ATI CARDS crashing, freezing, stuttering (SOLVED?)

[pod]

PROBLEM FIXED
ATI High Definition Audio Device -> DISABLED from device manager - this got rid of the stuttering -
Installed Catalyst 9.7 ATI drivers (as a turbine tech support guy suggested in another thread) - this got rid of freezing -

INSTRUCTIONS FOR INSTALLING NEW DRIVERS:
1- First uninstall your "older" drivers.
use the uninstall utility wich comes with the driver installer file: launch the installer -> let it copy the files -> choose uninstall -> custom -> select everything)
2- Reboot your system
3- (optional) run a driver cleaner program (like drivercleaner) to clear the system for any leftover of previous installations -> Reboot
4- Install the "new" drivers
5- Reboot again
6- Your computer is now running cleanly installed video drivers (this apply for every kind of drivers thou)

CATALYST 9.7 LINKS:
Xp 32bit
Xp 64bit
Vista 32bit
VIsta 64bit

LATEST DIRECTX VERSION (Aug 2009)
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/d...displaylang=en
(thanks Snowine for the link)




I hope this could be of any help for other people experiencing my same problem.

NOT WORKING
After 3 days of testing (trying every catalyst driver from 8.7 up to the newest) I've found a solution.
Using the drivers linked below seems to solve the problem wich caused the game engine to stutter or crash, freezing the game but letting you tab back to windows.

http://support.amd.com/us/kbarticles...or3DGames.aspx

I don't know if it has something to do with the latest patch, but now the game runs flawlessly.
So far I've tested the game with dx10 disabled and no stencil shadows, everything got fine.
As soon as I'll try dx10 on I'll give feedback on it.

EDIT:dx10 enabled, stencil shadows on high. Everything is fine but it will need further testing.

Let me know if this solves your problems.

[Autolycus]

Thanks for the info. I just downloaded the Catalyst 9.9 Hotfix driver to see if it fixes my problem, but haven't had a chance to test yet. Just curious if you had tried the Catalyst 9.9 Hotfix driver?

Also, do you know if the driver you linked works on the AGP version of their cards such as the 3650? I couldn't find any info on the page about PCI vs AGP versions of the same card.

[pod]

I wasn't aware of the existance of a 9.9 hotfix, I'll try it as soon as the server are back online.
On the agp question, I really don't know if i'ts going to work, I'm sorry.

[BobTheObvious]

Somehow, I dont think the issues are a result of ATIs drivers.

[chrupcion2o]

That hotfix maybe helped to you, but it can't be instaled with my radeon x1600 xt. I tried to find some new drivers, but i didn't find anything that realy might help, i instaled cathalysist for my radeon downloaded from somewhere, because i could't find it on ati web page (!) but it didn't help. Its just overheating again and again. It looks like ATI don't support older products. The worst is that it started after update

Now i am trying to download cathalysist from other page, if someone want, i can write whether it helped or not

E: I found original driver on sapphire page, so downloaded, instaled, and FAIL! Still freezing. I have better things than searching solution to this problem. I give up.

[pod]

Somehow, I dont think the issues are a result of ATIs drivers.

the problems has reoccurred, and with a reformat of my pc in between the tests.
I don't think it can be a problem of my setup, since it can run almost everything on high graphics without any problem.

I'm using this setup:
q6600@3.36GHz
asus p5q deluxe mother board
4Gb g.skill ram @999 MHz
MSI radeon HD4850 512 Mb DDR3
Creative Soundblaster audigy2zs
running windows vista ultimate
(I've run tests even with no OC and with EAX both enabled and disabled)

that's the only game giving me problems.
It keeps crashing even on 1024*768 on very low settings... I really don't know what's going on.

[Autolycus]

I installed Sapphire's Catalyst 9.9 Hotfix driver for my HD3650 AGP card and tried it out tonight. It was a disaster!

Initially I got in and played for ~30 minutes. As soon as some guildies came on and we were grouping for a run, black screen problem again. Of course I had to hard boot. However, every single time I reloaded, I got to the loading screen and when the bar filled, black screen hang again! Of course I can hear the game sounds. I uninstalled and reinstalled 9.9 a couple of times with no change.

Finally, I reinstalled the old Cat drivers that came on the CD with my card and was able to get in. The problem still occurs with them, but just not every single time.

I have no problem loading into Guild Wars with any of the drivers I've tested. Come on Turbine, we need a fix for this! Talk to ATI, check your code, or something.

[chrupcion2o]

I solved this problem in other way. I have cleaned graphic card with vacuum cleaner. For now it is working, no freezing. I did it ab 2 h ago, played ab 1 h on high settings. Any questions ?

[kennifu]

I use an ATI Radeon HD 3450. Game had been running fine for earlier this week. After I installed the patch last night, I get a black screen about 3-5 minutes into the game. And I just got a premium subscription too. I hope Turbine fixes this soon!

[pod]

I solved this problem in other way. I have cleaned graphic card with vacuum cleaner. For now it is working, no freezing. I did it ab 2 h ago, played ab 1 h on high settings. Any questions ?

never do this again, since it may kill your card. vacuum cleaners build a lot of static electricity wich will likely discharge on components.
use a can of compressed air instead, or just a delicate brush to rub dust away.

anyway i'm about to mount a geforce 8800 gt to check if my problem is really video driver related.
i'll soon report back.

[pod]

After a day of smooth playing with the nvidia card, I can confirm that the problem was related to my ati card.
For sure it isn't an hardware problem, since my hd4850 runs everything except this game whitout problems.

So it's either a catalyst problem, a turbine engine problem, or both.
Up to this day, no know catalysts driver ever released has been able to resolve it.

I've bought an used HD4870 video card and it will ship in 3 days. When it will be here, I'll run more tests.
So far, on my setup, only the nvidia card ha functioned smoothly with ddo.

[Autolycus]

After a day of smooth playing with the nvidia card, I can confirm that the problem was related to my ati card.
For sure it isn't an hardware problem, since my hd4850 runs everything except this game whitout problems.

So it's either a catalyst problem, a turbine engine problem, or both.
Up to this day, no know catalysts driver ever released has been able to resolve it.

I've bought an used HD4870 video card and it will ship in 3 days. When it will be here, I'll run more tests.
So far, on my setup, only the nvidia card ha functioned smoothly with ddo.

Thanks for testing! Hopefully, Turbine can resolve this problem with the info you're providing. I think this is DDO/ATI related and not just your card, as I have the same problem with my HD3650. I'm very interested in your testing and eagerly await the results.

+rep for the testing

[Aurelian]

I'm running the game with an ATI Mobility Radeon HD 2400 XT card and experience recurring freeze-ups as well.

I haven't done any driver-testing and my current ones are very outdated. However reading this thread makes it plausible that drivers isn't the issue.

Initially I didn't notice this thread, so I posted something on my own here: http://forums.ddo.com/showthread.php?t=201558

In the post I include fairly detailed descriptions of the situations when the freezes occur.
Are your trouble the same kind or something different?

[pod]

I'm experiencing a similar freeze to yours, but my image just stay still instead of flickering, while audio, ingame voicecomm and mouse cursor keep functioning, just like you.
I've played through all khortos island without any (at least noticeable) problem and the game started freezing once I got to stormreach.
No particular pattern in freezing reoccurrence, since stuttering and freezing occurred both in dungeon and in city with no particular difference.
But for example the blacksmith shop triggered an extreme stuttering every time i got in.
Just like you, I've been able to play for random amounts of time, with no evident pattern to indicating heat causing malfunctioning over
time(my video card never ran above 65°C thou) or memory filling up.

There's something that triggers this problem, but still I'm not getting what.
Sure thing is, once I changed video card everything got fine, so something's happening with my hd4850 (wich, I repeat, works perfectly)

[Autolycus]

My problem is similar but slightly different. I will, apparently randomly, get a black screen. No mouse or anything. I can still hear the in-game sounds and voice chat, but no one can hear me. It has happened both on and off of Korthos island. I have to hard boot to recover.

My monitor has both Digital and VGA inputs. When I get the black screen, the monitor will start searching the inputs looking for a signal.

I'm currently running WinXP SP3.

[BobTheObvious]

Interesting to see in the Update 0 patch notes this hasnt been added to the "Known Problems" section. Would be nice if they said they were going to fix it, vs telling people its their problem.

[pod]

My problem is similar but slightly different. I will, apparently randomly, get a black screen. No mouse or anything. I can still hear the in-game sounds and voice chat, but no one can hear me. It has happened both on and off of Korthos island. I have to hard boot to recover.

My monitor has both Digital and VGA inputs. When I get the black screen, the monitor will start searching the inputs looking for a signal.

I'm currently running WinXP SP3.

this looks like some cideo card/monitor problem.
check if the video card is properly connected to the motherboard.
also some low quality monitor might "not like" your video card output, causing random problems like loosing signal.
it could even be a power supply problem, wich under load, can't provide enough power causing your card to fail.
does it happen in ddo only?

[Autolycus]

this looks like some cideo card/monitor problem.
check if the video card is properly connected to the motherboard.
also some low quality monitor might "not like" your video card output, causing random problems like loosing signal.
it could even be a power supply problem, wich under load, can't provide enough power causing your card to fail.
does it happen in ddo only?

I'll check the card seating next time I pop the case. I believe my monitor is good quality. It's a relatively new Samsung that I'm happy with. I don't think it's an overheating problem as sometimes it happens after just a few minutes. Other times I have played for over 6 hours straight/day for a week with no problem.

I have not had any problems except when running DDO.

[Autolycus]

Interesting to see in the Update 0 patch notes this hasnt been added to the "Known Problems" section. Would be nice if they said they were going to fix it, vs telling people its their problem.

That's depressing. I've been exchanging troubleshooting email with Turbine since July about this problem. I only started playing DDO in July, and it's the only program I have problems with.

[pod]

Interesting to see in the Update 0 patch notes this hasnt been added to the "Known Problems" section. Would be nice if they said they were going to fix it, vs telling people its their problem.

Of course they cannot say that ati cards have know problems with the game, since this would obviously have negative consequences on customer interest (most of people owning an ati card would not even bother downloading the game to give it a try)