detonator XP drivers s*ck

[Rubberbband]

Just tried installing the detonator Xp ver 21.81 drivers and my system would not load windows. It gave me all kinds of driver conflicts and then it would hang.I'm running a Geforce 2 MX400 64Mb on a Duron 700 with 512Mb of Ram. My OS is Win Me. I've gone back to 12.41. Try them if you like but...They S**K

 

[flamethrower205]

I beg to differ, they are wonderful. It is highly possible it's a coflict with win ME, since Dos based OS's have many problems of the sort.Switch to Win2k- they work great there.

When I rule the world, Apple will only mean the fruit.

 

[Red_Zealot]

Exact same problems w/ Win98...Apparently something with DirectX 8 betas or something.

No problems w/ 2k, though.

"If you teach a child to read, then he or her will be able to pass a literacy test" - George W.

 

[Toejam31]

I am having no problems, whatsoever, running the new driver in Win2k. BIG speed boost in DirectX applications. In fact, these drivers added almost 2000 3DMarks to my score in 3DMark2001!

Note: The drivers will activate the Nvidia Driver Helper Service ... turn it off after the installation, or Win2k will take an extra minute to shutdown.

So far ... after browsing through some of the online forums, I've noticed that the largest group of people who are experiencing problems with the new drivers are running a combination of a GeForce MX card and WinME. Just an observation, mind you. There's no telling how much of that is user error, and how much is the OS. (After all, they <i>are</i> using WinME in the first place, and that's not the most stable platform ever to come out of Micros$ft.) Perhaps the memory architecture of the cheaper cards doesn't care much for the DMA optimizations in the new driver. But that's just a guess.

I suggest that you extract the drivers into a folder, instead of using the installation launcher built into the self-extracting .exe file ... some people have found this installer to be corrupted, (although it appears to run correctly) and can't load Windows after a reboot. You can place the driver files into a folder, by right-clicking and dragging the installer file, and then by choosing to extract from the right-click menu. Double-clicking will just launch the installer, instead of WinZip.

Um ... if you don't have WinZip, try installing it before checking out the driver. I know that should be common sense, but ...

Before you load this driver ... backup the Registry, people. Being lazy before installing this new driver might cost you!

Note2: Some of the GeForce tweaking programs don't like this driver, especially in Win2k. But the newest beta version of NVMax from the NVMax website will do the job.

This driver also may not play well with beta versions of DirectX 8.1, unless you are running WinXP.

While I'm thinking about it ... I have also found no problems with running the driver in Win98SE. I've got a dual-boot, and installed the driver in both. Picked up a 1000 point boost in 3DMark2001 here, too. Very nice.

Note3: Please set your memory allocation for PCI textures to zero, for both DirectX and OpenGL (if you have an AGP card) before benchmarking. Some folks have run into out-of-memory errors because of this.

Okay ... I'm done with the lecturing stuff! LOL!

Good luck!

Toejam31

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[mark_h]

had no probs with them infact have given a 22% preformance increase ( in 3d 2001) on a windows me/gforce 3 rig

 

[FatBurger]

XP is based on the NT kernel, of which 2000 is a part. The drivers are made for that, and although they are supposed to work with 95/98/ME, I'm not incredibly suprised you're having problems. They'll release another version that does work right, most likely.

Remember the KT133? It was supposed to run at 133MHz, but didn't. This is the same kind of thing. Too bad KT133 owners can't download a KT133a chipset for free...

<font color=green>In memory of those who died, simply because they lived in America.
Rest in peace.</font color=green>

 

[Red_Zealot]

Thanks alot! Your advice on extracting the file to a folder worked wonders...And I've got the new drivers working perfectly! I was about to unistall DirectX 8, too...Thanks a lot, ToeJam31! I'm gonna go test this out. And for the record, the GeForce Tweak works fine w/ Win9x and DetonatorXP.

"If you teach a child to read, then he or her will be able to pass a literacy test" - George W.

 

[Toejam31]

I'm glad that it worked for you!

And thanks for the info about the GF-Tweak. I've been trying to help out a few people over at MadOnion for most of the day, and some of them were complaining that the program either refused to work, or caused the installation to flub up.

Toejam31

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[lhgpoobaa]

im using the 21.81's on win2k.
went from 51fps (start positon, single player, serious difficulty, 1024x768x32bit x quality settings) up to 57-58

however... ive noticed that at 1024 res my problem with lagging screen is back.
its not so much poor refresh rates as there are pauses when u moove and look around, then after a fraction of a second it quickly catches up. very annoying and it ruins gameplay as it seems to be most previlant when turning or looking up and down.
doesnt seem to occur at 800x600 though. curious.
suggestions?
(didnt happen with the last drivers i were using, the 14.10's)
leadtek geforece2pro, non-oc'ed.


In memory of the 90+ Auzzies missing in the WTC disaster. An attack that has changed the world.

 

[Toejam31]

Which game? DirectX or OpenGL?

Are you using a joystick or a mouse? USB or PS/2? I've experienced weird problems in the past with mice after upgrading video card drivers. This usually required a reinstallation of the mouse drivers, (although, not this time around.) Probably because I'm currently running my Logitech Cordless Mouseman Optical in Win2k using the Microsoft default PS/2 drivers because of wacky synchronization problems with any Logitech-based software. No such problems in Win98SE, unless I install the Logitech 9.29's, which suck massively. So I'm stuck with the 9.27's.

Did you give the drivers a good tweak? How about resetting the override value (DirectDraw) in DXDIAG to the new monitor refresh rate?

Toejam31


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[lhgpoobaa]

opps
yeah

game = Serious Sam (what else is there?), its an openGL game

and just running a bulk standard microSHAFT wheel mouse.
and it doesnt matter if the setting are set to vsync on or not.



In memory of the 90+ Auzzies missing in the WTC disaster. An attack that has changed the world.

 

[Matisaro]

I am not entirely positive Fatty, but I thought that the kt133 was designed only to give you 133mhz async. DRAM speed, not total 133 FSB speed.

~Matisaro~
"The Cash Left In My Pocket,The BEST Benchmark"
~Tbird1.3@1.5~

 

[Toejam31]

Okay, dude ... just for you, I got my coffee, sat down, installed Sam, patched it, and played for awhile.

I didn't find any problems with game play or lag, other than what is normal for a cordless mouse. And very little of that, actually.

However, this was in Win98SE. You might recall that I prefer to run OpenGL games in Win9x, and DirectX games in Win2k. I decided to do this before the new driver was released, simply because I think this gives the best performance. OpenGL is still faster in Win9x. I <i>average</i> 105 FPS with a game like MDK2 in Win98, and that's not all entirely due to the video card. I've seen GF2 32MB cards run in the high 70's and 80's or better; but not in Win2k. Even worse in WinXP. I've seen information that leads me to believe that Mr. Gates would really like to move away from OpenGL support, especially with his X-Box due to hit the market soon.

But in your situation, with only one OS, you <i>could</i> try a few things when you get home.

One, you could install the OpenGL drivers from the game CD.

Two, you could install newer OpenGL drivers, an OpenGL optimizer, or even a program that allows you to customize most aspects of the driver.

A few links:

<A HREF="http://www.glsetup.com/" target="_new">http://www.glsetup.com/</A>
<A HREF="http://www.opengl.org/users/downloads/index.html" target="_new">http://www.opengl.org/users/downloads/index.html</A>
<A HREF="http://www.sgi.com/software/optimizer/downloads/" target="_new">http://www.sgi.com/software/optimizer/downloads/</A>
<A HREF="http://www.delphi3d.net/" target="_new">http://www.delphi3d.net/</A>

Three, you could install PS/2 Rate, which will allow you to change the refresh rate of the mouse to a higher level, which often eliminates (or lessens) lag. My mouse is at 200, and that makes a big difference. I'll go hunt for it this afternoon, and post a link for you. I know that it is out there, somewhere ... ;-)

There are also some areas of the program you could adjust, such as the running the game in 16 bit mode, turning the Sharp Turning Option ON for the mouse, cutting on/off the mouse cursor acceleration, and cutting on/off Smooth Axis. Whatever works best for you. According to the Help file:

1) SharpTurning=OFF, SmoothAxis=ON, MouseAcceleration=ON
This is a default setting. It will provide you with the smoothest feeling.

2) SharpTurning=ON, SmoothAxis=ON, MouseAcceleration=ON
This will provide you with very sharp reactions, it is the optimal setting if you don't like the above one.

3) SharpTurning=ON, SmoothAxis=OFF, MouseAcceleration=ON
This will provide you with the sharpest possible reactions, but it might really feel too jumpy.

You might even need the Windows 2000 Refresh Rate Fix I've seen floating around, which seems to be an issue for some systems after installing the new drivers. The people who say they need this appear to be locked in at 60Hz, primarily in OpenGL games. Want me to track this down for you?

Finally ... you could dual-boot. (No screaming!!) Oh, yeah ... I know the very idea of it would almost be too much, after all you've been through in the past few weeks, but ... I did it to my machine for one reason--gameplay, and so far, it's panning out.

It's not as easy to install Win98 after you already have Win2k set as the primary OS, but it <i>can</i> be done.

<A HREF="http://www.zdnet.com/community/stories/main/0,9057,2662085,00.html" target="_new">http://www.zdnet.com/community/stories/main/0,9057,2662085,00.html</A>

Later ... Toejam31


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[Toejam31]

PS/2 Rate:

<A HREF="http://www.tweakfiles.com/misc/ps2rateplus.html" target="_new">http://www.tweakfiles.com/misc/ps2rateplus.html</A>

nVidia Win2k Refresh Rate Fix:

<A HREF="http://efceleron.hypermart.net/articles/nvidia_fix/" target="_new">http://efceleron.hypermart.net/articles/nvidia_fix/</A>

From the GeForce Faq page:

Q. OpenGL programs run very slowly or crash in Windows 2000. How can I fix it?
Try downloading and installing the iopagelock.reg registry file - available here:
<A HREF="http://www.geforcefaq.com/files/iopagelock.reg" target="_new">http://www.geforcefaq.com/files/iopagelock.reg</A>

And one more:

Q. I get problems with Serious Sam. How can I fix them?

Make sure that you have the latest patch for Serious Sam installed.

If you get clipping problems in the game, try setting 'gfx_iDepthBits' to '24' at the console




... Toejam31

<font color=purple>My Rig:</font color=purple> <A HREF="http://www.anandtech.com/mysystemrig.html?rigid=6847" target="_new">http://www.anandtech.com/mysystemrig.html?rigid=6847</A>

 

[lhgpoobaa]

yo toejam. been doing some extra "testing" of serious sam *grin*

seems to be at its most "laggy" when looking at pools and lakes, or when walking thru foggy or hazy rooms.

i used ps2rate once on my old win98 machine. was good, but then outta the blue it cauzed random lockups. besides, win2k has its own rate thinggy built in. mine was set to 60. moved it to 100 and no difference.

interestingly using the 21.81's ive found that agp 4x is enabled, but sideband addressing and fast writes are not. any idea how to put em on?
(i know fastwrites are a bios thing)

course im playing with the latest patch

only running directx7. but i REALLY dont wanna go to 8. that gave me soooo many more problems last time.

*thinks*
running serious sam in a window exacerbates the laggy problem significantly.

and i DO have a quazi dual boot system. my second old drive is set up win win98, but in such a way as to boot the other i must go to my bios and change the boot sequence. so usually it does not detect dual operating systems (less hastle)

must try the latest drivers with 98, in my copous free time o course

right... just did a bit more testing there. somehow seems detail dependent
ie. looking at the first pond in the oasis level,
looking around gives a framerate of 90ish, but looking into the pond gives 40-50.
and 32 bit is worse than 16, 1024x768 worse than 800x600, and high detail worse than low.
poor framerates is one thing, but this is just nasty lag. like it stores up your movement then releases it in one go. hmms
will get back.



In memory of the 90+ Auzzies missing in the WTC disaster. An attack that has changed the world.

 

[lhgpoobaa]

erm. nope.
first directx i got was the official 8.0. soooo many problems with it it wasnt funny.
an upgrade to 8.1 (unnofficial) helped a fiar bit.
running 7.0 now with alot less issues than either

In memory of the 90+ Auzzies missing in the WTC disaster. An attack that has changed the world.

 

[lhgpoobaa]

narrowed down the issue with SS & the detonators 21.81.

goes VERY laggy when dealing with animated ripple water textures for some reason.
framerate drops a bit, but laggyness goes thru the roof
happens when looking down on water, up to the surface, but not actually submerged when not looking at the surface.
likewise, its terribly laggy in the sewer with the water ripples reflected all over the walls. wierd.

In memory of the 90+ Auzzies missing in the WTC disaster. An attack that has changed the world.