GW graphics issue

I have some odd random issues that constantly happen with GW exclusivly.

random things like screen frezzing, weird polygon clipping, static, and all sorts of nonsense.

all my other games like LOTRO work just fine, so i am not sure what the issue is.,

Operating System: Windows Vista™ Home Basic (6.0, Build 6001) Service Pack 1 (6001.vistasp1_gdr.080425-1930)
System Manufacturer: Dell Inc.
System Model: Inspiron 1520
Processor: Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo CPU T5450 @ 1.66GHz (2 CPUs), ~1.7GHz
Memory: 2046MB RAM
DirectX Version: DirectX 10
Nvidia GeForce 8600M GT
Laptop

Well, first of all, if you're using TexMod that's your problem. TexMod is useful, but hugely buggy, and WILL cause graphics corruption. You can often clear the graphics corruption temporarily by minimizing and then maximizing the guild wars window, thereby refreshing it.

If you're not running TexMod then, in all probability, your graphics card is overheating, especially if the problem tends to show up after an hour or so of play.
GW is actually quite demanding of the graphics card, and it is common for graphics cards to have somewhat marginal cooling.
The true solution to overheating is better ventilation of the computer case, but a "quick fix" is to turn down the graphics quality of Guild Wars a notch in the settings, thereby putting less strain on the graphics card, thereby making it produce less heat.

Possible, but less likely, is that it's a driver issue. I doubt this is the case as other games don't show the same issues. If you had had a no-name system I'd have recommended downloading the newest driver for your graphics card from your graphics card manufacturer and see if it fixes the problem. However, you've got a Dell, so I would not recommend touching the drivers.

Try the 169.xx version of Nvidia's graphics drivers. The 17x drivers are VERY unstable for 8600 video cards. The drivers before 169 crashed vista a lot so 169 is probably the best for stability.

Nvidia wont let me install over Dells Drivers as i got a laptop, ticks me off to no end.

and i have the latest dell drive...

Dell modifies the BIOS and the drivers purposely to keep users from updating them themselves.
The rationale is that home users will wreck their computers if they try to update drivers. This is the reason I would never buy brand computers.

However, it is unlikely your problems are caused by the driver.

That's complete bullshit, I'm using a dell, with 0 dell drivers. The computer is 3 years and and since I've had it I've used drives from the manufacturer of the device, not from Dell.

Try reading through Nvidia's forums and the complaints from owners of the 8xxxx series of video cards. Almost all say that 169 has been the last stable release of drivers for their card.

except, whenever i download nvidias drivers, the site and software recongise that my comp is a dell and wont let me install any drivers but dells.

i might need to do something like a total reformat to get around it, and im not quite up for doing that right now.

I was referring to the other poster stating dell modifies bios that prevents use of manufacturer's drivers. Have you tried completely uninstalling the dell nvidia drivers through control panel>programs and features? Then using driver sweeper http://downloads.guru3d.com/download.php?det=1655 to remove what uninstall didn't?

It seems to me that nVidia has been having lots of problems with their mobile chips. Try searching some of the tech sites.

Other than that I'd say basically the same as Numa - don't use Texmod - turn down the graphics settings (particularly AA)

nvidia forceware drivers actually work with every geforce card ever released. however, they are usually limited to desktop models.

fortunately, this is very easily to fix. every forceware installation file, when unzipped, contains an .ini file (i can't remember the file name). all you need to do is to modify it so it contains your laptop's graphic chip name, and it will work.

the easiest way to do this is to download and unzip a driver set from dell, then do the same from nvidia's official site. afterwards, copy the .ini file from the dell folder into the nvidia driver folder, and run the nvidia installer.

Do you mean nv_disp.inf - it's an .inf rather than an .ini, but seems to contain those strings. That, or setup.ini...

it might be the .inf file.

it's been a while since i've edited drivers for laptops. check which one can be opened with notepad, and read what they contain. if it is a list of geforce chips, then that is it.

nv_disp.inf - a hell of a job editing that for anyone even slightly technophobic. I assume it grows ever bigger as nVidia release more and more vid cards.