What to Do If the Full Screen Test Fails

If the Full Screen diagnostic test fails, then an incompatibility exists within the system. The possible issues include: driver incompatibility with DirectX, hardware limitations, older versions of DirectX, and other system configuration settings. Driver incompatibility is the most likely issue.

Troubleshooting Video Card Drivers
If you are experiencing problems with Full Screen video in RealPlayer 5.0, G2, 7, or 8, you may need to update the video card driver on your computer. Many video card manufacturers now offer drivers which support Microsoft DirectX. After updating the video card driver, check the ReadMe file or release notes included with the update for mention of DirectX support.

Current drivers are more likely to be DirectX compatible. Driver updates can usually be downloaded freely from the Web. Check your video card manufacturer’s Web site for the updates. Click here for a list of links to driver pages of popular video card manufacturers. If the manufacturer of your video card is not in the list, look for a URL in the video card documentation or use a search site (e.g., Yahoo.com, AskJeeves.com, Google.com, or AltaVista.com) to locate their site.

There are three steps to updating video card drivers: download and unzip the new driver, disable the current driver, and install the new driver. Please follow the manufacturer’s installation instructions if they have provided details. Generic instructions for Windows 95 are provided below.

Step 1: Download and unzip the video driver.

1. Access the video card manufacturer’s Web site.
2. Browse to the Drivers section. (It is usually in the Support area).
3. Click on the appropriate driver option.
4. When the Save As dialog box appears, choose a directory that is easy to remember.
5. Use a program such as WinZip to decompress the file.

Step 2: Disable the current video driver.

1. Access the Control Panel from Settings in the Start menu.
2. Double click on System.
3. Click on the Device Manager tab.
4. Double click Display adapters.
5. Double click on your video card.
6. Click the General tab.
7. Click the Original Configuration check box to disable it.
8. Click OK and Yes to restart the computer.

Step 3: Install the new driver.

1. Access the Control Panel from Settings in the Start menu.
   
2. Double click on Add New Hardware.
   
3. In the Wizard, click Next, No, and Next
   
4. Double click on Display adapters
   
5. Click on Have Disk
   
6. Browse to the location of the previously saved driver
   
7. Click OK
   

Use Current DirectX Version When Possible
Running the current version of DirectX is generally recommended unless there are known system conflicts. The current version will have updated drivers and improved features. Please be aware that there may be a slight lag time between the release of a new DirectX version and manufacturer driver certification for the new version. Check the driver ReadMe or release notes for information on DirectX version support.

Note: There is a compatibility problem with RealPlayer 5.0 and DirectX 5.0. If you have DirectX 5.0 installed on your computer, please download and install a later version of Microsoft DirectX.