XFX HD 4550 help with CRT_EMUDRIVER please! Device ID mismatch to blame?

[HDgaming42]

I moved this from this thread as I now believe this to be a different issue.

I'm running win XP 64bit SP2.  I have an XFX HD 4550 1GB card.  After installing crt_emudrivers I don't have all the resolutions unlocked, and everything still outputs at 31kHz.  Here's where it gets interesting:

If I install the drivers XFX provides, XP sees the card as an HD 4550.  The device ID is:

PCI\VEN_1002&DEV_954F&SUBSYS_29201682&REV_00\4&1603E009&0&0008

"954F" is an ID for the HD 4350.  When I install crt_emudriver_9.3_1.2a_x64 then windows sees the card as an HD 4350.  GPU-Z reports the card uses DDR2, so yup, she's an HD 4350.

At this point, if I can get the card to operate properly with crt_emudriver, I might just let their lies go.  But that remains to be seen.  I will describe what I've tried and hopefully someone can see what I've missed / done wrong.  I should point out I only installed the XFX drivers as a last resort--all my testing with crt_emudriver happened before I polluted my system with their lies...

I've tried using both VGA and DVI (DVI is the correct one to use?).  I've tried both dual link and single link DVI to VGA adapters.  I'm outputting to both an LCD and a PVM via a VGA switchbox, so as to not blow the PVM.

I've install quickrez and the calamity drivers.  Rebooted.  The lowest resolution I have is 320 x 200 and it runs at 31kHz.  I've done this countless times with safe mode boots and catalyst cleaners in between.  No difference.  I had an HD 3450 that worked fine with the drivers, though because of the low dot clock issue I had to double up, which I was hoping to avoid.

I checked all the files and they contain the string for "954F", so the driver should work.

What am I missing?

I am a competent computer user and can follow directions!  You won't be wasting your time!  Please help!

[HDgaming42]

You know how you fix this problem?  You say "screw you XP 64", and you install vanilla XP 32bit.  Worked immediately.

[Calamity]

Sorry to be late, so you were able to get it working under XP-32?

It seems your card is actually a 4350, according to the pcidatabase site:
http://pcidatabase.com/search.php?device_search_str=954F&device_search=Search

Anyway,  the name which is reported to te system, say 4550 or 4350, doesn't matter at all, as long as the driver supports the card. The manufacturer can create a custom .inf by editing the string label which preceds the PCI identifier in the file. Usually this is done to add the brand name, but nothing prevents you to write there whatever you want, including lies.

Now, the issue you've experienced in XP-64 has nothing to do with that. Many XP-64 users are having great problems to get the modified drivers installed. This is especially true for custom XP-64 "distributions". To the best of my knowledge and belief, this happens because these "distributions" ship newer versions of the drivers than the ones we're trying to install. The problem is, Windows has some sort of driver cache. Once it detects that an older version of the driver has been installed, it may silently overwrite it with its own newer version. So probably you never got to see the Emudriver in action. Eventually, Windows can be forced to accept our driver, but it's a very tricky process.

[krick]

I've tried using both VGA and DVI (DVI is the correct one to use?).  I've tried both dual link and single link DVI to VGA adapters.  I'm outputting to both an LCD and a PVM via a VGA switchbox, so as to not blow the PVM.

I've install quickrez and the calamity drivers.  Rebooted.  The lowest resolution I have is 320 x 200 and it runs at 31kHz.  I've done this countless times with safe mode boots and catalyst cleaners in between.  No difference.  I had an HD 3450 that worked fine with the drivers, though because of the low dot clock issue I had to double up, which I was hoping to avoid.

I'm pretty sure you should be using the DVI port with a Radeon HD 4xxx card.  It should be the "bottom" port, i.e. the one closest to the motherboard.

What is a "PVM"?  I'm not sure that going through a VGA switchbox is a good idea.  The switchbox or the LCD may be providing an EDID to Windows, which I think would cause Windows to lock out lower resolutions/refresh rates.

When I installed CRT_EmuDrivers on my XP x64 system, I got two errors at the end of the driver install.  After rebooting, it was clear that the resolutions didn't get written to the registry properly because it tried to start up at 640x480 non-interlaced.

The way I solved it was to run VMMaker.  I think these were steps I used...

- Uninstall all old video drivers from control panel
- run catalyst cleaner
- install CRT_EmuDriver  (you'll probably get two errors, ignore them both)
- configure and run VMMaker for your arcade monitor (make sure you grab the new version of VMMaker.  Don't use the version bundled with the driver)
- set desktop resolution to 640x480
- shut down
- unplug PC monitor, attach arcade monitor
- restart PC

There might have been an additional restart in there somewhere, but I can't remember for sure.

[HDgaming42]

Sorry to be late, so you were able to get it working under XP-32?

Yes, first try.  All the resolutions showed up (more than I remember my HD 3450 having...).

Now, the issue you've experienced in XP-64 has nothing to do with that. Many XP-64 users are having great problems to get the modified drivers installed. This is especially true for custom XP-64 "distributions". To the best of my knowledge and belief, this happens because these "distributions" ship newer versions of the drivers than the ones we're trying to install. The problem is, Windows has some sort of driver cache. Once it detects that an older version of the driver has been installed, it may silently overwrite it with its own newer version. So probably you never got to see the Emudriver in action. Eventually, Windows can be forced to accept our driver, but it's a very tricky process.

Interesting.  My XP 64bit was retail.  No special, or "lite" version.  In fact it was only SP1, but I didn't think to try the crt_emudrivers until after I had already added SP2.  Perhaps it would have worked if I hadn't added SP2?

[krick]

Interesting.  My XP 64bit was retail.  No special, or "lite" version.  In fact it was only SP1, but I didn't think to try the crt_emudrivers until after I had already added SP2.  Perhaps it would have worked if I hadn't added SP2?

I have a retail copy of XP x64 edition from when I was in college (it was a "student" edition or something.  Basically, retail without the fancy packaging.  I used Nlite to slipstreame SP2, along with 5eraph's post-SP2 Update Pack, Internet Explorer 8 x64 Addon, and IE8 tweaks, and then burned a new CD to install from.  (You can get 5eraph's packs here...  http://www.ryanvm.net/forum/viewforum.php?f=9&sid=e6c2cb4a9608cbfbbe4552528e2a5ca5)

I didn't have any problems using CRT_EmuDriver except for the two errors during the install, and the need to manually run VMMaker after the install.

The problem must lie elsewhere.  I strongly recommend making another effort to get x64 edition working.  The performance gains in some games are huge when running 64-bit MAME on a 64-bit OS.

[HDgaming42]

I'm pretty sure you should be using the DVI port with a Radeon HD 4xxx card.  It should be the "bottom" port, i.e. the one closest to the motherboard.

Thanks.  Yes, it is the DVI that works.

What is a "PVM"?  I'm not sure that going through a VGA switchbox is a good idea.  The switchbox or the LCD may be providing an EDID to Windows, which I think would cause Windows to lock out lower resolutions/refresh rates.

I meant a Sony PVM monitor (professional video monitor).  They're old CRTs that can accept 15kHz over 4xBNC.  The VGA switch is purely mechanical.  Just a knob--no worries about EDID.   

When I installed CRT_EmuDrivers on my XP x64 system, I got two errors at the end of the driver install.  After rebooting, it was clear that the resolutions didn't get written to the registry properly because it tried to start up at 640x480 non-interlaced.

The way I solved it was to run VMMaker.  I think these were steps I used...

- Uninstall all old video drivers from control panel
- run catalyst cleaner
- install CRT_EmuDriver  (you'll probably get two errors, ignore them both)
- configure and run VMMaker for your arcade monitor (make sure you grab the new version of VMMaker.  Don't use the version bundled with the driver)
- set desktop resolution to 640x480
- shut down
- unplug PC monitor, attach arcade monitor
- restart PC

There might have been an additional restart in there somewhere, but I can't remember for sure.

Thanks for this.  I'm sure it will come in handy...

[HDgaming42]

I strongly recommend making another effort to get x64 edition working.  The performance gains in some games are huge when running 64-bit MAME on a 64-bit OS.

I was afraid someone would say this...  *sigh*

Perhaps.  Maybe I'll image what I have first in case I need to bail back to 32bit...

I'm running a P4 3.0Ghz processor with 1.5GB of RAM.  I'm more of a console emu-guy, mainly because I could never be bothered to figure out all the options in MAME.  Now with GroovyMAME I'm willing to give it a shot.

Could my rig run anything that would max out a 32bit XP?  I mean, I suspect the processor is the bottleneck here, not the 32bit MAME/XP, but what do I know.  Perhaps that's exactly what you're trying to tell me...