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[prod]

I've been on vacation a few weeks (sans ordinateur) so just updated from build130 to build139, and ever since have been getting frequent problems in Theater View - black screen with Error starting Direct3D engine (error creating Direct3D device). The visualisations still show. Quitting MC and restarting sorts it out.

However, I got a blue screen a couple of mins ago which cited my display driver as the culprit. Immediately before the crash I'd pressed the close button in MC from Mini view (amped skin). In that same session I'd been switching in and out of Theater View, which had stopped working (same problem mentioned above).

The display adapter is an ATI Mobility Radeon 9000.


Media Center Registered 12.0.139 -- C:\Program Files\Media Center 12\

Microsoft Windows XP  Workstation 5.1 Service Pack 2 (Build 2600)
Intel Pentium 4 2767 MHz MMX / Memory: Total - 521 MB, Free - 67 MB

Internet Explorer: 7.0.5730.11 / ComCtl32.dll: 5.82.2900 / Shlwapi.dll: 6.0.2900 / Shell32.dll: 6.0.2900 / wnaspi32.dll: N/A
Ripping /   No CD drives found.
  Digital playback: Yes /  Use YADB: Yes /  Get cover art: No /  Calc replay gain: Yes /  Copy volume: 32767
  Eject after ripping: Yes /  Play sound after ripping: No 

Burning /  No burners found.
  Test mode: No /  Eject after writing: Yes /  Direct decoding: No /  Write CD-Text: Yes
  Use playback settings: No /

Portable Device Info
  Removed devices:

[Mr ChriZ]

Nothing MC does should be able to Blue Screen a computer.
I'd suggest reinstalling the latest ATI drivers.  They maybe
corrupt.  If that doesn't work then something fishy's going on.

[JimH]

Try updating the video driver.

[Griff]

Error starting Direct3D engine (error creating Direct3D device)

Same prob. here with MC12/139.

ATI AIW 9000.

Had no prob. with MC12/130.

Looks like the Direct3D error is back.

[glynor]

Which version of Catalyst are you running?

[prod]

Which version of Catalyst are you running?

I'm not using Catalyst just the ATI driver that came with the machine. I've re-installed the latest driver I have, but still getting the Direct3D problem. I've not had a blue screen since that one instance though.

I never had this problem build 130 downwards, I imagine whatever enhancements were made between builds 130-139 have caused this. If the consensus is there's something wrong with the driver/video card though I could re-install 130 to confirm.

[glynor]

I'm not using Catalyst just the ATI driver that came with the machine.

ATI's drivers are called "Catalyst", so if you don't have catalyst, then you don't have ATI's drivers.  There is a "driver only" version, and a "suite" version, but both are "Catalyst".

The version that "came with the board" is guaranteed to be quite outdated, and likely full of issues for your card.  The first rule with new hardware -- and especially quickly changing hardware like graphics cards -- is to put away the driver disc and download updated drivers from the manufacturer.  Never use the disc unless you've checked and confirmed that it's the best version to use.  (Oh, and if you mean the driver that comes with Windows and installs automatically, then you REALLY need to get the proper driver.  That driver was designed for the second generation Radeon 7x00 series GPUs.)

Anyhow... If you're getting a blue screen related to the video card driver, you really ought to download the newest one.  ATI releases a new version of Catalyst once per month.  Go to http://www.ati.com/ and download the current driver (currently 6.11 for your card, 6.12 isn't listed as supported for some reason).  Since you have an AIW card, you'll also want to grab at least the DAO/MDAC and Encoder Package components of the Multimedia Center package.  If you don't use ATI's MMC program, you don't need the rest of it, though it won't really hurt too much (except for file type associations).  Then, make sure to uninstall whatever you have (unless it's just the default XP driver), reboot, and install the Catalyst driver.  You can decide if you want the full Catalyst Control Panel suite, or just the driver.  I'd get the whole suite unless you're going to use a third party tool like ATI Tool to configure the card.  You also won't get the WDM drivers without the whole suite, so you won't be able to use the AIW functions of your card.

[Griff]

This is simular to the same prob. I reported about back in MC12/86, same error # too.


...
  Re: Media Center 12.0.86
« Reply #27 on: October 05, 2006, 02:47:54 PM » Modify Remove 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hi Matt

Thanks for all the Theater view changes, they are fabulous!

Is anyone else seeing this?

When going from full screen visul. back to where ever (in theater mode)

I get this, every so offten.

Error starting Direct 3D engine

(error creating Direct 3d device (0x8876017c)

then no more Theater view, no menus no nothing.

?

...

This was fixed in a latter rel.

Now its back, but it seems to be only when you toggel to full display in Hairstyle.

And Hairstyle does not bomb off this time.

Same drivers I went to in MC12/86 in order to try and fix the prob.

Cat. 6.5

[prod]

ATI's drivers are called "Catalyst", so if you don't have catalyst, then you don't have ATI's drivers.  There is a "driver only" version, and a "suite" version, but both are "Catalyst".

Thanks glynor, but I've been here before. My laptop manufacturer went bump 2 years ago, and ATI don't provide an updated driver for this card, instead they tell me to "contact my notebook manufacturer". The Catalyst 6.11 you mention does indeed support the Radeon 9000 series but NOT the Mobility Radeon 9000 series (there is a big difference in that in doesn't work - I've tried it and it royally messed my system up to the point where XP wouldn't boot).

Besides, I've not had any problems with it until build 139, and others seem to be having the same problem. I'm talking about the Direct3D problem here, not the BSOD. I'm satisfied that the blue screen was a one-off, it's not happened since and I've been using the program extensively.

[trentino]

Hello,

I just installed 12.0.147 and am now seeing the same thing sometimes when working with Theater View. 

"Error starting Direct3D Engine (error creating Direct3D ...)"

I had not experienced this error before (on my previous installation of 12 that I've been running for 2 weeks).  Closing MC and restarting it seems to correct this.  The display view still works but when I switch to Theater View that is when I see the error.

I'm on XP with an ATI AIW 9700pro.

Trent