Windows Aero on 64mb video card

  • Thread starter Thread starter Philip Ulrich
  • Start date Start date
P

Philip Ulrich

Hey,
jw, is there some kind of overide to make it so that Aero can run on a older
video card? I know that sometimes idiots like microsoft make it so that u
have to have a better video card to run things even though you don't really
need that good of a video card to run it so that companys like nvidia will
pay them money so that they will get more sales and ect.

--
- It's always Microsoft's fault no matter what your problem is.
 
you are right about your assumptions but no you cannot do that with vista...
Believe me.. many have tried!

but with beryl on linux you can have a 3d desktop with older cards





"Philip Ulrich" . wrote in message
news:2141DE89-D788-41AB-8084-381316424326@microsoft.com...
> Hey,
> jw, is there some kind of overide to make it so that Aero can run on a
> older
> video card? I know that sometimes idiots like microsoft make it so that u
> have to have a better video card to run things even though you don't
> really
> need that good of a video card to run it so that companys like nvidia will
> pay them money so that they will get more sales and ect.
>
> --
> - It's always Microsoft's fault no matter what your problem is.



--
Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com
 
Last edited by a moderator:
thx Steve. I know you can do it w\ linux and thats what drove me to post
this. In fact if all my software was linux compatible, I would switch, but
its not and a lot of software wont work on linux even though its getting
immensly more popular. This problem and a lot more are why I always say: It's
always Microsoft's fault no matter what your problem is.

-------------------------------------
- It's always Microsoft's fault no matter what your problem is.
 
amen brother

--


Jonathan Perreault
Forget Do Not Undermine Windows's Work,
Or It'll Undermine You As A User.

New Word Of Advice: Torture Windows (Any) Now
Before It Tortures You
"Philip Ulrich" . wrote in message
news:6FB163BF-E9B4-4976-AB33-03AED1F7AC37@microsoft.com...
> thx Steve. I know you can do it w\ linux and thats what drove me to post
> this. In fact if all my software was linux compatible, I would switch, but
> its not and a lot of software wont work on linux even though its getting
> immensly more popular. This problem and a lot more are why I always say:
> It's
> always Microsoft's fault no matter what your problem is.
>
> -------------------------------------
> - It's always Microsoft's fault no matter what your problem is.
>
>
 
Last edited by a moderator:
"Philip Ulrich" . wrote...
> jw, is there some kind of overide to make it so that Aero can run on a
> older
> video card? I know that sometimes idiots like microsoft make it so that u
> have to have a better video card to run things even though you don't
> really
> need that good of a video card to run it so that companys like nvidia will
> pay them money so that they will get more sales and ect.

Hi Phil,

By default, Aero requires 128MB of dedicated video RAM in order to run. You
may be able to "trick" Aero into running with less video memory, by tweaking
the Winsat\VideoMemorySize value in the Registry. change this value on your
machine to decimal 67108864 (or 0x4000000) to tell Aero to run on 64MB of
RAM. You need to restart the Desktop Window Manager Session Manager
service, for the change to take effect.

See this interesting Microsoft document for details:
Windows Vista Rules for Enabling Windows Aero (With Guidelines for
Troubleshooting)
http://www.microsoft.com/whdc/device/display/aero_rules.mspx

As described in the HDC doc, with 64MB RAM you can only run Aero at limited
resolutions - probably max 1280x1024.

There are several other prerequisites for running Aero:
- support for DirectX 9 graphics
- a WDDM driver
- Pixel Shader 2.0 and 32 bits per pixel.
It's possible your card may not meet these other conditions - especially, it
might be hard to find a Vista WDDM driver for an older card. But hacking the
Registry may get you past the memory barrer, at least.

Good luck with it,
--
Andrew McLaren
amclar (at) optusnet dot com dot au
 
Last edited by a moderator:
"Philip Ulrich" . wrote in message
news:2141DE89-D788-41AB-8084-381316424326@microsoft.com...
> Hey,
> jw, is there some kind of overide to make it so that Aero can run on a
> older
> video card? I know that sometimes idiots like microsoft make it so that u
> have to have a better video card to run things even though you don't
> really
> need that good of a video card to run it so that companys like nvidia will
> pay them money so that they will get more sales and ect.
>
> --
> - It's always Microsoft's fault no matter what your problem is.


It can be done, regardless of the other replies. I got Aero working on a
laptop with 64MB video RAM and 512MB RAM. Try this:

1/ Ensure that you have the following registry values set to :

HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\DWM\Composition set to 1 (32-bit DWORD)

HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\DWM\CompositionPolicy set to 2 (32-bit
DWORD)

2/ Restart DWM by opening a command prompt with administrative privileges :

- Type 'net stop uxsms'
- Then 'net start uxsms'

Let us know...

Lang
 
Last edited by a moderator:
"steve sonsino" <steve.sonsino@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:46e32862$0$24191$88260bb3@free.teranews.com...
> you are right about your assumptions but no you cannot do that with
> vista...
> Believe me.. many have tried!
>
> but with beryl on linux you can have a 3d desktop with older cards
>

Uh, wrong? I've gotten Aero to run on systems with 64MB video RAM and 512MB
RAM. It -can- be done. See my reply to the original post...

Lang

>
>
>
>
> "Philip Ulrich" . wrote in message
> news:2141DE89-D788-41AB-8084-381316424326@microsoft.com...
>> Hey,
>> jw, is there some kind of overide to make it so that Aero can run on a
>> older
>> video card? I know that sometimes idiots like microsoft make it so that u
>> have to have a better video card to run things even though you don't
>> really
>> need that good of a video card to run it so that companys like nvidia
>> will
>> pay them money so that they will get more sales and ect.
>>
>> --
>> - It's always Microsoft's fault no matter what your problem is.
>
>
>
> --
> Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com
>
 
Last edited by a moderator:
"Lang Murphy" <lang_murphy@hotmail.com> wrote
> HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\DWM\Composition set to 1 (32-bit DWORD)
> HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\DWM\CompositionPolicy set to 2 (32-bit
> DWORD)
> 2/ Restart DWM by opening a command prompt with administrative privileges
> :
> - Type 'net stop uxsms'
> - Then 'net start uxsms'

Doh! I forgot about that one (my memory's shot, I gotta start writing stuff
down ... :-)

Yes, that's the best way to force enabling of Aero.

Mind you, you still need Pixel 2.0, and 32 bit colour, and a WDDM graphics
driver. But worth a shot.

Thanks, Lang!!
--
Andrew McLaren
amclar (at) optusnet dot com dot au
 
"Philip Ulrich" wrote:

>I know that sometimes idiots like microsoft make it so that u
> have to have a better video card to run things even though you don't really
> need that good of a video card to run it so that companys like nvidia will
> pay them money so that they will get more sales and ect.

DirectX9 released in 2002: it's since 5 years that DirectX9 graphics cards
released (they're Aero capable) !!!
Buy a Geforce 6200 AGP with 256MB on board for $59 only
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814133151
http://www.pny.com/products/verto/performance/6200agp.asp
 
Hey Lang,
I know how to do alot of things w\ vista but editing registrys is not one.
Could you or someone else tell me how to???

--
- It's always Microsoft's fault no matter what your problem is.
 
Thx for the reply BillD but I have a laptop so that really doesnt help.

--
- It's always Microsoft's fault no matter what your problem is.
 
NM bout the registrys thing I figured it out but it doesn't work. Does anyone
know if a Intel 82852/82855 GM/GME Graphics controler has:
- support for DirectX 9 graphics
- a WDDM driver
- Pixel Shader 2.0 and 32 bits per pixel
???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

--
- It's always Microsoft's fault no matter what your problem is.
 
"Philip Ulrich" . wrote
> know if a Intel 82852/82855 GM/GME Graphics controler has:
> - support for DirectX 9 graphics
> - a WDDM driver
> - Pixel Shader 2.0 and 32 bits per pixel

No, the Intel 82852/82855 GM/GME Graphics controller does not.

The earliest Intel Graphics controller which can run Aero reliably is the
Intel GMA 950. Some folks have managed to get a GMA 900 running Aero but
it's a bit iffy. Intel received a fair bit of stick in the popular press,
for their slow and half-hearted support for Vista graphics. Apparently they
had some serious development problems, flowing from organisational issues.
The recent GMA 950 Drivers apparently work okay and the newer Intel X3000
graphics are pretty good.

Even if the graphics chip had the physical hardware support for Aero, Intel
has not produced any new 82852/82855 drivers after v14.19.50. Intel has
finished doing software development for that chip. There will never be a
Vista-specific WDDM driver. You can read about the chip, here:
http://www.intel.com/support/graphics/intel852gm/

FWIW, I consider Aero to be very over-rated. I usually run Vista with the
"Classic" desktop. I like the idea of desktop composition for smooth
appearance and performance but the fancy visual effects are annoying
flummery, IMHO.
--
Andrew McLaren
amclar (at) optusnet dot com dot au
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Hello Philip,

There is no WDDM driver for that graphics chip.

--
Jane, not plain ) 64 bit enabled :-)
Batteries not included. Braincell on vacation -)
MVP - Windows Shell/User

"Philip Ulrich" . wrote in message
news:B079932D-82BD-4741-BAEB-452E94BA4000@microsoft.com...
> NM bout the registrys thing I figured it out but it doesn't work. Does
> anyone
> know if a Intel 82852/82855 GM/GME Graphics controler has:
> - support for DirectX 9 graphics
> - a WDDM driver
> - Pixel Shader 2.0 and 32 bits per pixel
> ???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
>
> --
> - It's always Microsoft's fault no matter what your problem is.
>
 
Last edited by a moderator:
"Andrew McLaren" <andrew@fakeaddress.com> wrote in message
news:983E7A2B-7461-4307-9DD3-111B7A11CEA1@microsoft.com...
> "Lang Murphy" <lang_murphy@hotmail.com> wrote
>> HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\DWM\Composition set to 1 (32-bit DWORD)
>> HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\DWM\CompositionPolicy set to 2 (32-bit
>> DWORD)
>> 2/ Restart DWM by opening a command prompt with administrative privileges
>> :
>> - Type 'net stop uxsms'
>> - Then 'net start uxsms'
>
> Doh! I forgot about that one (my memory's shot, I gotta start writing
> stuff down ... :-)
>
> Yes, that's the best way to force enabling of Aero.
>
> Mind you, you still need Pixel 2.0, and 32 bit colour, and a WDDM graphics
> driver. But worth a shot.
>
> Thanks, Lang!!
> --
> Andrew McLaren
> amclar (at) optusnet dot com dot au
>


Andrew,

Yep, I surely know one needs those requirements to fire up Aero... but the
op didn't disclose their vid card in their first post, so... assuming one's
video card meets minimum reqs for Aero, then, as you know, the above hack
does work.

As to remembering it... I saved it to a text file that I reference every
couple of months when this question pops up. Some things I retain without
the need for archiving... that hack is not one of those things! -)

Best,

Lang

Lang
 
"Philip Ulrich" . wrote in message
news:6A285E2B-FFF7-48F7-A2EC-4847B3413BE9@microsoft.com...
> Hey Lang,
> I know how to do alot of things w\ vista but editing registrys is not one.
> Could you or someone else tell me how to???
>
> --
> - It's always Microsoft's fault no matter what your problem is.
>


Well, as you pointed out in a downstream post, your video card doesn't
support Aero, regardless of the amount of video RAM installed. I was not
cognizant of your video card model when I responded to your original post.
That hack does work for video cards that -do- support Aero -and- have less
than 128MB video RAM.

Lang
 
Last edited by a moderator:
"Lang Murphy" replied to...
> "Andrew McLaren" who answered...
>> "Lang Murphy" who quoted...
>>> HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\DWM\Composition set to 1 (32-bit DWORD)
>>> HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\DWM\CompositionPolicy set to 2 (32-bit
>>> DWORD)
>>> 2/ Restart DWM by opening a command prompt with administrative
>>> privileges :
>>> - Type 'net stop uxsms'
>>> - Then 'net start uxsms'
>>
>> Doh! I forgot about that one (my memory's shot, I gotta start writing
>> stuff down ... :-)
>>
>> Yes, that's the best way to force enabling of Aero.
>>
>> Mind you, you still need Pixel 2.0, and 32 bit colour, and a WDDM
>> graphics driver. But worth a shot.
>>
>> Thanks, Lang!!
>
> Andrew,
>
> Yep, I surely know one needs those requirements to fire up Aero... but the
> op didn't disclose their vid card in their first post, so... assuming
> one's video card meets minimum reqs for Aero, then, as you know, the above
> hack does work.
>
> As to remembering it... I saved it to a text file that I reference every
> couple of months when this question pops up. Some things I retain without
> the need for archiving... that hack is not one of those things! -)
>
> Best,
>
> Lang
>
Hey, that works great, but I'm not too pleased with the Aero Sidebar,
definately prefer at least 'semi' transparent version when it is set 'always
on top'. Is there a way to enable that with the Aero glass turned on?
 
now do you understand why I told him it wont work?

I knew his display adaptor could not handle it even with tweaks...

those tweaks you say will not work with 99.99% of the old cards out there...

How do I know? I have researched it!


"Andrew McLaren" <andrew@fakeaddress.com> wrote in message
news:A2EAB074-FE5E-4A1B-981C-5AB19F9F8FC9@microsoft.com...
> "Philip Ulrich" . wrote
>> know if a Intel 82852/82855 GM/GME Graphics controler has:
>> - support for DirectX 9 graphics
>> - a WDDM driver
>> - Pixel Shader 2.0 and 32 bits per pixel
>
> No, the Intel 82852/82855 GM/GME Graphics controller does not.
>
> The earliest Intel Graphics controller which can run Aero reliably is the
> Intel GMA 950. Some folks have managed to get a GMA 900 running Aero but
> it's a bit iffy. Intel received a fair bit of stick in the popular press,
> for their slow and half-hearted support for Vista graphics. Apparently
> they had some serious development problems, flowing from organisational
> issues. The recent GMA 950 Drivers apparently work okay and the newer
> Intel X3000 graphics are pretty good.
>
> Even if the graphics chip had the physical hardware support for Aero,
> Intel has not produced any new 82852/82855 drivers after v14.19.50. Intel
> has finished doing software development for that chip. There will never be
> a Vista-specific WDDM driver. You can read about the chip, here:
> http://www.intel.com/support/graphics/intel852gm/
>
> FWIW, I consider Aero to be very over-rated. I usually run Vista with the
> "Classic" desktop. I like the idea of desktop composition for smooth
> appearance and performance but the fancy visual effects are annoying
> flummery, IMHO.
> --
> Andrew McLaren
> amclar (at) optusnet dot com dot au
>
>



--
Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com
 
Last edited by a moderator:
"steve sonsino" <steve.sonsino@gmail.com> wrote...
> now do you understand why I told him it wont work?

No, not really. The OP did not say in his original post what kind of adaptor
he had. Assuming the only barrier to Aero was the video RAM, the registry
tweak would have fixed it. There is a small, but significant number of video
cards which meet all the requirements, except they only have 64MB RAM.

As it happened, once the OP provided more information about the card, it
became obvious it would never run Aero. But this could not be established
beyond doubt, based on the original post.

> those tweaks you say will not work with 99.99% of the old cards out
> there...

He may have had a card in the 0.01% range.

--
Andrew McLaren
amclar (at) optusnet dot com dot au
 
<here@home.again> wrote in message
news:%23WKWAD78HHA.4200@TK2MSFTNGP04.phx.gbl...
> "Lang Murphy" replied to...
>> "Andrew McLaren" who answered...
>>> "Lang Murphy" who quoted...
>>>> HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\DWM\Composition set to 1 (32-bit DWORD)
>>>> HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\DWM\CompositionPolicy set to 2 (32-bit
>>>> DWORD)
>>>> 2/ Restart DWM by opening a command prompt with administrative
>>>> privileges :
>>>> - Type 'net stop uxsms'
>>>> - Then 'net start uxsms'
>>>
>>> Doh! I forgot about that one (my memory's shot, I gotta start writing
>>> stuff down ... :-)
>>>
>>> Yes, that's the best way to force enabling of Aero.
>>>
>>> Mind you, you still need Pixel 2.0, and 32 bit colour, and a WDDM
>>> graphics driver. But worth a shot.
>>>
>>> Thanks, Lang!!
>>
>> Andrew,
>>
>> Yep, I surely know one needs those requirements to fire up Aero... but
>> the op didn't disclose their vid card in their first post, so... assuming
>> one's video card meets minimum reqs for Aero, then, as you know, the
>> above hack does work.
>>
>> As to remembering it... I saved it to a text file that I reference every
>> couple of months when this question pops up. Some things I retain without
>> the need for archiving... that hack is not one of those things! -)
>>
>> Best,
>>
>> Lang
>>
> Hey, that works great, but I'm not too pleased with the Aero Sidebar,
> definately prefer at least 'semi' transparent version when it is set
> 'always on top'. Is there a way to enable that with the Aero glass turned
> on?
>


Must admit I don't have a lot of experience with the sidebar. But I doubt
you can change the look you want Aero, you get Aero. That said... I detach
the gadgets I use from SB and close SB. Don't know if that'll work for
you... but it's what works for me.

Lang
 
Back
Top