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Graphics issue on a Vista machine


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#1
rosaphile

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Sorry, I'm not sure if this is the right place to put this. Please let me know if there's a different forum where I should post this.

I've had a Vista machine (Tosiba Satellite laptop) for a few months now. We play some games on it including Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II. This game doesn't consistently run on the computer - sometimes I get an error message saying an error has occurred and the program is being shut down, and the next minute it runs fine. However, that's not what I'm posting about.

The game does something (what, I couldn't guess) to the graphics that makes everything look washed-out and overly bright. Usually this goes away after the game is shut down or, at worst, after restarting the computer. In the past couple of days, however, when I start up or restart my machine, after Windows loads, the graphics go all washed-out and ghostlike, even without running the game. If I start up the game and then close it, everything looks fine again... until the next time I start up my machine again. I have no idea what's happening here, much less how to fix it. Any help?

Thanks!
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#2
Broni

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Please, post some computer info:
- processor type, amount of RAM (hold Windows logo key, hit Pause/Break key)
- hard drive size/free space (open "My Computer", right click on hard drive letter, click "Properties")

What are the game requirements?

Any errors in Device Manager, regarding Display Adapter?
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#3
rosaphile

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It is an Intel Centrino 2 2GHz processor, with 4GB RAM. The hard disk has 296GB total capacity, with 182GB free space. Device manager says the display adapater is working properly. (It is an ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3470.)

Game requirements (recommended, not minimum) include Pentium 4 or Athlon XP 1.6GHz or faster, 512MB RAM. Graphics: 32MB OpenGL 1.4 compliant AGP or PCX 3D Graphics card with Hardware Transform and Lighting (T&L) Capability required, ATI Radeon 9200 or NVIDIA GeForce4 Ti or better recommended.
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#4
Broni

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Did you try to reinstall video driver?
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#5
rosaphile

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No... I'm not sure how to do that I'm afraid. There is an option in Device Manager to "Update Driver" but that's not it is it?
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#6
Broni

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No, because that option basically looks for a new driver on your computer, or through Windows updates, unless pointed to a specific file.
I'll help you to do that, but I need to know your Toshiba Satellite model.
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#7
rosaphile

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It is the Toshiba Satellite A305.
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#8
Broni

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Look at the back of your laptop.
Beside A305, there are more numbers, like
A305-Sxxx
A305-SPxxx
A305D- Sxxx
A305D-SPxxx
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#9
rosaphile

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Ah, ok - it's A305-S6898
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#10
Broni

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Download new ATI driver: http://www.csd.toshi.....140535|PSAGCU
(Select Vista from 1st drop-down menu, Display from the second one)
Do nothing with it, yet.

Go to Device Manager, right click on ATI item under Display Adapters.
Click Properties, then Driver tab.
Click Uninstall button.

Unzip downloaded file.
Double click on driver_video_ati_27601B.exe file to begin installation.

Edited by Broni, 12 February 2009 - 07:41 PM.

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#11
rosaphile

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Ok - done! Thanks for the help, hopefully this fixes the problem. Time will tell. :)
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#12
Broni

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Keep us posted. Promise? :)
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#13
rosaphile

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Absolutely! :)
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