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I tried uninstalling the video board display adapter several times, and I also tried the Windows XP System Restore utility, and unfortunately I can't fix the problem.
I ran the dxdiag from the RUN command line, and found that the DIRECT3D tests fail with the same display problems, i.e. - fuzziness, and the screen is offset to the left and shrunken.
I am thinking that I need to do a clean wipe of my system and reinstall Windows XP, which will not be fun.
oh well.
The administrator from the Ghost Recon board wrote:
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That's a weird one, what a nightmare.
Are you positive it was the patch. Did you change any other settings that day, new drivers, any other games or patches, etc etc?
From what JeffRSE posted it seems the patch only adjusts files on the Ghost Recon installation, not any system files - so it is weird that it appears to have affected your display. Thousands of people installed the patch on release day, and I never saw anyone else have the same trouble which makes this hard to track down.
Computers eh?
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Here was my response:
Rocky,
Thanks for your note. I will tell you a little bit more about the saga. I think the problem might be due to the "NO-CD CRACK" I used to play the game. I know this is against the rules of Ubi Soft, but I purchased the game legally (I can even email you digital pictures of the original CD, manual and I think I have a receipt somewhere in a shoe box), but it wouldn't work without the crack. So I downloaded the crack, and the game worked fine. Then I downloaded the patch. The game stopped working. I executed the crack and now my computer is totally screwed.
It's frustrating, because I think the game is great, but it just wouldn't work in my Dell Dimension 8200 without the crack. Dell says it's a software issue, i.e. Ubi Soft's fault. (I had this same problem with May Payne, so I think it has to do with the CD Rom Drive's interaction with the software's anti-piracy mechanism). What is weird is that I can play Everquest without a crack, but I guess they don't worry so much about piracy since I'm paying $10 a month for subscription fees.
I emailed customer support at Ubi Soft, and got no response, so I tried the crack.
Maybe if I do a clean install of Windows XP on my Dell, it will work without the crack.
This is a sad tale of a guy who just wanted to play a game he bought legally (why would I ever want to save $50 and go through this hell), and now has to spend several hours backing up his hard drive, wiping it, and starting all over from scracth with a new install of the operating system (and of Turbotax, Microsoft Money, MS Office, Age of Empires II, Olympus Camedia picture software, you get the gist)
I totally appreciate UBI soft's anti-piracy stance, but I know that several people have been unable to play the GR game (with the original purchased disks) without the crack, and Ubi Soft's customer support for these customers is pretty pathetic. Even a google search will turn up several customers with similar tales, but I think mine is the first where a crack / patch has altered video display drivers rendering the 3d capabilities useless.
At the same time, I realize it could also be partly a Dell issue - because Max Payne (also purchased legally) had the same problem without the crack.
I guess the only solution is to play Playstation 2 or give up video games.
Frustrated,
Robert
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