some painkiller graphics/sound problems

[Vyruz]

Hi, I've bought Painkiller with steam and my computer exceeds the reccomended requirements, though I still have a handfull of technical problems.

one is graphical. When i start painkiller, it just runs fine for a while, but after a while (about 20 minutes or so) i get a bit of video lag (movement on screen happens a little later (abbout 0.5 to 1 second) from when i move my mouse) and everything gets a little slow, this worsens or fades away but still keeps happening it also freezes from time to time and an error window pops up telling me that NV4_disp isn't working right, sometimes i get a blue screen telling me the same thing plus that it got in a infinite loop.
also, i've been replaying places where it lagged, but starting there instead, and there was no lag.

second one is a sound error. sometimes, the low sounds get replaced by high pitched beeps and boops.

I hope someone can help me.

PS: please dont mind the typos, I am dutch and typing english is a bit hard for me

[PeTjA]

U should upgrade Ur hardware!
What hardware do U got?

[Varus77]

I'd say that you've to turn your AGP Fast Writes to off...

and for exact steps ... have a look at here:
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;q293078

:)

BTW: played around with your inGame sounds settings?

[Vyruz]

i'd like to add, i have a nvidia Geforce 6800 GT, 1 GB of ram and a 2.21 GHz processor.
plus, the slowing down ocurs at random, sometimes i have many enemy's on screen and it runs fine, then i am in a bit less crowded situation and it slows down. it mostly happens after a time and not on a location.
strangest thing is, the newest Nvidia drivers crash faster then the one's i got with the card on a CD, so i use those for now.

[Varus77]

...but the bluescreens are gone? (you've read the articel about this problem that has a history beginning in 2005 and over the years and from nVidia4 to newest? (...and these NV4_disp <<< is only nVidia related and is your DISPlay controlling programm))
...and you don't own a notebook with M processor?
What kind of CPU do you've?


the newest Nvidia drivers crash faster then the one's i got with the card on a CD..that's the "normal" way how nVidia "all-in-one-newest" driver always worked :D ;)

[Vyruz]

...but the bluescreens are gone?

no, they keep ocurring.
and i have a AMD athlon dual core CPU.
i noticed that the slowmo mostly ocurs in thight corners with the flashlight on, but i proved that cause false by saving/restarting/loading and it went fine again.
and the latest Nvidia drivers reconize the drives on my CD as old, is the ones on the cd really just for the card i have? I plan on putting a new card in there sometime...
well yeah, it still worsens over time.

[Varus77]

...AGP Fast Writes to off...
Have you played around with that option above?
1. Click Start, click Control Panel, and then double-click Display.
2. On the Settings tab, click Advanced, and then click the Troubleshoot tab.
3. Move the Hardware Acceleration slider to None, and then click to clear the Enable Write Combining check box.
4. Click OK, and then click OK.

Note: This procedure prevents the display driver from programming the hardware incorrectly, but you may lose some display functionality and performance. Although you can increase the hardware acceleration settings higher than None to regain functionality and performance, these settings increase the chance that the issue will occur again. For maximum stability, leave hardware acceleration off.

For your AMD dual core CPU keep in mind that there are problems with dual core software...
http://dreamcatcherinteractive.com/forums/showpost.php?p=188396&postcount=4


and the latest Nvidia drivers reconize the drives on my CD as old...
That's for sure because the newest has always a higher number but it haven't to mean that the driver will work with your card (against nVidia's promises)
The driver on your CD should work fine...

I plan on putting a new card in there sometime...May be you should give ATI a chance... ;)

[Vyruz]

Have you played around with that option above?

Yeah, i have. i can only put it two places back from max, else i get the error "couldn't load DirectX 9 renderer". It still slows down, and like described above, the slow go's away and comes back, freezes, either continiues or crashed.

abbout the run first program, i don't know how to use it. i click the the icon a small window shows up for a split slit second and nothing happens.

[Vyruz]

and a other thing, i just try'd starting Painkiller and then lower it's priority to low by using the taskmanager, this resulted in les slowing down, still a wee bit but not much anny more. though it still froze and crashed with the NV4_disp error after 1 and a bit level

[Varus77]

i just try'd starting Painkiller and then lower it's priority to low by using the taskmanager...

Not that way...

your way has do be (like the utility would do for you):
starting Painkiller and then disable the second cpu by using the taskmanager.

For your other problem you should google for:
nv4_disp.dll - Bluescreen

...and you will find many, many threads about the same problem from 2005 till now...
(latest I've found was e.g. from Jan.2007 for this system:
Intel Core2Duo E6400 (Std. Takt)
nVidia GeForce 7900GX2
DIMM DDR2 1GB PC-667 Corsair VS
Gigabyte 965P-DS4 )
as you can see...you should buy an ATI next time...

Here is an long discussion about that problem in English
http://forums.nvidia.com/index.php?showtopic=4432
and from there at least:
( http://forums.nvidia.com/index.php?showtopic=4432&st=80 )
comes this:

Okay listen guys this is what happened to me.
for about a year everything is fine, then one day the screen goes black and says infinite loop thing
and then when i try to play "company of heroes" which worked before, it now instantly freezes on the desktop and goes to loop message.

so i check everywhere and tried everthing said such as

turn off fast write - did that, nothing
update to a newer version - nothing
turned off all overclocking - nothing
tried the patch for that rx 55 thing, - nothing
decreased and increased aperture size - nothing

THEN FINALLY



I removed my nvidia drivers, restarted, pushed cancel when hardware wizard came up, deleted all nv*.* files in c:\windows\system32\drivers, and c:\windows\system32, then deleted the NVIDIA folder from my computer.

now heres the thing, originally i had forceware 81.94, now when i tried to install it the message "couldn't find any hardware or software" came up right after the nvidia splash screen, and then it closed, same thing with the 81.98 drivers, so i got the 91.28 drivers and they finally worked, now i can play games like i did before. hope this helped.

maybe and I hope it will work for you...

[Vyruz]

none worked.
and i can't find a disable second CPU button in the task manager

[Vyruz]

i have something i want to report.
the levels leningrad to underworld (levels 6 7 and 8) of battle out of hell run without anny lag, freezing or crashing. level 9 and 10 are unknown, i haven't played those yet.
but i haven't adjusted a thing, i even rebooted my PC, replayed those leves and they still went fine, the other levels still slow down and crash over time, but these don't.

i rightclicked like hell on Painkiller.exe in the taskmanager processes, but i can't find a disable 2nd CPU annywere.

[Varus77]

...and i have a AMD athlon dual core CPU...
:eek:
Have you the exact full name of your CPU?
It should looks like that...
http://img409.imageshack.us/img409/7350/cputasks01xi5.jpg (http://imageshack.us)http://img178.imageshack.us/img178/4706/cputasksmm4.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
(processor affiliation)

[Vyruz]

ok, its a ADM athlon 64 processor 3500+ (full name when i right click my computer and select properties).
then who the hell told me that it was a dual core? :confused:
maybe its one CPU with two cores, ach this is getting confusing.

[Vyruz]

yep, its single core after all, all this time i thought it was a double one.
going to call the computer shop i bought it, look if i ordered a double or a single core processor when i bought it, i ghues they have it stored somewhere.

[Vyruz]

ghues I'm left for dead.
ah well, i try to figure this out myself.
close this thread off.

[PeTjA]

Who the hell told me that it was a dual core?
And i have a AMD athlon dual core CPU. Im not sure that its a CPU related thing. Anyway try this cool tool here (http://www.cpuid.com/download/cpu-z-138.zip) and run cpuz.exe

Post Ur results from C:\WINDOWS\system32\dxdiag.exe too.

Im pretty sure Varus will help Vyruz. :cool:

[Vyruz]

Anyway try this cool tool here (http://www.cpuid.com/download/cpu-z-138.zip) and run [U][I]cpuz.exe

to bad the link doesn't work (edit) i got it in a other way, nice tool
here's my DxDiag.txt (http://www.ihud.com/file.php?file=files/150207/1171552404/DxDiag.txt)

[Vyruz]

worst is, i just discovered that it also affects Half-life2, and i play both through steam, while games i play outside steam (like doom3 as example) still play fine, even the one's with hefty graphics (battlefield 2142)

[Varus77]

Ah...
I don't know if this could be the reason for but one thing for sure every time in the last few years when I've installed a game that cames along with any kind of stuff realted to Steam I've NOT installed software linked to this company.
Because many people have gotten problems with that and in old times me too.

[Vyruz]

oh, ok.
status report: i just recently updated my motherboard chipset drivers, the freezing is gone, some of the slowing down is also gone but there still are some slomo there, esspecially at the oprhanage level (1 of BooH) and the old monestary (2nd last of painkiller). and though that the freezing is gone, it still crashes, it slows down really much and crashes.
the crash screen went to fast to read, but i am trying to catch it on camera so i can make a screenshot of it. i think i glimpsed NV4_disp....
and in some levels (level 2 of painkiller and 1 of BooH) i sometimes see a texture or model flikkering all over the place. it flikkers and disapears and flikkers every now and then

[Varus77]

This both levels have features with heavy requests at the performance of the GPU...the fog - it's a particle effect
and

i sometimes see a texture or model flikkering all over the place. it flikkers and disapears and flikkers every now and then
and

i think i glimpsed NV4_disp
...let me think again that it's at all a problem with your GPU...
But a problem with your driver? (Maybe parts of other, newer or older, GPU drivers existing on your system?)
Or could it be a problem with the RAM of your GPU?

Therefore I want to remember again at:

I removed my nvidia drivers, restarted, pushed cancel when hardware wizard came up, deleted all nv*.* files in c:\windows\system32\drivers, and c:\windows\system32, then deleted the NVIDIA folder from my computer.

now heres the thing, originally i had forceware 81.94, now when i tried to install it the message "couldn't find any hardware or software" came up right after the nvidia splash screen, and then it closed, same thing with the 81.98 drivers, so i got the 91.28 drivers and they finally worked, now i can play games like i did before. hope this helped.


Have you tried this???

[Vyruz]

i just did, but someting went wrong, the computer couldn't find nvatabus annymore. i had to format my C (dont worry, games are on D) and reinstal Windows an such, that's the third time in 2 months.
I'm not trying that again though, its only to hope it'll work now.
BTW, someting went wrong in the BIOS previeus times i had to reinstall, something related to that?

[Varus77]

Sorry for the reinstalling...
...and this was the reason too for:

someting went wrong in the BIOS previeus times i had to reinstall
because your BIOS update was gone by reinstalling XP. You've to do that update again.

But be careful with that...because...look below...was that the reason?

This is what NVIDIA advises doing. They give a few options. Here is a zip file which will not only contains the document below but also the nvatabus.sys file.
http://download.nvidia.com/Windows/n...structions.zip

Case 1
If you installed nForce 2.03 driver kits and then installed 2.41 & the NVIDIA SW IDE without uninstalling 2.03 and want to go back to 2.03 driver kit, please follow these steps

Option 1: Auto Roll Back Using Windows System Restore
1. Browse to the Start Menu > All Programs > Accessories > System Tools > System Restore (See option1.1.bmp)
2. Select ?Restore my computer to an earlier time?. Click Next (See option1.2.bmp)
3. Pick a highlighted date on the calendar that is some date before the 2.41 driver package was installed.
4. Click ?Next?
5. When you are sure that you have the right selection, click ?Next? again. (See otpion1.5.bmp)
6. Windows will roll back to an earlier date and then reboot.
7. When Windows returns your system should be running with the 2.03 drivers again.

Option 2: Manual Roll Back
1. Download the nForce 2.03 driver kit.
2. Browse to the Start Menu and select ?Search?
3. Do a search on \windows for *.nvu (See option2.3.bmp)
4. Delete the ?nvide.nvu? file (Option2.3.bmp)
5. Go to Control Panel, Add/Remove Programs
6. Remove the option ?NVIDIA nForce Drivers? (See option2.6.bmp)

NOTE: You must select the option with the exact text above

7. Reboot.
8. When the system restarts, hit ?Cancel? when all devices are detected
9. Re-install the nForce 2.03 driver kit.
10. Click ?Yes to all? when asked to overwriting old files
11. Reboot when install is complete
12. Upon system restart, right mouse click on My Computer and select Properties
13. Select the ?Hardware? tab
14. Click on the ?Device Manager? button
15. Expand the section labeled ?IDE ATA/ATAPI controllers?
16. Left mouse click on the option labeled ?NVIDIA NForce(TM) MCP2 IDE Controller? or ?NVIDIA® nForce(TM) IDE Controller? (your system will only have one of the above options) (See option2.16.bmp)
17. Right mouse click and select ?Update Driver? (See option2.17.bmp)
18. Select ?Install from a list of specific location (Advanced)?
19. Select ?Don?t search, I will choose the driver to install?
20. Select the driver ?Standard Dual Channel PCI IDE Controller?
21. Reboot.
22. After reboot allow device detection.
23. Reboot again.
24. Everything should now be working correctly.

Case 2:
If you installed nForce 2.03 driver kits and then installed 2.42 & without uninstalling 2.03 and want to go back to 2.03 driver kit, please follow these steps

Manual Roll Back
1. Browse to the Start Menu and select ?Control Panel?
2. Select ?Add/Remove Programs?
3. Remove the option labeled ?NVIDIA nForce Drivers?

NOTE: You must select the option with the exact text above.

4. Reboot.
5. When the system restarts, hit ?Cancel? when all devices are detected
6. Re-install the nForce 2.03 driver kit.
7. Reboot.
8. After reboot allow any additional devices to be detected (if applicable)
9. Reboot.
10. Everything should now be working correctly.

Case 3
Your system is unbootable because you tried to use Add/Remove programs on the nForce 2.42 driver kit

Recovering Windows
1. Copy the ?nvatabus.sys? file to a floppy disk. This file is included in the zip file that include these instructions.
2. Boot system to Windows XP installation CD.
3. At the Setup screen, press ?R?.
4. This will bring up the repair console.

Which Windows installation would you like to log onto
<To cancel, press ENTER>?

Hit ?1? and <ENTER> or the number that represent your Windows XP installation.

Type the Administrator password:

Type password and hit <ENTER>

Insert the floppy disk with the "nvatabus.sys? file into the floppy drive. At the command prompt, type ?copy a:\nvatabus.sys c:\windows\system32\drivers? and hit <ENTER>. Once file has been copied, type ?EXIT? and hit <ENTER>. This will reboot your system. Remove floppy from system.

5. When the system restarts, hit ?Cancel? when all devices are detected
6. Re-install the nForce 2.03 driver kit.
7. Click ?Yes to all? when asked to overwriting old files
8. Reboot when install is complete
9. Upon system restart, right mouse click on My Computer and select Properties
10. Select the ?Hardware? tab
11. Click on the ?Device Manager? button
12. Expand the section labeled ?IDE ATA/ATAPI controllers?
13. Left mouse click on the option labeled ?NVIDIA NForce(TM) MCP2 IDE Controller? or ?NVIDIA® nForce(TM) IDE Controller? (your system will only have one of the above options) (See option2.16.bmp)
14. Right mouse click and select ?Update Driver? (See option2.17.bmp)
15. Select ?Install from a list of specific location (Advanced)?
16. Select ?Don?t search, I will choose the driver to install?
17. Select the driver ?Standard Dual Channel PCI IDE Controller?
18. Reboot.
19. After reboot allow device detection.
20. Reboot again.
21. Everything should now be working correctly.

[Vyruz]

i already fixed the nvatabus when i posted my last post, plus the link doesn't work.
annyway, is that for fixing painkiller?

[Varus77]

Nope...(the zip would have contained the text from above...)

And no... it wouldn't fix PK, especially because your problems are not caused by PK...like you've mentioned with

worst is, i just discovered that it also affects Half-life2.

Have you removed anything related to Steam-software?

[Vyruz]

i just reinstalled steam over the existing one so it would show up in the software list, other than that nothing.
by the way, most of the slomo in the oprhanage is gone now (first it lagged like hell even at start, now it doesn't) it still lags some times but not as much, the old monestary and the atrium complex stil cause problems with lag and freezing, old monestary even crashed with the well known message. the lag is only discribeable as moving through thick pudding with a sudden releif of pressure, it lags and it stops lagging and lags some more, freezes here and there. crashes are occuring a bit less compared to when it first became a problem.
halflife still does lag, not as much but still.

[Varus77]

At least all I can advice you to play around with your advanced settings. You can easy control your results with these console commands (~)
>showfps 1

and

>benchmark C5L1

or (more CPU related)

>benchmark C5L2

[Vyruz]

those benchmark things are cool :D
annyway, C5L1 got a score of 155 and C5L2 got a score of 105, because there was a framerate drop to 46 fps just at the last event, it ran around 150 fps for the rest of the course.
bad times 50 to 10 fps, good times 100 and up

[Vyruz]

well, actually 100 and up when it's deserted or just a few enemys on screen.
when i'm having a full wave and it's running fine its between 60 and 80 FPS, and when it lags it go's lower, 18 fps is the lowest i saw up till now

[Varus77]

Yes...that are very good results...can't see any problem.

[Vyruz]

but there still is.
i hope the tech support i mailed comes up with something soon.

[Varus77]

Do you've run a memory-test for your RAM, haven't you?

[Vyruz]

in anny screen that show's my ram its 1 GB or 1024 MB.
I have a vague feeling it's still that blasted NV4_disp error, well, still caused by NV4_disp but not crashing.
i had the crashing on World of warcraft just recently, just like in all the form posts (no, the nv4loopfix doesn't work)

[Varus77]

I don't think so...
If you wont run a memory test, because little address ranges could be corrupt, you can test it on another way...
I guess you have 2x 512Mb... try it with each one stand-alone and look what happens (with that "stills")
For your bluescreens...

no, the nv4loopfix doesn't work...probably not because some have had reported this. But you should do what this one did...remove all nVidia drivers, boot with vga and try a new graphic driver installation with your original GPU-driver (I'm still thinking that all was coming with/through a driver muddle)

[Vyruz]

could you be more precise? i am afraid that i'll delete some crucial files again and have to format again.
just like that last time.

[Varus77]

Driver Installation Hints


"Download Accelerator" utilities should be disabled when downloading any drivers.


Do not run virus protection software in the background while installing the drivers. This prevents the driver from configuring itself properly.


Before installing new drivers make sure you uninstall all NVIDIA display drivers from the Windows Control Panel. Browse to the Start Menu > Windows Control Panel > Add/Remove Programs and search for "NVIDIA Windows Display Drivers" or "NVIDIA Display Drivers" and select remove.

[Vyruz]

did that.
no effect.
going to bring it to the local PC store for examnation next tuesday.

[Varus77]

That's sad. I hope they'll find the reason (if so then please give a short feedback)

...and if nothing helps maybe you change to ATI...;)

[Vyruz]

ok, so after like 1 and a half week i finaly got my PC back.
they formated and reinstalled all the drivers, still problematic, so they had to instal a new graphics card, and since they only sell geforces i went with a 7600 GS silent and they gave me some discount for the trouble.

[Blaise]

Sorry for the late entry into this thread Vyruz :(

For future reference...
When you are having problems with nVidia display drivers necessitating a version change, it's recommended that you do the following:


Download the nVidia driver you wish to install (this one (http://www.nvidia.com/content/license/location_0605.asp?url=http://download.nvidia.com/Windows/93.71/93.71_forceware_winxp2k_english_whql.exe) is the latest "official" release for Windows XP).
Download and install Driver Cleaner Pro**.
Uninstall the driver via the "Add/Remove Programs" applet being careful to choose the options so you only remove the display driver and not the motherboard drivers.
Reboot the machine into "Safe Mode" (press F8 before the "Windows loading..." message).
Run Driver Cleaner Pro, choose "NVIDIA" from the "Clean" menu and press "Start".
When finished reboot normally.
Cancel any wizards that appear and run the nVidia display driver installation program you downloaded in step one.
Reboot when prompted.

**Driver Cleaner Pro is a utility which helps you to remove parts of drivers that are left after uninstalling the old drivers. It "knows" what to delete (assuming you choose the correct clean section) and will prevent you from deleting critical files by mistake.

Other problems you have listed such as freezing and lockups could be related to an option within your nVidia motherboard drivers. Do not install the Active Armour (firewall) portion of the driver package. It has been a problematic piece of software that has caused all sorts of problems over the years (bugger knows why nVidia didn't just drop it).

One other thing you may not have done is install the AMD Athlon™ 64 driver for your CPU. Download it from here (http://www.amd.com/us-en/assets/content_type/utilities/amdcpusetup.exe) (the linked download is for Windows XP SP2, Windows 2003 SP1 x86 and x64 Editions) and install it if you haven't already done so.

I noticed you've been asked to test your RAM but cannot see a reply from you stating that you have done so. What I recommend is that you download Memtest86 (http://www.memtest86.com/) and run it for several hours (especially look at the results of test #5 & #8). This will prove once and for all whether your memory is a causing any of your problems or not. I would assume that a good PC shop would have run this (or an equivalent) program as part of their "testing" but it'll give you piece of mind if you do it yourself. Memory corruption could cause data to be written to your hard drive in a corrupted state and may account for lockups/problems in various levels of a game such as PainKiller.

On that note, you may wish to check your hard drive for any errors:


Open "My Computer" and right click on your "C": drive,
Choose "Properties" and click the "Tools" tab.
Clock "Check Now...", select both check boxes and click "Start" (you'll find that as this is the boot partition, Windows will schedule this to run on the next boot.
Boot your machine and let the utility run.
When it finishes, do the same for the "D:" drive (steps 1 to 3 substituting D: for the drive to right-click) - you won't have to reboot as this isn't the boot partition.


they formated and reinstalled all the drivers, still problematic,What problems are you experiencing now?

[Vyruz]

none.
just as I said, they installed a GeForce 7600 GS silent, it's good now.
my old card just got a bit worn out.
I'm playing Painkiller at Nightmare to celebrate it :P

[Blaise]

Happy fraggin'

[PeTjA]

Happy fragging from me too. :D
Sadly sometimes there is no other choice but to remove\change (damaged?) hardware. Remeber my first reply: :cool:

U should upgrade Ur hardware!

[Vyruz]

sorry for bumping this threat but, are there more of those benchmark thingys, they are cool to watch

[Varus77]

nope - only the both (for PK)

[PeTjA]

Havent kalme once made a custom PK benchmark?