Direct draw error

Some more info would help.What is the specific game  you are having problems with? Is it online gaming? As far as the perferomence of the XPS it is great on mine and i run most of the newer games with high video and system requirements.DOOM 3 runing on ultra high settings, FAR CRY runing on high, HALF LIFE 2 runing on  high. 

Im also runing the latest Bios A05 and A03 video drivers from dell.I have instaled the omega drivers and see no increase in perfofmence or fps.So i switched back to previous dell drivers which work great in my machine.

The only difference in our machines is the RAM you might want to consider 1 gig it seems to be the sweet spot a present for gaming. 

 Inspiron XPS
3.4 H/T processor
1 gig ram
256 ddr ati 9800
15.4 wide aspect ultra sharp
wuxga(1920x1200) display
Operating system windows xp home
Service pk 2
Logitech MX750 wireless mouse
Nostromo n52 gamepad

Message Edited by jeffcmfrt on 02-15-2005 08:11 PM

Try downloading and reinstalling Directx 9.0c from the microsoft homepage.

thanks for the input , i always find these forums very helpful. the game is house of the dead3. and im saving up for more ram (this pc was a gift). when my games auto configure they never set up for the highest settings. i dont think i have the latest bios. i will be sure to try these things out. thanks everyone. are you manually jacking up the settings? i play halflife deathmatch online and it works very smooth, Doom 3 had no problems either. im very happyt with this pc and feel lucky to have it.

Hi -Dummy-

Yes there is a couple ways to configuire your video settings. I have my pc set to default video settings and it lets the program determin this means you change your video settings within your games.You just need to bumb up the settings within the games a little at a time then play and se how it plays. When you first start doing this it may be a pain but when you get used to doing it you will zip right through it once you are familar with your machine and its limits. Here are a couple of tips to help your machine, operating system and improve your gaming experience.

Make sure you have anti virus protection and disable it when you are not playing online while gaming sometimes it interfeers.

Also if you don't have spyware and adware protection get some.I use theese 2 free ones. Spybot search and destroy and Lavasoft   Adware SE they are good program's use them often.

Go to start then run type in msconfig hit ok then select the startup tab.Write down all the programs checked then go to this web page it will tell you what most of them are and if you need them runing in your startup the adress is www.sysinfo.org .the ones that arent needed uncheck them from your startup restart your computer when it reboots a box will display saying the settings were changed check the box to not show anymore and hit ok.This will free up resources on your machine that don't need to run in the start up alot of times when you install a program it will automatically be put in the startup when it really dosn't have to be there in can be manually started.It is good practice to try to keep your startup items between 30 to 40 the lower the better.

Empty your temp internet files  and cookies in internet explorer regularly.Run disc cleanup and defrag your computer.

Make sure you have the latest flash bios A05 and video drivers A03 installed from dells download page.If you do need to update the drivers do it this way to insure a good install.

1.Download and save both the A05 bios and the A03 driver to your desktop.THEN ONLY INSTALL THE A05 BIOS AT THIS TIME

2.Go to www.driverheven.net and download the driver cleaner tool save to desktop.Unzip the program and get a little familiar with the read me files and directions.

3.Go to start then control panel then add or remove programs you should have 3 programs up at the top that say ati uninstall all three.

4.Open the driver cleaner tool on your desktop and follow the quick and easy instructions.

5.Install the A03 video drivers from your desktop.

Make sure you have the latest version of direct X from www.microsoft.com

This is a nifty little tool to help you adjust your video settings it is called FRAPS it measures and displays  your framerates while gaming and it is free.Just do a search and you should be able to find it easy. If not post back and i will find it and give you the link.

When you can bump your RAM up to 1 gig that is the sweet spot for the newer games at this time.

After you do theese things you should see a pretty big improvement in your gaming.You can also cut down on windows xp eye candy while playing games when done gaming you can change your settings back when done playing games.That might not be necessary because you have a powerful machine already. Your only weak point is your ram.

This should help you out good luck and happy gaming.  

 Inspiron XPS
3.4 H/T processor
1 gig ram
256 ddr ati 9800
15.4 wide aspect ultra sharp
wuxga(1920x1200) display
Operating system windows xp home
Service pk 2
Logitech MX750 wireless mouse
Nostromo n52 gamepad

Message Edited by jeffcmfrt on 02-16-2005 01:08 PM

WoW, thats great info, ill get on this and cant wait to see the results. I really appreciate this. Thanks a lot.

Any questions just post and we can see what we can do so you can get the most out of your machine and gaming. Happy gaming and good luck. 

 Inspiron XPS
3.4 H/T processor
1 gig ram
256 ddr ati 9800
15.4 wide aspect ultra sharp
wuxga(1920x1200) display
Operating system windows xp home
Service pk 2
Logitech MX750 wireless mouse
Nostromo n52 gamepad