receiveing 'can not set video mode' message on game run [SOLVED...sort of]

[six_plus_one]

Okay, so I realize this is most likely not a problem on AGS's end, but AGS isn't working under it, so hopefully someone can offer me some ideas here. First a little background...

Just this morning (and for the past several months) I had been successfully running AGS and trying to make a trial game on it. Later this morning, I left a Windows XP Pro disc in the CD drive at startup (I'm using XP Home, but got Pro thru my college) and it began to auto-run at startup, (and I didn't want to install it yet). I am ashamed to admit it, but I freaked and hard-reset my PC, (stupid, stupid), and thusly it restarted with the choices screen ('safe mode', etc) and I chose to 'start with the last known working settings.' When Windows started, though, it was in 256 color mode and lowered resolution, (previously @ 1024x768, I think @ 32 million colors). Now, Windows was not allowing color-depth or resolution resetting through Windows (stuck @ 256, likely @ 640x480 or 320x240) so I again hard-restarted on startup, selected 'last known working...' again and the color depth was back to 32 million. Then I was able to reset the resolution thru Windows. (whew).

NOW, however, when I try to run my AGS game, the first time I run it, it freezes up, only to be closed with ctrl+alt+del, and all subsequent runs will only give me the error message:
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There was a problem initializing graphics mode 320x200 (16-bit).
(Problem: 'Can not set video mode')
Try to correct the problem, or seek help from the AGS homepage.

Possible cause: your graphics card driver does not support this resolution. Run the game setup program and try the other resolution.
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So, I've tried a number of things: I've re-installed the nVidia driver, I've tried messing about in the display settings, but nothing. I'm assuming I altered the driver I was using and now it doen't support lower resolutions. 

Also, my game is really set @ 320x240, but it gives this error saying 320x200. Hmmm... at higher game resolutions, the game only opens a black window with no mouse or anything, just the starting MIDI playing and must be ctrl+alt+delete to task manager close it. All other games I have made in AGS act the same. This really makes me sad as I was just getting somewhere with learning AGS. Can anyone suggest how I might fix this problem and get back on my working AGS Editor? Thank You for any help you can offer.

[Ishmael]

Have you tried creating another game and running it? To me it sounds like your graphics card drives took some 'damage' in the process, but I am quite surely wrong... If any other game runs at lo-res, then you might concider a problem with the card or it's drivers, otherwise the fault is somewhere else... I'm not sure about if an AGS game can for some weird reason get 'corrupted' in some way and do this...

I don't know if anything bad could result, but the thought just crossed my mind to backup the files, change the game resolution to 640x480, save it once, and set it back to 320x240...

[six_plus_one]

Quote: Have you tried creating another game and running it?
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I have made another AGS game and it acts the same way, unfortunately. When my PC was in the 256 color mode, I checked in the control panel, display, advanced settings window and it said that I only had two possible graphics settings with whatever the current driver was, both in 256 colors. I can't remember if my old set of resolution/color-depth options allowed for, say, 320x240@16million, and I'm not certain if I'm even on some "new driver" or not, but there is certainly something different here. I have also tried setting a game to 800x600@16million. I am able to set Windows to that resolution, so you'd think AGS could do it too in that case, but still the black (or white, but always blank otherwise) window and MIDI only.

Also, I forgot earlier, but I tried a system restore when I was stuck in 256 color mode, and it did not even manage to change the 256 color mode back to normal, this is sort of a troubling thought, as system restore's usually fix any Windows settings that have gotten altered when I can't seem to change back manually. I know I must sound like a complete ditz at this point and that the problem is likely exclusive to my PC, but I can usually figure a way out of these horrible little situations, it's just this time, I'm stumped, and to make matters worse, it's affecting my beloved AGS. :'( Hopefully I can get ahold of another PC or a laptop soon and continue my game from there, that is if this condition proves irreversible.

***Addendum***
Well, after some poking around, it seems that not only is AGS having problems, but a number of programs/things have gone loopy. Looks like I'll be re-formatting the whole schmeer come Friday, which is good because I'll finally be rid of all those annoying little spyware thingies (for a time at least) and the go-thru-7000 folders-to-get-to-my-MIDI-folder setup I had been using. I just hope I remember to back up everything, I've never really reformatted before. My buddy, an old hand at this kinda thing, is gonna help so it should go okay, I'm just lucky my PC didn't up an die on me, (as has happened numerous times before!) Anyway, I simply must have AGS working again and this will surely do the trick! Well, Wish me Luck!

[TerranRich]

I was going to suggest that perhaps there was a system-wide problem with your video card, but it appears that may be the case. Good luck with your computer, in any case!