Bad video Drivers message

[annie0000]

Hi, My son is desperate to play the minecraft game - we have paid and got access, but it runs too slowly on his netbook and when we try to run it on the family desktop, we get the following message:

BEGIN ERROR REPORT 7fe0271 --------
Generated 02/03/11 15:40

Minecraft: Minecraft Beta 1.3_01
OS: Windows XP (x86) version 5.1
Java: 1.6.0_24, Sun Microsystems Inc.
VM: Java HotSpot(TM) Client VM (mixed mode, sharing), Sun Microsystems Inc.
LWJGL: 2.4.2
[failed to get system properties (java.lang.NullPointerException)]

org.lwjgl.LWJGLException: Pixel format not accelerated
at org.lwjgl.opengl.WindowsPeerInfo.nChoosePixel
Format(Native
Method)
at org.lwjgl.opengl.WindowsPeerInfo.choosePixelF
ormat(WindowsPeerInfo.java:52)

at org.lwjgl.opengl.WindowsDisplay.createWindow(
WindowsDisplay.java:185)

at org.lwjgl.opengl.Display.createWindow(Display
.java:311)

at org.lwjgl.opengl.Display.create(Display.java:
856)

at org.lwjgl.opengl.Display.create(Display.java:
784)

at org.lwjgl.opengl.Display.create(Display.java:
765)

at net.minecraft.client.Minecraft.a(SourceFile:2
60)

at net.minecraft.client.Minecraft.run(SourceFile
:632)

at java.lang.Thread.run(Unknown Source)
--- END ERROR REPORT a79dafea ----------

[annie0000]

I have managed to find out what driver we have:

Rage 128 PRO Ultra GL AGP

I have looked for updates and cant get anything to download and not sure if there is an upgraded card that I can buy and fit.

I'm not very techie, but any help would be appreciated!!!

[AB Editor]

Dear Annie,

What Spec PC/laptop is he running?

I was unable to run Minecraft on my notebook because it doesn't really have a proper graphics card and received a similar error.

Spare Ed

[ChuckFickens]

There is no way a rage 128 is going to run minecraft (or any modern game)

If it's a laptop then you have no options.

If it's a desktop you *might* be able to replace the graphics card with a better one, but it may not be worth it depending on the specs of the rest of the system.

[annie0000]

Hi Ed,

My wee boy has an Acer Aspire one netbook and we have a very ancient Dell Dimension 4550. It seems to be the game of the moment and his friends are all playing. He has watched all the videos on youtube and paid to download it with his Christmas money so he is gutted at the moment.

[AB Editor]

Minimum Requirements:
CPU: 1.5+ GHz multi-core processor, 2.0+ GHz single-core processor
RAM/Memory: 1.0+ GB for Xp, 1.5+ GB for Windows 7-32 bit, 2.0+ GB for Vista/Mac OS, 3.0+ GB for Windows 7-64 bit
Graphic card: Must support OpenGL 1.4 or better (if the computer is a laptop and uses an Intel Graphic Processor, check here, otherwise if it is from Nvidia/Ati, you should be fine)there is another variable in this that affects gameplay so no additional info until then
Hard Drive Space: 80+ MB of free space (might need more as Notch might add more stuff later on)

Recommended Requirements: (game should be running at least 60 fps, or 30 fps when it is loading chunks)
CPU: 2.0+ GHz multi-core processor, 2.5+ GHz single-core processor
RAM/Memory: 2.0+ GB for Xp, 3.0+ GB for Vista/Win 7/Mac OS, 4.0+ GB for all 64-bit Operating Systems
Graphic Card: ATI/Nvidia independent card that support OpenGL 2.0 with 128+ MB of dedicated G-RAM
Hard Drive Space: 256+ MB of free space
A relatively decent desktop you can get for about $500 USD should have all these requirements met

Certain Notes and Calculations:
RAM/Memory: run your computer on Safe-mode (Windows only) and see how much resources it needs. Add about 750 MB on that and around to nearest 0.5 GB and that should be roughly what you need (with some overhead room for some people)
Graphic Card: there is still a lot of unconfirmed information that needs to be sorted and analyzed, so it's more of a guideline than a requirement
Hard Drive Space: 30 MB is for the resources and etc that allows Alpha to run, 50 MB per world you will generate (50 MB is quite a lot of area for you to work on)

if you have a computer that can run minecraft and is worst than the setup i posted above, post it and i will see if it is doable
if you have certain components that you have no idea what it is or anything specific, try using CPUZ

16:11 Wed 02nd Mar 2011

[annie0000]

Hi chuck, that's really the point I had got too - I have looked on the dell site and at some av forums, but the language is beyond me so I get a bit lost. conclusion I am coming too is that there is no easy answer other than buying a new PC and that would have to wait for Santa. Poor boy v.disappointed :o(

[AB Editor]

Does the online version work Annie? The browser based version?

[ChuckFickens]

The netbook will not play it. and not a chance it ever will.

The dell possibly could run it with a RAM upgrade and a new graphics card. but you may be better saving your pennies for a totally new computer.

[annie0000]

Spare Ed - Eh??? No idea what any of that means, I said I wasn't very techie lol.

[annie0000]

Nope Ed - the online version will run on the netbook but is slow slow as to make it unplayable. If you try to run the online version on the desktop, thats when i get the bad driver message.

[annie0000]

Hmmm - that's what I thought Chuck - he is going to have to wait for Santa I think.

[annie0000]

Thanks to you both.

[ChuckFickens]

Though reading the actual errors there are a couple there I wouldn't expect to see!

you can try installing the latest drivers for the card, but even if it clears the errors and makes it run it's not going to run well!

http://support.euro.d...&osl=en&catid=&impid=

Look under video and you need the ATI driver that applies to the 128 rage 32MB

[annie0000]

i'll give that a whirl Chuck and let you know later. Cheers

[scotman]

I have a Dell 4550 and it had that very graphic card. I updated recently(5 months) as I fitted better monitor. I managed to find a discontinued GEforce 6200 card in PC world which did OK but I would be surprised if anything suitable was still readily available. It seems not many cards are around for AGP slots now.

[AB Editor]

Dear Annie,

If you buy a new computer (which, by the sounds of it, might be a good idea) make sure the technical details look a bit like this:

Recommended Requirements:

CPU: 2.0+ GHz multi-core processor, 2.5+ GHz single-core processor
RAM/Memory: 2.0+ GB for Xp, 3.0+ GB for Vista/Win 7/Mac OS, 4.0+ GB for all 64-bit Operating Systems

Graphic Card: ATI/Nvidia independent card that support OpenGL 2.0 with 128+ MB of dedicated G-RAM

Also, remember that the game is still in beta so it will, eventually, get optimized (but never to the level of your machines, sorry!)

Spare Ed

[annie0000]

scotman - looks like those are still around looking at about £30 - does that sound about the right price range?

[annie0000]

Chuck, did that download and the screen looks really rubbish now! However, when we try to load the game, it does get further than before. Now I get the error pop up: The following plug in is unresponsive Java(TM) Platform SE6 U 24. Would you like to stop it. Tried No and it just came back up again, Tried Yes and it just hangs. Any ideas?

[scotman]

I can't comment on whether that card(or any other) is suitable for your needs. I only needed something to drive a widescreen monitor. I don't play video games so have no need of a top end graphic card.
Chuck, or some other person, can probably advise. My PC's motherboard says it can accept 1GB max for RAM. You may find issues with this as well, I am not qualified to advise on this.
If you decide to try upgrading be sure you get card that matches the slot in your motherboard.

[ChuckFickens]

OK the screen looking rubbish is probably just the new graphics driver defaulting to a very low resolution, right click on any empty part of your desktop and select properties, then click on the settings tab and you should see a screen resolution slider. All you have to do is increase the resolution. If you have a flat screen monitor then chances are you can just take it to the max. if you have a old type monitor then keep stepping it up a little at a time and click apply until you find a setting you like.

For the problems with the game first thing that comes to mind is make sure you are using the latest version of which ever browser you use, if that's IE just run windows update a few times and it will update to IE8 automatically.