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small, yet very annoying glitch
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Samo
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Question small, yet very annoying glitch - 05-16-2006, 04:50 PM

hi, well, i've been using it at school during java for about a week now and decided to try it at home. the problem is, is that when i run it at home, the window "blinks" when ever i move the scroll bar. my comp is above and beyond the min specs so i'm at a lose. any ideas?
   
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video flicker
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Jabberwocky
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Default video flicker - 05-16-2006, 05:56 PM

Try increasing the refresh rate, in display properties, on your moniter to something higher than 75Hz.

Check to see if there are any updated video drivers available for your video card.

I assume you are running a PC? If so try running the DirectX Diagnostic Tool.

Click Start, and then click Run. In the Open box, type dxdiag, and then click OK.

Still have problems? A list of system specs would help. There is a button, "Save All Information...", in the Diagnostic Tool that will save your specs out as a text file. Upload those as an attachment...

Good luck!
   
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Samo
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Default 05-16-2006, 07:18 PM

i don't see a place to increase the refresh rate, but it's at 60hz atm.

i uploaded the system and display specs:
Attached Files
File Type: zip DxDiag.zip (17.7 KB, 525 views)
   
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Nice machine
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Jabberwocky
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Default Nice machine - 05-16-2006, 08:40 PM

Yeah, I wouldn't think you'd have any problems.

I'd try increasing your refresh rate.

Right click on the desktop & select Properties (or select Start-->Control Panel-->Display Properties). In the Display Properties dialog select the Settings tab. There should be an Advanced button here; click it. Now you should be in the Nvidia properties... click the monitor tab. You should now see a pulldown for refresh rate.

Try it at 75Hz & up. The higher you go the more resources you'll take up, but lower than 75 and you'll often see flicker.

There's a bug in Alice related to changing screen resolution while it's open; it will throw an exception. It may not matter, but I'd close Alice down after each refresh rate test.
   
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Default 05-16-2006, 10:05 PM

and there lies the problem. 60hz is the only option

could the fact that i'm using a laptop have anything to do with it?
   
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drivers
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Jabberwocky
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Default drivers - 05-17-2006, 11:08 AM

Yes, it makes a difference that you’re running on a laptop. Windows limits your refresh rate to its default, 60hz on 2000/XP.

The refresh rate settings won’t matter that much. On an LCD the pixels are constantly illuminated, where as on a CRT they are "painted" on by an electron gun. The technology is different so the term has different meaning when applied to one or the other. For the most part you can ignore refresh rate as you'll not see the annoying redraw scan of a CRT. It may come into play for a LCD when discussing 3D software like games though. It effects response time, or the time it takes for a pixel to go on & off; so you might get blurring or ghosting of an image.

Anyway, if you want to, the next step would be to update your video card drivers. Looking at the specs your drivers are dated 9/2005; updated drivers for your card came out in March, 2006 I believe.

As a general rule you shouldn't update your drivers unless you are having problems or the latest drivers have new features that you want to take advantage of. Updating your drivers can be tricky and you need to feel comfortable doing this. Find someone to help you possibly... Do a bit of research... Scour the net for info...

You should get your drivers from the Dell Support site; Nvidia has an all-in-one driver package, called Forceware, and the driver for your card may be included but I'm not sure. I'd think Dell would be your best bet since sometimes a manufacture may adjust settings specific to the hardware.

The Dell Support site has a community forum section that would be a good place to get help if you need it. Another good place would be the Nvidia forums.

If you really want to get the most out of your card, try asking at both places about driver mods or tweaks... Some people are modding standard driver inf files to fix problems. There are also replacement utilities or tweaks to the Nvidia Control Panel and also specific utilities to unlock hidden items like the refresh rates (the inf mods will also do this I believe). There are plenty of tweaking sites on the web...

LaptopVideo2Go - the #1 source for modded Nvidia drivers

Good luck!

Last edited by Jabberwocky; 05-17-2006 at 11:33 AM.
   
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possible workarounds
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Default possible workarounds - 05-17-2006, 06:37 PM

From what I've read your problem is a common one. Some Nvidia cards have driver bugs that cause flicker. Hopefully, a driver upgrade will do the trick. If not or in the meantime here's a few other things to try...

Change your resolution. I read on a Nvidia Linux forum that users switch resolutions as a successful workaround. You could also try running the following executables... In the root of the Alice folder SlowAndSteadyAlice.exe or in the sub-folder Required IfAliceFailsTryThis.exe

I believe SlowAndSteadyAlice forces software rendering and disables hardware acceleration of your video card. It's more reliable but slower. I'm not sure about the other one, but you could try it.
   
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