I'm running a well-maintained Windows XP SP2 system with an ATI
All-in-Wonder 8500DV. From time to time my DirectDraw Acceleration
becomes "not available" (according to dxdiag.exe) with the "enable"
button grayed out, which prevents my ATI from viewing television.
I've tried the various suggestions on the Microsoft support entry at
http://support.microsoft.com/?scid=kb;en-us;191660&spid=1007&sid=global
with no results. Dxdiag indicates no problems with my DirectX 9
installation.
I'm running current versions of the display drivers, and all devices
show up properly in the device manager. I've tried the original
drivers from the installation CD as well with no results. This
problem appeared several months ago, but then resolved itself in a
seemingly random fashion, and hadn't reappeared until today. I've not
installed any software in the last few days, so I'm at a loss as to
why this problem appears and how to solve it. |
Request for Question Clarification by
sublime1-ga
on
23 Jan 2006 00:32 PST
cyclone...
Is your installed version of DirectX the very latest,
i.e., DirectX 9.0c? Perhaps something you are attempting
to view requires the very latest version.
Let me know...
sublime1-ga
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Clarification of Question by
cyclone-ga
on
23 Jan 2006 10:03 PST
Yes, I'm running DirectX 9.0c, which is, I believe, a mandatory
component of XP SP2. I even deinstalled and reinstalled SP2 in order
to ensure DirectX was properly installed (in spite of dxdiag insisting
everything is fine), but saw no change.
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Request for Question Clarification by
sublime1-ga
on
23 Jan 2006 21:18 PST
cyclone...
I've looked into it a little further, and though the following
post was in regard to DirectX 8.1, and though the solution seems
strange, having to do with Netmeeting, the symptoms are similar
to what you're describing, so I think it's worth a look. This is
from a post on the Computing.net tech support forum:
http://www.computing.net/drivers/wwwboard/forum/1646.html
Keep me posted...
sublime1-ga
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Request for Question Clarification by
sublime1-ga
on
23 Jan 2006 22:07 PST
Something else I found...
Apparently XP SP2 had some bugs (no!), and one of them had
to do with preventing the use of a refresh rate other than
60Hz. As a result, there are some programs created to get
past this limitation, such as Refresh Force or ReForce.
It seems that some programs that require DirectX 9.0c
will have problems with DirectDraw Acceleration with
these refresh rate changing programs running. One such
program is Sims 2. If you have such a program, you might
try restoring to the original refresh rate from within
the program, and see if that makes a difference.
sublime1-ga
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Request for Question Clarification by
sublime1-ga
on
23 Jan 2006 22:10 PST
Try switching to 16-bit color.
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Clarification of Question by
cyclone-ga
on
25 Jan 2006 08:50 PST
Thanks for the suggests, Sublime. I've tried the NetMeeting thing
previously to no effect. I'm running an LCD panel so 60Hz is fine(no
extra programs running to change that), and I've also tried 16-bit.
I'm inclined to suspect some sort of quirk in the hardware because
it's fairly intermittent (doesn't seem related to what software I'm
running), but it seems odd this would be the only symptom of bad
hardware, given everything else works fine.
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Clarification of Question by
cyclone-ga
on
28 Jan 2006 14:58 PST
The mystery persists. Today, after a reboot (for other reasons) my
DirectDraw acceleration is back, and TV works fine. I made no
configuration changes, so there's no reason for me to think that I
have a software conflict. Could there be any other transient reason
for DirectDraw acceleration to not be available from time-to-time,
unrelated to what apps are running?
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Request for Question Clarification by
sublime1-ga
on
28 Jan 2006 16:25 PST
I can't imagine what kind of transient would produce what
you're experiencing, unless your video card is flaking out
due to excess temperature or somesuch.
If I had your PC in front of me, I would just check for
system and application error messages by right-clicking
My Computer, selecting Manage, and looking under Event
Viewer, particularly at the moment when the glitch occurs.
This might give you something to go on.
Keep me posted...
sublime1-ga
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Clarification of Question by
cyclone-ga
on
30 Jan 2006 00:09 PST
Nothing unusual (video- or hardware-related) in the Event Manager, nor
other logs. I can't see any difference in the logs from bootups where
DirectDraw Acceleration was not available versus where it was. Note
that I've never noticed the glitch during a session, it seems to
either be available upon booting, in which case it'll remain
available, or it isn't, and it has tended to remain available for
weeks, then become unavailable for days or weeks. It's not something
that just rebooting a few times seems to make a difference for.
Note that the real problem is my ATI All-in-Wonder video card won't
let me watch or record television when DirectDraw Acceleration is
unavailable, which is what I'm trying to fix here.
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Request for Question Clarification by
sublime1-ga
on
30 Jan 2006 10:45 PST
I know you said you had a well-maintained system, but I have
to wonder, at this point, if a transient voltage, from an
older power supply, or an under-cooled video card, is affecting
the availability of the DirectDraw Feature.
How long have you been running this PSU (power supply unit)?
What output wattage is it rated at? How long has it been since
you cleaned the dust off the CPU and Case fans, the CPU heat
sink, and the video card cooling fan?
The only way I know to actively monitor your voltages (and some
other factors, like CPU and Case Fan speeds) is with a piece of
freeware called Motherboard Monitor:
http://mbm.livewiredev.com/
It's something of a challenge to set up, but once you get
it going, you can set it to give alarms for values less than
what you set up, and can have it write a log of activity.
Keep me posted...
sublime1-ga
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Clarification of Question by
cyclone-ga
on
01 Feb 2006 17:18 PST
I replaced the power supply and CPU cooler about a year ago in order
to get a quieter system. I forget the power supply manufacturer, but
it's an oversized fan with extra ventilation, and I'm running a Zalman
CPU cooler. I routinely run SpeedFan, which I think is similar to
MBM. Case temperature is fairly constant 25°C. Hard drives are a bit
high due to a poor case design, one of them at 49°C, the other 37°C.
CPU is 47°C. I did have one of those annoying little fans on the
Southbridge chip (I believe) of the motherboard which started whining,
so I did remove that, having determined that with a properly cooled
system that fan is probably not important. The video card (ATI AIW
8500DV) has whatever cooling it came with, I don't recall what's on
there. I don't see any temperature-related aspect to the behavior,
it's really fairly consistent where DirectDraw Acceleration will work
for a period of weeks through multiple reboots, then magically upon a
reboot it won't be available. I've never seen it become unavailable
other than after a reboot.
I do appreciate your continued posting of things to check, but unless
the uncooled Southbridge chip seems a likely culprit (which would
surprise me if this was the only symptom exhibited), I'm at a loss for
where to look next.
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Request for Question Clarification by
sublime1-ga
on
01 Feb 2006 18:15 PST
Everything you've mentioned sounds good. I'd just like you
to be able to check the output voltages of your power supply.
It's always possible that one of your voltages is out of
tolerance from the typical +/-5%, and that a low voltage is
causing a problem, though your consideration that this would be
the only symptom of such a problem is certainly a good point.
Short of installing Motherboard Monitor, SiSoftware Sandra
Lite is available for a free download here:
http://www.sisoftware.net/index.html?dir=dload&location=sware_dl_3264&langx=en&a=
If you go to the Motherboard module, you can get readout
of your system voltages.
I'm inclined to believe we're clutching at straws here,
and I don't know what else to suggest, either... : (
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Clarification of Question by
cyclone-ga
on
02 Feb 2006 00:26 PST
I think I'm good here, too, though the negatives look a bit funky:
Vcore1: 1.44V
Vcore2: 1.78V
+3.3V: 3.22V
+5V: 5.05V
+12V: 11.90V
-12V: -9.32V
-5V: -2.84V
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Request for Question Clarification by
sublime1-ga
on
02 Feb 2006 08:49 PST
I wouldn't be too worried about the -5V figure, as I don't
think that's used (mine reads -.02V). The one that stands
out is the Vcore1 = 1.44V. Is this a dual-processor mother-
board? Is only one processor installed, and in which slot?
I have a dual-processor board, and even with only one CPU
installed, both slots read 1.76V.
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Clarification of Question by
cyclone-ga
on
10 Feb 2006 18:17 PST
Single processor motherboard, single processor. And my TV's not
working again... :(
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