Blacked out graphics

[BadMojo666]

Rolled back to 8.10 and my issues seem to be resolved. I had some difficulty installing the 8.10 drivers. At first I got an error message, but then I manually removed the drivers and used MSCONFIG to keep CCC from loading up. Windows was able to successfully install the drivers without CCC running, then I re-enabled CCC and it worked.

[daturke]

im havin some problems with my graphics too. i never got to play the game yet cuz wen i start the game it goes black for a few seconds an then a strange error message comes up; "the current graphics card/ driver combonation does not support the nessessary features " or somthin like that an i dont know were 2 get the drivers for my video card

[IRQ Conflict]

Just re-installed my OS (Vista 64bit). Installed Cat 8.8 and now am having the time of my life! I still have minor problems with memory and heat issues (thx Sapphire ).

However, I am able to use my crossfire X1950 Pro's again. The reason I re-installed the OS was because I couldn't get my UT3 to launch. So I don't know what messed things up (too many driver install/uninstalls?) But whatever, I get a solid 55-61 fps with AI set to 'standard' Triple buffering is enabled all other CCC settings at default (game preference).

And everything maxed in the game except I don't have AA enabled but have AF set at 8x. Resolution is set at 1920x1200.

To the individual that stated A.I. and Triple buffering being disabled improves performance, it's the other way around my friend

A.I. disabled will disable AA enhancements as well as your ability to use crossfire. disabling triple buffering will decrease your performance if you have vsync enabled in game (recommended).

The only reason you may want to disable AI is for compatibility issues. And then, only a temp fix as ATi should fix the issue(s).

I don't plan on moving from Cat 8.8 until I at least get my vehicle shield which I'm 50 kills away from.

[Lusitania]

Originally Posted by IRQ Conflict

To the individual that stated A.I. and Triple buffering being disabled improves performance, it's the other way around my friend

A.I. disabled will disable AA enhancements as well as your ability to use crossfire. disabling triple buffering will decrease your performance if you have vsync enabled in game (recommended).

The only reason you may want to disable AI is for compatibility issues. And then, only a temp fix as ATi should fix the issue(s).

That's why I stated 3870 512MB with 9.2., and not CF 3870.

Catalyst A.I. in CF need to be enabled in order to allow the synchronization of both cards, the TB depends of the amount of Vram available in the card.

The higher the resolution/quality is used in the game, the more will most of the Vram be used and therefore not leaving enough left to allow TB.

[IRQ Conflict]

CF is only part of AI Lusitania. Catalyst AI has been around a long time. If disabled it cripples the drivers ability to 'optimize' advanced settings that help improve performance while maintaining much of the IQ you desire.

Here, read this.

Just to be clear, disabling Catalyst AI disables application specific optimizations, bug fixes and generic optimizations.

Edit: Here is what you said: "Also set Triple buffering and A.I. to OFF will improve performance."

Setting triple buffering to off will reduce performance when you wish a high IQ in game and use vsync.

I would recommend vsync be enabled so that you don't get the tearing associated with having it off (rendering faster than your monitor refresh rate). Unless of course your more interested in watching those numbers climb above 60 FPS. In that case I would recommend turning all the eye candy off and just watch the frame rate counter.

[LighT_Sh4v0r]

Having the same issues now
Just came back from a full format --> reinstall.
I decided to use 9.4 drivers, but they gave me black textures after every 1st map. So I uninstalled the drivers, and rolled back to 8.11, which was what I used on my previous install without any problems. But I still get the black textures every 2nd map onwards

[murka10]

Did you port your cfg over?
I've noticed this bug only when i butchered my cfg.

[singing_fish]

LighT_Sh4v0r, if you like to reuse the older drivers after installing new ones, you should use 'drivercleaner' for uninstalling.
Had the same problems after switching back. It worked after drivercleaner.
Now I use 9.4 and A.I. off, no problems.

cu on

[LighT_Sh4v0r]

Ah you're right Singing_fish, I forgot about that!
I already thought it was weird that most of the files where still there after the uninstall, so I manually deleted them. Still when I installed 8.11, it still had all my settings, which were not all default...

I'll give drivercleaner a go though, thanks again

@Murka: initially I did use the same autoexec, but since I wanted to test my performance on my new rig, I ended up with a completely new config, with just a few lines copied from my old config that call in my respawn scripts etc.

[LighT_Sh4v0r]

Well, I uninstalled the whole thing, threw driversweeper over it in safemode and reinstalled the drivers again. Still nothing, maps are still black after the 1st.

It still remembered my settings, I can't figure out how.

[singing_fish]

Oh no LighT_Sh4v0r , you are right.
A few hours ago I switched back my XP to 8.1, so I can use it for 'full speed qw' and nothing else ...
It worked no more

I´ll check it and give report
It should to be fixed, because I´ve Ubuntu, Vista and XP on the same machine.
No chance installing XP new alone -.-

greetings,
rené_<*)))<

[LighT_Sh4v0r]

Well, I just uninstalled the ati drivers according to this tutorial right here, so everything was clean.
http://www.driverheaven.net/windows-...ers-winxp.html
Installed 8.11 again, and STILL I'm getting black graphics every 2nd map. I'm starting to believe it's something else now, because this is as clean as it can get. What I also noticed some of the black buildings are actually visible at long range, but when I get closer, they fade to black.
I'll try different configs, see if that helps.

Edit: different configs make no difference, I'm completely in the dark what my next step would be.

[Gismo]

Any update on this issue?
My brother has the same behaviour with ATI Radeon HD 4850.

[LighT_Sh4v0r]

Doesn't look like it, I can not find any fix.
I'll be reinstalling XP again somewhere in the coming days, and then install 8.11 from the start. If that still doesn't work, I'm hopeless.

[nafetsman]

It's still present for many people.

The only fix (if you can call it that) I've found is to use Catalyst 8.11. Works perfectly with no black graphics with Catalyst AI either ON or OFF. I'm using Win XP Pro SP3, so this may not be a possible fix for others using Vista x86/x64. It could be dependant on what OS you're using.

Since I play other games I didn't want to miss out on performance increases and bug fixes that the new drivers offer. So I'm using a mix of Catalyst 8.11 OpenGL and Catalyst 9.4 for everything else.

The only files necessary for OpenGL are ATIOGL.XML, ATIOGLXX.DLL, and ATIOK3X2.DLL. Before installing your video card drivers you copy those three files from the Catalyst 8.11 "driver-only" install files to the Catalyst 9.4 "driver-only" install files. Then you proceed to install the Catalyst 9.4 drivers. You will be using Catalyst 9.4 for 2D display purposes and any Direct3D gaming, and Catalyst 8.11 for any OpenGL gaming.

[LordRipper]

Originally Posted by nafetsman

It's still present for many people.

The only fix (if you can call it that) I've found is to use Catalyst 8.11. Works perfectly with no black graphics with Catalyst AI either ON or OFF. I'm using Win XP Pro SP3, so this may not be a possible fix for others using Vista x86/x64. It could be dependant on what OS you're using.

Since I play other games I didn't want to miss out on performance increases and bug fixes that the new drivers offer. So I'm using a mix of Catalyst 8.11 OpenGL and Catalyst 9.4 for everything else.

The only files necessary for OpenGL are ATIOGL.XML, ATIOGLXX.DLL, and ATIOK3X2.DLL. Before installing your video card drivers you copy those three files from the Catalyst 8.11 "driver-only" install files to the Catalyst 9.4 "driver-only" install files. Then you proceed to install the Catalyst 9.4 drivers. You will be using Catalyst 9.4 for 2D display purposes and any Direct3D gaming, and Catalyst 8.11 for any OpenGL gaming.

Hey Nafetsman - I'm having the same black graphics problem described in this thread, which I have only just started experienceing since I upgraded my pc, (Went from an 8800gts oc to an hd4870x2). Using the latest catalyst drivers didn't solve the problem. It is exactly as the OP says - it's an on and off thing.

The suggestion u made sounds great and I'd like to try it however, I was wondering if u could provide more help on the driver mix as I cannot seem to locate earlier versions of the drivers where I can pick out the individual files. Could u perhaps provide more detailed instructions and or links to a location to these files or a version of 8.11 and 9.4 which is more than just an install.exe file and rather the extracted version if u get me. OR am I missing something ? - If so please elaborate

Thanks in advance for any further help

[LighT_Sh4v0r]

http://support.amd.com/us/gpudownloa...eonaiw_xp.aspx

[LighT_Sh4v0r]

That's the one for windows XP.

If you have vista or something else, go here first:
http://support.amd.com/us/gpudownload/Pages/index.aspx
select what you need, and at the bottom of the next page you can click 'earlier releases'.


edit: oops, that was supposed to be an edit, not a new post.

[FloobyNooby]

Originally Posted by nafetsman

It's still present for many people.

The only fix (if you can call it that) I've found is to use Catalyst 8.11. Works perfectly with no black graphics with Catalyst AI either ON or OFF. I'm using Win XP Pro SP3, so this may not be a possible fix for others using Vista x86/x64. It could be dependant on what OS you're using.

Since I play other games I didn't want to miss out on performance increases and bug fixes that the new drivers offer. So I'm using a mix of Catalyst 8.11 OpenGL and Catalyst 9.4 for everything else.

Just tried the latest ATI drivers, 9.4. No good at all for me. Screen was flickery, players corrupted and sometimes the level wouldn't start at all.
Uninstalled and went back to the previous version, but I'm still getting occasional glitches so something might've remained after removal.
Annoyingly, CoD4 and Unreal Tournament play flawlessly without stuttering using 9.4, so maybe the 'cocktail' you're suggesting would be the best option.

EDIT:
Maybe I should read ATI's own release notes first...
"A performance drop may be observed on Enemy Territory Quake Wars, Doom3 and Quake4"
http://www2.ati.com/relnotes/Catalys...ease_notes.pdf

Well that's all right, then.

[ShaZe]

Had that problem with that on my X1950XTX, reseted the config, seemed to reduce the problem.

After I bought a HD 4890, cleaned everything from the old drivers, even the ETQW config, got defaults setting maxed, no special CVAR or anything and it still occurs.

Glitchs , Graphical Issues Description :

- Completly black model (I even saw a mining laser model completly orange)
- Black Sky
- Some weird texture getting swapping randomly depending on the camera position.....

ETQW seem to be really acting werid now.

[LighT_Sh4v0r]

Yep, I found your fix, just did it myself:
Reformat your hard disk and reinstall your OS and ETQW and ati catalyst 8.11
Works a charm, but it takes 2 days

This was the only way for me, it was impossible to roll back to 8.11 completely, it would always keep 9.4 somewhere. Driversweeper/ccleaner all to no avail.

[nafetsman]

I thought I would elaborate on my previous post for those of you having the "black texture" graphical problems with ATI video cards, WinXP, and ETQW. I've made the directions as easy as possible (I probably went a little overboard).

-----------------------------------------------

It seems silly to have to use months-old drivers just to play one OpenGL game properly, while losing out on possible Direct3D performance increases and bug fixes that come with the newer drivers. The solution to this is to use just part of the older driver controlling OpenGL and the new Direct3D driver, mixed together. It might sound complicated, but it's actually pretty simple and easy to do. You don't even have to use the latest available Catalyst 9.4 driver for Direct3D either, as this "hybrid" solution works with any recent driver that you're happy or comfortable with. I've tested the Catalyst 9.5 Beta drivers and OpenGL is still borked with ETQW. So this method will have to do until ATI gets off their asses and fixes it.

If you find that using earlier drivers, like Catalyst 8.11 (or even earlier than that), solves your "Blacked out graphics" problem in ETQW, then the following steps will help in making and/or using "hybrid" drivers. You can also use Catalyst 8.10, 8.9, 8.8, etc, as they also work just fine in ETQW (for me at least). If Catalyst 8.11 doesn't work well for you, give the even earlier drivers a shot for proper OpenGL support.

I've split the guide into three sections; Creating/Installing a Hybrid "Display-Driver Only" setup, Creating/Installing a Hybrid "Display Driver + CCC" setup, and Utilizing older OpenGL drivers with your current setup.

-----------------------------------------------

A. Creating/Installing a Hybrid "Display Driver Only" setup - For those that are reinstalling their Catalyst drivers and don't want CCC installed
1. You will first need to download the Catalyst 8.11 - 13.3MB "Display Driver Only" package from ATI. We will be using three files from this package for the old OpenGL driver.

2. You will then need to download the Catalyst 9.4 - 15.9MB "Display Driver Only" package from ATI. We will be using this package for all other remaining video card driver purposes.

3. Once the packages are done downloading, double click the 8-11_xp32_dd_70226.exe file to begin the extraction of the Catalyst 8.11 setup files. A window will pop up, prompting for a location to save the setup files. For ease of use, just type in C:\Catalyst 8.11, and click on the "Install" button. Once the ATI background shows up, just click on "Cancel" and then "Yes".

4. Next, double click the 9-4_xp32_dd.exe file to begin the extraction of the Catalyst 9.4 setup files. A window will pop up, prompting for a location to save the setup files. For ease of use, just type in C:\Catalyst 9.4, and click on the "Install" button. Once the ATI background shows up, just click on "Cancel" and then "Yes".

5. Now we just need to do some copy and pasting. The three important files we need from the Catalyst 8.11 setup files are atioglxx.dl_, atiok3x2.dl_, and atiogl.xml. These files are located in the C:\Catalyst 8.11\XP_INF\B_71400 folder. One by one, copy and paste each of these files from that folder to the C:\Catalyst 9.4\XP_INF\B_77779 folder.

6. The Hybrid "Display Driver Only" setup is now complete. To begin installation, just click on the Setup.exe file in the C:\Catalyst 9.4 folder. I highly recommend saving the above mentioned three files, taken from the Catalyst 8.11 setup files, to a safe place, like a USB flash drive or CD-RW. That way, with future Catalyst releases, it will be much easier to just copy them to the updated Catalyst setup files in the same manner stated in Step 5.

-----------------------------------------------

B. Creating/Installing a Hybrid "Display Driver + CCC" setup - For those that are reinstalling their Catalyst drivers and want CCC installed
1. You will first need to download the Catalyst 8.11 - 13.3MB "Display Driver Only" package from ATI. We will be using three files from this package for the old OpenGL driver.

2. You will then need to download the Catalyst 9.4 - 40MB "Catalyst Software Suite" package from ATI. We will be using this package for all other remaining video card driver purposes.

3. Once the packages are done downloading, double click the 8-11_xp32_dd_70226.exe file to begin the extraction of the Catalyst 8.11 setup files. A window will pop up, prompting for a location to save the setup files. For ease of use, just type in C:\Catalyst 8.11, and click on the "Install" button. Once the ATI background shows up, just click on "Cancel" and then "Yes".

4. Next, double click the 9-4_xp32_dd_ccc_wdm_enu.exe file to begin the extraction of the Catalyst 9.4 setup files. First, click on the "Next" button. A window will pop up, prompting for a location to save the setup files. For ease of use, just type in C:\Catalyst 9.4, and click on the "Install" button. Once the ATI background shows up, just click on "Cancel" and then "Yes".

5. Now we just need to do some copy and pasting. The three important files we need from the Catalyst 8.11 setup files are atioglxx.dl_, atiok3x2.dl_, and atiogl.xml. These files are located in the C:\Catalyst 8.11\XP_INF\B_71400 folder. One by one, copy and paste each of these files from that folder to the C:\Catalyst 9.4\Driver\Driver\XP_INF\B_77779 folder.

6. The Hybrid "Display Driver + CCC" setup is now complete. To begin installation, just click on the Setup.exe file in the C:\Catalyst 9.4\Driver folder. I highly recommend saving the above mentioned three files, taken from the Catalyst 8.11 setup files, to a safe place, like a USB flash drive or CD-RW. That way, with future Catalyst releases, it will be much easier to just copy them to the updated Catalyst setup files in the same manner stated in Step 5.

-----------------------------------------------

C. Utilizing older OpenGL drivers with your current setup - For those that aren't reinstalling their Catalyst drivers, but want to use an older properly working OpenGL driver
1. You will first need to download the Catalyst 8.11 - 13.3MB "Display Driver Only" package from ATI. We will be using three files from this package to replace your current improperly working OpenGL drivers.

2. Once the package is done downloading, double click the 8-11_xp32_dd_70226.exe file to begin the extraction of the Catalyst 8.11 setup files. A window will pop up, prompting for a location to save the setup files. For ease of use, just type in C:\Catalyst 8.11, and click on the "Install" button. Once the ATI background shows up, just click on "Cancel" and then "Yes".

3. The three important files we need from the Catalyst 8.11 setup files are atioglxx.dl_, atiok3x2.dl_, and atiogl.xml. These files are located in the C:\Catalyst 8.11\XP_INF\B_71400 folder. Move only those three files to your desktop. You can now delete the entire Catalyst 8.11 folder.

4. In your C:\Windows folder there is already an atiogl.xml file. Rename it to atiogl.old. Copy and paste the atiogl.xml file from your desktop to the C:\Windows folder.

5. Click on the Start button and select "Run...". Type in cmd, and you should see a command prompt window. In the command prompt type in cd desktop. Then type in expand -r *.dl_. Two additional files should appear on your desktop, named atioglxx.dll and atiok3x2.dll. These are the expanded, ready-to-use versions of the Catalyst 8.11 setup files. You can now delete the atioglxx.dl_ and atiok3x2.dl_ files.

6. In your C:\Windows\System32 folder there is already a atioglxx.dll and atiok3x2.dll file. Rename them to atioglxx.old and atiok3x2.old. Copy and paste the atioglxx.dll and atiok3x2.dll files from your desktop to the C:\Windows\System32 folder. Reboot your PC.

7. You have now successfully replaced your current improperly working OpenGL drivers with the older Catalyst 8.11 OpenGL driver, which should work properly for you. I highly recommend saving the atiogl.xml, atioglxx.dll, and atiok3x2.dll files that are on your desktop, to a safe place, like a USB flash drive or CD-RW. That way, with future Catalyst releases, it will be much easier to just copy them to your C:\Windows and C:\Windows\System32 folders in the same manner stated in Steps 4 and 6. If and when you choose to reinstall or update your Catalyst drivers, it might just be easier following sections A or B.

[LighT_Sh4v0r]

Oh nice, that sounds easier than I thought.
You don't even have to reinstall your drivers

Interesting new development:
I'm on 8.11 now, and I got black graphics every 2nd map again by using an autoexec generated by the ETQW cvar tweaker from cleandesperado.
Deleting all configs so everything was back on default fixed it. Enabling/disabling catalyst AI made no difference at all!!!

I'll experiment more to find out what specific setting it is that causes this, but as it is now my autoexecs won't even load properly. When I look in the ingame options, it shows the right settings, but they are not applied ingame
It says 1280 x 1024, but I'm very sure I'm looking at a 800x600 screen...

[LordRipper]

Thanks a lot for that detailed post nafetsman, This is an annoying issue as 8.10 is fine for ETQW but when I try to play newer games like L4D I get constant crashes where I just can't play the game. I tried a hybrid after cleaning and it didn't work but this shows I think I was doing something wrong or missing a step or whatever - I will try this method starting afresh. I thought of waiting for 9.5 but u answered that for me too hehe. I can't get ETQW to work without the problems on anything later than 8.10 so personally I'd recommend 8.10 to people starting to try this combo.

@ Shaze I get all 3 of the glitches u described. Try what Nafestsman suggested, I'll post when I get round to it to let u know if it worked for me.

Regards

Ok after following the steps to run a hybrid 8.10 and 9.4 DD CCC, when booting up QW I get Fatal Error 'The OpenGL driver doesn't support wglChoosePixelFormatARB' along with this:

'couldn't exec 'autoexec.cfg'
Vendor:1002 Device:9441
Failed to open server license code file for reading.
Initializing OpenGL subsystem
...calling LoadLibrary( 'wtsapi32.dll' ): succeeded
...initializing Windows Terminal Server API
...registered window class
...registered fake window class
...calling LoadLibrary( 'opengl32' ): succeeded
...initializing QGL
********************
FATAL ERROR: The OpenGL driver doesn't support wglChoosePixelFormatARB
********************
--------------- BSE Shutdown ----------------
---------------------------------------------
Shutting down OpenGL subsystem
...releasing DC
...resetting display
...shutting down QGL
...unloading OpenGL DLL
...unloading Windows Terminal Server API DLL
idRenderSystem::Shutdown()
Shutting down performance queries
The OpenGL driver doesn't support wglChoosePixelFormatARB'

I dunno, - at this rate I'll have to give up playing this game as I refuse to uninstall/reinstall different drivers & reconfiguring stuff just to play one game every time I feel like it

[panickin]

this is what i was getting with 9.5 beta (using 9.4's CCC)