A3B3P3

...sigh, where to begin?

It's what I call "the checkerboard issue." Some games that I try to install have a graphic corruption resembling a checkerboard of color. It happens to both newer (Bioshock, which I now realize will not run on my system) and older games (Far Cry, Freedom Force, No One Lives Forever).
Many other games I've run with no problem.
I've gone from mobility modded CCC ver9.3 (which I've used most of the past year) to Omega drivers to other ATI drivers. I even tried my system's original driver off the Fujitsu website, just to see if the newer drivers were TOO new for those games. I tried newer ATI versions past 9.3 but they won't install at all.
The other day when I re-installed the mobility modded 9.3, I had Freedom Force working fine UNTIL I rebooted my computer. Then it was right back to the checkerboard. I haven't been able to repeat it.
Video runs fine; I NetFlix and watch movies all the time w/o problem. It's just games.

I realize the x600 is now a very old card, but it should run these games just fine. I've research this forum as well as several other sites for anything related to the x600 and the checkerboard problem. I find many references to checkerboarding over several years but no definitive solution.
I love my system and don't want to buy a new one (yet) as it does everything else I need (and I have lots of older games yet to play; looking forward to Baldur's Gate II!)

If there is a simple fix for this, I will feel very stupid as I've tried everything I've read about. But I will be happy to feel stupid if someone has advice.

System:
Fujitsu Lifebook N6210
ATI x600 (currently using CCC 9.3, mobility modded)
(I know you'll probably need other info, but wasn't sure what, so let me know.)

Grateful,
A3B3P3

iPlayer

Did you always have these problems? It could be a hardware defect.

Try updating chipset drivers, then uninstall and reinstall video drivers.

Overheating is a common cause for these artifacts. Monitor temperatures during gameplay.

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Tyrsonswood

It may need cleaned out, they tend to clog up over time and overheat.

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iPlayer

That's a common reason for them to overheat.

I gathered from his post that he's had it for several years now. If he's never cleaned it up before, overheating is likely the issue.

Dirt accumulated in the heat-spreading fins and fan is what you would be looking for, if you want to try cleaning it up on your own. And might as well check if the combined heatsink's fan is working at all.

Looks like they didn't release a service manual, that could assist you in disassembling it, which is unfortunate.

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A3B3P3

Thanks for the feedback. I appreciate you working through this with me.

I thought about the heat issue and I'll clean it out if you really think that's a contributing factor. But wouldn't that affect ALL programs, not just particular games?
I can play one game for hours and be fine, then start a particular game I have problems with and the checkerboard starts immediately.

I've considered reloading the chipset driver as well, but where would I find it? Fujitsu will only have the original drivers for that the same as any other drivers. Wouldn't I need an updated one to have any effect?

I bought the computer in 2005, so it's going on 5 years.

Have you heard of the checkerboard pattern with other people?

iPlayer

Textures aren't being loaded at determined moments, I guess. Not a rare issue, but the causes vary from hardware issues, to drivers or application bugs.

Could it be a problem with the specific game textures?

Upload some screenshots if you can.

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A3B3P3

Thanks, iPlayer.

What I've tried since yesterday:

• reloaded the original chipset drivers,
• deleted and reloaded the mobility modded ATI 9.3 CCC drivers
• deleted DirectX 9.0c and installed 8.1 which is what Freedom Force (the current game I'm working with) requires, just to see if it's a DirectX issue.

No effect.

I'll upload the opening screenshot (as soon as I figure out how) and post it.
The checkerboard effect starts right from the loading screen, so I don't even get into the game.
On Far Cry, I got past the opening and checkerboard started when the game actually began.

Do you really think it could be a heat issue? If so, I'll open it up and clean it out. It's just time-consuming.

Thanks,
A3B3P3

A3B3P3

Here's a screenshot. This is the beginning screen with choices for starting/loading a game, etc.
Before this the initial (company logo) screens also have the distortion.

Thoughts?

Attached Thumbnails

 

iPlayer

Try CPUID to check your temperatures. I have only experienced something like that with temperature issues, or damaged hardware. What's different here is, this doesn't appear to be prevalent in all games for you.

Can you list some of the 3d games you don't have troubles with?

Did you reset and let windows auto detect before reinstalling?

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A3B3P3

I've played Marvel Ultimate Alliance, Condemned, F.E.A.R., Max Payne II, X-Men: the Official Game, Sam & Max: Season One, and Enter the Matrix all without problems.
I have CPU-Z but I don't see where it displays temps. I'll see if there's another CPUID that does and take temps, unless you recommend some other program. When I've done it in the past, they were within normal limits.

Whenever I install new drivers, I delete all existing drivers first, then reboot and the "generic VGA" driver comes up. Then I install the new drivers.

A3B3P3

Meant to ask before, but with all the deleting and re-installing of drivers I've done, would you recommend I use DriverCleaner or some other program?
I've run CCleaner several times and that comes up clean.

iPlayer

They can help if there are leftovers, but you are probably capable of removing these yourself. There's also Driver Sweeper as an alternative.
Guru3D - Driver Sweeper (Setup) download from Guru3D.com

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A3B3P3

Oookay, update:

• downloaded CPU Thermometer
• uninstalled ATI driver
• uninstalled Freedom Force (current game I'm having problems with)
• ran DriverSweeper in Safe Mode and rebooted
• re-installed ATI CCC ver9.3, mobility modded and rebooted
• re-installed Freedom Force
• ran temp module several times with temps running from 50-70 Celsius

No change in opening screen distortion.

There must be a solution to this somewhere. The checkerboard screen phenomenon is not only with the x600. There has to be a website/fix/patch/something to address this.

More ideas? Thank you.

iPlayer

So, this is a known issue for Freedom Force.

What about the other games you said you have problems with?

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A3B3P3

No, sorry. I didn't mean Freedom Force specifically. Just that I've run into this with enough games and seen the checkerboard issue referenced on various sites over the years. I just haven't found an explanation or fix.

iPlayer

Does it help at all to reduce the texture size in the affected games?

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A3B3P3

How do I do that? Do I need to go into a game file? Can I do it without starting up the game since that takes me right into the checkerboard problem and I can't see what I''m doing.
Thanks.

iPlayer

See if there's a configuration file in the game's directory, or inside windows' user directory.

Have you tried asking at amd's own forums already?

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A3B3P3

I will check there, thanks.

I tried loading up a different game that I've played before without problems and now I'm getting the checkerboard with that one too.
It's Marvel Ultimate Alliance. Has to be a driver issue, right?

Interesting. Frustrating. Depressing.

iPlayer

Did it look like in that screenshot as well?

Could be a hardware issue. Try underclocking some.

A3B3P3

I uninstalled, DriverSweeped, CCleaned (in Safe Mode), and reinstalled the original Fujtsu N6210 chipset and video driver. No change.
Could there be something I missed? Some way of doing this that would make a difference?
I did not delete and reload the game, but would that make any difference?

I have another laptop, also with an ATI x600 and I tried loading a game on there. It looks great. Different manufacturer though (HP), so different drivers, I imagine.

Happy to try underclocking. How do I do that?

I just have this feeling that there's some minor tweak to be done that would fix everything. It worked at one time, so it has to work again if I can just figure out what changed.

Thanks for plugging away at this with me.

iPlayer

Ati Overdrive inside the CCC, or Rivatuner, or bios edit, etc.

A3B3P3

I found ATI Tool and tried that to underclock. Didn't seem to make a difference.
My next plan is to go back to one of your first suggestions and open it up and dust it out. I have several cats and dogs and I imagine it might be pretty dusty inside. I was putting it off as I didn't relish having to perform surgery, but I've replaced the screen at one point so this won't be so bad.
Maybe it is a heat/clogging issue after all. I've tried everything else.

I probably won't get to it for a few days. I'll keep you posted.

A3B3P3

Yeah, okay, that didn't quite work. At all. But to be fair, I couldn't completely take my machine apart to dust it out.

Is it possible for EVERYthing else to work (video, databases, NetFlix, internet, multiple tabs, etc.), but not games because of dust in the chassis?
If the consensus is yes, then I'll take another crack at it.
If not, then I'm back to some sort of failed driver issue, which is more what I think this is.

Thoughts?

iPlayer

Those other activities don't really stress your hardware. If it's not a temperature issue, your hardware might very well be damaged. Not to discard an issue at the software level though.

Did you get any useful information at AMD's own forums?

A3B3P3

I did, but nothing really useful that I didn't know or you didn't tell me. I'll keep checking though.
Question: is there a cpu/gpu temp monitor that you know will work for the x600? I tried a couple (cpuid's hwmonitor and ATITool) and realized that they didn't bring up the temps. Now I'm wondering if the x600 supports temp monitoring. I didn't know the card had to be designed to do that. I thought the programs just measured the temp.
The HWMonitor shows ACPI and harddrive, but not cpu/gpu. Temps for ACPI and harddrive are in the 59-63C range for what it's worth.

A few of the screws on the chassis were stripped which is why I couldn't completely disassemble. Would like to try again if you know a fix for stripped screws.
I think you're right about the heat issue and hope my card isn't damaged. I do live with pets and have primarily used the computer in bed on sheets rather than a riser. Stupid I know, but I thought the computer would warn me or shut down if it got too hot before anything was damaged.

iPlayer

There's indeed the possibility that the gpu doesn't have an on-die thermal sensor.

Try using a pair of pliers or a screw gripper on those screws.

PS: I hate how hard it is to access the heatsink with laptops.

A3B3P3

I'll have to get a screw gripper.
Is there any other way to measure internal temp without a sensor on the gpu?

A3B3P3

Oookay, I got all the tools I needed, I took it apart, found the heatsink and cleaned it and applied Arctic Silver to it. It didn't look like it had anything on it to begin with.
The result? No change.
I can still do everything EXCEPT run games that the x600 should be able to support. At this point, I'm wondering if the card's just been damaged over time. This is a 2005 machine and I don't know how long cards SHOULD last. I'm hoping over 5 years.

My plan now is to just wait a few months and buy a new laptop when prices on the one I want come down a bit.

If there are any more ideas, I am very open to hearing them. Nothing to lose at this point. Thanks to everyone who has stuck with me on this.