Black Screen of Death

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All Forums >> [Current Games From Matrix.] >> [Science Fiction] >> Pandora Series >> Tech Support >> Black Screen of Death

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Black Screen of Death - 12/16/2013 7:53:25 PM

Conquistador3

Posts: 9
Joined: 12/16/2013
Status: offline

Hello everyone. I have recently purchased Pandora: First Contact but I am having serious issues with the screen suddenly going black. I've included the data log in zip format.

This happens both in Full Screen and Windowed mode.
I have the most updated drivers for my video card (ATI Radeon ATX 4xxx series) and I have made sure the video card is not overheating. I have updated the game to the latest version immediately after downloading the game.
I have tried restarting the computer before launching Pandora again.

Nothing has worked so far. Each game I've tried has ended with the "Black Screen of Death".

If anyone has any advice I would be very grateful.

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RE: Black Screen of Death - 12/16/2013 8:54:21 PM

eyegore

Posts: 94
Joined: 11/18/2013
From: Houston
Status: offline

Your likely missing some dependancies...which would be the .net frame stuff. Another possability is your DirectX is corrupt--- a run of dxdiag (from the search window) would give a hint to that. I'd try the direct x reinstall- and if no luck there then go on and install all the latest netframe stuff from Microsoft. Remember netframe 1, 2 and 3 are all seperate from each other and each version would need reinstalled.

(in reply to Conquistador3)

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RE: Black Screen of Death - 12/17/2013 7:55:55 PM

Conquistador3

Posts: 9
Joined: 12/16/2013
Status: offline

Thanks for the tips.

I have checked DirectX through dxdiag and got a clean bill of health. I have also updated all versions of Netframe to the latest versions available from MS.
I've just attempted another session and still get the same error.

Any other lead?

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Post #: 3

RE: Black Screen of Death - 12/17/2013 11:22:58 PM

eyegore

Posts: 94
Joined: 11/18/2013
From: Houston
Status: offline

A couple other people are reporting this also. Let's hope they figure it out.

Not a lot else to try, except perhaps alt-tabbing in and out a couple times (might work), turning off any TSRs that might be stepping on the game (these are things like Nero and other cd burning stuff, any virtual drives, printer drivers, Steam, Music stuff-especially itunes, --easiest way is just alt-tab-delete and then stop those processes.

You could also see if it runs in safe mode. If it does then the next place I'd tinker would be with the ATI control panel.

Another idea is to use dxwebsetup.exe. This will auto check your directX install and auto update anything you might need. http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=35

Running the game in another resolution may be fruitful...this is along the same path as safemode-- except safemode would bypass the GPU driver entirely. If that worked then you'd know to tinker with the ATI stuff.

(in reply to Conquistador3)

Post #: 4

RE: Black Screen of Death - 12/18/2013 10:53:48 AM

Conquistador3

Posts: 9
Joined: 12/16/2013
Status: offline

Thanks again.

I have tried a few experiments and it appears the problem is resolution related.

In all 1280 resolutions, the error happens. I have switched to 1360x768 and so far no errors, although the screen is a little off center, but I'll deal with that once I am sure I have sorted the most pressing issue.

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Post #: 5

RE: Black Screen of Death - 12/18/2013 7:20:46 PM

Conquistador3

Posts: 9
Joined: 12/16/2013
Status: offline

New developments.
I can now play the game without the black screen popping up but I now get an old fashioned game freeze. It appears to be graphics related, but I'll need to run a few more tests to see if I can get more data.
My present theory is there's some problem with the refresh rate but it's just a theory right now, as it seems the refresh rate for the game itself cannot be set by modifying the settings files so I cannot experiment.

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Post #: 6

RE: Black Screen of Death - 12/19/2013 8:01:30 AM

Boinx

Posts: 6
Joined: 12/17/2013
Status: offline

AMD released Catalyst 15.12 drivers yesterday. I'm not sure they'll help with your issue, but figured I'd let you know.

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Post #: 7

RE: Black Screen of Death - 12/19/2013 8:43:32 AM

Conquistador3

Posts: 9
Joined: 12/16/2013
Status: offline

quote:

ORIGINAL: Boinx

AMD released Catalyst 15.12 drivers yesterday. I'm not sure they'll help with your issue, but figured I'd let you know.

Thanks for the tips, but I've just checked and it seems the most advanced Catalyst version available for download as of now is 13.9, which I already have.

Where did you find those drivers?

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RE: Black Screen of Death - 12/19/2013 10:26:16 AM

Boinx

Posts: 6
Joined: 12/17/2013
Status: offline

It says I'm not allowed to post links, but you can get to them under "Drivers+Support" -> "Latest AMD GPU Drivers" -> Windows 8/7 (64-bit). You can also just change the 9 to a 12 in the url to download the 13.9 drivers you found.

(in reply to Conquistador3)

Post #: 9