Downgrade Graphics Drivers Possible?

My daughter's iMac has the inbuilt Radeon X1600 with 128MB of VRAM. She spends (far too much!) time playing Sims 2 and some of the expansion packs and has had no problems with this until the 10.5.5 update. Now the game crashes repeatedly, always showing 'glengine' as the culprit in the crash log.

I've tried reinstalling the game from scratch for her, after deleting all the old files, with the same end result. I've also reinstalled 10.5.5 from the combo. The game is patched as per the latest updates from the manufacturer, and I've tried all of their FAQs and troubleshooting steps.

I'm guessing that something to do with display drivers changed in the 10.5.5 update? Is there a safe way to downgrade these? If not, to avoid a fate worse than death (those with ten year old girls will know what I mean) I may have to downgrade everything to 10.5.4. Is there a painless way to do this? (Graphics only would be my first choice since I think this is all that's broken).

Thanks.

David

Mac Pro Dual 3GHz, 8GB RAM, ATI 3870, 30" ACD + 23" ACD, Mac OS X (10.5.5), MBP 17", iMac Intel 20", G4 Mini

Posted on Oct 14, 2008 12:55 PM

Reply
6 replies

Oct 14, 2008 1:04 PM in response to David Thorpe2

Why don't you instead try reinstalling OS X. You probably have a corrupted system problem rather than a problem with the graphic drivers. You can try a reinstall this way:

How to Perform an Archive and Install

An Archive and Install will NOT erase your hard drive, but you must have sufficient free space for a second OS X installation which could be from 3-9 GBs depending upon the version of OS X and selected installation options. The free space requirement is over and above normal free space requirements which should be at least 6-10 GBs. Read all the linked references carefully before proceeding.

1. Be sure to use Disk Utility first to repair the disk before performing the Archive and Install.

Repairing the Hard Drive and Permissions

Boot from your OS X Installer disc. After the installer loads select your language and click on the Continue button. When the menu bar appears select Disk Utility from the Installer menu (Utilities menu for Tiger.) After DU loads select your hard drive entry (mfgr.'s ID and drive size) from the the left side list. In the DU status area you will see an entry for the S.M.A.R.T. status of the hard drive. If it does not say "Verified" then the hard drive is failing or failed. (SMART status is not reported on external Firewire or USB drives.) If the drive is "Verified" then select your OS X volume from the list on the left (sub-entry below the drive entry,) click on the First Aid tab, then click on the Repair Disk button. If DU reports any errors that have been fixed, then re-run Repair Disk until no errors are reported. If no errors are reported, then quit DU and return to the installer.

If DU reports errors it cannot fix, then you will need Disk Warrior (4.0 for Tiger) and/or TechTool Pro (4.5.2 for Tiger) to repair the drive. If you don't have either of them or if neither of them can fix the drive, then you will need to reformat the drive and reinstall OS X.

2. Do not proceed with an Archive and Install if DU reports errors it cannot fix. In that case use Disk Warrior and/or TechTool Pro to repair the hard drive. If neither can repair the drive, then you will have to erase the drive and reinstall from scratch.

3. Boot from your OS X Installer disc. After the installer loads select your language and click on the Continue button. When you reach the screen to select a destination drive click once on the destination drive then click on the Option button. Select the Archive and Install option. You have an option to preserve users and network preferences. Only select this option if you are sure you have no corrupted files in your user accounts. Otherwise leave this option unchecked. Click on the OK button and continue with the OS X Installation.

4. Upon completion of the Archive and Install you will have a Previous System Folder in the root directory. You should retain the PSF until you are sure you do not need to manually transfer any items from the PSF to your newly installed system.

5. After moving any items you want to keep from the PSF you should delete it. You can back it up if you prefer, but you must delete it from the hard drive.

6. You can now download a Combo Updater directly from Apple's download site to update your new system to the desired version as well as install any security or other updates. You can also do this using Software Update.

I would not select the option to preserve users. If you do this will simply transfer the accounts. Since it's possible that the accounts themselves may have corrupted data, it would be best not to transfer them during the Archive and Install. This will be almost like making a new installation except that all third-party applications are transferred and your old system is completed saved in the Previous System Folder so nothing is lost in the process.

Oct 14, 2008 1:18 PM in response to David Thorpe2

I hope Kappy's suggestion works for you.

However, there has been a well known problem with mac graphics drivers for those who play World of Warcraft. Suppose I should say there is ongoing discussion between Blizzard Entertainment and Apple for some months now. The problem developed with the system update release 10.5.3. Those who stayed at 10.5.2 have no problem related.

This is FWIW - I have not heard of a fix or work around besides reverting to 10.5.2.

HTH

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Downgrade Graphics Drivers Possible?

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