New PC - Blitz Questions

I recently bought a new machine ( forget the specs but far better than my old P4 3.0 ). I'm still using XP Pro ( sp3 ) with a Radon x1900GT card.

Blitz has been running ok but I started getting some wierd behaviour. Basically in my vehicle physics game, if you stopped and waited for a couple of minutes your cars wheels disappeared and all the other vehicles vanish. When they respawn they have no wheels, just a chassis, and fall through the terrain. I'm 100% confident that this isn't a programming issue as everything was running fine on my previous machine.

I also started getting random MAV's , even in debug mode and eventually "Program termination : blitcc encountered and error etc.." or suchlike. I upgraded to v1.99 ( from v1.96 ) and all seems to be fine now ( touch wood ). Does anyone know if there is anything in v.199 which would fix the original issue? I'm terrified that it happens again as it would be one of those bugs which would be a nightmare to track down. A DEP issue maybe?

Another annoying but bearable issue is when running code in the debugger. Once I exit the program it goes back to the IDE as expected. Around 3 seconds later the screen goes dark for a millesc and then returns me to the IDE. Any idea what could cause this or something I can do to get rid of it?

Thanks in advance.
Stevie

There's an SP3 for WindowsXP?

Yes. But I think it is still in beta. Not sure though.

I know this isn't helpful, but :-).

Well, it saved me from having to type it. :P

How would I get rid of it? The old man put the os + updates on my machine last week.

Should be able to remove it in add/remove programs.

Thanks. I'll leave it just now but if the problem persists I try this.

Anyone have an idea on the second issue?

I assume you upgraded to catalyst 8.x right?

the 6.x and 7.x are troublesome and bugged.

Are they? Where is the best place to get them?

www.ati.com

I have an ATI Radeon 1800XT and I experienced many strange behaviours with all those different versions of ATI drivers.
My advise is to test which version fits better to your system by installing and testing various driver versions...
My next card will be an NVIDIA because I had one in my old PC without any problem (I am talking about stability)

[off topic] I remember when ATI cards were the bizz. Drivers worked, they were fast etc. They appear to be falling behind Nvidia and am wondering if they'll choke like the 3dfx voodoo cards did.

I remember when everyone I new who had a PC had a voodoo card.

Thanks Gfk.

A daft question but how do I check what I currently have gfx card driver wise?

Device manager >>> Display Adapter >>> Properties :o) Should tell you in there.

Can't multi-threaded processors cause problems like that?

Cheers Ross. I've got the current drivers 8.263. I removed sp3 last night as I was getting alot of 'blah has encountered an error and needs to close" on alot of apps. Now the o/s doesn't recognise my sound card ... excellent ... sometimes I f'ing hate PC's!!!!

All was fine there yesterday and this morning but my game suddenly froze and I could't close b3d from the taskmanager so had to switch my pc off.

After reebooting I started my game again and 2 mins in got a "Illegal Instruction" error message from Blitz - never seen that before - really wierd. Another couple of mins in I then got an object does not exist error when it clearly is not null in the debug windows. It all seems completely random!

WTF? This kinda thing isn't caused by gfx card drivers surely? Is it possible that I could be getting power surges and this is causing my PC to go a bit fruit loop?

Please tell me someone has experienced this behaviour before and found a cure - I'd be forever in their debt!

Cheers
Stevie

I would reinstall your OS.

It was only installed a week ago. I'd rather not go through the hastle if I can help it.

If you've noticed any other "weird" behavior try a memory test program here's a free one ( http://www.memtest86.com/ ). You may have to run it over night).

In case it is a video driver issue get the latest drive for your card, completey remove your old driver and any old install files (don't wont windows to find them). Restart windows ( it should find a MS version or vesa ). Restart again, install the new drivers and restart again.

Last time I used that, I cancelled it after 22 hours.

I'd stick with SP2 tbh. I hate upgrading to another service pack that installs lots more stuff that, 99% of, you probably don't need.

I ran XP for AGES, without installing SP2, because i never seen a need. With all it's security measures, they will become obsolete, or maybe already have. A good firewall, anitvirus, and anti spyware program, i think XP Pro without any service packs, runs just dandy. If you know what your doing you can manually close alot of the security loop holes and your set.

...I think its much easier just to install SP2/updates than to try manually identifying and fixing security holes. Most people don't know how to do it, the rest don't have the time.

Memtest86 isn't 100% prefect but RAM testing equipment isn't cheap ( the cheapest method is to try another memory module :-)

Other things that can cause system instability are incorrect BIOS timing settings etc.

Dead CMOS battery is a common cause of problems.

Also, static discharge can cause problems that go undetected for months, especially with RAM and CPUs.

Saw an eBay auction earlier today actually for a load of RAM and CPUs etc. The seller laid them all out neatly to take a photo of, on a CARPET! o.O

Chances of any of that gear still working are slim to zero.

You usualy get a checksum error or taken straight to BIOS setup with those.


Please tell me more I need a good laught. :-)

*CLICK*

(Pictures 2, 3 and 4)

HA HA HA HA HA HA HA ... crack ( ow my ribs )

Would be better if he had those Hard Drives next to a couple of powerfull speakers ( or other source of magnetism ) :-)

I do like this bit though


Some muppet is actually bidding for it. Looks like most of it is 7+ years old. Ok if you intend to run any thing like Win2K or less (if the bits work and you can get drivers and manuals for the hardware)

Incorrect BIOS timing settings? Static Discharge?

I'm back to SP2 as I said. Everything seems to be ok now but I know it won't last.

Stevie