Startup problems - spinning world and cursor but no controls!

[Briarwood]

Greetings,
I've played Civ III for years and would like to play IV but.....
When I click "play" I get a blank screen (I can hear the movie but can't see it) and then I get the cursor and the spinning world and the Civ IV logo, but no controls.

The NVDIA drivers appears to be up to date. I've instaled the patch. Below are the system specs. Any ideas? Many thanks.

------------------
System Information
------------------
Time of this report: 1/31/2006, 22:50:33
Machine name: DOWNSTAIRS
Operating System: Windows XP Home Edition (5.1, Build 2600) Service Pack 2 (2600.xpsp_sp2_gdr.050301-1519)
Language: English (Regional Setting: English)
System Manufacturer: Dell Inc.
System Model: Dimension 4700
BIOS: Phoenix ROM BIOS PLUS Version 1.10 A03
Processor: Intel(R) Pentium(R) 4 CPU 3.20GHz
Memory: 502MB RAM
Page File: 426MB used, 800MB available
Windows Dir: C:\WINDOWS
DirectX Version: DirectX 9.0c (4.09.0000.0904)
DX Setup Parameters: Not found
DxDiag Version: 5.03.2600.2180 32bit Unicode

------------
DxDiag Notes
------------
DirectX Files Tab: No problems found.
Display Tab 1: No problems found.
Display Tab 2: No problems found.
Sound Tab 1: No problems found.
Sound Tab 2: No problems found.
Music Tab: No problems found.
Input Tab: No problems found.
Network Tab: No problems found.

--------------------
DirectX Debug Levels
--------------------
Direct3D: 0/4 (n/a)
DirectDraw: 0/4 (retail)
DirectInput: 0/5 (n/a)
DirectMusic: 0/5 (n/a)
DirectPlay: 0/9 (retail)
DirectSound: 0/5 (retail)
DirectShow: 0/6 (retail)

---------------
Display Devices
---------------
Card name: NVIDIA GeForce FX 5200
Manufacturer: NVIDIA
Chip type: GeForce FX 5200
DAC type: Integrated RAMDAC
Device Key: Enum\PCI\VEN_10DE&DEV_0322&SUBSYS_194D270F&REV_A1
Display Memory: 256.0 MB
Current Mode: 1280 x 1024 (32 bit) (60Hz)
Monitor: Default Monitor
Monitor Max Res:
Driver Name: nv4_disp.dll
Driver Version: 6.14.0010.6121 (English)
DDI Version: 9 (or higher)
Driver Attributes: Final Retail
Driver Date/Size: 5/14/2004 12:41:00, 3745536 bytes
WHQL Logo'd: Yes
WHQL Date Stamp: n/a
VDD: n/a
Mini VDD: nv4_mini.sys
Mini VDD Date: 5/14/2004 12:41:00, 2205760 bytes
Device Identifier: {D7B71E3E-4062-11CF-5653-473900C2CB35}
Vendor ID: 0x10DE
Device ID: 0x0322
SubSys ID: 0x194D270F
Revision ID: 0x00A1
Revision ID: 0x00A1
Video Accel: ModeMPEG2_A ModeMPEG2_B ModeMPEG2_C ModeMPEG2_D

 

[Zydor]

Please post the full dxdiag file using the 'go advanced' button below as an attachment

When did you buy it, and did you add the graphics card yourself?

Reason for asking is that the dxdiag is reporting 502Mb of main RAM, but also reports an FX 5200 ...

That 10Mb of "missing" RAM (should be 512Mb) indicates that its running off the internal built in motherboard graphics. The Dell 4700s have a spare Video card slot, it will be AGP or PCI-e depending on when it was bought. As the dxdiag is recognising the FX 5200, am assuming its an AGP slot. The use of on board graphics alone in a Dell 4700 would explain the symptoms you are getting.

Therefore it looks as though the FX 5200 card has either gone to the graveyard in the sky, or its not seated in the motherboard correctly, could be power, could be not pushed in enough, busted fan & overheated , few other things ... Whatever the cause - the PC is not recognising the card and using it for some reason, its falling back to the on board graphics (hence the 10Mb being pinched). The latter would indicate its the Intel Express 915 chip on board- but thats only PCI-e based (IIRC), 5200s are pre PCI-e.....

Hence need to understand what you fitted, when and what we are dealing with. Hence need to see the whole dxdiag, and any background on card fitting you can give.

Regards
Zy

 

[Briarwood]

Zydor, you are one smart guy. I did in fact install it myself. Here is the full dxdiag file (interestingly, sometimes I would have exactly the same problem with Civ III, but not always). Thanks for taking the time to respond. I 'm afraid this problem won't be of general interest, but it sure is of help to me!

 

[Akhenaton]

The use of on board graphics alone in a Dell 4700 would explain the symptoms you are getting.

Maybe he has a 82845G board and "dual display" enabled in the BIOS. But like you said, impossible to know from a partial report.

 

[Akhenaton]

I did in fact install it myself. Here is the full dxdiag file (interestingly, sometimes I would have exactly the same problem with Civ III, but not always).

Try disabling the IGP from the BIOS. Instructions for this should be found in your machine's user manual (available from Dell's support site I presume).

Zydor, his FX 5200 is not PCIe or AGP, it's PCI!

 

[Zanmato]

Driver Name: nv4_disp.dll
Driver Version: 6.14.0010.6121 (English)

The nvidia driver is out of date. The current driver is 81.98, you are currently running 61.21. It is possible that your current driver cannot support DX9 fully. Grab the latest driver from here, http://www.nvidia.com/object/winxp_2k_81.98.html

Then disable the IGP.

Hope it helps.

 

[Zydor]

The FX 5200 has AGP. The motherboard he is using is PCI-e, it has the 915 chipset which is PCI-e based. The PCI-e entry on the dxdiag is here

Name: Intel(R) 82801FB/FBM PCI Express Root Port - 2660
Device ID: PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_2660&SUBSYS_00000000&REV_03\3&172E68DD&0&E0
Driver: C:\WINDOWS\system32\DRIVERS\pci.sys, 5.01.2600.2180 (English), 8/3/2004 23:07:48, 68224 bytes

So what we have is a standard AGP card put in a PCI-e system, that'll never run its incompatible - and never has through the time with Civ III, the PC ignored it and went to the 915 to process graphics. The 915 is a great 2D chip, no dramas, does it well, but limited 3D. Hence Civ III seemed ok, but actually the card never worked - thats a testiment to the 915's 2D ability.

When Civ IV was loaded, 3D in all its glory hit the internal bus, found no card and put it all through the 915, so it falls over - the 915 will not cope with high levels of 3D processing. PCI-e hubs will install with the ID prefix of "PCI", that can cause confusion, but with he entry above from Dxdiag, it has to be PCI-e motherboard. So that card will never work on that PC

A PCI-e card will be needed to run Civ IV on his PC.

BriarWood
Please check your PC documentation, I am 99% certain on this, but hesitate to go onto new buys until its nailed absolutely. The original Dell 4700s were AGP, but later models used PCI-e, could you please check in the documentation as to what the motherboard has - is it the phrase AGP or PCI-e against the Video part? I would be stunned if it said AGP as the 915s are PCI-e based, just being super cautious before we spend your money lol

Regards
Zy

 

[Briarwood]

Many thanks to everyone who responded! This is a lot to take in, but I'll get on it and report back on what the problem turned out to be. Once again, thanks for taking the time.

 

[Akhenaton]

The FX 5200 has AGP.

This one doesn't. I think the exact model is Chaintech P-FX20, this one:

So what we have is a standard AGP card put in a PCI-e system, that'll never run its incompatible

Show me how you can put an AGP card in a PCIe slot. Oh wait, you can't

I would be stunned if it said AGP as the 915s are PCI-e based, just being super cautious before we spend your money lol

Yeah, "PCI-e based" as in DOES NOT SUPPORT AGP AT ALL. The machine comes with PCIe and PCI slots (2x PCI).

You just don't know when to quit arguing, do you?

However, I do agree with your cautioning that one should be extra careful when buying upgrades like this, because this card is actually not much better (or even worse) than his IGP!