DirectX/OpenGL problem after driver change

jliles01

Hi all,
I'm new to posting here, but have been browsing(lurking) for quite a few months. I've found solutions to many problems here, but now I have a problem that I can't find a solution for. Thankfully, it's on my 2nd computer which I only use for multiplayer games on my home network with friends, not my main computer.

I hope this is the right place for this post. The problem started with changing my video driver, but it may not be an ATI driver problem.

My problem is I can no longer play COD and COD2. Error message for COD says it can't load OpenGL. Error message for COD2 says DirectX encountered an unrecoverable problem.

History:
I am using an ATI 9800XT and read in a thread here about a couple of drivers that worked well with this card.
This is the the thread I was reading: Best drivers for 9800xt?

I was using ATI CAT 6.5. I uninstalled using ATI's CAT uninstaller, and tried using NGO ATI Optimized Driver 1.6.6. I never tried any games with it, but it just didn't seem to be working right in normal 2D graphics in Windows. So I uninstalled it, and tried Omega 5.12. That didn't help and when I tried my COD2 game, that's when I first noticed it would no longer play.

I uninstalled the Omega driver, but failed to use Drivercleaner at that time, and tried re-installing ATI CAT 6.5. That didn't help, and that is when I really started checking everything. So far, I have done the following things, but can't remember the order I've done them:

Used Drivercleaner Pro in Normal and Safe modes, including CAB Cleaner, multiple times
Used Windows Restore twice
Uninstalled and reinstalled ATI CAT 6.5 multiple times
Uninstalled and reinstalled ATI CAT 6.8 multiple times
Uninstalled and reinstalled .NET 1.1 and 2.0
Reinstalled DirectX, (latest version according to Microsoft download site)
Reinstalled chipset drivers (existing VIA Hyperion)
Downloaded and installed newest chipset drivers
Turned off hardware acceleration and write combining, rebooted, and turned them back on, rebooted
Checked and verified in BIOS-AGP 8X enabled. AGP aperature 128M. Fastwrites off.
NO hardware changes have been made in the last 6 months

Other symptoms I've noticed are:
In DXDIAG > Display it says : DirectDraw Acceleration: Not available but can TEST DIRECTDRAW
Direct3D Acceleration: Not available TEST DIRECT3D is greyed out
AGP Texture Acceleration: Not available
On same page, in notes: * No Problems Found
* (directions on testing DirectDraw)
* Direct3D functionality not available. You should verify that the driver is a final version from the hardware manufacturer.

Also, in CCC the 3D preview is not working. Error message says" The currently used OpenGL driver does not support the required extensions to run the 3D preview. Preview_FS.exe also does not work.

I know I probably caused the problem somehow. Did I maybe leave something behind from one of the other drivers that is conflicting with the drivers I installed after it? I just don't know where to go from here, except re-format/re-install Windows. With this being my 2nd computer, that would be more of a hassle than a real problem.

Problem computer specs are:
AMD 3400+ 2.2Ghz
Asus K8V SE DELUXE
ATI 9800XT 256Mb
1G Kingston Valueram (2x512)
Maxtor 160G harddrive (4 part.
Windows,Docs,Downloads,Backups)
WD 80G harddrive (2 part.
programs,games)
WD 20G harddrive (2 part.
paging, temp)
Samsung CD-R/RW

Thank you for any help. I'm calling it a night now. I'll check for replies in the morning, but it will be tomorrow night before I can try any solutions. And I can post my full DXDIAG file if needed.

Once again, Thank you.

Dyre Straits

Greetings and welcome to the active members' list.

Here are a few things I'd try if this problem were my own:

1. Uninstall any and all drivers once again. Make sure to uninstall the Ray Adam's ATI Tray Tool app as well.

2. Download CrapCleaner (www.ccleaner.com) and run the Cleaner and the Issues apps. Do the Issues app a couple of times or until there are no more issues showing. The Cleaner will do a good job of clearing out temp files and folders and leftover things that are no longer needed from previous installations/downloads.

3. Go into Device Manager and REMOVE both instances of the RADEON display adapter.

4. Run the Issues app of CrapCleaner once again before rebooting the system.

5. Reboot the computer and let Windows redetect the video display adapter (VGA) compatible. Don't halt this installation but let Windows do its thing.

6. Install the Catalyst drivers that you were previously using (CAT 6.5??) and test the drivers with DXDIAG again. If there are still grayed-out/not available apps, try reinstalling the CHIPSET Drivers once again AND DirectX from August, 2006....the latest.

7. Reboot once again and try the tests in DXDIAG again.

8. If it still doesn't work, I guess it's time to bite the bullet and do at least a Windows Repair installation. You won't lose any data or programs with this and it DOES remedy a lot of problems. You'll have to run the Windows Updates again is about the only hassle.

jliles01

Thanks for the reply, DS

I tried all your suggestions. Nothing helped until I did a Windows Repair installation, and that solved the problem. I hadn't thought of that, glad you reminded me. I was prepared to do a full reformat/reinstall. The only problem I've seen since is that somehow my AVG antivirus got corrupted. An AVG reinstall will fix that. I had to setup my home network again, but everything else seems to be just like before. And my games are working again.

I'm also glad I took the time to make a Windows SP2 slipstream cd the last time I installed Windows. I tried to do a repair installation once of WinXP SP2 with my SP1 cd. That really screwed things up and made sure I had to do the full reinstall.

Once again, Thanks for the help.