X3 Reunion - Graphics driver has stopped responding

[Graxster]

First let me say hello to anyone actually still reading X3:R posts in 2021.

Replaying this great classic on my dual-boot system and in both Windows XP SP3 and Windows 7 Professional I randomly get the screen going completely black for a couple of seconds, then working again. System Event log reads: "Graphics driver has stopped responding and has recovered". Weird thing is, I never had this back when X3:R was first released, so I can only guess that it has to do with my computer being updated (Intel i7 920 and NVIDIA GTX 980).

I already tried the often-recommended "Run regedit and add TdrDelay to fix this issue". I also tried various different graphic settings on the game launch menu to no avail. On the Windows 7 install, I'm using "run as administrator" as well as "run in compatibility with Windows XP SP3" boxes checked. If anyone has any other suggestions as to what to try, I'd appreciate it. It's not game-ending, just a bit annoying when the screen blacks out for a couple of seconds. Thanks!

[Alan Phipps]

Is your graphics driver WHQL approved and up to date?

Have you checked your DxDiag DirectShow Filters listing for the naughty sorts of video/audio codecs that don't play nicely with X3 games?

Does your Nvidia card and driver have its own monitoring log? You may find some further clues as to what is going wrong in there. It could turn out to be a DirectX 9.0c issue (as used by X3:R) but your Win 7 DirectX 11/12 installation should be handling and supporting that aspect automatically.

Are you using screen scaling, windowed display mode or running a native resolution (Windows, card and monitor) in fullscreen? These things may be significant factors.

[lincs_geezer]

I had this exact issue and am searching for a resolution. I also have an Nvidia card. Used to work fine on same card same machine. As far as I can tell it's the latest Nvidia drivers have screwed up X3TC at least on some machines. Not just with X3 either.

Edit: apologies I didn't see how old the post was. Think I am just shoulder crying cos i can't play X3. Thinking about rolling driver back just trying to find out if its worth it and will cause me other issues.

[Alan Phipps]

Some have had some success with Nvidia graphics with new driver issues on older X games by limiting in-game framerates and even by disabling the Nvidia *sound* device and its sound driver in Device Manager. Others have done so by running the game in supervisor/admin mode and in XP SP3 compatibility mode. Good luck.