Error #6

[Trevor Newell]

[edited from related support email, solution only]

In the end the problem was that a program that was installed on the system (Netsupport - http://www.netsupportmanager.com/index.asp), messed up the DirectX installation. As a result, DirectX was unable to read the DirectDraw/Direct3D availability and showed them as "N/A". When these two functions are in this state, running a test on DirectRT produces the following error:

DirectRT can not determine your display's refresh rate which is critical for accurate timing. The cause of this problem is usually an outdated or disabled video driver, or disabled hardware acceleration in your video settings. Error #6. Overflow

To resolve it, we followed two steps.

1. Edit the following registry key:
   [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Contro l\GraphicsDrivers\DCI\]
   The "Timeout" value should be set on "7". (Note: You can press the windows key + r to first open the run dialog. From here, you can type in 'regedit' to access the Windows Registry Editor.)
2. Reboot the system and you should find that both DirectDraw and Direct3D are available again.

This forum post has put me in the right direction:
http://www.howtofixcomputers.com/for...-233027-3.html

I am not sure when the registry entry is changed or what triggers it. The program ran for months in a row without any problems and suddenly it changed.

For the record, we are using standard Dell Optiplex GX620 with an Intel Chipset with the built-in graphic card.