Microsoft KB Archive/902423

= Known graphics issues in Dungeon Siege II =

Article ID: 902423

Article Last Modified on 11/14/2007

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APPLIES TO


 * Microsoft Dungeon Siege II

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INTRODUCTION
This article describes the known graphics-related issues that you may experience when you play Microsoft Dungeon Siege II.



Graphics hardware error messages
When you start Dungeon Siege II, you may receive the following error message:

A fatal error has occurred and the app must shut down.

Unable to enumerate any DirectDraw devices installed on this system.

[Note: This error can occur if another application has exclusive control of the display. For example, NetMeeting's desktop sharing feature may be enabled or you are trying to run this app through a remote desktop in Windows XP or Terminal Server. It can also occur if your hardware does not support 3D acceleration or if your video driver does not properly support DirectX 8.]

To resolve this issue, try one or more of the following methods:  Check your computer to see whether an upgrade is required. To do this, follow these steps:  Click Start, click Run, type dxdiag, and then click OK. On the Display tab, verify that the Approx. Total Memory value is 32 megabytes (MB) or more. The graphics adaptor must have 32 MB of memory for Dungeon Siege II to work correctly. If your graphics adaptor does not have 32 MB of memory, you must upgrade your graphics hardware to run Dungeon Siege II.

Note The graphics memory value that appears in the DirectX Diagnostics Tool may be slightly less than the actual memory that is installed because of memory that is being used at the time. This behavior is typical.

To learn how to determine how much graphics memory is available on the computer, click Play to view this streaming media demonstration:

 Turn on the Direct3D Acceleration feature in the Microsoft DirectX feature. To do this, follow these steps:  Click Start, click Run, type dxdiag, and then click OK. Click the Display tab.

Note On some computers, this tab is named Display 1.</li> Next to Direct3D Acceleration, click Enable, and then click Exit.

To learn how to turn on the Direct 3D Acceleration feature, click Play to view this streaming media demonstration:</li></ol> </li> Install the latest driver for your graphics hardware. To do this, visit the following Microsoft Update site Web site:

Alternatively, you can contact the manufacturer for the latest driver for your graphics hardware. For information about how to contact your hardware manufacturer to obtain the latest driver for your graphics hardware, see the &quot;References&quot; section.</li> Install the latest version of DirectX on the computer. To download and to install the latest version of DirectX, visit the following Microsoft Web site:

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/directx/default.mspx

</li> For more information about 3D Acceleration issues and about how to troubleshoot the issues, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

191660 Games: 3D Acceleration option is not available or not supported by your video adapter

</li></ul>

Network time out may occur when you change the display resolution
If the host changes the display resolution during a multiplayer game, the game must reload all the textures from the hard disk drive. The game pauses during this process and does not display any messages. The host's computer can take too long to load the textures, and that client will be disconnected because of a network time out.

Change the default resolution on widescreen monitors
If you have a widescreen monitor, you can modify the default resolution. Create a desktop shortcut to your game's .exe file, and then modify the command line in the shortcut by adding the arguments &quot;width= height= &quot; to the end of the command line. To do this, right-click the shortcut on your desktop, and then click Properties. In the Target text box, add the following text to the end of the existing path after the quotation marks, width= height= --for example:

&quot;C:\Program Files\Microsoft Games\Dungeon Siege 2\DungeonSiege2.exe&quot; width=1680 height=1050

For more information about how to use target-line parameters, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

903677 How to use target-line parameters to customize Dungeon Siege II

Off-center Character Portrait on widescreen monitors
When you play on widescreen aspect ratio (1920 x 1200), the Character Portrait will be off-center.

Hardware-specific graphics issues
The following issues may occur when you play Dungeon Siege II on a computer that has a specific graphics adaptor.

Intel 915G
The cursor may not be visible. To resolve this issue, download and install the latest drivers from Intel. To do this, visit the following Intel Web site:

http://downloadfinder.intel.com/scripts-df-external/Product_Filter.aspx?ProductID=1764

For more information about how to troubleshoot mouse issues, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

309703 How to troubleshoot mouse pointer display issues in Microsoft games

3DFX Voodoo 5 video card is unsupported
When you try to start Dungeon Siege II and you are using the 3DFX Voodoo 5 video card, Dungeon Siege II crashes. The 3DFX Voodoo 5 video card is currently unsupported.

ATI Radeon Mobility video card limits water animation
Water graphics in Dungeon Siege II will not animate if the computer is using an ATI Radeon Mobility video card.

GeForce4 Ti 4600 video card causes cinematic pauses
The opening movie in Dungeon Siege II may pause or stutter if you are using a GeForce4 Ti 4600 video card.

Asus v6800 32 MB video card causes the mouse pointer to flicker
When you try to play Dungeon Siege II on a computer that is using the Asus v6800 32 MB video card, the mouse pointer flickers. For more information about how to troubleshoot mouse pointer issues, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

309703 How to troubleshoot mouse pointer display issues in Microsoft games

S3 Delta Chrome video card causes texture corruption
If you are using an S3 Delta Chrome video card, various background objects may display texture corruption.

NVidia Ge force FX 5200 and FX 5500 causes the game to freeze
The game freezes after the splash screen if you are using an NVidia Ge force FX 5200 or FX 5500 video card with earlier drivers.

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MORE INFORMATION
The third-party products that this article discusses are manufactured by companies that are independent of Microsoft. Microsoft makes no warranty, implied or otherwise, regarding the performance or reliability of these products.

Keywords: kbhowto KB902423

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