Old issue with Snes9x 1.53 on XP

This is for people involved in the developement of Snes9x, or SNES emulators in general.
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Spooniest
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Old issue with Snes9x 1.53 on XP

Post by Spooniest »

Sorry for my first post being a necro (of sorts), but I was googling this problem and found this quote from the thread

Version 1.52 is dead because version 1.53 is out
PostPosted: Tue Apr 06, 2010 5:00 am Post subject: Re: Problems with Video Output Reply with quote
Ghoulgamesh wrote:
Before I start up my emulator I get this message.



Failed to initialize currently selected display output!
Try switching to a different output method in the display settings.



I've tried switching to all the different outputs, but nothing seems to work. The audio is coming through just fine but the screen stays completely black. How do I fix the video?


Change the display output to DirectDraw. Some video cards just don't like Direct3D, for some reason. Neutral
I would like to add that on my XP machine, version 1.53, when switching to Direct Draw, gives me significant screen tearing. It has an integrated graphics card, which I know is both bogus and sad. It's really no big deal, as my laptop has a Radeon, and I can always play on that. Just thought I'd get this information out there as well.
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odditude
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Post by odditude »

do you have the latest drivers for your video chipset? also, do you have the latest dx updates?

there may be no change, but there *could* be an improvement.
Spooniest
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Post by Spooniest »

If I had to guess, I'd say no. Worth a shot, I suppose!

EDIT: No change. Thanks for trying.
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SparroHawc
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Post by SparroHawc »

If you're having trouble with tearing, have you tried turning on vsync?
Spooniest
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Post by Spooniest »

You know, I get email notifications of new posts in reply to my topics on this forum, and I subsequently have sms notifications sent to my cell phone. I was in the middle of playing Dracula X on my laptop when I got this one, and I immediately said to myself, "ah, probably just somebody telling me to turn on vsync."

So, I'm just saying, "called it!"

Yes, I had vsync on the whole time. I think this is an indispensable feature of any good emulator. I do appreciate the thought, of course.

And I do want to say that v1.53 runs even late-release games like Dracula X to absolute perfection on my (admittedly high-end) laptop. No frameskipping, no screen tearing, nothing.

Just in case you're wondering, it's a 1.4 GHz Quad Core processor. It has an AMD Radeon Graphics Card and 4 GB of physical ram, not to mention a fully-featured can of whoop ass. :D
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OV2
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Post by OV2 »

So if I understand your first post correctly you cannot switch to Direct3D or OpenGL? Do other Direct3D Apps/Games run at all? S9X doesn't really require that much from D3D.

VSync in DirectDraw may or may not work - in your case it obviously doesn't.

Does switching to OGL give you any additional error messages?
Spooniest
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Post by Spooniest »

OV2 wrote:So if I understand your first post correctly you cannot switch to Direct3D or OpenGL? Do other Direct3D Apps/Games run at all? S9X doesn't really require that much from D3D.
No, that's not it. I was unable to run it in Direct3D, and OpenGL's video quality isn't where I want it to be at all, so I'm running it in DirectDraw.
OV2 wrote: VSync in DirectDraw may or may not work - in your case it obviously doesn't.
Obviously. :)
OV2 wrote: Does switching to OGL give you any additional error messages?
No, but that has its own host of video problems.

Just for the record, I'm currently settled on v1.52 fix 4 (I understand it's no longer supported), which gives me a less significant screen tear than 1.53. I may try a few other v1.52's to see if the screen tearing can be neutralized, but I'm just happy the versions past 1.52 fix the sound emulation, being the audiophile I am.

UPDATE: I've tried every version of 1.52 I could find, and had to switch to DirectDraw on all of them. The only reasonable conclusion I can come to at this point is that my integrated graphics card sucks big floppy donkey dick.

When I run DX Diag it passes all tests (version 7, version 8, version 9), and spits this monster out at me for the graphics card:

[Intel (R) 82915G/GV/910GL Express Chipset Family]

And since it's integrated, I'm stuck with it until I can afford a new computer. So thanks you guys for trying to help, but this one's a non-starter.
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odditude
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Post by odditude »

yes, 915G is horrible.

do you have no open expansion slots? even a PCI video card would be better than 915G, although it's possible for you to have a PCIe slot.

if you don't know, please provide either the computer make/model (if it's a name brand) or the motherboard make/model.
Spooniest
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Post by Spooniest »

Not unless THIS:

Image

Happens to be what you are talking about.

As to the make/model stuff, the computer is a Gateway 842GM, and I'm currently unable to determine the motherboard make/model.
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odditude
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Post by odditude »

yes, that is a PCI slot.

and above it is a black PCIe x16 slot (although it's mostly obscured in that photo, you can see the very front of it and the catch tab at the rear).

a card like this AMD/ATI or this Nvidia would do nicely.

going any higher-end is not worth it on an old P4 system.

oh, and your motherboard is an Intel D915GAG with a custom BIOS (Gateway p/n 103390).
Spooniest
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Post by Spooniest »

Image

You, mister, have some sharp fuckin' eyes! You're, in fact, correct, as I discovered just now. Cool beans!

Note: Red = PCI slot, Green = PCIe slot (right?)
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odditude
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Post by odditude »

that is correct.

and, in case it wasn't clear above, a PCIe video card is far superior (the two I linked you are PCIe).
Spooniest
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Post by Spooniest »

I have one question: it says the Graphics cards you linked above are "64-bit," but I'm running on a 32-bit machine. Am I missing something here? Will the linked graphics cards work on a 32-bit machine?
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odditude
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Post by odditude »

Spooniest wrote:I have one question: it says the Graphics cards you linked above are "64-bit," but I'm running on a 32-bit machine. Am I missing something here? Will the linked graphics cards work on a 32-bit machine?
apples and oranges. that is referring to the width of the memory bus on the card itself, and does not affect compatibility )high-end cards from that era had up to a 256-bit memory interface).
squall_leonhart69r

Post by squall_leonhart69r »

and memory bus width can have a fair amount of impact in other emulators
Spooniest
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Post by Spooniest »

After obtaining a new PCIe Graphics Card and installing it, the issue is resolved. It's an Nvidia Geforce 7300 LE, IIRC.

Epicness.
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