apparent conflict with Display Fusion

[jleslie]

That does sound like industry standard practice for low-level software tho...

I'd have more chance of afternoon tea with Angelina Jolie than getting beyond sales/support people... (tho I remember some more senior Nvidia driver people from 90s Comdexes, but they only wanted to talk to games writers).

[Jav400]

Well if you see Angelina later tell her I'll be late for supper to start without me.

As far as the hardware work, I didn't know you did that, nice job. I wish the driver people did as well as you do.

[pvernam]

Originally posted by Jav400:

But the truth is, historically ATI has never had near as good of a success rate with their drivers as nVidia has.  

While we're bashing graphics drivers, let me share my experience: I have two XP MCE (Media Center Edition) machines that I originally configured with nVidia cards (8500GT and 8600GT). They worked fine, except that they would blue-screen (in driver NV4... something-or-other) every three or four days (that's the main reason why I had two of them). After reading on the web about how crappy the nVidia drivers were for MCE, I pulled them out and replaced them with ATI cards (HD2400Pro and HD2600XT). Both machines now run for weeks at a time with no problems (I've had one BSOD in six months, and that was not graphics driver related) -- it's rare that I reboot them any more often than once a month (on Microsoft Patch Tuesday). Since I'm not a gamer (I'm far more interested in HD video), I doubt I'll ever go back to nVidia. (I sold the 8600GT at a yard sale for way less than I paid for it. I still have the 8500GT, if anyone's interested.)

[Jav400]

I don't mean to sound like I am "bashing" ATI, although it could be considered that, I am sure. I have as well had problems with nVidia drivers throughout the ages, but overall after spending years in the chat support room, and helping countless people with driver problems, not to mention being an avid gamer myself; I honestly feel that nVidia has a better overall success rate by far than ATI does.

It seems that there are way more options with nVidia drivers and they get updated faster and more often than ATI drivers do. So if you run into a problem it seems to be easier to find a fix for it.

What really chaps me is notebook drivers and computer manufacturers that change standard drivers so they won't work. Tons of those are out there and they almost never spend the resources and time to update those. They create one that works with the model when it comes out, ( sometimes only barely at that ) and then it may be over a year before they go back and try to update anything if they ever do.

That tweaks me no end. I have had allot of users in the chat with a notebook that they have paid thousands for and it takes special drivers and there is not a thing I can recommend other than a third party site, that may take even more tweaks to get a driver from there running, but its the only option. It's $#*^ poor planning IMHO on the part of the manufacturer to do something like that and there is no call for it to leave a user stuck in the middle.

[feldon34]

Generalizations don't seem to be helping this thread much. Can we move on?

[Bigmouse]

Just came back from work, thanks for all the replies, discussions etc.....Please see attached screenprint on my display(if the attachment works). I know my video card was bought fews ago, and it may not support the new MA3, if that is the case, I will replace it with a new video card ...because of MA3 ( MA fans since V.99)

My computer works under WinXP sp2, 3GM RAM, I have tried the driver that John suggested.

[pvernam]

Originally posted by feldon32:

Generalizations don't seem to be helping this thread much. Can we move on?  

Certainly! Since I'm the one who started this thread, and since I no longer believe there to be a conflict with Display Fusion (and believe my problem has to do with multiple monitors (which have greatly differing resolutions, by the way)), should we:
A) rename this thread (I doubt I have the juice to do that, if it's even possible)?
B) move this discussion to an existing (more appropriately named) thread (which one)?
C) start over in a new thread?

[feldon34]

Can't really see how to split off the thread into 2, since everything is so intermingled. You can re-post your initial thread as a "do-over" if you wish and then I'll lock this one.

[Jav400]

BM,

Is that the driver that John recommended, or is that from before you changed to the driver he recommended?

Just for a test, try turning the settings down as low as they will go, something like 800 x 600 x 16 or the equivalent for your setup and monitor and let us know what happens then.

To do that hit the spacebar while the beta is running and click on display settings. That will change the aquarium only.

[jleslie]

Is that 6.11 or 6.5? Either way might be worth uninstalling it and trying the other one?
Fingers crossed...

[Bigmouse]

I tried both driver 6.11(version 8.252.0.0) and 6.5, and adjusted the resolution to the lowest 800x600x16.same result, see attached image. guess this is my excuse to replace the video card.

[Bigmouse]

sorry, i named the image wrongly, should be 640x400x16 (lowest I can go), actually the weird display only on the bubble and the lower part of the screen, the rest are look 'ok'.

[Jav400]

You could be right and it may end up being time for a replacement BM. The big problem is going to be that since your system is so old, we need to find a card that's still available that will actually plug in and work with that system.

Do you know the specs on your motherboard?

[pvernam]

Originally posted by feldon32:

Can't really see how to split off the thread into 2, since everything is so intermingled. You can re-post your initial thread as a "do-over" if you wish and then I'll lock this one.  

OK, I've opened a new thread ("ATI graphics and dual monitors") for my original issue (which I no longer believe to have anything to do with the (very useful) Display Fusion utility). This thread is therefore not very well named, but there seems to be some amount of activity on it (on a completely different topic, however).

[Jav400]

Once I get BM figured out and taken care of I or Morgan will probably lock it, depending on how far down that takes us in posts.

[Bigmouse]

Thanks for all the inputs, my video card may be 'old', however, I believe my motherboard is not that 'old', it is P4 3GHz, 3 GB RAM. Surely, I can find a video card that run MA3.... you may close my item....thanks again.

[feldon34]

Administrator's Note: I have cleaned up this thread.