Screen is black

I have just downloaded the game and I get an error message saying that the screen resolution cannot be loaded so the screen just goes black and then I have to restart.

What do I do now?

Help please. I am soooo eager to begin my second life.

Try these suggestions.

When your screen goes black, can you use Alt-Enter to make it run in a window?

Nope alt enter doesn't work. When I get home from work today I will check your link (thanks for that) and try downloading new drivers. So far my free 7 days kinda blows. ah well. I may try wiping the cache and downloading again.

Thanks.

Just as a precaution, what kind of computer do you have? Do you know the make and model of CPU, video card, RAM and motherboard?

Thank you Omega for all your help. I have to buy a new video card. I'm looking at the nVidia GeForce 5600 Ultra. I know how to install the card and download new drivers, and isntall them, and I can uninstall the old ones. But there are some things I just don't know how to do on my computer 'cause I'm still learning. Can you describe for me how I check the speed of my computer? I have an Intel Celeron processor, which has been fast enough up til now. I have a cable modem, and I have plenty of room on the hard drive for SL. Do you think I need to install a higher grade Pentium processor?

Your advice is very much appreciated and I will bring you flowers if I ever get in to SL!

PP

Here, this is the best way...

I'm not sure how familiar you are with this stuff, so I'll try to make this as newbie-friendly as possible.

1. Download WCPUID.
2. Run it. It will show you a window with information similar to this. Make sure the WCPUID window is extended all the way, and that the little button in the upper right corner of the screen, just below the "_ [ ] X" icons is pointing left: < That extra information is helpful as well.
3. In WCPUID, go to File, Save Bitmap. Save the bitmap to your desktop.
4. Open the bitmap you just saved in MS Paint. (Right-click the file, select "Open With", then "Paint".)
5. In Microsoft Paint, go to File > Save As, and change "Save As Type" from "24-bit Bitmap" to "JPEG". Save the file.
6. Come back to THIS window and reply to this thread, attaching the .jpg file to your post. (See the "Attach file" area below the four "Options" checkboxes below the reply field?)

Then submit your post. Don't preview it first, as that seems to screw up the posting of attachments.

Then I can see what your exact processor specs are.

Thank you thank you thank you!

and in jpg - just in case you can't see the bmp

All right, I see... I have to warn you, though, from looking at your specs, it's possible that even if you're able to get into SL, you may not want to. Your computer is pretty far below the minimum required specs -- it's not that it won't necessarily work on slower hardware, it's that while it'd run, it would just be so slow that it wouldn't really be usable.

Okay, how do you know you need a new video card? Did you see an error message about your video drivers or something? It's possible you can get by with what you have. SL is CPU-bound, so depending on your setup, it might be best to look at upgrading your CPU, motherboard and RAM. It's actually not as big a deal as it sounds. For a bit more than the cost of a GeForce 5600 -- around $130 US, you could get a new cheap motherboard, a 1.6 Ghz Athlon CPU, and 256MB of RAM. Assuming your current video card isn't too bad, that would be run SL adequately.

What motherboard do you currently have? If you don't know, you can find out in WCPUID by selecting View > System Info, then clicking "OK", and saving a screenshot of the next window that pops up -- the "WCPUID / System Information" window.

If it's a branded computer, like Dell or Compaq, the model number of the computer will help. It should be written on the front.

I am also concerned that even if I can get into SL it will be so slow that it won't be fun. That's why I thought I needed to buy a gaming computer with all the bells and whistles. I didn't think that the box I currently have would support a P4 motherboard. The video graphics card I currently have is an NVIDIA RIVA TNT2 Model 64/Model 64 Pro. My friend the computer expert built this machine for me when I was only interested in web browsing and word processing. Now that I am interested in learning modeling and scripting and I want to eventually build a portal web site of my own I know that I need to upgrade in some way. If you know of a way that I can do that without spending $2,800 for a www.alienware.com gaming machine (which is what my techie friend said I would have to do) then I will bring you 5 bouquets of flowers if I ever get into SL!

Thank you.

I think almost any new PC would run Sl great.
As long as you have a decent videocard (and, from the forums, NOT an ATI card, but a nVidea card). Check sites like Toms Hardware (http://graphics.tomshardware.com/graphic/20031229/vga-charts-03.html#unreal_tournament_2003) and compare cards and prices.
Your TNT card is even is slower then the slowst on that chart.
Take lots of RAM. 1 Gb or so.
I think you can get a great system for $1500 (not including things like TFT screens)

$1500 is plenty of money. You can upgrade your current machine for much less than that.

The important parts are CPU, motherboard, RAM and video card. Right now, this is what I'd recommend:

Motherboard: Asus A7N8X Deluxe - $84
This is one of the most reliable and full-featured nForce2 motherboards.

CPU: Anything between an AMD Athlon XP 2600+ ($94) and an AMD Athlon XP 3200+. ($199) They run between 1900Mhz and 2200Mhz respectively, (Your CPU runs at 533Mhz) so while there is certainly a noticeable performance difference between the high and low end of that range, it's not necessarily as great as the price difference would
indicate.

RAM: I recommend at least 512MB of DDR RAM, preferably from a quality manufacturer like Samsung or Infineon. These ($74) DIMMs seem decent enough.

Note that the speed of your RAM is important. With this motherboard/CPU combination, you can have 266, 333 or 400Mhz RAM. These clockspeeds of DDR RAM are frequently sold as "PC2100", "PC2700" and "PC3200" respectively. (Divide the "PCxx00" number by 8 to figure out which one it is.)

Personally, I use two of these for a total of 1GB of RAM: Samsung 512MB PC3200 ($97 each)

With the A7N8X Deluxe motherboard, you can add a second or third DIMM at any time, though for stability concerns, I recommend sticking to the same manufacturer and model of DIMM, if possible.

Video card:
On the low end, I'd recommend something like this Gainward-branded nVidia GeForce FX 5200, 128MB RAM. ($60)
A Gainward-branded nVidia GeForce FX 5600 ($100) is a much, much better card, though. Really, in terms of what I'd consider to be a good card, it starts around the 5600.

Depending on what you're using now, your existing power supply might not be up to the challenge. Some older PSUs (power supply units) just don't put out enough juice to power a modern system, even a midrange one like I've just described here. In that case, I'd recommend getting an Antec or Enermax power supply. A 350W PSU by either of those companies should leave you plenty of room to upgrade in future.

For instance, if you want to add a bigger hard drive, you can get a 120GB Maxtor SATA-150 drive for $91.

The components I've just described will work with all your existing peripherals and drives, and will replace your current motherboard, RAM, CPU, video card, network card and sound card for a price between $312 and $577, depending on your options.

I'm saving this post for future reference.
You rule Cat
LL should pay you for your m4d t3ch supp0rt sk1llZ and inhuman patience.