Something changed when DirectX 8.1 installed

[Hoot]

I have an older Cardex GF2MX32 AGP card. Gaming is not a critical deal for me, so it fits my needs. Up until a short while ago, it worked just fine. I use 3DMK2K1 for testing OC stability. Up until a short while ago it worked fine with DirectX 8.0, but I just downloaded DirectX 8.1 from the Microsoft Update Page, installed it and now, when I try to run 3DMK2K1, I get an error message saying I need a DirectX 8 capable video card to run it. This has never happened before. I did not change the driver for my card, nor the interrupt, I/O address, etc. Nothing changed except installing DirectX 8.1 update. I am running the current Cardex (Gainward) driver for this video card. There are none newer on their web site. The card originally came with DirectX 7.0, but I updated my DirectX every time Microsoft has come out with a newer version, and it has worked fine after each update, until now. Does anyone have a suggestion as to what direction I should take to try and diagnose the problem?

Thanks

Hoot

[funnyperson1]

try upgrading to the official WHQL Nvidia 21.83 drivers at their site, that might fix your problem, or reintstall 3dmark...

[Hoot]

So I should use the driver from Nvidia, the chipset manufacturer, instead of Gainward, the cards manufacturer? Okay, I'll try it. Nothing to lose. Thanks for the tip.

Hoot

[funnyperson1]

the thing is that nvidia puts out new drivers every few weeks, you should also see HUGE performance gains compared to the Gainward Drivers....

[Hoot]

Okay, installed WHQL signed Detonator 21.83. I reinstalled DirectX 8.1 and reinstalled 3D Mark 2001. Everything went fine. Still, when I run 3D Mark 2001, I get the error message that it requires a DirectX 8 Compatible 3D Accelerator. I've been using 3D Mark 2001 successfully since it came out, with my card. This baffles me.

Hoot

[Hoot]

This is getting interesting. I went to download a fresh copy of 3DMark 2001, just to be sure I had the current version and it has been yanked from the download sites. I tried the US and 3 European sites. Go figure...

Hoot

[funnyperson1]

o believe that www.m3dzone.com has it...

[WyrmMaster]

So far i have had nothing but bad luch with DX 8.1. I have installed it twice that i can remember, and ended up formatting both times. I think il stick with 8.0a

[redduc900]

Have you tried running DxDiag? Under the "Display" tab | "Test Direct3D"...if the test fails, I would say there's a problem in your config. somewhere.

You could also try disabling "Direct3D Acceleration" under the "Display" tab.;)

[RedDeathDrinker]

I couldn't even get DB8.1 to install.

I run Win2000pro with DX8.0a at the mo, but every d/l I've had of 8.1 claims that I have the wrong OS for that version.........(And I've downloaded the Win2000 version each time)

I'll stick with 8.0a just now. It works for me.......

[Angry]

I never had anything but good luck with Direct x 8.1 Direct x 8.0 will not install in WinMe, it installs but 3dmark 2000, and 2001 refuse to run while games could careless. SO I have to 8.1 installed to run them which I have no problems with.
Also I found a vrey useful tool for REMOVEING directX, its called direct X Buster. And it works in ALL version of Windows, even 2000, it simply removes direct X and restarts your system.

**Warning Rambleing ahead.**

This is useful for when like me, you install direct x 8 and it does not work properly, you try reinstalling but it doesnt work because it think you alrdy have it installed, so you remove it And reinstall direct x 8 but it still doesnt work, but then you install direct x 8.1
and everything is all fine and dandy.

Oh and heres the ling :burn: http://www.directxbuster.de/index_e.html

[KILLorBE]

3DMark2001 (http://ftp.computerchannel.de/download/dl/25vBTzZbnU1bU/shareware/utilities/analyse_reparatur_und_system/benchmark/3DMark2001.exe) 100k/s+ (at least for me, they're my neighbors:D )

Here's another :beer: (http://guru3d.com/download/3dmark2001.exe)

[Alex99]

I installed DX8.1 and after reboot, my computer seems very slow. I mean everything seems very slow to respond. I didn't even try running any games as I thought I have a bigger problem then just with games. So I reboot, still the same, Windows didn't take longer to load, but once in Windows, just clicking on an icon takes much longer for it to open. Seems like some extra activities are going on. I didn't want to investigate, as I believe I shouldn't have to trouble this crap. Can't uninstall the damn thing, at least not easily done. Good thing I had working image of my system. I re-imaged my PC. Now I'm back to DX8.0a. Not even going to try 8.1 again. By This was happening when I had my Geforce2 MX. I since had a MSI GF3 Ti200. I'm not gonna bother with 8.1 unless I run into a game that forces me to install it.

[el]

does 8.1 come with XP or do I need to update too.

[It_The_Cow]

Yes, XP already comes with 8.1

[Despotes]

Hmmm. I had a similar issue a few weeks ago. I was experimenting with a few driver versions(GainwardG3Ti/550) and tried to run 3DMark2001 when the benchie said I needed DirectX8 compatible hardware. It turns out, I had a residual file left over from a previous driver. Used "CleanInstall" and reinstallled. All better:)
Thank you for your time:beer:

[Hoot]

Thanks to angry for the link to DX Buster. Using it, I removed DX8.1. I then installed DX7.0, which was current when my card was manufactured. When I went to reinstall 3DMK2K1, it reminded me that I needed DX8 or newer...Duh. So, I installed DX8.0 (non-a) over top of DX 7.0. When I went to reinstall 3DMK2K1, I was again reminded that I needed DX8 or newer. WTF?!!! Okay, I installed DX8.0a from the MS Downloads page. Again, when loading 3DMK2K1, I was reminded of needing DX8 or newer. By now, this whole process is getting old. So I re-booted in the SAFE MODE, re-ran DX Buster, downloaded the DX8.0a from the Mad Onion site (redisp8a, or something like that and installed it. It was over twice as big (25Mb) as other versions of DirectX from MS. So, with DX8.0a again installed, I tried installing 3DMK2K1 and it went smooth as silk. Ran okay also. I forgot to mention that at each previous install of different revs of DirectX, I did fire up DxDiag to make sure it took. Now that I have this process burned into my brain, I may yet again try DX8.1, but only for the sake of science, to see if DX Buster, applied beforehand, makes the difference. Thanks to all for their help and advice.

Interesting sidenote:

With this older GF2 card, I was getting 3DMK2K1 scores of approximately 2650 on my SDR KK-266, using my 1.0G Tbird running at 10x150 (1500 Mhz). All I did was swap out the CPU for a nex XP 1800 (1530 Mhz) running at the stock speed and score went up to 3350. Overclocking the new XP did not yield faster scores, so I believe the older card is holding things up.

Now, I will write my letter to Santa asking for a newer Video card :D

73

Hoot