Hi Matt,
Halo supports all DirectX 9.0b-compliant video cards. It's a
good practice to always install the latest drivers for all of your
hardware. Read How to UPDATE DRIVERS further down
even though you stated you already upgraded perhaps if you
reinstall them using another method they will work better.
Here's some tips and solutions for HALO I've collected.
I've put the ones that pertain to you closer to the top in this post:
Don't use refresh managers like ReForce which can cause DX errors,
or could possibly cause exception errors. Either go to Start / Run:
dxdiag and setup the refresh rates in the More Help tab / Override...
Or you can use the -vidmode w,h,r shortcut switch which Forces the
game to run at width, height, refresh rate. Read the COMMAND
LINE SWITCHES section further down in this post for full details.
ex: "C:\Microsoft Games\Halo\halo.exe" -vidmode 1280,1024,100.
* Don't discount that the switches aren't worth trying. One player
got his game working by using the -useff switch when all else failed.
EXCEPTION ERRORS & POPUP-AD BLOCKERS can cause
Halo to crash and cause "Gathering Exception Data" error messages.
ATI Radeon 9800 PRO 128: If you experience inconsistent
graphic performance with textures make sure the Mipmap Detail
Level in the ATI Direct3D Control Panel is not set to High Quality.
NO MENU TEXT / BLACK SCREENS: Go into Control
Panel / Display / Settings / Advanced / Geforce Tab / Performance
& Quality settings / set Antialiasing and Anisotropic to "Application".
GEFORCE FX CARDS: Using the -useff command switch has
been reported to solve many performance issues with that card.
syntax: "C:\Prog files..\Microsoft Games\Halo\halo.exe" -useff
FX performance issues should be corrected with their next drivers:
http://www.tomshardware.com/graphic/20030912/half-life-07.html
Via Motherboard Chipsets: If you have a Via brand motherboard,
you may need to update to the latest "4-in-1" motherboard chipset
drivers to avoid crashes. More info is in the driver upgrade section.
CHARACTER MOVES BY ITSELF: Solution may be to remap
the keys from WASD to the arrow keys. One person reported the
problem stopped and they were able to change them back afterwards.
============== HALO KB ARTICLES ===============
For HALO error messages and technical troubleshooting:
http://www.microsoft.com/games/halo/support_alerts.asp
Known Multiplayer Issues in Halo: Combat Evolved
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=829469
Known Game Controller Issues with Halo: Combat Evolved
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=829470
Known Sound Issues in Halo: Combat Evolved
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=829477
Known Video-Related Issues with Halo: Combat Evolved
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=829478
Minimum System Requirements for Halo: Combat Evolved
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=829479
Halo: Combat Evolved Is Slow or Performs Poorly
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=829471
=========== HOW TO UPDATE DRIVERS ============
Try updating your Video drivers using the instructions at:
http://www3.sympatico.ca/nibblesnbits/Video.html#drivers
How to update your Chipset Drivers:
http://www3.sympatico.ca/nibblesnbits/Video.html#v11
TROUBLESHOOTING:
In HALO lower the settings for both Video and Sound setup options
until the game is working, and then bring them up again one notch at a time.
Perhaps the old Nvidia drivers did not completely uninstall. If that's the
case, use this utility to completely uninstall the drivers and go to step 7:
http://content.guru3d.com/index.php?page=detonatorrip&menu=0
For Software and Hardware issues I've setup a troubleshooter at:
http://www3.sympatico.ca/nibblesnbits/Troubleshooting.html
======== HALO COMMAND LINE SWITCHES ===========
These shortcut / command line switches are great for troubleshooting.
Make a copy of your HALO shortcut and edit it's properties to play in
WINDOW mode, which may help improve your game performance.
To play in window mode, right click the Halo shortcut, and in the
"Target" Box add -window to the end of the shortcut so it looks like this:
"C:\Program Files\Microsoft Games\Halo\halo.exe" -window
Other command line switches you can use to troubleshoot problems, or
workaround an issue until it can be properly resolved are as follows:
-nosound
Disables all sound.
-novideo
Disables video playback.
-nojoystick
Disables joystick/gamepads.
-nogamma
Disables adjustment of gamma.
-useff
Forces the game to run as a fixed function card.
-use11
Forces the game to run as a shader 1.1 card.
-use14
Forces the game to run as a shader 1.4 card.
-use20
Forces the game to run as a shader 2.0 card.
-safemode
Disables as much as possible from the game.
-window
Runs the game in a window.
-width640
Forces the game to run at 640x480.
-vidmode w,h,r
Forces the game to run at width, height, refresh rate.
-adapter x
Forces the game to run fullscreen on a multimon adaptor.
There you have it, if you have any questions feel free to post them!
--
Cheers, Microsoft MVP - Windows XP Shell/User
Jimmy S.
http://mvp.support.microsoft.com
For Product Support: Contact a Microsoft expert online or by phone using:
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=sz;en-us;top - Post Here, or:
Try the FAQs:
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=FH;[LN];gms
Additional Support Resources: My Zone.com Helpsite:
http://nibblesnbits.tk
My advice is donated "AS IS" without warranty; nor do I confer any rights.
_________________________________________________________
| I can't seem to change the resolution in Halo from the
| default 800x600. When I change and exit the video
| settings, the computer crashes and I usually get a Page
| Fault type error, or a Bad Pool Error. The only time I get
| that error is when I change the resolution. I'm sure the
| RAM and AGP card are compatible with my system, because
| they have always worked and I never get BSOD. Also have
| installed all the latest hardware and software drivers,
| and all XP fixes. Where do I go from here?
