BLURRY TEXTURE HELP

[Guest cwright]

Jinesh, that's a lot of very useful information. I agree with the others, a 4 Mb graphics card is unlikely to work well in FS2002. I have a 32 Mb card and 256 Mb main memory, but when I run Gmax and FS at the same time (with FS windowed) sometimes FS will switch to 2D mode, which looks the same as your screenshots! When this occurs I can sometimes get back to 3D mode simply by reducing the FS window size. That error message may not be significant. After reading your post I fired up FS and switched to 2D mode - and got exactly the same message! That may have been because I was also running Netscape. Okay, this is what I think may have happened. It was originally running in 3D mode, but it was very close to failure due to the very small graphics card and main memory. When you installed the new software it used up some more memory, and now FS can only run in 2D mode. The screenshots and the very low frame rates are typical of 2D mode. I would suggest un-installing any FS add-on software, particularly the software that appeared to have triggered the problem. Also make sure there are no other unnecessary Windows applications running at the same time. If that fails then try re-installing FS2002. Also you could try turning all the FS options down to minimum and running at the lowest resolution (640*480). But, sadly, the real problem is your hardware! I would start with the video card ( the AGP 4MB VRAM). You can easily identify the video card because the monitor video cable will be plugged into it. I don't know how expensive such things are in India ( particularly on a doctor's salary!), but you could replace it with a fairly old card such as a GeForce 1 with 32 Mb Ram. As it's several years out of date it should be cheap, but it should work very well (I know this, because that's exactly what I have on mine!) The next useful upgrade would be more main memory - but I think the card replacement would fix the problem. You could also run it at higher resolution, possibly with higher frame rates. Well, good luck. Don't hesitate to ask more questions. Best regards, Chris P.S. here in England we had a bit of a heatwave last week, but I'll bet it was nowhere as hot as in India!

[Guest]

Hi everybody!SUCCESS AND GRAND SUCCESS!!!!!!!Now read on and see how the problem is solved.(1) It started with rhumbaflappy's (What is your name? You are one hell of a genius!!!!) suggestion that I re-install Direct X. So I opened Direct X on my system. This is what I saw.http://ftp.avsim.com/dcforum/User_files/3d4da4c9689e079a.jpgSo that means on 4th August 2002, my system has Direct X 8.0 O.K.? Now see the next.http://ftp.avsim.com/dcforum/User_files/3d4da4fc6926df49.jpgI tested all the Direct X features mentioned - it all worked fine.BUT LOOK CLOSELY AT THE DEVICE COLUMN - IT SAYS Current display mode: 800 x 600 (24 bit) optimal refresh rate. That is correct because that is how my system shows. See below.http://ftp.avsim.com/dcforum/User_files/3d4da54069dd32ad.jpgI overlooked this very important piece of information at first. Boy! It fooled me for half the world!!!!!Then I turned to Windows Explorer and just started scanning my FS2002 files. I chanced to see a file called dxdiag.txt Just open it!Now Senors and Senoritas, the fun begins......http://ftp.avsim.com/dcforum/User_files/3d4da61f6c3f820a.jpg(1) See the time of this report: It shows 25th June, 2002 and the time is 4:27 P.M. THAT IS EXACTLY THE DAY I RETURNED HOME (COCHIN) FROM NEW DELHI AND EXACTLY THE TIME I STARTED INSTALLING FS2002 ON MY COMPUTER. I HAD AN OLDER DIRECT X VERSION THEN AND FS2002 AUTOMATICALLY UPDATED IT TO VERSION 8.WARNING: Your computer will generate this information ONLY if you are starting from an earlier version of Direct X. That is if you installed fs2002 with Direct x 8, this file would not have been generated. How do I know? Well, I uninstalled and reinstalled FS2002 again. To my surprise this file is not there!!!!!!(2) On scrolling further down the dxdiag.txt file we come to another surprise. See below:http://ftp.avsim.com/dcforum/User_files/3d4da6c06e77b764.jpgNoticed it? The Current Mode: 800 x 600 (16 bit) optimal refresh rate So it means WHEN I ORIGINALLY INSTALLED FS2002 ON MY SYSTEM ON 25TH JUNE, 2002 AT 4:27 P.M. IT WAS SET AT 16 BIT RESOLUTION. SOMEHOW (AND I DON'T KNOW HOW!!!!!!!), IT GOT CONVERTED TO 24 BIT RESOLUTION AS OF TODAY. YOU CAN SEE THIS FROM MY EARLIER SCREENSHOT. WHEN DID THAT CHANGE OCCUR? AND WHAT CAUSED IT TO OCCUR? I DO NOT KNOW!!!!!So I changed it back to 16 bit (High Colour) See belowhttp://ftp.avsim.com/dcforum/User_files/3d4da7086f8721d9.jpgAND VOILA LOOK AT THE FS2000 AND FS2002 SCREENSHOTS BELOW.FS2000 SCREENSHOThttp://ftp.avsim.com/dcforum/User_files/3d4da733700065a8.jpgFS2002 SCREENSHOTNow the tail is displayed correctly.http://ftp.avsim.com/dcforum/User_files/3d4da77670d6384b.jpgAnd the Airbus looks fine.http://ftp.avsim.com/dcforum/User_files/3d4da7b5714e1224.jpgNoticed something else? The text display has become blurred again unlike my previous post of screenshots.!!!!! (viz. John, you had mentioned it earlier!!!!! THANK YOU!!!!)It was only then I understood the importance of Chris's post - Something caused the system to reverse the setting. We do not know why, but THANK YOU VERY MUCH CHRIS!!!!!!!!So gentlemen, let me offer you all a toast. Cheers!!!!!Thanks everybody!!!! for pointing out the defects in my system. I guess she is nowhere near the specs you all have! By the way, Ge Force 4 cost Rupees 17,000 in India. (approximately 260 Pounds or 380 US $) It is a mere trifle with a doctor's salary and easily acquirable. But I guess, I have to wait some time (probably 6 years!!!) before I do something. Simply because, I am now a "resident" doctor - that is a post graduate student in Internal Medicine in his first year. And what is my salary? Rs. 4500( 70 Pounds) a month!!! Ha! Ha! Can't believe it? Well, the Government of India or the respective state government provides medical education at a very low rate if you qualify through a competitive entrance examination. So I pay only the the equivalent of 70 pounds for my entire THREE YEAR post graduate course as tution fees. How does the government make up for that? Pay us low salaries!!!!! O.K.!!!!! Then I would like to do my super-speciality in Neurology - an additional three years. In six years from now (Lord! I will be 30 years old then), I will become a "Consultant" doctor - a doctor in the real sense. Then I shall be able to command a decent salary.Isn't it ironical to say that the world's largest democracy pays so much attention to educate its citizens and the results of it is being thwarted by some two penny half penny worthless politicians who haven't even completed seventh standard!!!! You been to India, Chris!! It is hot up north, but you must visit the state of Kerala in south India. It has the most pleasant climate in the whole of India. That is where I am from. And India is nothing compared to Kuwait in terms of heat where I did most of my schooling because Dad was working there. Will I ever forget the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait!!!!!!THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR SUPPORT AND HELP. LET US CONTINUE TO WORK TOGETHER TO FURTHER EXCELLENCE IN INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY AND MEDICINE.WARM REGARDS AND GOD BLESS YOU ALL.Jinesh.

[Guest cwright]

Jinesh, that's excellent! Your info was very interesting. If Windows had switched from 16 bit to 24 bit display then it would use more memory - and as memory is the thing you're very short of, that may well have caused FS to switch to 2D mode. Anyway, I'm glad to hear you're back in business! So you live on 70 pounds a month? That's amazing - you'd have to work four months just to buy a Geforce 4. But, hopefully in a few years, things will be *much* better and you'll be able to afford the best computer money can buy! Anyway, I'd like to wish you the very best of luck in your career. So you were in Kuwait when Saddam paid a visit? That must have been an amazing experience - and very frightening. But it sounds like the Americans will be paying Saddam a visit quite soon.... The weather here in England is back to normal, cold and wet. India is one place I'd like to visit - maybe one day.... All the best, Chris

[Guest JonP01]

Well Jinesh. I am glad you solved your PC problems. A SiS 6326 was the first hardware accelerator I ever bought. It served me well, and whilst people won't believe this, it's colour rendering and 2D were truly exceptional. It now continues to serve in my mother's machine.As regards the medical side of things, it really is a case of swings and roundabouts. In Australia, when my Uncle completed his medical degree at the beginning of the 1970's, things were quite a lot different to what they are today. Nowadays, provided you are in the top 0.001% of students, you can spare 7 years to study, have what it takes, as well as a cool $250,000 for the tuition, you too can have a medical degree :) Although as you probably realise, the hardest part is "having what it takes". Most who think they do, don't.

[Guest]

Hi Chris and John,Thank you for your replies.70 Pounds is quite an amount in India, Chris and a 24 year old unmarried resident who does nothing other than study and fly and have a hell of a time with his friends, it is more than enough because accomodation, food and other things are free! Anyway, my sister who is a civil engineer is getting a new P4 2.5 GHz, GeForce 4. Can't wait for that!!!!!Yes, when Saddam betrayed his tiny neighbour way back in August 2, 1990, I was 12 years old and studying in the 8th standard. It was not frightening...He! He! I loved the military aircrafts roaring over our flat!!! That morning, Dad left for work as usual and before he could drop my sister at school, the Iraqi soldiers politely and firmly stopped him on the highway and one of them escorted him back to our flat. There is some politeness there! The rest you know is history. I really miss Kuwait very much.By the way, you would be knowing that Saddam is under treatment for lymphangiosarcoma - a rare malignant disorder of the lymphatic system. It was detected early otherwise, it would have finished him now!! And our bearded evil Osama is also having a tough time - with nowhere to run and nowhere to hide, he is in end-stage renal failure. If I am not mistaken, he should be dead by now because I don't think peritoneal dialysis could filter all that urea from him for such a long time. The only option left for him is to get new kidneys which I am sure, nobody is willing to donate it to him in a hurry!!!!! Seems as if the Americans are in for real disappointment. He! he!There is a good chance that I may plan on doing my MRCP there in UK - there are quite a lot of Indians doing the same. There are some fantastic medical schools there and can't wait to see the land of Shakespeare, John Keats and tulips. I have been to Heathrow Int'l but it was night and I was enroute to JFK 14 years back. Otherwise, I have not seen any part of England. I do not have any relatives there but I have several cousins settled in the United States. Be seeing you some time Chris!Thanks John for your info on the medical education in Australia. Surprising why the Australian government cannot support its medical students. Yes, as you said, Qantas is having a bright future. They were planning to operate additional flights to Europe through Cochin Internt'l Airport in Kerala, South India but the September 11 attacks made them cancel their plans. Also Qantas is the launch customer of the 747-400ER.Wish you all the best in your personal and professional future,Jinesh.