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Known video issues for Halo 2 for Windows Vista

Article ID: 936829 - View products that this article applies to.

INTRODUCTION

This article describes the known graphics-related issues that you may experience when you play Microsoft Halo 2 for Windows Vista.

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If you experience graphics issues, receive a black (blank) screen, or experience slow performance in Halo 2 for Windows Vista, download and then install the latest video card driver.

The video card lets you see graphics on the screen. A driver is a piece of software that enables the operating system (Microsoft Windows) to communicate with the hardware in the computer. A driver acts as a translator between the hardware and the operating system. The latest driver for your video card can enable more efficient use of your video card features to improve the performance of the game. Generally, companies release their drivers regularly for the cards to keep up the pace with the ever-changing software technologies.

To download and install the latest drivers, contact the computer or video hardware manufacturer. For more information about how to contact the video hardware or computer manufacturer, see the "References" section.

To determine the name and the manufacturer of the video adapter, follow these steps on a Windows Vista-based computer:

Open the Direct X Diagnostic Tool. To do this, click Start
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, type dxdiag in the Start Search box, and then click dxdiag.exe in the Programs list.
Click the Display tab.
Under Device, look for Name and Manufacturer.
Click Exit.

To see whether applicable driver updates are available, follow these steps:

Click Start
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, type Windows Update in the Start Search box, and then press ENTER.
Click Check for updates.
After the scan is complete, click View available updates.
Select the update that you want to install, and then click Install.

Graphics hardware error message

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Error message

Resolution

Before trying to install the game, you may receive an error message that resembles the following:

The graphics driver on this computer is out of date. You should update the graphics driver on this computer before running Halo 2 for Windows Vista. You may experience problems running Halo 2 for Windows Vista if you choose to continue without updating.

To resolve this issue, click the Click here for more information on the web link in the message box. Follow the directions that appear on the screen to install the latest drivers.

Alternatively, to resolve this issue, contact your graphics hardware manufacturer to obtain and install the latest version of the driver for your graphics hardware. For information about how to contact your hardware manufacturer, see the "References" section.

General graphics issues

When you use some graphics cards, you may experience a light-strobe effect when you reenter the game after you have switched to the desktop or to another program. To resolve this issue, press ALT+ENTER to switch out of and back to the game again.

OEM computers

If you purchased the computer from an OEM such as Dell, Gateway, or Hewlett-Packard, and you experience any graphic anomalies when you play Halo 2 for Windows Vista, visit the computer manufacturer’s Web site for updated video drivers. Graphics hardware and drivers are frequently designed specifically for OEM systems.

The third-party products that this article discusses are manufactured by companies that are independent of Microsoft. Microsoft makes no warranty, implied or otherwise, about the performance or reliability of these products.

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