues may occur if the monitor is not DDC compliant (e.g. uses BNC connectors) or if the INF file incorrectly lists an unsupported refresh rate as being supported at the selected resolution.
Select an appropriate refresh rate
- If the monitor offers more then one frequency, choose the lowest frequency first to ensure that the display functions correctly.
- Click on START, SETTINGS, CONTROL PANEL
- Double click on the DISPLAY icon
- Click on the SETTINGS tab, then the ADVANCED button
- Click on the ADJUSTMENT tab, then the REFRESH RATE button.
- Ensure that the refresh rate is NOT set to "UNKNOWN".

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Please insert "devbmp=0" in the [Display] section of the SYSTEM.INI file, as follows:
Open the SYSTEM.INI file for editing (Click Start, Run, type "SYSTEM.INI" and click OK - this will open the SYSTEM.INI file in Notepad).
Scroll down to locate the [Display] section header in the SYSTEM.INI file.
Insert a new line under the [Display] header which reads exactly as follows : devbmp=0 (zero not the letter 'o').
Save your changes by clicking File, Save, then exit Notepad by clicking File, Exit.
Shutdown Windows 9X and restart.
If the header does not exist please create it. You can add it just after the [386enh] paragraph. It should look like this:
[Display]
devbmp=0
Save changes and exit. Restart the system and test for the issue again.

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If your Graphic adapter is a Rage 128, check the ATI Direct 3D Tab In 'Advanced Display Properties' :
Please disable 'Wait for vertical sync'
Please change the Z-Buffer Depth to 16-bit.

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Try running the system at a lower (or different) resolution and colour depth. This will help to reduce the amount of resources used and may allow the game to function correctly.

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GRAPHICS HARDWARE ACCELERATION SLIDER IS NOT SET TO FULL:

Windows offers a "Graphics Hardware Acceleration" slider which allows the end user to troubleshoot graphics-related problems.

If this slider is NOT set to FULL, most of the advanced support in the display driver will be disabled.

To check the "Graphics Hardware Acceleration" slider in Windows 95/98/98SE/ME:

- open the "Display Properties" in the Control Panel
- click the "Performance" tab
- click the "Graphics" button
- ensure that the slider is at the "FULL" position

To check the "Graphics Hardware Acceleration" slider in Windows 2000:

- open the "Display Properties" in the Control Panel
- click the "Settings" tab and then click the "Advanced" button
- click the "Troubleshooting" tab
- ensure that the slider is at the "FULL" position

If you need to change the slider, you will have to restart Windows to bring your changes into effect.

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Once DirectX and ATI Enhanced drivers are successfully installed, you may want to check that 3D hardware acceleration is enabled as follows:

Click Start->Run, type DXDiag and click OK. On the Display tab of DirectX diagnostics, make sure that the options for DirectDraw and Direct3D Hardware Acceleration are enabled, (also ensure AGP support is enabled if your display adapter is AGP).

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If the issues still persists, consider running the game using software rendering mode (if available) as a Work-around.

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