Black screen on starting game

from GalCiv2 Forums

When I run the game, the screen goes blank. No music, no error. Just blackness. I can quit back to the desktop using crtl-alt-del. I tried updating my graphics drivers. The game worked fine yesterday, and it is the only software that is having a problem.

Also, when I reinstalled the game using the online download, it installed it to a different directory. Who do I set the install directory?

7,719 views 6 replies
Reply #1 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Please go to C:\Program Files\Stardock\Totalgaming\GalCiv2 (or wherever you installed the game at), open the debug.err file you find there in notepad, and copy/paste the contents into a post here. If this is a DA report, you'll find the debug in C:\Program Files\Stardock\Totalgaming\GalCiv2\DarkAvatar instead. This will give us some technical information that can help troubleshoot your problem.
Reply #2 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Debug Message: Version v1.5 last updated on: Thu Jan 11 13:39:19 2007
Debug Message: GalCiv2 is activated.
Debug Message: Checking DX Version.
Debug Message: *********DXDiag info follows.*********
System Info
Time: 4/13/2007, 12:32:05
DirectX Version: DirectX 9.0c (4.09.0000.0904)
Machine Name: D1CPYCC1
Operating System: Windows XP Professional (5.1, Build 2600) Service Pack 2 (2600.xpsp_sp2_qfe.070227-2300)
Languages: English (Regional Setting: English)
System Manufacturer: Dell Inc.
System Model: Dell DXP061
BIOS: Phoenix ROM BIOS PLUS Version 1.10 2.0.5
Processor: Intel(R) Core(TM)2 CPU 6700 @ 2.66GHz (2 CPUs)
Physical Memory: 2046MB RAM
Page File: 413MB used, 3525MB available
Windows Dir: C:\WINDOWS


Display Info
Display device 1:
Device Name: \\.\DISPLAY1
Card Name: Radeon X1950 Series
Manufacturer: ATI Technologies Inc.
Chip Type: ATI Radeon Graphics Processor (0x7244)
DAC Type: Internal DAC(400MHz)
Key Device: Enum\PCI\VEN_1002&DEV_7244&SUBSYS_0B121002&REV_00
Display Memory: 256.0 MB
Current Display Mode: 1280 x 1024 (32 bit) (60Hz)
Monitor Name: SyncMaster 710Tplus/711T/712T (Digital)
Monitor Max Resolution: 1280,1024
Driver Name: ati2dvag.dll
Driver Version: 6.14.0010.6677
Driver Date: 3/2/2007 16:53:36
DirectX Acceleration Enabled: Yes



Sound info
Sound device 1:
Description: SigmaTel Audio
Default Sound Playback: Yes
Default Voice Playback: Yes
Hardware ID: HDAUDIO\FUNC_01&VEN_8384&DEV_7618&SUBSYS_102801DB&REV_1002
Manufacturer ID: 1
Product ID: 100
Driver Name: sthda.sys
Provider: SigmaTel
Driver Version: 5.10.4991.0000
Driver Date: 7/24/2006 11:20:00
Type: WDM
Other Drivers:
Acceleration Level: 3
Cap Flags: 0
Min/Max Sample Rate: 0, 0

Sound device 1:
Description: Modem #0 Line Playback (emulated)
Default Sound Playback: No
Default Voice Playback: No
Hardware ID:
Manufacturer ID: 1
Product ID: 81
Driver Name:
Provider:
Driver Version:
Driver Date:
Type: Emulated
Other Drivers:
Acceleration Level: 3
Cap Flags: 0
Min/Max Sample Rate: 0, 0



Debug Message: *********END dxdiag info.*********
Debug Message: Entering WinMain
Debug Message: ******* Starting Game Shell *******
Debug Message: Going Fullscreen
Debug Message: Preparing to change display settings.
Debug Message: Using multilsample setting: D3DMULTISAMPLE_6_SAMPLES
Debug Message: Could not create the render device using default format. Switching to 16bit
Debug Message: Using multilsample setting: D3DMULTISAMPLE_NONE
Debug Message: Could not create the render device.
Debug Message: InitializeDirect3D Failed.
Debug Message: Now Fullscreen
Debug Message: Shell initialization complete
Debug Message: WM_CLOSE message received.
Debug Message: GameUninitialize start



One thing I realized. I have just switched from a wide-screen lcd panel to a standard aspect ratio lcd.
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Reply #3 from GalCiv2 Forums Top

After seeing that debug file, I also went in to dxdiag and tested Direct3D acceleration. The tests for Direct3D 7,8, and 9 were all successful.
Reply #4 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
It's likely then the game is trying and failing to initialize in a resolution wider than your monitor supports. Go to My Documents\My Games\GalCiv2, and rename/delete the file prefs.ini to reset your settings to the defaults.
Reply #5 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Edit or delete the Prefs.ini file (Located in My Documents\My Games\GalCiv2)

If you delete the file GalCiv2 will revert to default settings with a resolution of 1024x768.

If you edit the file set these lines to read:

[Video]
DisplayWidth=1280
DisplayHeight=1024
ColorDepth=32
Fullscreen=1


The game resolution is probably still set for the widescreen monitor, and your new one can not handle that resolution so the game fails to start.
Reply #6 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
There it is! I was looking everywhere in the game directory for a config file. But it was in My Documents! Thanks guys.. that fixed the problem.