How to troubleshoot display issues in Microsoft games?

[N I C K]

Hi friends,
Many times I face problems while playing the Microsoft games as well as other usual games. The problem continues even I am having enough configuration that are required for the game to play. I have tried to do lot of things but the problem still persists. So thought that someone over there may help me.!! Please tell me how to troubleshoot display issues in Microsoft games? Help me as soon as possible.

[Marthaz]

Many times the issues that occur while playing the games happen because of the driver that you have installed for the video card. I would recommend you to install the latest driver for your video card. To identify the name and the manufacturer of your video hardware, follow these steps :

1. Click Start, then Run. Type dxdiag in the Open box, then click OK.
2. Click the View tab.
3. Under Device, look for the information posted next to Name and Manufacturer.
4. Click Exit.

[Team Leader]

Many newer Microsoft games require a graphics card and monitor that can perform a minimum resolution of 800 x 600 and 65,536 colors (16 bit). Set the Windows display resolution to 800 x 600 with 65,536 colors (16 bit), then test the game to do this, follow these steps :

1. Click Start, point to Settings, then click Control Panel.
2. Double-click Display.
3. Click the Settings tab.
4. Move the cursor Desktop Area or Screen Area to the 800 x 600 pixels.
5. In the Color Palette or Colors box, click 65536 colors (16 bit)
6. Click OK twice.
7. Click Yes to accept the settings.

[kiLLer]

Once the amended resolution graphics, you may need to adjust the monitor settings to get a proper display. If you know the resolution that suits your game, select the resolution in the Windows display settings. You can also set the display resolution of 640 x 480 with 65,536 colors (16 bit). But if you keep the resolution too low then there are chances that your game might lag while playing. I would also like to suggest you to install the latest version of DirectX.

[ApPy10]

You should try to adjust graphics hardware acceleration. To adjust graphics hardware acceleration, use the appropriate operating system you are running :
Microsoft Windows XP :

1. Click Start, point to Settings, then click Control Panel.
2. Double-click Display.
3. On the Settings tab, click Advanced.
4. Click the Troubleshoot tab.
5. Move the Hardware Acceleration slider two notches to the left compared to the Full (the Disable all cursor acceleration and advanced drawing).
6. Click OK twice.
7. Test the game

[David23]

I would recommend you to check or turn on Direct3D. To check or enable Direct3D acceleration, follow the steps mentioned below :

1. Click Start, click Run, type dxdiag, and then click OK.
2. On the View tab, verify that all DirectX features are enabled. Otherwise, click Enable next to the feature.

If some DirectX features are not available, check that your graphics card meets the minimum required.