White Screen is here to stay

[DoKGonZo]

Before Patch #2 the game started with the white-screen window. I'd Alt-Enter to get the splash logo and go from there. All good.

Since Patch #2, that doesn't work anymore. I tried DX9 and DX11 versions. I rebooted. I updated nVidia drivers. I tried running in compatibility modes. I even rolled back to Patch-1 and applied Patch-3 onto that, in case some library in Patch-2 was the culprit.

The game just won't run for me anymore on the GeForce card. It stays stuck on that white window. It'll run with Integrated Graphics, but FPS goes from 60 to 15 ... so: no.

HT said on FB it's something to do with the install not seeing the video memory or something. But every other 3D game works fine, and AH3 worked fine until the last two patches.

The hook is that DxDiag says it's running DX12.

[Skuzzy]

The native Windows 10 version of DirectX is 12.  All versions of DirectX are supported.

Did you do an upgrade to get Windows 10 or is it a full installation?

Quite frankly, I am guessing about the DirectX issue with the memory not showing up for the video card.  I cannot find anyone, who has two video cards, having this issue.  So far, it is unique to your computer.

With both DX9 and DX11 doing it, makes it really strange.

Anyone else have a multi-video card system got it working?  None of the usual things work in this particular case.

[Chalenge]

I have two cards and three screens. When I start the game I can open up the video settings on the very first Aces High screen and there are three screens (outputs) to choose from. Only one will allow the game to run on my primary monitor. I have seen this white screen before when the focus of the game was not on the primary monitor, which is the only one supporting the currently selected resolution. In that case the game is running, but it is not centered upon any monitor with focus. In the case where I had this white screen area the game was in windowed mode and off screen.

This happened just as you moved from beta to live, and I do not remember precisely how I fixed it.

[DoKGonZo]

This is basically a brand new MSI laptop. I got it in July. So it's a factory Win10 install. And everything worked prior to Patch 2 (well, at least I could alt-enter past the white screen). And every other game I have still works fine. I only use the laptop screen - it's a 17" - so there's no issue of a second monitor.

The laptop switches video cards depending on the settings for a game - you can specify which card to use, as you know. So even when things worked, AH3 only saw one card - either the integrated gfx or the GeForce. There's a little LED on the power button that tells me which it's using: blue for integrated, red for GeForce.

If there's a log file someplace that I could look at that would help figure this out, I'll be damned if I can find it.

[JimmyD3]

Did you try the Event Viewer?

[DoKGonZo]

Yup. Nothing there related to AH3 or Dx or GeForce.

[Bizman]

This is basically a brand new MSI laptop. I got it in July. So it's a factory Win10 install. And everything worked prior to Patch 2 (well, at least I could alt-enter past the white screen).

The bolded words always make me wonder... A Dxdiag output might be helpful, or the exact model of your laptop. Reading that it's a dual video card system gives a little hope, but then again, there's multimedia cards and there's gaming cards. Supposedly your MSI isn't the $3400 GT80 Titan SLI? Without knowing any specs I fear that you're simply lacking resources.

[DoKGonZo]

------------------
System Information
------------------
      Time of this report: 9/28/2016, 13:09:27
             Machine name: MSI
               Machine Id: {37940087-CD93-40C8-ADA6-DC984B513743}
         Operating System: Windows 10 Home 64-bit (10.0, Build 14393) (14393.rs1_release_inmarket.16 0906-1818)
                 Language: English (Regional Setting: English)
      System Manufacturer: Micro-Star International Co., Ltd.
             System Model: GP72 6QF
                     BIOS: E1795IMS.110
                Processor: Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-6700HQ CPU @ 2.60GHz (8 CPUs), ~2.6GHz
                   Memory: 16384MB RAM
      Available OS Memory: 16294MB RAM
                Page File: 7047MB used, 11679MB available
              Windows Dir: C:\WINDOWS
          DirectX Version: DirectX 12
      DX Setup Parameters: Not found
         User DPI Setting: Using System DPI
       System DPI Setting: 96 DPI (100 percent)
          DWM DPI Scaling: Disabled
                 Miracast: Available, with HDCP
Microsoft Graphics Hybrid: Supported
           DxDiag Version: 10.00.14393.0000 64bit Unicode

------------
DxDiag Notes
------------
      Display Tab 1: No problems found.
      Display Tab 2: No problems found.
        Sound Tab 1: No problems found.
          Input Tab: No problems found.

--------------------
DirectX Debug Levels
--------------------
Direct3D:    0/4 (retail)
DirectDraw:  0/4 (retail)
DirectInput: 0/5 (retail)
DirectMusic: 0/5 (retail)
DirectPlay:  0/9 (retail)
DirectSound: 0/5 (retail)
DirectShow:  0/6 (retail)

---------------
Display Devices
---------------
          Card name: Intel(R) HD Graphics 530
       Manufacturer: Intel Corporation
          Chip type: Intel(R) HD Graphics Family
           DAC type: Internal
        Device Type: Full Device
         Device Key: Enum\PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_191B&SUBSYS_115B1462&REV_06
      Device Status: 0180200A [DN_DRIVER_LOADED|DN_STARTED|DN_DISABLEABLE|DN_NT_ENUMERATOR|DN_NT_DRIVER]
Device Problem Code: No Problem
Driver Problem Code: Unknown
     Display Memory: 8275 MB
   Dedicated Memory: 128 MB
      Shared Memory: 8147 MB
       Current Mode: 1920 x 1080 (32 bit) (60Hz)
       Monitor Name: Generic PnP Monitor
      Monitor Model: unknown
         Monitor Id: CMN1735
        Native Mode: 1920 x 1080(p) (60.003Hz)
        Output Type: Internal
        Driver Name: igdumdim64.dll,igd10iumd64.dll,igd10iumd64.dll,igd12umd64.dll
Driver File Version: 20.19.0015.4474 (English)
     Driver Version: 20.19.15.4474
        DDI Version: 12
     Feature Levels: 12_1,12_0,11_1,11_0,10_1,10_0,9_3,9_2,9_1
       Driver Model: WDDM 2.0
Graphics Preemption: Triangle
 Compute Preemption: Thread
           Miracast: Supported
Hybrid Graphics GPU: Integrated
     Power P-states: Not Supported
  Driver Attributes: Final Retail
   Driver Date/Size: 6/12/2016 5:00:00 PM, 39862976 bytes
        WHQL Logo'd: Yes
    WHQL Date Stamp: Unknown
  Device Identifier: {D7B78E66-5A5B-11CF-A866-5431BAC2D935}
          Vendor ID: 0x8086
          Device ID: 0x191B
          SubSys ID: 0x115B1462
        Revision ID: 0x0006
 Driver Strong Name: oem42.inf:5f63e5340a14bf6c:iSKLD_w10:20.19.15.4474:pci\ven_8086&dev_191b
     Rank Of Driver: 00D12001
        Video Accel: ModeMPEG2_A ModeMPEG2_C ModeWMV9_C ModeVC1_C
        DXVA2 Modes: DXVA2_ModeMPEG2_VLD  DXVA2_ModeMPEG2_IDCT  DXVA2_ModeVC1_D2010  DXVA2_ModeWMV9_IDCT  DXVA2_ModeVC1_IDCT  DXVA2_ModeH264_VLD_NoFGT  DXVA2_ModeH264_VLD_Stereo_Pro gressive_NoFGT  DXVA2_ModeH264_VLD_Stereo_NoF GT  DXVA2_ModeH264_VLD_Multiview_ NoFGT  DXVA2_ModeHEVC_VLD_Main  DXVA2_ModeHEVC_VLD_Main10 
   Deinterlace Caps: (blah blah blah)
       D3D9 Overlay: Supported
            DXVA-HD: Supported
       DDraw Status: Enabled
         D3D Status: Enabled
         AGP Status: Enabled
           MPO Caps: RGB,YUV,BILINEAR,HIGH_FILTER,STRETCH_YUV,STRETCH_RGB
        MPO Stretch: 5.000X - 0.333X
    MPO Media Hints:
        MPO Formats: YUY2,R16G16B16A16_FLOAT,R10G10B10A2_UNORM,R8G8B8A8_UNORM,B8G8R8A8_UNORM

          Card name: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960M
       Manufacturer: NVIDIA
          Chip type: GeForce GTX 960M
           DAC type: Integrated RAMDAC
        Device Type: Render-Only Device
         Device Key: Enum\PCI\VEN_10DE&DEV_139B&SUBSYS_115B1462&REV_A2
      Device Status: 0180200A [DN_DRIVER_LOADED|DN_STARTED|DN_DISABLEABLE|DN_NT_ENUMERATOR|DN_NT_DRIVER]
Device Problem Code: No Problem
Driver Problem Code: Unknown
     Display Memory: 10166 MB
   Dedicated Memory: 2018 MB
      Shared Memory: 8147 MB
       Current Mode: Unknown
        Driver Name: C:\WINDOWS\System32\DriverStore\FileRepository\nvmii.inf_amd64_03c9192d3331a8fa\nvd3dumx.dll,C:\WINDOWS\System32\DriverStore\FileRepository\nvmii.inf_amd64_03c9192d3331a8fa\nvwgf2umx.dll,C:\WINDOWS\System32\DriverStore\FileRepository\nvmii.inf_amd64_03c9192d3331a8fa\nvwgf2umx.dll,C:\WINDOWS\System32\DriverStore\FileRepository\nvmii.inf_amd64_03c9192d3331a8fa\nvwgf2umx.dll
Driver File Version: 21.21.0013.7290 (English)
     Driver Version: 21.21.13.7290
        DDI Version: 12
     Feature Levels: 11_0,10_1,10_0,9_3,9_2,9_1
       Driver Model: WDDM 2.1
Graphics Preemption: DMA
 Compute Preemption: DMA
           Miracast: Not Supported by Graphics driver
Hybrid Graphics GPU: Discrete
     Power P-states: Not Supported
  Driver Attributes: Final Retail
   Driver Date/Size: 9/15/2016 5:00:00 PM, 17621512 bytes
        WHQL Logo'd: Yes
    WHQL Date Stamp: Unknown
  Device Identifier: Unknown
          Vendor ID: 0x10DE
          Device ID: 0x139B
          SubSys ID: 0x115B1462
        Revision ID: 0x00A2
 Driver Strong Name: oem40.inf:0f066de34ce32ed0:Section060:21.21.13.7290:pci\ven_10de&dev_139b&subsys_115b1462
     Rank Of Driver: 00D10001
        Video Accel: Unknown
        DXVA2 Modes: DXVA2_ModeMPEG2_VLD  DXVA2_ModeVC1_D2010  DXVA2_ModeVC1_VLD  DXVA2_ModeH264_VLD_Stereo_Pro gressive_NoFGT  DXVA2_ModeH264_VLD_Stereo_NoF GT  DXVA2_ModeH264_VLD_NoFGT  DXVA2_ModeHEVC_VLD_Main  DXVA2_ModeMPEG4pt2_VLD_Simple  DXVA2_ModeMPEG4pt2_VLD_AdvSim ple_NoGMC 
      Deinterlace Caps: n/a
       D3D9 Overlay: Unknown
            DXVA-HD: Unknown
       DDraw Status: Enabled
         D3D Status: Enabled
         AGP Status: Enabled
           MPO Caps: Not Supported
        MPO Stretch: Not Supported
    MPO Media Hints: Not Supported
        MPO Formats: Not Supported

[DoKGonZo]

Again - everything worked fine until Patch 2. I could alt-return around the white-screen and the game was solid as a rock. I'll have to mess around tonight with turning off all the fancy crap and see if I can get decent frames on the integrated Gfx.

[Bizman]

Thanks for the information. Now it's obvious that the lack of resources isn't the main culprit. However, if you google for "960 vs 960m" you will find that according some benchmarks there's a huge difference between the two whereas some say they're almost even, both being probably right.

Anyhow, back to your problem: Could it be an issue with Windows 10 updating itself as 8thJinx reported in http://bbs.hitechcreations.com/smf/index.php/topic,381997.msg5085643.html#msg5085643? And a logical further question, would the same cure i.e. un- and reinstalling the game work?

[Drane]

Have you added AH3 to the NVidia control panel list of games?

[DoKGonZo]

Yeah. Tried that. I did a fresh install into a new directory (I left the old AH3 where it was so as not to lose all my settings). No joy. Patch 1 works fine in the new install ... Patch 2 and 3 ... nyet. So if it's something in the machine, it's something that a change in Patch 2 conflicted with.

Yes, I added AH3 to the Nvidia CP. It was already there, actually, from 1.0 and Patch 1. This started happening on Patch 2.

This is actually a pretty good little machine for the price. $1100 at Fry's w/a 256G SSD ... so games load in a blink. It ran AH3 at 60fps with everything on except the shiny metal reflection thingy - dipped down to 45 on the deck with all the foliage - which is hardly "suffering". It may struggle on some of the effect-intensive FPS/RPG games, but for my casual gaming needs it was a sweet deal.

Most people probably play on desktops so it's not surprising that this is an isolated issue.

If there's a log file I should look at or a way to launch AH3 so it spits out debug info I'm happy to try that to help figure this out. If HT knows what this is and just hasn't put in the fix I'll check back in a couple weeks.

[Chalenge]

I don't know if the game needs it, but you may need the C++ Redist.

How recently have you updated video drivers for the 960M?

[Drane]

Apparently you're not the only one having this problem with games on MSI laptops.

Here's a link to a Steam forum problem that is similar to yours for Dark Souls and how it got fixed.

https://steamcommunity.com/app/211420/discussions/0/458606877333892458/

The best answer was this:
I just had this happen to me since I'm also on a laptop:

1) Right-click on your desktop, then open NVIDIA Control Panel
2) Head to "Manage 3D Settings" > Program Settings > Select Dark Souls (darksouls.exe), or add it if it isn't there.
3) Select the preferred graphics processor for the program: "Integrated Graphics"

Then the game launches properly.

4) In the menu PC Settings, change it to Fullscreen and select your resolution
5) Quit the game

Open NVIDIA Control Panel again and this time select High-performance NVIDIA Processor and you're done.


Is that easier?

[Dobs]

Before Patch #2 the game started with the white-screen window. I'd Alt-Enter to get the splash logo and go from there. All good.

Since Patch #2, that doesn't work anymore. I tried DX9 and DX11 versions. I rebooted. I updated nVidia drivers. I tried running in compatibility modes. I even rolled back to Patch-1 and applied Patch-3 onto that, in case some library in Patch-2 was the culprit.

The game just won't run for me anymore on the GeForce card. It stays stuck on that white window. It'll run with Integrated Graphics, but FPS goes from 60 to 15 ... so: no.

HT said on FB it's something to do with the install not seeing the video memory or something. But every other 3D game works fine, and AH3 worked fine until the last two patches.

The hook is that DxDiag says it's running DX12.

So I'm going to muddy the water some....  I see the white screen (DX11) when running at 120hz, and when (if) the game comes up it comes up in a windowed mode which is offset from the main screen, and wraps into my second screen.  This is at 1080p 120hz. When I run at 1080p 60hz it is fine. When I run DX9 at 1080p 120hz it is fine.  If I run 4k at 60hz it is fine...

Did not always do this...used to be able to run DX11 at 120hz 1080p just fine, but lost it around P2.  Might be related, might be just a "Dobs shut up and go away" issue as well.

Alt tab worked for me to get into the game from the white screen as well....and sometimes when it was offset...   Desktop running a 980ti card.

Dobs