Another problem with slowdowns

[Jacob]

Hey to all of you. I’ve got a similar problem to that of many of the forum users, namely slowdowns, and I’m looking for help. I’ll try to describe my situation in as understandable form as I can.

I got Ghost Master about one year ago and I witnessed similiar problems as today. I distinctly remember that turning off the music resulted in a lot better performance although now I’m not so sure about it because setting the volume to 0% gives nothing and I can’t find any option labeled “Music on/off”. Using the advice given in numerous topics here by Nemesis, I downloaded the newest drivers for my video card and run the process. Unfortunately, during the attempt to install them, an error reading (translated from my native language): ”The installer could not locate in the system any NVIDIA graphic modules. Installation will be terminated.” I have no idea what to do(or what that means).

Also black lines appear on the screen but that’s not a big problem.

Additionally when I try to run the game in normal mode some parts of the screen are stretched during the display of advertisements and the menu is a collection of few squares in different shades of green. The only way to fix this is going to the Control Panel -> System -> Efficiency -> Graphics and switching the option found there from fourth to second display. (Oh my, I hope it’s not to mixed up.)

Info from dxdiag:
---------------------------
System
---------------------------
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 98 (4.10, compilation 2222)
Processor: AMD Duron(tm) Processor, MMX, 3D Now, ~700MHz
Memory: 128MB RAM
DirectX Version: DirectX 9.0c (4.09.0000.0904)

---------------------------
Display
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Card name: NVIDIA RIVA TNT 2 Model 64/Model 64 Pro
Manufacturer: NVIDIA
Display Memory: 32.0 MB
Current Mode: 800 x 600 (32 bit) (optimal refresh frequency)
Monitor: Plug and Play Monitor
Driver Name: nvdisp.drv
Driver Version: 4.14.0010.6176 (English)
Driver Date: 04-07-12 16:50:00
Mini VDD: nvmini.vxd

Well, that’s the useful info. I know that my PC is rather “old” but since I played Ghost Master last time nothing has changed (although the disk was formatted).

I’ll be very grateful for any help.

[Nemesis]

Maybe the problem is that your PC is an oldie. Ghost Master is quite picky, you know!
Hmmm... As far as I remember I've never or at least rarely linked to NVidia drivers for Windows 98. Maybe you tried installing the wrong drivers? These should work. I suggest trying them first and come back here if they don't work or the problem hasn't been solved.

[Jacob]

That's the one I tried to install. Nothing.

Yes I know that my PC is not of top quality but Ghost Master worked without much trouble (well, after getting rid of the slowdowns) last year so I don't think it's the main problem.

Well, thanks nevertheless. Any other ideas?

[Nemesis]

The driver date you posted, is it year, year - month, month - day, day (i.e. the 12th of July 2004)? If so, you really need to upgrade your video drivers, one way or the other! Anyway, I'll try thinking up a solution in the meantime.

[Jacob]

nemesis333mhz said:

The driver date you posted, is it year, year - month, month - day, day (i.e. the 12th of July 2004)?

Yes, that's right. And I would love to update the drivers but my PC is somewhat "resistant" to any attempts to do it.

[Nemesis]

Have you tried uninstalling / reinstalling your video card yet?

[Jacob]

No and, frankly, I would like to not try that. Getting my PC to work fine after formatting is always a hell so I'm not eager to risk such problems. Is there anything else to do?

[Nemesis]

Oof! I'll try to think of something, but I guess you'll have to uninstall / reinstall if you want to have any chance of properly installing the drivers! However, having said that... You can also try selecting a generic (Windows) video card driver, reboot and install the new drivers. It's still a bit tricky, but at least your video card remains installed.