Avian Gamers Network

Every time I go to launch WoW now I get the error that it cannot start up 3D acceleration. It says to make sure I have the latest drivers and directx 9.0c, which I have.

It also appears to be affecting things like my mouse cursor in windows as the arrow gets distorted whenever it goes over a light color.

My vid card is an ATI Radeon 9700 Pro in case that provides any insight to those with the tech savy out there.

Going to see if other games work now but would appreciate much help on this as this is the first case of video going wonky in my cpu's history.

Edit - just tried Civ 4. Same kinda deal as it said "failed to initialize renderer. Check DirectX version and graphics settings".

What the heck happened? Worked fine yesterday until my girlfriend created her own username to windows and changed the desktop resolution from my 1280*1024 to something a little lower. But I wouldn't think that shoulda borked everything.

I have removed the user and done a system restore back before these changes but no dice. Help me Obiwan!!

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"I built me a bomb and dropped it on every MFer who got in my way!"

Completely uninstall your video driver, and reboot windows. Then install the newest driver you can find for it. Make sure you don't have an onboard video card operating. I wouldn't think something like this would result from a new user with a different desktop resolution, but weirder things have happened.

If that doesn't work, pull your card from the slot and have a peek at it. If it looks good, put it back. Make sure that the heatsink is on the card processor firmly. If the card smells kinda burnt, or the heatsink doesn't fit on properly, or there is any discoloration (all very unlikley) you need a new card.

Is it an AGP card? If it is, you can probably find a dirt cheap replacement somewhere, swap it in, and see if that fixes the problem. It might be bad RAM on the card, but I can't swear to that either.

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Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God!

I tried the driver update as you noted Cet. No luck. I also examined the vid card itself with no signs of burning or over heating.

I am truly at a loss on this one.

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"I built me a bomb and dropped it on every MFer who got in my way!"

While I've never had the exact issue you've described, I find it helps to track the problem down before trying to solve it. If you have access to another video card (anything that supports 3D accel) try swapping it in after uninstalling your current card and seeing if anything fires up normally. If not, you can discount the video card as the problem.

Next, uninstall all video drivers, and re-install DirectX (latest version is April 2006, found here in redistributable format: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/deta ... laylang=en
)

Then re-install the latest video drivers. If the problem persists, it may be a motherboard or BIOS problem. Check the DirectX diagnostics panel though to see if it can shed some light on the subject. (C:\WINNT\system32\dxdiag.exe)

Another suspect might be your RAM -- try running Memtest86 from a floppy at bootup and let it run its course. If no errors occur, you can discount memory as a source of your troubles.
http://www.memtest86.com/

Double-check your BIOS settings to make sure it wasn't reset accidentally. I've had PCs that have on occasion forgotten how they were configured. Major PITA.

Good luck.

PS: Oo, one more thing: check the monitor refresh rate settings in your Display Properties -> Settings -> Advanced -> Monitor tab. If they're way-high on you're on a CRT, try dropping them back down a to 60 and working your way back up (if the problem disappears). If you're on an LCD default it to 60.

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"In physics, you don't have to go around making trouble for yourself - nature does it for you." - Frank Wilczek

I ran the little Dell diagnostics tool, looks like I have a video memory issue on hand.

Since I do not have a second computer or video card on hand I have decided to take the box in to the repair shop to have it fixed. Here's hoping they can just reset something in the memory and I do not need to buy a new vid card.

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"I built me a bomb and dropped it on every MFer who got in my way!"

Well, good luck to you then. If it's a Dell machine, and it's not too old, I expect they'll just swap the defective card with a working one and send you on your merry way. (Possibly with a nominal fee.)

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"In physics, you don't have to go around making trouble for yourself - nature does it for you." - Frank Wilczek

I'd presume there would be a fee, thus adding up to buying a new card) since it is no longer under warranty.

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"I built me a bomb and dropped it on every MFer who got in my way!"