Spiral Knights - who else encounters the dreaded "driver not responding" with an error from ialmrnt5? and how do we stop it?

who else encounters the dreaded "driver not responding" with an error from ialmrnt5? and how do we stop it?

13 replies [Last post]

Tue, 09/27/2011 - 14:37

Liveice

I am sick and tired of this issue and at one point long story short was "angsty" to a very bad degree and was hoping to turn to my favorite game as it was the only thing that actually appealed to me and lock down to sort of get some of my stress out. However each time I got ready to play the error would show and I would not get to play, instead I would have to restart my comp and wait for my system to get back in order and my steam to log back in also aware that I have been charged 200 of the crowns I had worked to make out of my mist earlier for this little "pleasure" and got very enraged do to my already compromised emotional state.

I am also one of those methodical types that enjoys turning just about everything into a numbers game constantly scribbling little stats on this that and the other, one of the things I kept was wins and losses in lock down, originally I did not count the times I was "glitched out" but began to after they became constant enough to make themselves a factor to my crown budget. To date I have had this happen over 15 times on record, that is at least 3,000 crowns I have given that I got absolutely no use out of, not to mention this would also mean the team I would have been on was now minus one player before the even game begins, not to mention there always seems to be one or two who "leave" when i do get to play and having noted the time that most of these leavers vanish is in the beginning right after the screen change suspect they may also be players facing this or a similar issue.

Indeed I used to think it was mostly just my computer but I have since found that not only do others suffer the exact same issue ( and the previous mentioning of suspecting many "leavers" of suffering from the same issue ) and also that my exact model of computer is not only used on a large university campus and a sister model of the same sub set in a very prestigious hospital for patient education services but I have updated my drivers not a couple hours prior to this post, however despite finding the appropriate upgrades and installing them have now if anything had an increase in this error.

My computer is a dell optiplex GX520 running windows XP with and intel(R) Express chip set.
I am not sure what the spiral code writers can do to calm this issue but so far spiral is the only program that triggers this issue, so I wonder if they could do something to make the code more tolerable to computers with this issue, sort of like removing an ingredient in a food recipe that may be causing allergic reactions to customers.

It may be dells or intels problem but having been "ripped off" so many times and been on so many unbalance teams that didn't stand a chance as well as been against so many teams that offered no challenge to be of interest that it may be spiral that has the cost placed on them.

In any case thank you all for your time

Tue, 09/27/2011 - 15:08

Dogrock

You need to update your

You need to update your graphics drivers from Intel directly and uninstall Dell's version of your graphics drivers. You can even use These Instructions.

The problem you are having is an issue that cannot be pinned on or solved by OOO. It is all on the drivers provided to you by Dell/Intel. The Dell Optiplex GX520 is an old computer running an Intel 945 Integrated Graphics. The ability for this device to render 3D graphics in OpenGL is minimal and only supports up to version 1.4. This means you should also be running the game under Compatibility Mode at all times since it makes use of OpenGL features that are not physically supported by your computer.

Tue, 09/27/2011 - 18:52

Starlinvf

As frustrating as is, you

As frustrating as is, you aren't even within the minimum system requirements for the game because of the Intel graphics. As dogrock said, the 945 is ancient and was never meant for anything more demanding then basic desktop usage. And while SK never officially supported Intel graphics, the newer Intel HD is advanced enough to run the game at a decent level of performance. Considering that your still running a P4, its time to think about upgrading to an i3 or i5 and getting a mid-low graphics card if you intend to play anything more advanced then a flash game on it.

Tue, 09/27/2011 - 23:35

Cold-Snap

Looks like we're in the same

Looks like we're in the same boat, my friend. I am one of those, who have a Dell Windows XP compy. I've got the most up to date drivers and everything, and I STILL get the dreaded driver error.

Some days it happens a lot... some days not at all. And yes... I've lost about 1000 through driver errors before a Lockdown match starts. Or simply the game just stops loading for me, and I get disconnected. I really want to kick something when that happens. (I do hope that 200 is spent on a pre-match Krogmo Coin.... if so, then I guess that's good.)

I have to deal with very long loading times, sometimes. It's so bad that my friends don't really like playing this with me. Sometimes I crash in on their games, cuz I just wanna have fun with my friends, but then I get lag spikes that causes me to freeze..... When I regain connection focus, I'm dead.....

Very frustrating.

I'd go and get a new computer, but I'm not made of money. So I sadly gotta put up with this crap computer until I can afford a new one.

Wed, 09/28/2011 - 05:22

Starlinvf

If you want to go stupid

If you want to go stupid cheap, I would look into the ION-2 HTPCs either during or after Christmas. The systems run between $350-450, but not many are out yet. Cheapest i3 would run you about $400 for one with a Sandy Bridge CPU.

Wed, 09/28/2011 - 16:12

Liveice

dont burn the candle on both ends, attack problems from all side

well thank you all for your input though like cold-snap I have put the most up to date drivers, I guess I will just have to upgrade what hardware I can or is practical.

Oh also the compatibility mode seems to be helping a very good bit, also I am and was running it at as low of a quality as it would go.

However maybe stuff like this compatibility mode is an example of what I think OOO can do for those with computers with preexisting conditions, after all being a "free to play" is part of what attracted me in the first place as another long story short I do live below the legal poverty line.
( I say poverty is in large part a state of mind )

One more thing I might mention is that having the window minimized when the scene changes and about 5 to 15 seconds after the elevator landing sound in dungeons or start bell in lock down depending on lag which seems to be a very major factor in the triggering of this issue seems to also help.

Wed, 10/05/2011 - 15:36

Liveice

well, minor update, just

well, minor update, just installed directX which should have helped but I have not yet noted any change in rate of errors, actually seem to be increasing but so is lag so hard to say what is responsible.

Oh also as I said, I am a numbers person, looks like the number of glitched has now surpassed 20, so that is 4000 crowns up and just vanished, oh and that is not counting the 3 today, so well along its way to 5000 crowns.

Maybe I just need to find a different game to play and quit spiral, not sure. Though a few of my friends might be disappointed, they only joined to play with me, one even purchased some ce.

Oh and thanks for making me chuckle starlinvf, 350 to 450, lol, I don't think my family spends much more then 120 all the gifts combined during Christmas and such, not if we want to keep the water on anyways.

Wed, 10/05/2011 - 16:41

Dogrock

Just as a heads up, it does

Just as a heads up, it does not matter what you do with DirectX in relation to this game. Spiral Knights depends on OpenGL to produce it's graphics, which is why Intel sets struggle so much. Intel tried to get away with software emulation of what should be hardware features. The result is low speed and buggy performance. They've gotten better, but only on devices in the last two years.

Thu, 10/06/2011 - 01:01

Starlinvf

Doesn't have to be a

Doesn't have to be a Christmas present... I'm just saying thats the best time to look for sales.

Thu, 10/06/2011 - 08:42

Debianlinux

same problem with spec'd hardware

On-topic:

Using a Lenovo W510 with an 8-core i7 I've had the exact same issue.
Graphics adapter is Nvidia Quadro FX 880M; not the best card but well within OOO's specs.
The coding in Lockdown is suspect.
Lenovo drivers required, Nvidia unified drivers will not work on these machines.

Off-topic:

The other computer I use is an Optiplex and may be the same model as OP's. P4 2.4GHz with an Intel Express graphics adapter. However, I use a GeForce 5200 FX for the game which is also within OOO's specs but well under the adapter in the W510. I have no issues in Lockdown with this configuration. However, the screen occasionally glitches completely out to a garbled mess if I AFK too long while in the clokworks. This problem comes and goes with different updates to the game. It used to happen rather frequently when standing still for more than 30 secs whereas now it is rare and requires minutes of standing still. It can't be overheating because as long as I keep moving it never happens.

Nvidia unified drivers in use.

Thu, 10/06/2011 - 14:06

#10

Starlinvf

I looked into it, and your

I looked into it, and your laptop is running Optimus switchable graphics. The reason its crashing in ialmrnt5 (an Intel specific driver) is because the Optimus profiles aren't recognizing jawaw.exe as a process to trigger a swtich to the Quadro, which leaves you running the game on the Intel IGP. Also, the CPU is a 4-core Sandy Bridge i7, but looks like 8 cores to Windows because of Hyper Threading.

You need to configure Optimus to recognize javaw.exe to switch to the Quadro in order to use it. At the same time, you don't want to do this on java.exe or javaws.exe since it could trigger a switch on java applets in web browsers. Alternatively, you could copy the contents of the java folder to another location, modify the shortcuts for the game to point to them, then make an Optimus profile for the javaw.exe for that specific location.

As for your 5200FX, it sounds you like you have a bad spot in VRAM. Static information eventually gets corrupted, but if the information keeps changing, it doesn't get a chance to have it happen.

Fri, 10/07/2011 - 01:58

#11

Gremtar

I have the same problem my

I have the same problem my freinds! I also have the express 945 but at least know i know what my problem is. And yes it is very anoying cold snap but i dont think there is much we can do. Sometimes my computer will also tell me to clear memory space even though i have 20gb free but it does seem to help. When i delete some stuff i dont need it will work for a couple of days before it happens again so i tend to do that every now and then. So maybe try that to help you out.

Mon, 10/24/2011 - 20:10

#12

Liveice

just minor update, finally

just minor update, finally got a new video card, a nvidia 8400gs, seems to be working fine so here is hoping, but that being said it has since been made clear to me that there knights do not appreciate "my sort" on spiral, that is to say people who cannot afford the latest in gaming equipment, starlinvf and those on this string were at least was genuine in there attempts to help.

So am still considering other games, especially considering I now have a video card that can take a lot more, ironically what I had to buy to play spiral knights might be just the thing that allows me to leave it behind *shrugs* course I would want to first release all my materials, crystal energy and whatever else back out if I do not to mention alert any spiral friends I play with where they might want to go if they want to join me wherever I end up.
I have been encouraged to join dragon nest anyways, not to mention I always wanted to try out portal. I guess only time will tell.

Mon, 10/24/2011 - 21:48

#13

Starlinvf

Its because people don't like

Its because people don't like to hear complaints about something not working, when the person isn't even willing to make a genuine investment into a system meant to do what they want. Buying and maintaining computers draws significant parallels with car ownership, and the choices you make regarding price and quality directly impact your experience with them.

And just to dispell this before anyone else comments on it, the 8400GS is 6 year old video card thats 4 generations behind current technology. Its a low end card, even by its own standards in that series, which hints that your purchasing decisions are based primarily on lowest price you can find. And while you have to work within your situation, the thing that bothers people is that your not even realistic with your expectations on how the system handles various games.

If you drive a Pinto, and get upset because it doesn't have the horse power of a Camero or can't take unleaded gas, its not Gas station's fault.

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who else encounters the dreaded "driver not responding" with an error from ialmrnt5? and how do we stop it?