Fatal error with ATI radeon 8500

[apex1x]

A system with an ATI radeon 8500 128 MB gives a fatal error when certain video games are started.

The fatal error says there has been a problem with DDHELP. This occurs with the game Max Payne.

Another problem with the video is with other games in which a black screen comes up with the cursor frozen and nothing happens. This occurs with games such as Giants and Warcraft 3.

I have tried to reinstall drivers, got the latest direct x, and now I am stuck. Any ideas would be welcome. ~Apex1x
Sattinger's Law:
It works better if you plug it in.

 

[Zoplax]

DDHELP error seems to point back to DirectX.

If that machine doesn't already have the latest Windows updates (security, system and otherwise) I'd say try applying them. Then, reinstall DirectX.

Next, install the latest drivers for the card.

Finally, boot into Safe Mode, and remove the card from the Device Manager list, as well as any "Ghost" devices (which don't show up in the list in Normal mode).

When next you reboot, hopefully it will redetect the card and properly load the drivers.

Could also try using Norton WinDoctor or a similar utility to clean up the registry in case it's been corrupted.

 

[apex1x]

By "ghost" do you mean devices in device manager that are associated with the video card?
I dont think i've ever seen devices show up in safe mode that dont appear in normal mode.
Also, would monitor settings/drivers cause a problem with directx? ~Apex1x
Sattinger's Law:
It works better if you plug it in.

 

[Zoplax]

Sometimes, Windows will get "sloppy" and leave anything from multiple instances of existing devices to instances of devices no longer installed in the Device Manager when you view it from Safe Mode. This doesn't seem to happen as much with Windows Me / 2000 / XP, but happened a lot with 95 and a bit with 98 / 98 SE. In these cases, removing all of the instances of a particular device which isn't working seems to allow windows to detect the device anew, and from there assign the correct drivers and configuration so that it will function properly.

As far as monitor settings, no, these usually don't cause a problem. But, if the game itself is set up for a resolution or color depth beyond what the monitor is capable of displaying, this can sometimes cause an error (though more often it causes the monitor simply to not display the graphics and leave you to reboot or End Task). If the game allows you to do any configuration prior to actually running, you might try reducing the resolution to 640x480 and work your way up from there to see if that works around the error (I'm guessing it may not tho).