Q: Why won't Jabo's video plugin initialise on my system?
There are quite a few possible causes of this, so please read this section carefully before asking for help - this is a fairly common problem.
■Do you have a hardware 3D accelerator?
If the answer is "no", you cannot use the Direct3D HAL, and you effectively won't be able to use Project64 sorry, so go no further* (See {ln:requirements}). If the answer is "not sure", find out from the people who made your computer, or look in the Windows control panel for your model and find out on the web is it has 3d capabilities (or use RUN > DXDIAG) . If the answer is "yes, I have some sort of modern 3d hardware accelerator", we can probably get you going, so read on
*You can technically run the D3D plugin using RGB emulation but the performance and quality will be dire even on the fastest of systems.
■ Have you tried rebooting your system?
It is possible for other applications to leave your system (windows, directx) in an unusable state. (In this case, the fault lies with the other applications, not PJ64). Simply rebooting and running PJ64 with as few other apps running as possible can solve the prolbem.
■Have you exceeded the capabilities of your hardware?
The simplest thing that may work is to try changing your desktop colour depth to 16-bit (that's "High Colour", not 16 colours). Some cards can only render in 16-bit mode, while others have issues in higher depths that stop then running PJ64.
■Do you have the most recent / best drivers for your video card properly installed?
This means downloading the newest drivers from your card manufacturer's homepage, uninstalling your current ones using Windows Add/Remove programs (there should be an entry in there for them, if not just continue) and then running the install program for your newly downloaded drivers. After installation is complete, reboot Windows if the software doesn't force you to anyway.
Note: if you have an older nVidia graphics card, the newest drivers may NOT be the best for you, because nVidia have stopped supporting the older chipsets properly in favour of their newer ones. GF2MX/GF4MX owners report the 56.72 driver working well.
■Adjusted your video card driver options?
If there is a tweak utility available for your card, download (try
www.tweakfiles.com) and use it. Relevant settings to change are z-buffer depth, texture colour depth, and probably others depending on the card you have. If there is no tweak utility, look under Windows display properties (right click on desktop > Properties > Settings > Advanced). Your video card drivers may provide extra options on the screens there.
■Plugin still won't initialise? Install latest DirectX and the drivers for your chipset (AGP drivers etc.).
You get DirectX from Microsoft.com, and you get your chipset drivers from your motherboard manufacturer's site. Install, reboot Windows and try again. If your installation of Windows is damaged you may need to reinstall Windows, but that's not something i can go into here, be sure to backup etc and we're not responsible for any loss or damage.
■Tried all the above? Still can't get the plugin to start?
To use Jabo's video plugin, it seems you'll need to get a better video card. See {ln:requirements} page for suggestions.
Or, you can still use most of Project64 if you use a 3rd party video plugin (see {ln:links}), but of course that will change compatibility etc. so we won't be able to support it.
