What Happened?

Rich · #1 August 25th, 2014, 05:26 PM

I got a new computer with win8 (8.1). And a new larger monitor. Installed spww2cd. I can only install the windows version. Trying to install in full screen at any resolution gives me a weird error window: lpDD-> SetDisplay Mode 0 failed, code 8000400

The problem is I need to set the res at 1024x768 or the font is too small. Used to be I would use full screen and all was well. Now, the window is smaller and the font is still too small. So I'm stuck? Can someone please help?

Mobhack · #2 August 25th, 2014, 07:48 PM

Your problem is quite simple - you are trying to drive a wide-screen monitor in full-screen mode with a square 4:3 resolution, and your video driver is objecting to that for some reason known only to itself. Some drivers will allow square modes, others will stretch it horribly, and some simply fail these days as it's seen as "stone-age" perhaps...

For wide screen monitors, you use desktop resolution so it attempts to use the monitor's current wide-screen resolution as reported to it by windows, and not one of the legacy fixed square resolutions.

But - since you want a larger screen (i.e. lower resolution) then you probably want to set your monitor to a lower resolution (and one that does not "stretch" the graphics) whilst playing the game at desktop setting, and then switch back afterwards.

Summary:
- Switch monitor to a lower resolution wide-screen mode
- Start game, in either windowed or full-screen mode with resolution set to desktop
- Once finished playing, return monitor to the higher resolution

To change resolution, right click on your desktop and select "change resolution" or "personalise" - your video driver also may have installed a widget for this on your task bar.

Andy

NB - don't switch video size while the game is active!.

NB2 - If you find your video driver scrambles your 256 colour full-screen mode palette (usually if you switch away from the game) then use Windowed mode at desktop resolution. Or simply do not task switch away. Windowed mode plays well with windows, and especially other programmes. Just make sure your task bar is in the default position at the bottom of the screen, and not set to auto-hide mode.

Mobhack · #3 August 25th, 2014, 08:12 PM

Oh - BTW

I just tried full-screen mode on my windows 8.1 box (I have given up on that mode since it scrambles the palette, the driver dont like it ).

In full-screen mode, scrolling slows to a crawl and stutters.

But if I switch to Windowed mode, scrolling is back to rocket speed, despite now working in full 32-bit colour mode. Plus, I can now see my taskbar and the clock, email notifications etc.

Its faster to convert 256 colour pixels on the fly to 32,000 colour or whatever it is at high-res than try to run in just 256. It used to be t'other way round, back in 2000

!

So if scrolling has become slow - switch to windowed mode at desktop resolution.

Andy

Rich · #4 August 25th, 2014, 08:24 PM

Thank you for the info. I'm trying to make sense of it.

My previous monitor was 22" 1920x1080 widescreen. My new monitor is 27" 1920x1080 widescreen. I use the same video card and driver, nvidia 750ti. Previously, I could go to 1024x768 full screen with no problem. Now I can't use full screen with any resolution including desktop without getting an error. I deliberately got a larger screen with the same res and a very high contrast to make everything, especially fonts, clearer and larger. It works great. Unfortunately the font still isn't quite big enough at lower wide screen resolutions to see comfortably. I found the bigger font mod thread and will try those out. Also I'll be having three eye operations in the next few months and that should help. One way or another I'll get it to work ok. I kind of freaked out when I couldn't get 1024x768 full screen anymore.

Mobhack · #5 August 25th, 2014, 08:48 PM

Well then - the thing that has changed is your monitor hardware.

It should have come with a set of drivers for it. Did you install those, or just plug it in?. If you did not, then doing so may help.

And it may well be that your new monitor itself does not like 1024 mode, or if it supports 1024x768, then it may not like lowly 256 colour as the manufacturer has decided that's so totally obsolete these days. In which case - go to windowed mode at desktop resolution, and resize the monitor to your eye's liking and that does not skew the graphics too much.

Andy

(PS - eye ops no fun, had a series of 3 injections myself, then another, now waiting to hear if more needed..

)

Rich · #6 August 25th, 2014, 09:39 PM

Ach! You might be right. It didn't come with drivers. Or a manual. The skimpy paperwork didn't mention anything. But I did a search and found the driver location and the manual pdf. I saved the location for the next day and forgot about it. I will download and install the driver and then report back.

Cataracts will be two of the operations. They're finally bad enough to do it. They do one eye at a time. Then an eyelid rise which should eliminate some blurriness. I can't wait til it's all over.

Rich · #7 August 25th, 2014, 09:57 PM

It wasn't a driver. It was something called asus multi-frame. I'll have to see if I can find the driver later if there even is one. All the controls are on the monitor itself. I'll check but one way or another I'm sure I'll get everything working ok.

Rich · #8 August 25th, 2014, 11:04 PM

This is weird. Apparently there are no drivers for my monitor. I'll try tech support in the morning. In the meantime I'll experiment with the font files. Iirc to affect all the fonts, it takes more than one file so I'll need to fool around with them.

Rich · #9 August 26th, 2014, 06:42 PM

Ok, I talked to asus tech support. The monitor has no driver. It's totally plug & play. The people I talked to at tech support are clueless. I wonder if this is a win8 issue instead of the monitor. A few other older games that I bought from gog now crash. Anyway, I changed two font files and the game is playable at 1920x1080. The game looks and works great at this res with this monitor so all is well.

Mobhack · #10 August 26th, 2014, 07:06 PM

Monitors usually have some sort of "personality" file (forget what) - that tells windows the colour temperature and other relevant stuff. The viewsonic I have definately had an install CD that installed all that stuff. Perhaps its on-board this plug and play Asus?.

As for your older games - if they allow you to select the install directory - put them in say \games\... for the same reason as we now say not to use \program files (windows "managed" files). Then they may start working properly.

Anyway - glad to hear you have it sorted.

Andy