Black In-Game Screen

[PerfectDrug]

hey,
My screen goes black after i set up the game.it says autosaving and my leader name but i can not see anything (cities, terrain, units ect ). I have patch 1.52 and blue marble mod. I havent had any of these problem until today.... on friday the 13th, what a coincedence.

 

[Zydor]

Please post your Dxdiag

Start Button - click - select run -type dxdiag -press enter - wait a min - select "save all information" - post the file using the 'go advanced' button below

Regards
Zy

 

[PerfectDrug]

heres my dxdiag, as requested
-any help is appreciated

 

[Zydor]

Your basic problem is the Radeon 9200 is a low spec card, inside the game requirements but only just. Its a poor 3D performer. We may be able to get it to run, but it will be slow(ish), unlikely be able to play at the larger/huge map sizes, will need to reduce video quality/textures/resolution etc, and I think you will have increasing problems with Civ IV as the game develops over time. I would seriously think about getting a mid range card to replace it, you will notice a significant performance increase, and much less hassle, mid range cards are not too bad in price these days. Research carefully if your motherboard will take the card re heating issues
Sony Electronics Support: http://esupport.sony.com/EN/feedback/feedback.html

Meanwhile ..... Can try these, all will reduce the load on your graphics

Make sure you have loaded Patch V1.52, but, also ensure that the memsaver switch in the ini file is set to 0 (figure 0 not a letter O). The reason is that 1.52 placed more load on video cards to help those with low main RAM, if memsaver is switched on (using a 1 in the ini file entry) it switches on that feature which you dont want as your graphics card is your weak spot.

- Turn off textures in the game Options menu
- Set the game resolution to as low as possible
- set your desktop resolution to the same as you are going to use in the game
- set the desktop refresh rate to 60Hz
- Turn off any background application or services running that you dont really need (via MSconfig). That includes going off line to play Civ, and turning off Anti-V & Firewall.
- Set your pagefile to 2000mb, min=max

Video Drivers
The Video drivers you have are outdated (2004), download new drivers from here
http://www.omegadrivers.net/
Scroll down that page until you see Radeon Omega Drivers 2.5.97a (Catalyst 4.12) they are not the latest,but they are a very stable reliable set, and probably better for your older setup. If they dont work properly, try Radeon Omega Drivers 2.6.83 (Catalyst 5.11) at the top of the page

If you still have no significant performance increase, and I have doubts that you will, in my opinion it will be a Video upgrade as your graphics setup is bare minimum

Regards
Zy

 

[PerfectDrug]

when installing the Radeon Omega Driver 2.5.97a it asks me to uninstall my previous ATI control panel, will this remove any of My Documents, my media players, e-mail or anything like that?

 

[mephiston8]

Hi, i am having similar problems, here is my DxDiag:View attachment DxDiag.txt ANY help would be greatly appreciated

 

[Zydor]

No it wont it only uninstall the graphics driver - rest of your stuff is safe

What its asking you to do is go to Control Panel "add / remove programs" and start the deinstall of old drivers. It will not let you install over the old ones.
When you do this, it will eventually reboot having got rid of the old drivers. During that boot, windows will detect no drivers (surprise surprise you just blatted em) and offer to load a set, dont let it - say no -0 refuse. The boot will continue and will settle using a basic set of 640x480 drivers and minimal textures, it looks foul, dont worry its ok.

At that point, navigate to where the new driver set is on the disc, double click and let it do its thing. When you do the latter, it may ask for a "destination " directory, whatits doing there is unpacking the files into a temporary folder before patching the new driver. Tell it where you like - usually best to use Windows/Temp

Lastly, in a minority of cases, it sometimes happens that windows does not remove all a previous driver setup leaving bits behind that can clash with a new driver set. There is a ATI utility that cleans the hard disc of old bits before installing the new driver. You could do this first if you wish, bit more work, and need to doit step by step. the ATI site has the driver cleaner download - read the notes on the site for it carefully.

So, 2 ways,
1. Via Windows add/remove, then run new driver
2. Via the ATI driver cleaner, then run new driver
Choose one method not both

Regards
Zy

 

[Zydor]

mephiston8

You are below the hardware specs for the game.

You have Integrated Graphics not a separate Video Card, your main RAM is used by the graphics to process informaion which in itself creates another issue of being below 512Mb RAM when running XP.

I dont know the A60, ring Toshiba to see if a video card can be fitted. Without one you are below spec. Select the card carefully - you would need a mid range card, XFX 6600gt is a good one, and make sure with Toshiba that it will cause no heating issues.

Game Hardware specs
http://www.2kgames.com/civ4/support_msr.htm

Regards
Zy

 

[PerfectDrug]

big problem,
i attempted to download the omega driver said before.
only towards the end it said that Microdoft hadnt verified it was compatible with windows xp and recomended i stop installation, so i did.
But it continued doing somehting and prompted me to reboot, when it was finished restarting everything is very slow and it takes long amounts of time to load screens and the image resolution isnt how it was even after going into properties/settings and altering it back to normal. it seems shifted to the right.
i added my new dxdiag, too.

 

[Zydor]

Run the new driver install again, this time when it gives the claim re compatibility, tell it to continue, dont stop it.

The compatibility bit all refers to a MS process whereby they try to get Software Companies to conform to their way of doing things, in order to guarantee it will run on Windows (so sayeth marketing ....). Its very controversial, and the effect on the end user when they see a non-conforming certificate is amply displayed by the effect on you.

The source of those drivers is fine, go ahead and load them

The reason you get wierd screen now, is because you stopped the loading - if you look in the dxdiag you will see a blank against the card driver.

Regards
Zy

 

[PerfectDrug]

thank you,
i went ahead and installed the alternative driver you suggested, Radeon Omega Drivers 2.6.83 (Catalyst 5.11). No more problems with the game.
your help is appreciated Zy

 

[Zydor]

Excellent News

Do bare in mind that you are using a 9200, it has distinct limitations. You may find (on large / Huge maps) that performance plummets, thats due to card limitations not a Civ IV 'bug'

Expect issues with Huge maps and large maps late game. Thats because there is more for it to process, and it can get to the stage where it cant take any more and fall over. You need to pay real careful attention to basic PC 'housekeeping', minimising background applications, attention to game & screen resolution - anything that reduces load no matter how small. Certainly give serious thought to a mid range card now that you have a breathing space

Happy World Domination

Regards
Zy