Problems with ddhelp.exe and drivers?

On Wed, 01 Jun 2005 00:24:01 -0500, deimos <duralisisNO.TakeThisOut@SPAMyahoo.com>
wrote:

 >Gerry Wolf wrote:
  >> Problem:
  >>
  >> I'm looking for advice from anyone who would know why I constantly receive
  >> ddhelp.exe (not responding) errors on a Windows 98 SE machine which was
  >> recently reformatted and the OS cleanly installed.
  >>
  >> Anytime I try using anything graphic intensive the system bogs down greatly
  >> and I mean where the cursor barely moves, and when ctrl-alt-del is pressed
  >> the not responding comes up in the listing for ddhelp.exe!!
  >>
  >> All drivers were updated from nVidia's site, as well as updating directX to
  >> version 9.0c. I believe ddhelp.exe is included with directX version 8, but I
  >> could be mistaken. Anyway, any and all advice will be appreciated!! It this
  >> a nVidia problem?
  >>
  >> The Video card in the machine is a GeForce4 MX420.
  >>
  >> Thanks a ton in advance..
  >>
  >> Gerry
  >>
  >>
 >
 >71.84 is available for 98SE, so make sure you're using that first.
 >Older drivers (like 4x.xx) don't have DX9 support. Also if you just
 >reinstalled your OS, you might have a chipset driver missing or an
 >incorrect driver. Lemme' know if you've go a KT133A, I've been through
 >hell with it before...

I agree that it's more than likely a missing chipset driver problem.
A basic set of installation steps should look something like:

- Install OS
- Install chipset drivers
- Install DirectX
- Install Windows Updates<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: Problems with ddhelp.exe and drivers? 

I had exactly this "ddhelp (not responing)" problem on two different Windows
98 SE machines, each with a GeForce FX5200 graphics card.
Especially while using Internet Explorer 6 the PC's would intermittently,
unpredictably and temporarily bog down while browsing.

What worked for me:
On both PCs the problem disappeared by reverting to Nvidia's drivers 61.76
(or earlier).
To play more recent games go no earlier than 61.76, which was the first to
include support for DirectX 9.0b.

Make sure you correctly up/downdate your Nvidia drivers:
1) Before installing other drivers make sure you uninstall all NVIDIA
display drivers by selecting "NVIDIA Display Drivers" in Add/Remove
Software. Follow the prompts, incl. Yes to Restart.
2) Follow Windows' prompts to install Generic Graphics Drivers and click Yes
when prompted to restart again.
3) Run Nvidia's setup file of your choice to install the drivers and follow
prompts, incl. Yes to Restart.
4) After setup has finished and the PC has rebooted, run MSCONFIG and
DISABLE all four StartUp items (NvCplDaemon, nwiz, NvMediaCenter and NVSvc)
that Nvidia's setup has added. Reboot when prompted to make these changes
effective.
5) Adjust your Display Settings as desired by right-clicking on the desktop
  > Properties > Settings > etc.

Hope this helps.

- Hans Spoor


"Gerry Wolf" <gwolf.TakeThisOut@wi.rr.com> wrote in message
news:dgane.2711$li.241@tornado.rdc-kc.rr.com...
 > Problem:
 >
 > I'm looking for advice from anyone who would know why I constantly receive
 > ddhelp.exe (not responding) errors on a Windows 98 SE machine which was
 > recently reformatted and the OS cleanly installed.
 >
 > Anytime I try using anything graphic intensive the system bogs down
 > greatly and I mean where the cursor barely moves, and when ctrl-alt-del is
 > pressed the not responding comes up in the listing for ddhelp.exe!!
 >
 > All drivers were updated from nVidia's site, as well as updating directX
 > to version 9.0c. I believe ddhelp.exe is included with directX version 8,
 > but I could be mistaken. Anyway, any and all advice will be appreciated!!
 > It this a nVidia problem?
 >
 > The Video card in the machine is a GeForce4 MX420.
 >
 > Thanks a ton in advance..
 >
 > Gerry
 ><!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: Problems with ddhelp.exe and drivers?