ORTS still won't run

[johnds]

Some will remember that I complained some months ago and at least one version back of ORTS that I kept getting an error that told me I didn't have a suitable graphics card.

Well, today I removed my EVGA Nvidia 9500 GT (vintage 2008) and replaced it with a new Sapphire Radeon HD 6770 (vintage April 2011). Both cards have 1GB of video memory. I am trying to run the latest version of ORTS.

dxdiag still says no problems and all the test work as they should.

Computer:

Intel Pentium Dual Core CPU @ 2.5 GHz
Motherboard: ASRock G31M-S
(Intel G31 + ICH7 Chipsets)
4 GB memory
160 GB HDD
Sapphire Radeon HD 6670 1 GB
Windows XP SP3
Acer 19" monitor

I have attached a screen grab of the error message that still appears.

I wonder if ORTS is detecting my onboard graphics. There is nothing in the BIOS to disable it. The motherboard docs says that when a cards is plugged into the PCI-e slot the onboard card will be disabled automatically (if the BIOS has the onboard graphics set to "AUTO").

Any explanations, help, or work arounds would be most appreciated. Thanks in advance.

John
in DAR country where the trains don't run no more.

[OTTODAD]

You have un-installed the NVidia driver before installing the Radeon card and then have installed it's driver ?

When starting your computer from cold then enter it's Bios with whatever key it necessary, usually Del and check what it's settings are for graphics and disable onboard if it has such an option.

DXDiag should also tell you which DirectX is installed which should be DX-9.0c

O t t o

[johnds]

You have un-installed the NVidia driver before installing the Radeon card and then have installed it's driver ?

When starting your computer from cold then enter it's Bios with whatever key it necessary, usually Del and check what it's settings are for graphics and disable [onboard[/B] if it has such an option.

DXDiag should also tell you which DirectX is installed which should be DX-9.0c

O t t o

There are no traces of nvidia left on the computer.

There is no "disable" option. It is set to "auto". The docs for the motherboard say the "auto" setting will disable the onboard graphics when a card is added to the PCI-e slot.

dixdiag checks out OK and I have DX9.0C installed! All tests in dxdiag check out OK.

Thanks for the reply.

John

[twpol]

I will first mention that the error message you see is from the XNA library, not ourselves, but it does mean something is wrong somewhere.

Do you have multiple monitors or just one? What other 3D games work (presumably some do!)? Have you tried starting OR in both fullscreen and as a window?

[OTTODAD]

And as has been mentioned in another thread, have you got XNA 3.1 installed ?

O t t o

[johnds]

I have only one monitor, an ACER 19" flat screen LCD.

MSTS of course runs very well. TS2012 also runs very well. Are these 3D games? Somehow I don't think so.

I am in the process of downloading a couple freebees from the makers of my new graphics card. More later.

I started OR in full screen mode (unchecked the "Windowed" box) to no avail.

One presumes that shaders are backwards compatible. (?)

Might it help to uninstall XNA then download a new copy and reinstall it? (I have Microsoft XNA Framework Redistributable 3.1 installed)

Thanks for the reply.

John

[twpol]

Newer graphics cards certainly support the older shader models OR uses (2.0 and 3.0) and it sounds like there's no general problem with hardware acceleration.

I don't know what could be upsetting XNA though, but you can try reinstalling XNA Framework Redistributable 3.1; I'd also try fully disabling all anti-virus and firewall software temporarily (you should disconnect from the network/internet when you do this) in case one of them is interfering.

[johnds]

Newer graphics cards certainly support the older shader models OR uses (2.0 and 3.0) and it sounds like there's no general problem with hardware acceleration.

I don't know what could be upsetting XNA though, but you can try reinstalling XNA Framework Redistributable 3.1; I'd also try fully disabling all anti-virus and firewall software temporarily (you should disconnect from the network/internet when you do this) in case one of them is interfering.

Battlefield Bad Company and Dirt3 both run very well with this Radeon HD 6670, so the card hardware seems to be OK.

I uninstalled XNA Framework Redistributable 3.1, restarted the computer, downloaded a new copy, installed it, restarted again. No joy with ORTS. I disabled the anti-virus and firewall; still no joy.

I am at a loss.

But, still looking for some clues I have attached a screen shot from Control Panel/Add and Delete Programs of all of the Microsoft add-ins that are installed on my machine.

Is there anything in the list that should not be there and, conversely, is there anything not in the list that should be?

TIA

John

[twpol]

Is there anything in the list that should not be there and, conversely, is there anything not in the list that should be?

The list looks fine; you have the two required bits (.NET Framework 3.5 SP1 and XNA Framework Redistributable 3.1) and nothing else is known (or seems likely) to conflict.

I'm also at a loss.

[OTTODAD]

On which drive and in what folder on your WIN-XP computer are you trying to run the OpenRails.exe and has this folder been flagged to READ/WRITE ALL, the latter being a long shot !

O t t o

[longiron]

John,
This is just a guess, but you can delete the Visual C# 2010 package. That may be the cause of your problems. I seem to remember that 2010 will supercede 2008 if both are installed.

[johnds]

I GIVE UP!!!

Many, many thanks to all those who took the time to reply. I think I'll just have to wait until the time comes to get another computer and start all over again.

That won't be for a while, so, in the meantime, each time a new version of ORTS appears, I will download it, install it and cross my fingers that this time it will work.

Sorry for all the trouble.

John

[twpol]

Sorry for all the trouble.

It's no trouble; we all wish OR worked for everyone.

[lindsayts]

Now you probably do not wish to do this but have you considered wipeing everything from the drive and reisntalling XP SP3 and just the things required for OR, then say only the items you really require. The system has an awfull lot of software installed on it, due to the complex nature of software these days there could be a possible conflict no one has struck before.

Lindsay

[OTTODAD]

Below is most of what is installed on my WIN-XP SP3 computer and have no problems with anything running on it, including ORTS.

If what ORTS requires in order to function exists on a computer then it does not matter what else there is on the same computer.

I have asked before where ORTS has been installed on his computer, Drive C:\ or in a partition and whether the drive and the folder ORTS is in have been flagged READ / WRITE !

What else is there running on his computer at the same time when he tries to start ORTS ?

O t t o