Here are some methods you can use to troubleshoot display-related problems that you may experience when using Age of Mythology.
The following list contains general display symptoms that you may experience.
· Textures are missing.
· Textures are distorted.
· Texture colors are distorted.
· Textures are blurred.
· Screen text is blurred or illegible.
· Graphics are black or white.
· The screen turns black.
Make sure that your video adapter meets the minimum requirements required to play the game.
For all boxed games please see the System Requirements listed on the box. Use the DirectX Diagnostic Tool to determine how much video memory is available.
To check minimum system requirements
1. On the Windows task bar, click the Start button, and then click Run.
2. In the Open box, type "dxdiag" (without the quotation marks), and then click OK.
3. In the DirectX Diagnostic Tool dialog box, click the Display or Display 1 tab.
4. In the Device field, note how much video memory is on the Approx. Total Memory line, and then click Exit.
Note: The newer versions of Microsoft DirectX automatically install the DirectX Diagnostic Tool.
To determine the version number of the video driver installed on your computer, use the DirectX Diagnostic Tool.
To determine the version of your video driver
1. Click Start, and then click Run.
4. In the Drivers field, note the version number on the Version line.
5. If multiple video adapters are installed in your computer, repeat steps 3-4 to determine the version number of the video driver for each additional video adapter installed in your computer by checking any other Display tabs such as Display 2, Display 3, etc.
6. When you have noted the version numbers for all of the video drivers installed on your computer, click Exit.
To determine what version(s) of DirectX the video driver is compatible with, check the DDI (DirectDraw Interface) version.
To check the DDI version
3. Click Save All Information to save a Dxdiag.txt report.
4. Click Desktop, and then click Save.
5. Open the DxDiag.txt file on your desktop.
6. Under the Display Devices section, find the line marked DDI Version. This is the version of DirectX with which your video driver is compatible.
Contact your video adapter manufacturer to inquire about how to obtain and install the latest video driver for your video adapter.
For information about how to contact your video adapter manufacturer, visit http://microsoft.com/support/ and look up the following articles in the Microsoft Knowledgebase. You will need to have a connection to the Internet to access this information:
· Q65416 Hardware and Software Third-Party Vendor Contact List, A-Khttp://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q65/4/16.asp
· Q60781 Hardware and Software Third-Party Vendor Contact List, L-Phttp://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q60/7/81.asp
· Q60782 Hardware and Software Third-Party Vendor Contact List, Q-Zhttp://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q60/7/82.asp
For example, to look up Q123456 you would perform the following actions on the http://microsoft.com/support/ page:
1. Click the link for "Search the Knowledgebase".
2. In the Search for box, type "Q123456" (without the quotes).
3. Change the Search Type to Article ID.
4. Click the Go button.
To download and install the latest version of Microsoft DirectX, visit the following Microsoft Web site: http://www.microsoft.com/directx/default.asp
For additional information about how to download and install the latest version of DirectX, visit http://microsoft.com/support/ and look up the following article in the Microsoft Knowledgebase. You will need to have a connection to the Internet to access this information:
· Q179113 How to Download and Install DirectXhttp://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q179/1/13.asp
Many newer Microsoft games require a video card and monitor that can run a resolution of at least 800 x 600 at High Color (16 bit). Set your Windows display resolution to 800 x 600 at High Color (16 bit), and then test the game.
To set the Windows display resolution
1. Click Start, point to Settings, and then click Control Panel. (In Windows XP, click Start, and then click Control Panel.)
2. Double-click Display.
3. In the Display Properties dialog box, click the Settings tab.
4. Move the Desktop Area, Screen Area, or Screen resolution slider to the 800 x 600 pixels setting. (The slider you see will depend on your operating system.)
5. In the Color Palette or Colors box, click High Color (16 bit) or Medium (16 bit). (The wording you see will depend on your operating system.)
6. Click OK, and then click OK again.
7. Click Yes to accept the settings.
Note: After changing your video resolution, you may have to adjust your monitor settings so that your screen will display correctly. See your monitor documentation for more information.
If you know what resolution your game is set to run at, you may also try setting your Windows display settings to the same resolution as the game.
To check or turn on Direct3D acceleration
2. Type "dxdiag" (without the quotation marks), and then click OK.
3. On the Display tab, verify that all DirectX features are turned on. If any are disabled, click Enable next to the feature.
Note: If some DirectX features are unavailable, please verify that your video adapter meets the minimum requirements.
To reduce graphics hardware acceleration
1. Click Start, point to Settings, and then click Control Panel. (In Windows XP, click Start and then click Control Panel.)
2. Double-click System. (In Windows XP, double-click Display).
3. On the Performance tab, click Graphics. (In Windows XP, click the Settings tab, click the Advanced button, and then choose the Troubleshoot tab.)
4. Move the Hardware Acceleration slider until it is one notch to the right of None (the basic acceleration setting).
5. Click OK, and then click Close.
6. When you are prompted to restart the computer, click Yes.
7. Test the game. In some cases the game may not run until you move the slider to a higher setting. If the issue continues to occur, repeat Step 4 above to increase the graphics hardware acceleration.
Note: If your game runs with video acceleration turned down, it may indicate that you need to update your video driver, or it may indicate that your display adapter cannot run your game at full acceleration.
To adjust the refresh rate for your display adapter
1. Click Start, point to Settings, and then click Control Panel. In Windows XP, click Start and then click Control Panel.
3. On the Settings tab, click Advanced.
4. On the Adapter tab, under Refresh Rate, select Adapter default. In Windows XP you should select the Monitor tab and select the lowest refresh rate available.
5. Click OK, and then click OK again.
Note: After changing your refresh rate, you may have to adjust your monitor settings so that your screen displays correctly. See your monitor documentation for more information.
To remove multiple adapters
2. In the Open box, type "dxdiag -ghost" (without the quotation marks), and then click OK.
3. Click the More Help tab.
4. Click the Inactive button.
5. Click the item on the left, and then click Backup.
6. Repeat until all the items have been removed from Inactive window.
7. Click Exit.
When you start a game, you may receive an error message similar to either of the following:
· Signal out of Range.
-or-
· Out of Scan Range
This behavior can occur if the signal from the video adapter exceeds the scan range of the monitor. The video adapter setting for updating the screen (the refresh rate) is incompatible with the monitor.
To resolve this issue, follow the steps below in the order in which they are given:
1. Reduce the display settings.
2. Test the game again. If the issue is not resolved, continue with the next step.
3. Change the refresh rate setting for your video adapter.
Note: After changing your video resolution, you may have to adjust your monitor settings so that your screen displays correctly. See your monitor documentation for more information.
To change the refresh rate for your video adapter
1. Click Start, point to Set...
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