Goggle Earth Problem

For the first time since I bought this new computer with Vista, I tried to go
on Google Earth and I get distorted pictures with all kinds of blocks of
different colors in them. I have everything updated since this is a new Dell
computer.
Any suggestions.?

Maureen wrote:
> For the first time since I bought this new computer with Vista, I tried to go
> on Google Earth and I get distorted pictures with all kinds of blocks of
> different colors in them. I have everything updated since this is a new Dell
> computer.
> Any suggestions.?

Check your graphics settings. Have you checked for updates for your
graphics card?

Alias

Hi Maureen,

It sounds like a video driver problem.

First, make sure you have Google Earth configured to use DirectX rather than
OpenGL. Vista prefers DirectX.

(Look in Google Earth, Tools menu, Options, 3D View, Graphics Mode)

You may also need to play with Texture Colours and Anisotropic Filtering
options, to find a setting which matches your video adaptor.

If you are still having problems after that, check for an updated version of
the video driver for your machine. Many manufacturers have released updated
drivers, as bugs and wrinkles in their new Vista drivers are being ironed
out. Where you will get your updated driver, depends entirely on the brand
of PC you have and what brand of video card it has installed.

FWIW, I have Google Earth running on Vista beautifully - there's no
fundamantal conflict between Google earth and Vista. But you might need to
tweak the video settings a bit with any new PC, whether its running XP,
Vista or even Linux.

Hope this helps,
Andrew

"Alias" wrote:

> Maureen wrote:
> > For the first time since I bought this new computer with Vista, I tried to go
> > on Google Earth and I get distorted pictures with all kinds of blocks of
> > different colors in them. I have everything updated since this is a new Dell
> > computer.
> > Any suggestions.?
>
> Check your graphics settings. Have you checked for updates for your
> graphics card?
>
> Alias
> Yes, my son-in-law was over last night and checked everything. It is all up to date. I am also having a problem with I-Tunes and not being able to see videos.

Hello Maureen,

Google earth is definitely compatible with Windows Vista. Make sure that your computer meets the
minimum specs as listed here:

http://earth.google.com/download-earth.html

Apple iTunes, to my knowledge, had some issues with Windows Vista. Please check with Apple support
regarding issues with Apple iTunes at http://support.apple.com

--
Anando
Microsoft MVP- Windows Shell/User
http://www.microsoft.com/mvp

Microsoft Certified Professional
http://www.microsoft.com/mcp

My Blog
http://www.anando.org/blog
"Maureen" <> wrote in message
news:211F2FF1-F466-484B-8699-...
> For the first time since I bought this new computer with Vista, I tried to go
> on Google Earth and I get distorted pictures with all kinds of blocks of
> different colors in them. I have everything updated since this is a new Dell
> computer.
> Any suggestions.?

"Andrew McLaren" wrote:

> Hi Maureen,
>
> It sounds like a video driver problem.
>
> First, make sure you have Google Earth configured to use DirectX rather than
> OpenGL. Vista prefers DirectX.
>
> (Look in Google Earth, Tools menu, Options, 3D View, Graphics Mode)
>
> You may also need to play with Texture Colours and Anisotropic Filtering
> options, to find a setting which matches your video adaptor.
>
> If you are still having problems after that, check for an updated version of
> the video driver for your machine. Many manufacturers have released updated
> drivers, as bugs and wrinkles in their new Vista drivers are being ironed
> out. Where you will get your updated driver, depends entirely on the brand
> of PC you have and what brand of video card it has installed.
>
> FWIW, I have Google Earth running on Vista beautifully - there's no
> fundamantal conflict between Google earth and Vista. But you might need to
> tweak the video settings a bit with any new PC, whether its running XP,
> Vista or even Linux.
>
> Hope this helps,
> Andrew
> Hi Andrew,
I checked what you said and is was on Direct X so I thought I would try to
switch it to open GL just to see what happens and with that it took all of
the distortions away. Does that make any sense. I was on yesterday with a
Dell rep and he installed NVIDIA Ge Force and I just checked for updates and
it is fine. I will have to have my son-in-law check on what you said about
colours and filtering. Is it OK to leave it in Open GL now that it is working
and why would mine be different?
Thanks for all of your help. I really appreciate it as I do not know too
much about computers myself.

"Anando [MVP]" wrote:

> Hello Maureen,
>
> Google earth is definitely compatible with Windows Vista. Make sure that your computer meets the
> minimum specs as listed here:
>
> http://earth.google.com/download-earth.html
>
> Apple iTunes, to my knowledge, had some issues with Windows Vista. Please check with Apple support
> regarding issues with Apple iTunes at http://support.apple.com
>
> --
> Anando
> Microsoft MVP- Windows Shell/User
> http://www.microsoft.com/mvp
>
> Microsoft Certified Professional
> http://www.microsoft.com/mcp
>
> My Blog
> http://www.anando.org/blog
> "Maureen" <> wrote in message
> news:211F2FF1-F466-484B-8699-...
> > For the first time since I bought this new computer with Vista, I tried to go
> > on Google Earth and I get distorted pictures with all kinds of blocks of
> > different colors in them. I have everything updated since this is a new Dell
> > computer.
> > Any suggestions.?
> Thanks for your reply. I will have my son-in-law check check my specs. I have called Apple for help with I-Tunes and they will not help me because I have a Dell computer and no i-pod. They told me to deal directly with I-Tunes by e-mail which I am doing.
Thank you.

"Maureen" wrote:

>
>
> "Andrew McLaren" wrote:
>
> > Hi Maureen,
> >
> > It sounds like a video driver problem.
> >
> > First, make sure you have Google Earth configured to use DirectX rather than
> > OpenGL. Vista prefers DirectX.
> >
> > (Look in Google Earth, Tools menu, Options, 3D View, Graphics Mode)
> >
> > You may also need to play with Texture Colours and Anisotropic Filtering
> > options, to find a setting which matches your video adaptor.
> >
> > If you are still having problems after that, check for an updated version of
> > the video driver for your machine. Many manufacturers have released updated
> > drivers, as bugs and wrinkles in their new Vista drivers are being ironed
> > out. Where you will get your updated driver, depends entirely on the brand
> > of PC you have and what brand of video card it has installed.
> >
> > FWIW, I have Google Earth running on Vista beautifully - there's no
> > fundamantal conflict between Google earth and Vista. But you might need to
> > tweak the video settings a bit with any new PC, whether its running XP,
> > Vista or even Linux.
> >
> > Hope this helps,
> > Andrew
> > Hi Andrew,
> I checked what you said and is was on Direct X so I thought I would try to
> switch it to open GL just to see what happens and with that it took all of
> the distortions away. Does that make any sense. I was on yesterday with a
> Dell rep and he installed NVIDIA Ge Force and I just checked for updates and
> it is fine. I will have to have my son-in-law check on what you said about
> colours and filtering. Is it OK to leave it in Open GL now that it is working
> and why would mine be different?
> Thanks for all of your help. I really appreciate it as I do not know too
> much about computers myself.

Hi Andrew,
The distortion started happening again with it in Open GL so I put it back
in DirectX, shut the computer off and turn it back on and now it is working
ok.
Hope it stays this way. I do appreciate you taking the time to help me.

"Maureen" <> wrote
> The distortion started happening again with it in Open GL so I put it back
> in DirectX, shut the computer off and turn it back on and now it is
> working

Hmmm ... that makes it sound like something is corrupting the video memory.

If it's working okay now, well, fingers crossed Let's just wait and see.

But if the problem re-occurs, you should definitely look at the video
drivers - tell us exactly what kind of machine you have (brand and model),
and what sort of video adaptor it has.

Also, look for patterns - does the problem start occurring after you run
some other application? (eg GoggEarth runs okay; run some another app X;
then run Goog Earth again, see that display is distorted).

Good luck,
Andrew

"Maureen" <> wrote in message
news:827CAF90-3E77-40E8-8AFC-...
>
>
> "Maureen" wrote:
>
>>
>>
>> "Andrew McLaren" wrote:
>>
>> > Hi Maureen,
>> >
>> > It sounds like a video driver problem.
>> >
>> > First, make sure you have Google Earth configured to use DirectX rather
>> > than
>> > OpenGL. Vista prefers DirectX.
>> >
>> > (Look in Google Earth, Tools menu, Options, 3D View, Graphics Mode)
>> >
>> > You may also need to play with Texture Colours and Anisotropic
>> > Filtering
>> > options, to find a setting which matches your video adaptor.
>> >
>> > If you are still having problems after that, check for an updated
>> > version of
>> > the video driver for your machine. Many manufacturers have released
>> > updated
>> > drivers, as bugs and wrinkles in their new Vista drivers are being
>> > ironed
>> > out. Where you will get your updated driver, depends entirely on the
>> > brand
>> > of PC you have and what brand of video card it has installed.
>> >
>> > FWIW, I have Google Earth running on Vista beautifully - there's no
>> > fundamantal conflict between Google earth and Vista. But you might need
>> > to
>> > tweak the video settings a bit with any new PC, whether its running XP,
>> > Vista or even Linux.
>> >
>> > Hope this helps,
>> > Andrew
>> > Hi Andrew,
>> I checked what you said and is was on Direct X so I thought I would try
>> to
>> switch it to open GL just to see what happens and with that it took all
>> of
>> the distortions away. Does that make any sense. I was on yesterday with
>> a
>> Dell rep and he installed NVIDIA Ge Force and I just checked for updates
>> and
>> it is fine. I will have to have my son-in-law check on what you said
>> about
>> colours and filtering. Is it OK to leave it in Open GL now that it is
>> working
>> and why would mine be different?
>> Thanks for all of your help. I really appreciate it as I do not know too
>> much about computers myself.
>
> Hi Andrew,
> The distortion started happening again with it in Open GL so I put it back
> in DirectX, shut the computer off and turn it back on and now it is
> working
> ok.
> Hope it stays this way. I do appreciate you taking the time to help me.
>
>


Maureen,

Have your son-in-law run memory diagnostics... I can only assume that your
Dell PC's video card is on-board, without knowing which Ge Force card it is,
it's hard to know... ;-) At any rate, if it is on-board video (meaning it's
integrated on to the motherboard of your PC and not a dedicated, separate
card) then chances are, oh, about 100% that's it's using shared RAM. (Which
means some of the system RAM is being allocated for use with the video
subsystem.) So... if any of your system RAM is suspect, it could have a
direct impact on your video.

Another thing... how much RAM does your system have? (The easiest way to
find this is to right click on the Computer icon on your desktop and select
properties. The window that appears will have a System section and in that
section will be listed "Memory (RAM):" If you don't have a "computer" icon
on your desktop, then click the Start Orb, Control Panel, System and
Maintenance, System, and you'll end up with the same window...) And how much
RAM is allocated to the video subsystem?

If you've got Vista Home Basic with 512MB's RAM... this conversation takes
on a whole different aspect. If you have Home Premium with 1GB of RAM, then
it's most likely either bad RAM or bad video driver or "something else."
(LOL!... sorry... but it's true...)

Lang