View Full Version : System BIOS Updates
Lempereur1
09 Aug 06, 08:50
Gents:
We have solved some of the problems users are having by having them update thier system BIOS.
There is a WINDOWS XP timing issue with some BIOS chipsets that only shows up in high speed 3D games.
If you are having problems, we encourage you to check for a system BIOS upgrade. This applys to both INTEL and AMD systems, as this issue is independent of Processor type.
What sort of problem does this address?
Lempereur1
09 Aug 06, 08:56
It cured the black screen problem....
Commodore Rob
09 Aug 06, 09:40
Not being that technically minded when it comes to these up grades, I was wondering isnt updating your BIOS a bit dangerous if you dont know what you are doing?
It is quite a dangerous thing to suggest and certainly not a procedure to be taken lightly. You can seriously mess up your system if you get it wrong. Most motherboard software packages come with auto BIOS updaters which will detect the latest updates and flash the BIOS while you are online, but even this procedure is fraught with danger as if the process fails half way through you have a dead motherboard.
I am certainly not going to be updating my BIOS just for this game. I have never come across another game where so many major system upgrades have been said to be necessary to clear bugs in the code.
Forget a BIOS update; I'm biting the bullet and getting a new mo'board... Other games wuold force me to eventually.
Guys, really, why you think that AMD, Intel, and other PC companies are responsible for your bugs ?
Maybe the reasons are in game code ?
Anyway, I will not update BIOS, cuz I always update my motherboard as soon as there is new BIOS out anyway, and I already have latest BIOS.
Updating your Bios is not that hard, look on the site of the company that made your Motherboard.
Find the Bios and read the instructions, then update the Bios.
I do this quite a lot on computers and it can be a major issue if your Bios are behind, not just on this and other games. But on programs and drivers that you get and use also.
If you take your time and follow what they say it is very easy to do. And most company's have a program that will update the bios for you and all you have to do is click.
Now is there some danger in doing this? Yes there can be but mostly the danger is having a power outage or not doing what they say to do.
If you do not feel safe doing this find someone around you that has, and ask them for help.
But upgrading your Bios can and will fix issues on a computer that you did not even know you had.
This is my thoughts on this, and what I do. So read all you can and ask questions and I think you will see what I am speaking of.
I talked to AMD and there's no update for my chip and my computer guru tells me there's no BIOS update. I too think the CG problem is in the code. However, I think the writing on the wall for 32-bit machines is clear if I want to review newer games.
Sorry Storm Eagle guys, but I think the problem is in your code, not in my or anyone else's BIOS. I keep my computer updated, but this has done nothing to solve the issues I'm having in the Russian campaign. Every time I try it, the game crashes to a black screen on February 10th 1904.
If there was a problem with my PC, then how is it possible that the Japanese campaign is working fine? Aren't the campaigns basically the same thing just from two different viewpoints? Or is there something so fundamentally different in the Russian campaign that I should install and reinstall every single card and chip and program on my computer in the hope of magically solving the problem? I don't think so...
Lempereur1
09 Aug 06, 12:35
This may not be your answer, but it worked on Bulletheads system. He had a Dell XPS Laptop identical to one we have here. He sent us a file that crashed everytime he did s specific set of things.
We loaded his saved game in the machine, repeated his instructions exactly and the file ran fine.
What was the difference between the systems?
The BIOS.
He was 3 or 4 revisions back.
Please dont make claims and statements as fact when you do nont know for sure that this is the case.
If you do nt want to upgrade your BIOS, thats fine.
But claiming that this black screen problem is in the code, is very premature.
The BIOS upgrade solved his black screen crash...
I talked to AMD and there's no update for my chip and my computer guru tells me there's no BIOS update. I too think the CG problem is in the code. However, I think the writing on the wall for 32-bit machines is clear if I want to review newer games.
Jim the processors are changing so fast and your model and motherboard type is of the older ones.
This is one of the major things I run into with helping the Soldiers at the base, and I have to get them upgraded as the software is starting to out-pace the older type machines.
But the good thing is that prices are way down from just last year and a person can get a great machine for an affordable price , at least for most.
I know money does not grow on trees that is for sure.
If there is anything I can help you with let me know and I will do what I can.
And if you need help on types of parts or prices I can help you with that. Just let me know and I will do what I can.
WallysWorld
09 Aug 06, 12:39
I've had absolutely no technical problems with DG so far. Seems to run very smooth on my Windows XP machine with an Athlon 64 3700+ on an AsRock 939Dual-Sata motherboard.
I know my BIOS is out of date by a couple of updates, but my machine is running just fine and I have no need nor desire to update the BIOS.
These black screen issues are very strange with so many people reporting them, but others having no such issue.
I am not saying that the issue IS with the code, but it very well might be, even if a BIOS upgrade cured the symptoms.
Lempereur1
09 Aug 06, 12:47
You may very well be correct, but we have to eliminate all the possible problems. Upgrading your BIOS chip is not as difficult as it use to be.
I have the latest drivers for my Asus chipset, but I still get the black screen crash.
Sorry if I sounded harsh, but I'm just so annoyed thanks to this constant crashing. I've waited years for a naval warfare game a la Distant Guns, and when I finally get it, it ain't working as it should be. :OHNO:
Oh I know, in fact I just did that very thing.
Jim the processors are changing so fast and your model and motherboard type is of the older ones.
This is one of the major things I run into with helping the Soldiers at the base, and I have to get them upgraded as the software is starting to out-pace the older type machines.
But the good thing is that prices are way down from just last year and a person can get a great machine for an affordable price , at least for most.
I know money does not grow on trees that is for sure.
If there is anything I can help you with let me know and I will do what I can.
And if you need help on types of parts or prices I can help you with that. Just let me know and I will do what I can.
Thanks but I'm getting a new mo'board for $279. Kick in another $200 for labor and I can swing it from my part-time faculty job. It's great; when I need money, I just call up and ask them when they want me to teach.
That is good. What kind of board and stuff are you getting. And have you tried to build one your self? It is not hard.
Let me know and I can get you in touch with a company that has real good prices. You might be able to save some cash. let me know if you want. And I will see what I can get it for.
You can have it sent straight to you. No middle man. :)
Thanks but I have an outfit here in town trained.:)
Ive updated my two month old AMD machine 3500+ 2.2GHZ 64 with the latest BIOS and also ran the AMD Setup routine, but it still goes to the Black Screen on the Russian Campaign on Day 2. It doesnt crash in the Japanese Campaign or the battles. While I dont feel that requesting users to upgrade their BIOS as unreasonable, as it should be something that users do, Ive upgraded mine and the issue persists.
Lempereur1
09 Aug 06, 15:00
APHILL:
Do youhave an ATI Graphic Card?
Pretty much the same story here. It's good to eliminate old drivers/BIOS as a cause for certain problems.
Have the latest AMD setup routine and BIOS (2005/11/11, yes it's 11 months old, but it is still the newest BIOS for my K8n Neo
Platinum) My ATI graphic card and sound drivers are also up to date.
Despite that my russian campaign still does crash at day 2 at AI cycle 24 when it's busy with reforming/creating attaching TF's (AI[operational cycle 24]: End create_po_task_force(2nd Torpedo Boat Squadron) (170.65600 s)
)... and then a hardlock.
There is a pattern developing here, and I am going to work on this. If you have any data or facts that you have not put down , please do.
I will check back
Of all the 3D problems I've seen with different games and different graphic cards, drivers, direct-X, etc. I have never seen a game yet that required a Bios update for the mother board.
I would recommend the following before upgrading your BIOS.
1. Update your video drivers (I use third party ForceWare for GeForce cards).
2. Update direct-x to 9.0c.
3. Rember to delete the "DG.cfg" after any driver update, and/or direct-X update.
4. Delete the game then, Defrag your hard disk.
5. Re-install the game after the defrag.
Commodore Rob
09 Aug 06, 15:58
Well my mb is a asus a8n-sli delux and it was brand new in feb 2005 and i am running 2 Geforce 6800 gfx cards in sli configeration not had any black screens yet so i think i will hold off on the bios update until I am sure I need to
The newer computers most likely will not need an update. But the older ones have Microcode updates that have come out to use the newer ability's of the chips.
But this is not the first time I have seen a game run better or run right after a Bios upgrade. And I think in the future one will see this coming about more.
And now that we are starting to get a bigger gap between the older and the newer processors there is going to be software and Firmware fixes coming out more and more.
Intel and AMD are now going to be putting out a new type chip every two years. And that used to be 3 or 4 years in between releases. We have just started in the upgrade mix, wait till the new Windows Op system is out, talk about patches.
Will this fix everything there is about a game , no.
But it is one thing that has been found, and I for one am glad it was put out here for us to see and check.
Lempereur1
I have a Nvidia GeForce 7600 GS 256 megs RAM
For you guys who...
Have problems with hangs that persist 10-20 second but then continue to run
Have AGP
A NVidia 6800 series card (not 6600 or lower, not 7xxx)
A NForce 3 chipset
... check out this thread:
http://www.nvnews.net/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=32759&page=59&pp=15
No BIOS update will ever fix this, it is a hardware bug probably in NForce3's AGP.
Suggesting a general BIOS update for Desktops based on one Notebook showing success is questionable advice, IMHO. Even more so since that Dell notebook has PCIe graphics and certainly most PCs in use here are AGP (wargamers tend to have older PCs than the FPS kids)
You should at least have cross-tested that his machine runs fine after updating the BIOS on his box, not just conclusing that the BIOS is the only difference between his and yours. I would be surprised if anybody has enough control over a Windows XP installation to make such a claim as "the only difference is ...".
However, I can generally recommend BIOS updates as long as you are willing to visit some kind of hardware forum where board of that mainboard maker are discussed but that is not owned by that mainboard maker and see whether people have obvious problems. Reading the list of changes between BIOS versions for desktop board is generally useless, as the mainboard makers do not even mention the important changes they make, they generally only mention new CPU support but never bugfixes.
Lempereur1
13 Aug 06, 23:29
It appears that Microsoft just released an update for Direct X 9.c that has fixed the crash black screen that people are having.
Check out the Direct X 9.c thread in other parts of this forum.
Tried the August 2006 DirectX 9.0c version, plus updated my AMD CPU drivers, Geforce 7950x2 video drivers, SB X-Fi sound drivers, Nvidia nForce4 motherboard chipset drivers (motherboard BIOS is already at latest version).
Still get blackscreen lockups after capturing a neutral merchant and attempting to shift back to campaign screen. This bug rules out the Russian anti-shipping strategy. This is after restarting the campaign from scratch with v1010.
Sent the usual saved game and game logs to Norm.
saddletank
14 Aug 06, 08:48
This on v1.010 of DG yes?
I ought to dig out my PC stats (can't remember them offhand) as my game has been very stable apart from 1.009 when I got crashes after exiting campaign battles from day 2 onwards. But it's an old PC, at least 3 years old now with a 1 year old vid card.
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