Microsoft KB Archive/829478

= Known video-related issues with Halo: Combat Evolved =

Article ID: 829478

Article Last Modified on 11/14/2007

-

APPLIES TO


 * Microsoft Halo: Combat Evolved for PC

-





In this Article

 * SUMMARY
 * MORE INFORMATION
 * General Troubleshooting Information
 * Specific Hardware Issues
 * ATI Radeon 9000 and 9200
 * ATI Radeon 9800 PRO 128
 * ATI Radeon 9600 with 256 MB of Memory
 * NVIDIA
 * VIA Motherboard Chipsets
 * Supported Video Cards
 * Unsupported Video Cards
 * Dialog Box Messages - Cause and Resolution
 * REFERENCES



SUMMARY
This article describes the known video-related issues that may occur when you play Microsoft Halo: Combat Evolved.



General Troubleshooting Information
If you want to see better graphics in Halo: Combat Evolved, you may have to update your video card driver from the card manufacturer. Video card drivers are pieces of software that tell Microsoft Windows how your video card functions. When you have configuration problems with a game and the game display, your best option is to upgrade your video card drivers to the most recent version.

For information about how to contact the manufacturer of your video card, click the appropriate article number in the following list to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

65416 Hardware and software vendor contact information, A-K

60781 Hardware and software vendor contact information, L-P

60782 Hardware and software vendor contact information, Q-Z

Microsoft provides third-party contact information to help you find technical support. This contact information may change without notice. Microsoft does not guarantee the accuracy of this third-party contact information.

To see if certain video driver updates are available, visit the following Microsoft Windows Update Web site:

http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com

When you try to modify the Video Setup options, some or all the following settings may be dimmed:
 * Shadows
 * Decals
 * Specular Lighting

To modify the Video Setup options, click Settings on the Main menu, and then click Video Setup.

This issue may occur if one or more of the following conditions are true:
 * You are playing Halo while you are running your computer in Safe Mode.
 * Your computer uses a fixed function video card.
 * Your CPU speed is less than or is equal to 1 gigahertz (GHz).
 * Your system memory is less than or is equal to 128 megabytes (MB).
 * Your video memory is less than or is equal to 32 MB.

Specific Hardware Issues
When you use the zoom feature on any weapon, you will receive a blank (gray or black) screen in the middle. This issue may occur because of outdated video card drivers. To resolve this issue, download and install the latest video card drivers. To do this, visit the following ATI or NVIDIA Web site:

http://www.amd.com/

http://www.nvidia.com

ATI Radeon 9000 and 9200
When you start, play, or exit Halo: Combat Evolved on a Microsoft Windows XP-based computer, the computer may automatically restart. You may also receive the following Stop error message:

Stop : 0XXXXXXXXX (0Xc0000005, 0Xxxxxxxxx, 0Xxxxxxxxx, 0X00000000) ati3d2ag.dll BFA86515 base at BFA17000, date stamp 3f7a342b

ATI video card drivers may cause this issue. To resolve this issue, remove the existing drivers from “Add or Remove Programs” in Control Panel, and then install an ATI Catalyst 3.0 driver. To do this, visit the following ATI Web site:

http://ati.amd.com/support/products/radeonwinxppreviousdrivers.html

Windows XP restarts your computer and you do not receive an error message. To receive an error message, see the following Microsoft Knowledge base article:

315192 Windows unexpectedly restarts or you receive a Stop error when you play or start Microsoft games

ATI Radeon 9800 PRO 128
You may experience inconsistent graphic performance with textures if you set the Mipmap Detail Level in the ATI Direct3D Control Panel to any setting except High Quality.

ATI Radeon 9600 with 256 MB of Memory
Under certain circumstances after the Intro Movies, you may see a black or blank screen instead of the menu. We suggest that you update to the latest drivers. If this does not resolve the issue you may have to adjust the AGP Aperture size in your computer BIOS. An AGP aperture of 128 MB has been reported as addressing this issue. For information about how to adjust the AGP aperture size, contact the manufacturer of your computer or your motherboard.

For information about how to contact the manufacturer of your computer or your motherboard, click the appropriate article number in the following list to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

65416 Hardware and software vendor contact information, A-K

60781 Hardware and software vendor contact information, L-P

60782 Hardware and software vendor contact information, Q-Z

NVIDIA
When you try to play Halo in any one of the Full-Screen antialiasing (FSAA) modes, you may experience difficulties. To resolve this issue, download and install the most recent drivers for this video card. If this does not resolve the issue, turn off the FSAA feature. To download the latest NVIDIA drivers, visit the following NVIDIA Web site:

http://www.nvidia.com

VIA Motherboard Chipsets
If you have a VIA brand motherboard, you may experience graphical and performance issues during game play. To resolve this issue, update to the latest 4-in-1 motherboard chipset drivers. To download the latest VIA 4-in-1 drivers, visit the following Via Web site:

http://www.viaarena.com/?PageID=300

To determine whether your motherboard based on VIA chipset, see the &quot;More Information&quot; section in the following Microsoft KB article:

274629 Games: Hangs or slow performance on AMD system with VIA chipset

Supported Video Cards
Halo requires a minimum of 32 megabytes (MB) of video memory and a chipset that supports Hardware Transform and Lighting. When a card is classified as supported it means that Halo will work with that card and that you may contact Microsoft Product Support to resolve any Halo issues that you are having with that card.

The following cards were known to work with Halo and were therefore classified as supported at the time that Halo was shipped:
 * ATI Radeon Mobility 7500
 * Mobility VE
 * Radeon Mobility VE
 * Radeon Mobility 9000
 * Radeon
 * Radeon FireGL
 * Radeon 7500
 * Radeon 7000 VE
 * Radeon 8500
 * Radeon 8500 DV
 * Radeon 9000
 * Radeon 9200
 * Radeon 9200 PRO
 * Radeon 9500
 * Radeon 9500 PRO
 * Radeon 9600
 * Radeon 9600 PRO
 * Radeon 9700
 * Radeon 9800 PRO
 * Matrox Fusion G800
 * Parhelia 128
 * nVidia GeForce 256
 * GeForce 256 DDR
 * GeForce 256 Ultra
 * GeForce 256 Quadro
 * GeForce2 MX
 * GeForce2 MX DDR
 * GeForce2 Go
 * GeForce2 Quadro
 * GeForce2
 * GeForce2 Ti
 * GeForce2 Ultra
 * GeForce2 Quadro
 * GeForce3
 * GeForce3 Ti200
 * GeForce3 Ti500
 * GeForce3 Quadro
 * GeForce4 Ti4600
 * GeForce4 Ti4400
 * GeForce4 Ti4200-8x
 * GeForce4 Ti4800
 * GeForce4 Ti4800SE
 * GeForce4 MX 420
 * GeForce4 MX 440
 * GeForce4 MX 440SE
 * GeForce4 MX 460
 * GeForce4 Go 420
 * GeForce4 Go 440
 * GeForce4 MX 448 Go
 * GeForce4 Go 4200
 * GeForce4 Quadro4
 * GeForce4 Quadro 200
 * GeForce4 Quadro 280
 * GeForce4 Quadro 380
 * GeForce4 Quadro 550
 * GeForce4 Quadro 580
 * GeForce4 Quadro 700
 * GeForce4 Quadro 750
 * GeForce4 Quadro 780
 * GeForce4 Quadro 900
 * GeForce4 Quadro 980
 * GeForce FX 5200
 * GeForce FX 5200 Ultra
 * GeForce FX 5200SE
 * GeForce FX 5600
 * GeForce FX 5600 Ultra
 * GeForce FX 5600SE
 * GeForce FX 5800 Ultra
 * GeForce FX 5800
 * GeForce FX Go5600
 * GeForce FX Go5200
 * GeForce FX 5900
 * GeForce FX 5900 Ultra
 * GeForce FX 5900SE
 * GeForce Quadro FX 500
 * GeForce Quadro FX 1000
 * GeForce Quadro FX 2000
 * GeForce FX Quadro 3000
 * GeForce FX Quadro Go700
 * nForce
 * nForce2

Unsupported Video Cards
Halo requires a minimum of 32 MB of video memory and a chipset that supports Hardware Transform and Lighting. There are some cards and chipsets that may meet this requirement but are still unsupported because there is a lack of driver support by the manufacturer or because the manufacturer is out of business and is no longer supporting their former products. When a card is classified as unsupported, it means that while Halo may work with that card, you may experience issues that range from minor graphics issues to system level issues such as error messages, blue screens, failure to run the game, or system reboots. Microsoft Product Support will not be able to help you in resolving any Halo issues that you are having if you try to play with unsupported hardware. When you have an unsupported card in your computer, you will see an error message that is similar to one or more of the following error messages in the following table. Note that these dialog boxes are permanently dismissible and will not prevent you from trying to run the game.

If you choose not to see the error message again, the information will be stored in your registry as a Binary Value under the following registry key:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Microsoft Games\Halo

Each error message is tied to your video or sound card regardless if it is a sound or a video card specific issue. This means that the Binary Value will be named something that is similar to the following: nVidia GeForce3 (0x0200):147. The data in this value is a ‘y’ followed by 0 or 1 depending on if you choose to show the dialog box again and if you click Continue or Continue in Safe Mode. The following table contains possible video-related alerts that you may see in this dialog box, a probable cause, and the official Microsoft recommendation. The Microsoft recommendation is based on the supposition that the error message is correct for your situation.

Dialog Box Messages - Cause and Resolution
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.

