KnowledgeBase Archive

An Archive of Early Microsoft KnowledgeBase Articles

View on GitHub

Q281124: MechWarrior 4 Err Msg: Your Hardware or Drivers Setup Are Not…

Article: Q281124
Product(s): Microsoft Home Games
Version(s): 4.0
Operating System(s): 
Keyword(s): kbenv kberrmsg kbimu
Last Modified: 11-JUN-2002

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The information in this article applies to:

- Microsoft MechWarrior 4: Vengeance, version 4.0 
- Microsoft MechWarrior 4: Black Knight 
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

SYMPTOMS
========

When you attempt to start any of the products listed above, you may receive one
of the following error messages:

  Your hardware or drivers setup are not compatible with MechWarrior 4. Please
  contact your hardware manufacturer for more information, and see the
  Readme.rtf for known issues.

  -or-

  EXCEPTION : Access violation in AUTOCONFIG!

  -or-

  EXCEPTION : Attempt to read from address 0x004CDA74 in AUTOCONFIG!

CAUSE
=====

This behavior can occur if one of the following conditions is true:

- Your computer does not meet the minimum 3-D hardware requirements required to
  play the game.

- The video drivers on your computer are damaged or outdated.

- The Direct3D or DirectDraw feature is turned off.

- A video adapter that is based on the 3Dfx Voodoo2 chip set is installed in
  your computer.

- A Diamond Monster 3D II video adapter is installed in your computer.

- Your desktop color is set to 24-bit color.

RESOLUTION
==========

To resolve this issue, use the following methods in the order in which they are
presented.

Turn on the Direct3D and DirectDraw Features
--------------------------------------------

To turn on the Direct3D and DirectDraw features, follow these steps:

1. Click Start, and then click Run.

2. In the Open box, type "dxdiag" (without the quotation marks), and then click
  OK.

3. Click the Display tab.

4. Under DirectX Features, verify that the DirectDraw Acceleration and the
  Direct3D Acceleration lines are set to Enabled.

  If either of these lines contain a Disabled status, click the Enable button to
  the right of that line.

5. If multiple display adapters are installed in your computer, repeat steps 3
  and 4 for each Display tab in the DirectX Diagnostic Tool.

6. Click Exit to close the DirectX Diagnostic Tool.

Test to see if the issue is resolved.

If the issue continues to occur, proceed to the next method.

Configure Hardware Acceleration to Use the Full Setting
-------------------------------------------------------

1. Click Start, point to Settings, and then click Control Panel.

2. Double-click System.

3. Click the Performance tab, and then click Graphics.

4. Move the Hardware Acceleration slider all the way to the right (the Full
  position).

5. Click OK, and then click Close.

6. When you are prompted to restart your computer, click Yes.

Test to see if the issue is resolved.

Update Your Video Driver:

Contact the manufacturer of your video adapter to inquire about how to obtain and
install the latest version of the video driver for your video adapter. For
additional information about how to contact your hardware manufacturer, click
the article numbers below to view the articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

  Q65416 Hardware and Software Third-Party Vendor Contact List, A-K

  Q60781 Hardware and Software Third-Party Vendor Contact List, L-P

  Q60782 Hardware and Software Third-Party Vendor Contact List, Q-Z

To identify the manufacturer and model of your video adapter, follow these
steps:

1. On the Start menu, point to Settings, and then click Control Panel.

2. Double-click System.

3. If you have a Windows 95- or Windows 98-based computer, click the Device
  Manager tab.

  If you are using a Windows 2000-based computer, click the Hardware tab, and
  then click Device Manager.

4. Expand (click the PLUS SIGN next to) the Display adapters branch.

5. Under the Display adapters branch, note the manufacturer and model of your
  video adapter, and then click OK.

6. Close all open windows.

Upgrade Your Video Adapter:

Use the DirectX Diagnostic Tool to determine the amount of video memory installed
on your video adapter. To do this, follow these steps:

1. Click Start, and then click Run.

2. In the Open box, type the following line (including the quotation marks), and
  then click OK:

  "<drive>:\program files\directx\setup\dxdiag.exe"

  where <drive> is the drive letter of the hard disk on which Microsoft
  Windows is installed.

3. Click the Display or Display 1 tab.

4. In the Device section, note the amount of video memory on the Approx. Total
  Memory line. Click Exit.

At least 8 megabytes (MB) of video memory should be installed on your video
adapter.

If less than 8 MB of video memory is installed on your video adapter, install
additional video memory on your video adapter, or install a video adapter with
more video memory.

If the issue continues to occur, proceed to the next method.

Install Microsoft DirectX
-------------------------

Download and install the latest version of DirectX from the following Microsoft
Web site:

  http://www.microsoft.com/directx/homeuser/downloads/default.asp

For additional information about how to obtain and install the latest version of
DirectX, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft
Knowledge Base:

  Q179113 How to Download and Install DirectX

If the issue continues to occur, contact your computer or video adapter
manufacturer to inquire about how to obtain and install the latest version of
the video driver for your video adapter.
For information about how to contact your hardware manufacturer, click the
appropriate article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge
Base:

  Q65416 Hardware and Software Third-Party Vendor Contact List, A-K

  Q60781 Hardware and Software Third-Party Vendor Contact List, L-P

  Q60782 Hardware and Software Third-Party Vendor Contact List, Q-Z

Change Your Desktop Color Settings
----------------------------------

Change to either 16 or 32 bit color.


STATUS
======

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in Microsoft MechWarrior 4:
Vengeance. Microsoft is researching this problem and will post new information
here as it becomes available.

MORE INFORMATION
================

For more information on system requirements for MechWarrior 4: Vengeance, please
see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

  Q279362 MechWarrior 4: Vengeance: Minimum System Requirements

Additional query words: msgame mech4

======================================================================
Keywords          : kbenv kberrmsg kbimu 
Technology        : kbGamesSearch kbMechWarrior4
Version           : :4.0
Issue type        : kbprb

=============================================================================

THE INFORMATION PROVIDED IN THE MICROSOFT KNOWLEDGE BASE IS PROVIDED "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND. MICROSOFT DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. IN NO EVENT SHALL MICROSOFT CORPORATION OR ITS SUPPLIERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES WHATSOEVER INCLUDING DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, LOSS OF BUSINESS PROFITS OR SPECIAL DAMAGES, EVEN IF MICROSOFT CORPORATION OR ITS SUPPLIERS HAVE BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. SOME STATES DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OR LIMITATION OF LIABILITY FOR CONSEQUENTIAL OR INCIDENTAL DAMAGES SO THE FOREGOING LIMITATION MAY NOT APPLY.

Copyright Microsoft Corporation 1986-2002.