Looking for support for radeon igp 340m

from GalCiv2 Forums
Okay, I think I'm out of luck but I'd appreciate some help. I'm running a rather old laptop with a radeon igp 340m integrated vid card, 512 mg ram (384 after sharing), 2.4gig p4, and about 1gig pagefile. Everything meets minimum requirements except that as far as I can find, the 340m does NOT have directx 9+ hardware acceleration, only 8.1+.

Here's the thing: I tried running the program before windows xp sp2 and updating the game, and it ran fine, but since the updates I've had a regular crash during the map loading when beginning a game. How do I roll back to gc2 1.0 and give it another shot? Is there a way to get this to run with directx 8, like I had going before?

Thanks,
mike
6,219 views 7 replies
Reply #1 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Please open your debug.err file in notepad, and copy/paste the contents into a post here. This will give us some technical information that can help troubleshoot your problem. The location you'll find the debug.err in varies depending on your game version:

Dread Lords, all versions:
C:\Program Files\Stardock\Totalgaming\GalCiv2

Dark Avatar 1.5-1.6 (non-Vista):
C:\Program Files\Stardock\Totalgaming\GalCiv2\DarkAvatar

Dark Avatar 1.6+(Windows Vista), 1.7+(non-Vista):
My Documents\My Games\GC2DarkAvatar

Twilight of the Arnor:
My Documents\My Games\GC2TwilightArnor

Be sure to copy the debug immediately after the error occurs; if you start the game again, the debug will be erased and recreated for the new session.
Reply #2 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Debug Message: Version v1.5 last updated on: Thu Jan 11 13:39:19 2007
Debug Message: GalCiv2 is activated.
Debug Message: Checking DX Version.
Debug Message: *********DXDiag info follows.*********
System Info
Time: 1/21/2008, 10:20:47
DirectX Version: DirectX 9.0c (4.09.0000.0904)
Machine Name: SMOKESHOP
Operating System: Windows XP Home Edition (5.1, Build 2600) Service Pack 2 (2600.xpsp_sp2_gdr.070227-2254)
Languages: English (Regional Setting: English)
System Manufacturer: Hewlett-Packard
System Model: Presario 2100 (DM726A)
BIOS: PhoenixBIOS 4.0 Release 6.0
Processor: Mobile Intel(R) Celeron(R) CPU 2.40GHz
Physical Memory: 382MB RAM
Page File: 316MB used, 701MB available
Windows Dir: C:\WINDOWS


Display Info
Display device 1:
Device Name: \\.\DISPLAY1
Card Name: RADEON IGP 340M
Manufacturer: ATI Technologies Inc.
Chip Type: ATI RS200M
DAC Type: Internal DAC(350MHz)
Key Device: Enum\PCI\VEN_1002&DEV_4337&SUBSYS_002A103C&REV_00
Display Memory: 128.0 MB
Current Display Mode: 1024 x 768 (32 bit) (60Hz)
Monitor Name: Default Monitor
Monitor Max Resolution:
Driver Name: ati2dvag.dll
Driver Version: 6.13.0010.6218
Driver Date: 11/7/2002 22:21:18
DirectX Acceleration Enabled: Yes

Your video drivers may be too old to run Galactic Civilizations 2 properly. Installed video drivers must support Microsoft DirectX 9.0c, which means you should try to have a driver from at least 2005 installed.

Please visit the website for your computer manufacturer or video card for more recent drivers.

Your computer manufacturer was reported to be Hewlett-Packard .
Your video card manufacturer was reported to be ATI Technologies Inc..
Reported driver date: 11/7/2002 22:21:18


Sound info
Sound device 1:
Description: Conexant AMC AUDIO
Default Sound Playback: Yes
Default Voice Playback: Yes
Hardware ID: PCI\VEN_10B9&DEV_5451&SUBSYS_002A103C&REV_02
Manufacturer ID: 1
Product ID: 100
Driver Name: caliaud.sys
Provider: Conexant
Driver Version: 6.13.0010.8117
Driver Date: 11/5/2002 15:04:48
Type: WDM
Other Drivers:
Acceleration Level: 3
Cap Flags: 0
Min/Max Sample Rate: 0, 0

Sound device 1:
Description: Modem #0 Line Playback (emulated)
Default Sound Playback: No
Default Voice Playback: No
Hardware ID:
Manufacturer ID: 1
Product ID: 81
Driver Name:
Provider:
Driver Version:
Driver Date:
Type: Emulated
Other Drivers:
Acceleration Level: 3
Cap Flags: 0
Min/Max Sample Rate: 0, 0



Debug Message: *********END dxdiag info.*********
Debug Message: Entering WinMain
Debug Message: ******* Starting Game Shell *******
Debug Message: Going Fullscreen
Debug Message: Preparing to change display settings.
Debug Message: Multisample Type chosen in prefs not supported. Disabling multisampling.
Debug Message: Using multilsample setting: D3DMULTISAMPLE_NONE
Debug Message: Game Resolution: 1024 x 768
Debug Message: Running fullscreen.
Debug Message: HAL (sw vp): RADEON IGP 340M
Debug Message: D3DPRESENT_INTERVAL_DEFAULT
Debug Message: Refresh rate: 60
Debug Message: Bit Depth: 32 bit.
Debug Message: *********Checking D3DDevice Caps***********************
Debug Message: Hardware does not support a color cursor.
Debug Message: RGB in format 6:6:6, Masks reported as ff0000:ff00:ff
Debug Message: Now Fullscreen
Debug Message: Shell initialization complete
Debug Message: ***** Initializing Game *****
Debug Message: Timer Frequency is 0 369e99
Debug Message: Initializing sound card.
Debug Message: initailizing bink
Debug Message: No files found matching mask Movies\*.bik
Debug Message: No files found matching mask Movies\techs\*.bik
Debug Message: No files found matching mask Gfx\Tutorials\*.bik
Debug Message: Create setup screens.
Debug Message: Clear galaxy settings.
Debug Message: Clear influence.
Debug Message: Clear up laws.
Debug Message: Clear first time events.
Debug Message: Clear wonders and trade goods.
Debug Message: Clear sector mapper.
Debug Message: Set mouse.
Debug Message: Set update timer.
Debug Message: Clear data definitions.
Debug Message: No files found matching mask C:\Documents and Settings\Mike\My Documents\My Games\GalCiv2\ships\*.xml
Debug Message: No files found matching mask C:\Documents and Settings\Mike\My Documents\My Games\GalCiv2\ships\*.shipcfg
Debug Message: Reading Star Names
Debug Message: Reading Star Names... Done
Debug Message: No files found matching mask ./Data/English/Tutorials/*.xml
Debug Message: No files found matching mask C:\Program Files\Stardock\TotalGaming\GalCiv2\Mods\Default\Data\CustomMaps\*.gc2map
Debug Message: No files found matching mask C:\Program Files\Stardock\TotalGaming\GalCiv2\Mods\Default\Data\Scenarios\*.gc2scenario
Debug Message: Creating Galaxy
Debug Message: Killing threads.
Debug Message: Kiling civs.
Debug Message: Killing ships.
Debug Message: Killing rallypoints.
Debug Message: Killing misc objects.
Debug Message: Killing stars.
Debug Message: Killing anomalies.
Debug Message: Killing space resources.
Debug Message: Killing colonies and planets.
Debug Message: killing scenario.
Debug Message: Clearing Turn Event Log
Debug Message: Clear galaxy settings.
Debug Message: Clear influence.
Debug Message: Clear up laws.
Debug Message: Clear first time events.
Debug Message: Clear wonders and trade goods.
Debug Message: Clear sector mapper.
Debug Message: Galaxy Size Set: 4 x 4
Debug Message: Creating Random Map
Debug Message: Creating Random Map... Stars
Debug Message: Number of Unplaced Stars: 6.
Debug Message: Creating Random Map... Planets
Debug Message: *************** Failed To Place Planet ***************
Debug Message: Creating Random Map... Anomalies
Debug Message: Num Anomalies: 42
Debug Message: Creating Random Map... Resources
Debug Message: Creating Random Map... Done
Debug Message: Setting Game Options
Debug Message: Creating Civs
Debug Message: Terran Alliance: Intellence -> 30
Debug Message: Drengin Empire: Intellence -> 30
Debug Message: Altarian Republic: Intellence -> 30
Debug Message: Arcean Empire: Intellence -> 30
Debug Message: Torian Confederation: Intellence -> 30
Debug Message: Yor Collective: Intellence -> 30
Debug Message: Creating Civs... Done
Debug Message: Updating ZOC.
Debug Message: Updating ZOC.
Debug Message: Galaxy Create... Done
Debug Message: UIBeginGame called with g_ulLocalPlayerID = 0
Debug Message: UIBeginGameHelper: New Game Started
Debug Message: UIBeginGameHelper: Mods are Disabled
CursorFX - Customize your Windows cursor
Reply #3 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
You DEFINITELY need to update those video drivers. The game needs drivers from at least late 2005 to have any actual hope of running, and yours are dated 2002!

Try heading over to omegadrivers.net, to the Omega Drivers link in the header, then to the archive section on that page. Support for older 7k-based chipsets has been dropped so you'll need to grab the Radeon Omega Drivers 3.8.252 (Catalyst 6.5) package from the archives (that's the last version that supported your chipset, AFAIK).
Reply #4 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Thanks. I installed the ATI drivers first from ATI inc, but to no success. After installing Omega the game does load (although after a considerable wait... much be virtual memory combined with laptop HD). I'll play through for a while and let you know of any other issues.

Thanks for your help!
Reply #5 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Okay, runs good. Heat is the only factor factor, and I've had a few system shutdowns already. Any suggestions?

btw, it's great to be able to play at work =)
Reply #6 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
You might try running on battery--doing so should (if the system isn't too old to have such features) make the system downclock a bit, which will also generate less heat. There are also cooling pads you can get to set the laptop on with extra fans that can help.
Reply #7 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
I had a sony viao with the same integrated 340m igp chip, the Omega drivers are definately the best for that chip, you may also want to upgrade your ram to 1 to 2gb's if possible i ran on 512 until upgrading the laptop to 2gb's, there was a huge difference in load times and game play... and one thing i don't miss about that thing was burnt legs, man those old laptops run freakin' hot!!!