Tweet
G-200 and Directx 8 PROBLEM
Hi.
I have a weird problem and write about it in this forum, but it's related with almost every forum here, so feel free to repost if you think that someone else could help me.
I have a Matrox MGA G-200 AGP, Win 98 SE and Sound Blaster PCI 128.
A program asked me to install the directx 8 and, woe me, I did it.
Immediately the Matrox diagnostic told me there was a problem, related to the directx. It said that probably the directx I installed was old, and that some programs could be malfunctioning (error 22). Yet everything seemed to look and work fine.
After rebooting 3-4 times for other reasons (and always getting the same error warning), though, suddenly after a day the icons and fonts started looking fuzzy.
In particular I see a black-purplish shadow around the black or blue objects, icons and fonts (especially on the right), mostly on white or light backgrounds. It's as when you draw something with a pencil and then pass a finger over it from left to right. Very annoying if you have to read stuff, as in Word, or emails.
The other objects and fonts look almost perfect, and on black or dark background the problem is almost nonexistent.
In Control panel/system everything looks ok. No conflicts, no problems.
I tried to move the setting of the acceleration, but nothing changed.
Running Dxdiag I saw that there were problems with the direct sound and direct 3d (after the 2nd test it freezed up the computer and had to reboot) but it gave me no hint on how to fix them.
The monitor is pretty old and has no diagnostic program.
I went to the MS site and looked for newer Dx (since the matrox diagnostic said that they were old), found the 8.1 and installed them, to no avail. Found out that the only way to remove the directx is to format the HD, and was very dissappointed so started looking for alternative solutions.
I tried to reboot using a backup of the registry of the day before the dx were installed, but the dx were still there!
So I went to the Matrox site and looked for directx 8 problems, but found nothing related to my video device, so downloaded some newer drivers (the 623) and the newer PowerDesk. Now I have the 6.23.005 as driver and the 6.23.042 as PowerDesk.
I also looked for newer Creative drivers (since I also got error messages from dxdiag related to directsound and directmusic) but am unsure of the model of the sound card. Anyway, I upgraded something, but nothing changed.
Last, I found an utility to uninstall the directx, and run it. Now I have no directx installed (YEAH! Go to hell, you stupid program!), but the problem remains.
I think I'll install the dx 7, that always worked fine, but doubt that it will solve the problem. I don't want to format, especially because of a problem like this! So I ask you all:
1) is there any known incompatibility of the G-200 AGP with dx8?
2) any idea of the source of my problem, or the way to fix it?
3) why do you think the problem showed its effects after a while and not immediately? Could it be that my monitor (Samtron SC-428PS) has been damaged? How could I find out for sure?
4) after installing the new Matrox drivers the dxdiag told me that they weren't certified (the G200.drv in particular) and to look for Microsoft signed drivers. Why? They weren't a beta release... Could it be a problem too?
5) With the new PowerDesk I am a bit lost. First I haven't the Matrox icon in the start/programs menu, and even in the QuickDesk I can't find the Matrox Diagonostic anywhere. How do I run it? I think it could help me finding out something more...
6) I think that the dx messed with something else too. Minor stuff, but still annoying. I noticed that the description of the objects on the desktop is now white on a green square (as background) while before the problem, the background of the description was transparent and of the same color of the image I had chosen as background. Any idea on how to fix it? In screen/properties/look (I use Win98 in Italian, hope this is the way these things are called) I can set the color of the desktop, but how do I set it to transparent, so that it's the image I chose even in the icon description b-ground?
I know this isn't all Matrox-related, but please HELP a lady in distress!!!
Thanks,
Xenarulz
I have a weird problem and write about it in this forum, but it's related with almost every forum here, so feel free to repost if you think that someone else could help me.
I have a Matrox MGA G-200 AGP, Win 98 SE and Sound Blaster PCI 128.
A program asked me to install the directx 8 and, woe me, I did it.
Immediately the Matrox diagnostic told me there was a problem, related to the directx. It said that probably the directx I installed was old, and that some programs could be malfunctioning (error 22). Yet everything seemed to look and work fine.
After rebooting 3-4 times for other reasons (and always getting the same error warning), though, suddenly after a day the icons and fonts started looking fuzzy.
In particular I see a black-purplish shadow around the black or blue objects, icons and fonts (especially on the right), mostly on white or light backgrounds. It's as when you draw something with a pencil and then pass a finger over it from left to right. Very annoying if you have to read stuff, as in Word, or emails.
The other objects and fonts look almost perfect, and on black or dark background the problem is almost nonexistent.
In Control panel/system everything looks ok. No conflicts, no problems.
I tried to move the setting of the acceleration, but nothing changed.
Running Dxdiag I saw that there were problems with the direct sound and direct 3d (after the 2nd test it freezed up the computer and had to reboot) but it gave me no hint on how to fix them.
The monitor is pretty old and has no diagnostic program.
I went to the MS site and looked for newer Dx (since the matrox diagnostic said that they were old), found the 8.1 and installed them, to no avail. Found out that the only way to remove the directx is to format the HD, and was very dissappointed so started looking for alternative solutions.
I tried to reboot using a backup of the registry of the day before the dx were installed, but the dx were still there!
So I went to the Matrox site and looked for directx 8 problems, but found nothing related to my video device, so downloaded some newer drivers (the 623) and the newer PowerDesk. Now I have the 6.23.005 as driver and the 6.23.042 as PowerDesk.
I also looked for newer Creative drivers (since I also got error messages from dxdiag related to directsound and directmusic) but am unsure of the model of the sound card. Anyway, I upgraded something, but nothing changed.
Last, I found an utility to uninstall the directx, and run it. Now I have no directx installed (YEAH! Go to hell, you stupid program!), but the problem remains.
I think I'll install the dx 7, that always worked fine, but doubt that it will solve the problem. I don't want to format, especially because of a problem like this! So I ask you all:
1) is there any known incompatibility of the G-200 AGP with dx8?
2) any idea of the source of my problem, or the way to fix it?
3) why do you think the problem showed its effects after a while and not immediately? Could it be that my monitor (Samtron SC-428PS) has been damaged? How could I find out for sure?
4) after installing the new Matrox drivers the dxdiag told me that they weren't certified (the G200.drv in particular) and to look for Microsoft signed drivers. Why? They weren't a beta release... Could it be a problem too?
5) With the new PowerDesk I am a bit lost. First I haven't the Matrox icon in the start/programs menu, and even in the QuickDesk I can't find the Matrox Diagonostic anywhere. How do I run it? I think it could help me finding out something more...
6) I think that the dx messed with something else too. Minor stuff, but still annoying. I noticed that the description of the objects on the desktop is now white on a green square (as background) while before the problem, the background of the description was transparent and of the same color of the image I had chosen as background. Any idea on how to fix it? In screen/properties/look (I use Win98 in Italian, hope this is the way these things are called) I can set the color of the desktop, but how do I set it to transparent, so that it's the image I chose even in the icon description b-ground?
I know this isn't all Matrox-related, but please HELP a lady in distress!!!
Thanks,
Xenarulz
Comment