Someone with computer knowledge, please help!!

[Guest]

[MakTheYak]

Sorry I couldny be any more help than that. If you get a PC with free memory slots then you should be able to plug in your spares no problem, and a lot of cheap pcs these days will come with an onboard graphics card and so your card will most likely be better than that. So at least they won't go to waste!

[rns91294]

Sorry I couldny be any more help than that. If you get a PC with free memory slots then you should be able to plug in your spares no problem, and a lot of cheap pcs these days will come with an onboard graphics card and so your card will most likely be better than that. So at least they won't go to waste!

Thanks!  We tried to free up memory last night, but the game still crashed after 30 seconds in to play. We are now saving for a new PC.  I will just make sure my graphic card is compatable with it before I buy it.

Check out this amazon page of the game, and scroll down to the second listed review.  Read it.  I am not the only one with problems, although no one ever has complained of invisible giraffe's yet!!!

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B00023EE3Y/ref=pd_sxp_f/002-6594154-4016833?v=glance&s=videogames

And thanks for trying!!  It is more than HP is doing for me.

[rns91294]

In January, HP support told me the Nvidia Geforce 3 Ti500 supports 4X only and would not be compatable with my PC.  The guy who sold it to me told me it is backward compatable with 2X and should be fine.  Here is my question now, if the graphic card was not fully compatable with my OC, would I even get my desktop to show up?

Do you think changing the AGP could solve my problems?  My husband insists we do not need a new PC, as he thinks 256mb RAM is enough memory (even though it is not even enough for Roller Coaster Tycoon 3, which I want) and that our graphic card is fine, but for some reason, my game keeps crashing, so is it my graphic card? Would my computer run if it was not compatable with it?

Also, I read at Zoo Empire's troubleshooting page that the problems I have could be because my sound card is not compatable with Direct X9.  How do I find out if it is compatable?  I have a Rockwell Chameleon combo card.  If this is not compatable, where do i go to get an upgraded one?  Thanks again.

[samwise16]

Don't do the ctrl alt del and delete processes you'll probably stop something you shouldnt like explorer.exe and your pc will turn off. Nvidia Geforce 3 what though? mine was a GeFroce Mx 400 64mb piece of sh*te. I'd play counter strike and basically my graphics were so poor you could see though walls, i upgraded to a Nvidia FX 5600 and now its much better. When you got the Graphics card it should have come with a disc which has the driver on it, have you got the disc?

To find out if the driver is installed first.

Click Start> Control Panel> Administrative Tools> Computer Management> Device Manager >>DISPLAY ADAPTERS ...double click and read if the driver is installed....if it is, the graphics card is not sufficient for the game 


128mb is the minimum requirment, 512mb is what you really need so it allows you to run other appilcations/processes in the background such as msn, internet explorer, or norton without lagging up the game, which is what its doing. Other than Ram/Memory if could well be your processor if it is below intel celeron series then this may be the problem for the lag/jitterness

[rns91294]

It is the Nvidia GeForce 3 Ti500.  64mb (I think).  The game requires at least a GeForce 2, so it should be fine with the game, after all, it is what the recommend for the game, which is why I bought it.  So it is sufficient then, right?

  It is not a lag I am having, but invisble giraffe's and then crashing.

I did download the appropriate drivers with the disc my graphic card came with, but just founjd out from HP that the graphic card is not completely compatable with my PC.  My Processer is something that begins with an A, and it is only 900Mhz (the game requires at least 800), so I assumed this was okay. 

My AGP is running at 1X and should be at 2X (the max it goes on my PC), and HP told me how to change it, but that didn't seem to work.  My PC can only hold 256MB RAM, so getting more memory won't run in my PC.

HP told me the graphic card is just not completely compatable with my PC and should run at 4X, which my PC can't do.  So maybe that is the problem, and not the graphic card at all. If that is not completely compatable with my PC, then the Nvidia FX 5600 probably would not run at all.

Also, we had to install DirectX9, and now I find that my audio card may not be compatable with that, which could also cause lock up problems.

So you think it is time for a new PC?

[samwise16]

The pc sounds old, the graphics card is defiently causing the glitchs in characters, and the memory/processor speed is what causes the crash. It may be a  Nvidia GeForce 3 Ti500 64mb but thats not really going to help the gaming quality, that is basically a standard graphics card for those select few motherboards which do not have onboard graphics. A shop will charge £40 for a card like that when really it will go for £10 on ebay, which is what its really worth.

Another thing i have over-looked, in the game options, some games give a choice of what renderer to use

Software
Direct 3D
OpenGL

OpenGL is what you need to be running on if it gives you that choice, your graphics cards supports up to OpenGL 1.3 which is cool. Basically i had the same problem as you with a 64MB card running it on Software, i changed to OpenGL and the graphics quality is perfect, have a look around on the game options.

If this can't be found/solved i recommend a new pc, one from ebay, have a real good search, you can pick up a intel celeron 2 GHZ which is great for gaming with a 512 DDR 400MHz memory, 60 GB Hard drive,  onboard graphics with an AGP slot for you to buy a 128gb Nvidia card (£30+ sometimes less) for about £100.

[rns91294]

Is a celeron processer better than a Pentium 3 or 4?

I think the graphic card is causing the glithces because it is not fully compatable with my PC, as HP has now told me.  The graphic card can run at AGP 4X, yet my PC will only go to 2X, and since it is not fully compatible, it has gone to 1X with this card.  I highly doubt anything is wrong with our graphic card though, I think it is all the PC.  I did buy the card on eBay for $30 USD.  That was not a bad price at all, at least I didn't think so.  And that was with the shipping.  The seller, who sold it to me over 6 months ago, has been trying to help me get the game going to.  Really nice guy, so I have a good feeling the card is in working condition.  It has to be my PC.  It is the only conclusion I can come up with.  I mean, nothing is wrong with the PC, it just doesn't support the stuff I need to play this game.  Do you agree?

Oh, and the PC is from 2000. Yup, ancient, huh?

[samwise16]

celeron is pentium 3 basically

[rns91294]

Here is HP's newest response:

Hello Sara,

Thank you for contacting HP Total Care.

First, I want to sincerely apologize for the time taken to adequately
respond to your concerns. I realize that you have been greatly
inconvenienced by this situation. This is unacceptable and is not what
we want you to expect from us.

I understand from your e-mail that you are experiencing issues with the
computer when you play games. You have upgraded the video card in the
computer to an NVidia Geforce 3 Ti500 card and it is running at 1X
speed, when it should be running at 2X as the computer and the card
both
support 2X. You also want to know if the sound card in the computer
supports DirectX 9.

Sara, with regard to the sound card in the computer, it is a Rockwell
Chameleon combo card which also includes the modem.  As per the
information available in our database the sound card does not support
DirectX 9.  If you want to use the features of DirectX9, you can very
well install a PCI sound card that supports DirectX 9.  You can contact
a nearest HP Authorized Service Provider to purchase a compatible card.

With regard to the issue with the AGP card, the HP computer does not
have the option to change the AGP speed. Normally this feature would be
available in the BIOS, but the BIOS shipped with the computer do not
provide this option. However the computer should automatically work at
2X when a 2X video card is installed in the computer.  As the AGP card
is running at 1X, there appears to be an issue with the compatibility
of
the card with the computer. Hence I recommend that you have the
computer
taken to a HP Authorized Service Provider where a HP technician would
be
able to identify the exact cause of the issue and resolve it.

So does this mean my video card is not compatable, even though it does support 2X speed?  This makes no sense to me.