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Who manages to force Refresh Rates in Vista ?

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shiznit,

Yes. In the main window for Refreshlock there is an option "Always use the fastest safe frequency mode". Uncheck this.

In Advanced Settings -- Make sure "Run this program on boot" is not checked. As that'll revert it back to 60hz for some strange reason.

I can run 140hz at 800*600 but Refreshlock only safely wants to give me 120hz. So, I don't have "Always use the fastest safe frequency mode" checked myself. I've manually inputted the maximum rates for each resolution I use.

800*600 @ 140hz
1024*768 @ 100hz
1152*864 @ 100hz
1280*960 @ 85hz
1280*1024 @ 85hz

I very rarely use 800*600. 1024*768 is usually the lowest i'll go in a game these days. And with the older games playing at 1280*960(or 1024) is quite a nice feeling.

Hopefully this helps. This is the only reason I haven't rolled back to Windows XP.

I'm still on the hunt for some proper motherboard drivers, but that'll be an issue i'll resolve soon enough. I'm only 36hours into using this OS. So I aim to have my system running meticulously within a week or so.

I quite enjoy the small problems i'm encoutering. Windows XP has been boring me for a while - haha.

Good luck Matey Potatey~
 
I'm building a vlite image as i type this, will be trying this very soon and i'll get back to you guys. i agree with you on the resolution, 1280x800 is as low as i go these days since i finally have the hardware, but 960x600 is still king for league CS:S, i dont know what it is but i get many more headshots at that res 😀.
 
ok i tried to run Refresh Lock as admin and did everything you said, no dice. The monitor clicks twice like it's trying to go do the refresh i set but then it ends up on 60 or 85hz depending on resolution. This is fucking driving me crazy, i can play CS:S @ 120-150hz in XP and i have to use 60 or 85hz in Vista, so much for progress. We really need an official fix for this, making us use third party programs in XP to fix this bullshit was bad enough, making those programs not work in Vista is just ridiculous. Good think i got this copy of Vista for free from work or I would be really angry.

I even added my custom resolutions in the registry as detailed in Nvidia's pdf (which work on the desktop btw but not in games WTF?), and even loaded a custom made monitor driver, still nothing.
 
Ok, so, so far, it works for Helious but not shiznit ?

And, Helious, please tell me, is your Vista 32-Bit or 64-Bit ? Thanks.
 
for me custom refresh rates only work right after i change monitor drivers and run refresh force as admin to set them. This is after I added the particular resolution and refresh rate to the registry using the method described in Nvidia's pdf. After reboot it doesnt stick anymore and i have to rollback the monitor driver, and re-change it to fw900, and re-set the custom rate in refresh force. using Vista x64, amazing os which runs CS:S better than XP once i set up alchemy properly, but this refresh crap is preventing me from using fulltime.
 
Did anyone ever get this monitor to refresh correctly in games when using vista?. Any solution at all?
 
I will give a try to a new Vista install this week-end, and my Monitor is VGA, although I am using a VGA-to-DVI converter for my 8800GTS. I will certainly come back and post my findings. I hope it will be all positive and that I will finally be able to actually STAY with Vista this time around, or else, back to XP again until I buy myself an LCD and don't have to worry about Refresh Rates anymore.
 
This is really beginning to bug me!
All it takes is for EITHER Microsoft to FIX the issue, but allowing users to set a minimum refresh rate, OR for Game makers to add a refresh setting in the game menus.
Crikey's, i installed Worms 4 Mayhem, and evne IT has a refresh rate setting...!
Why a brand new game like Bioshock doesn't is beyond me!
I'll try refreshlock and reforce again...usually ATI Tools does the job for me, but no longer!
 
Btw hows refresh lock working for you in vista Yxalitis?. Can you get what ever refresh rate you want at any resolution?. Also have you managed to get past the 16BIT color issue at all?.

Also please stake what type of cable you are using thanks
 
Is it true vista dosent have any refresh rate problems with the fw900 if you use vga cables or is that just plain out false?.
 
False, Vista has internal issues with refresh rates and CRT's, it is a fundamental and universal issue. Of all the discussion forums I've visited, all CRT owners trying to use Vista for gaming all confirm that their refresh rates won't stick when a 3D application is launched, and often won't stick for simple Desktop usage. It has been overlooked by Microsoft and they don't care much about it, or else it would have been fixed a long time ago.

Microsoft, in theory, are subtly forcing all CRT owners out there to move on and switch to LCDs. If that's not the case than all I can say about Microsoft is that they aren't as professional as I first thought when it comes to the development process of their OS and more importantly to the "testing" phases before it gets released to the public. If the refresh rate issue is truly and simply a "bug", something that Microsoft "simply forgot about" then I won't add any comments, they just didn't do their job properly. They probably think that 90% of the market uses LCD's ? Sadly for them that's not the case.

So, FW900 or not, F900B or not, Viewsonic, Samsung or LG Electronics or not, as soon as you got a CRT and Vista be prepared to be tempted to go back (and usually do like I myself did even though I did bought Vista) to XP.
 
I found this thread with the search function and tried refresh lock with no lock.

Powerstrip was the solution.
 
Originally posted by: ROcHE
I found this thread with the search function and tried refresh lock with no lock.

Powerstrip was the solution.
Click to expand...

Please tell me, what CRT do you have, what Graphics Card, and which version of Windows Vista is concerned in your case ?

Also, did you manage to make the Refresh Rate stick for games, or was it just working for Desktop usage ?

Thanks.
 
Try loading a custom monitor driver (inf file) into Windows with all the low refresh modes filtered out. You can edit it yourself or use Rivatuner to do it for you. I use this trick in XP and it works fine without the need of any refresh forcing programs.
 
Originally posted by: CP5670
Try loading a custom monitor driver (inf file) into Windows with all the low refresh modes filtered out. You can edit it yourself or use Rivatuner to do it for you. I use this trick in XP and it works fine without the need of any refresh forcing programs.
Click to expand...

Wait you just lost me right there buddy.

Explain to me in details, steps by steps what I have to do, please.
 
Okay, you need to have the inf driver file for your monitor. You can usually get those from the manufacturer websites. Open it in notepad (it's just a text file) and go to the [Mon.AddReg] section. For each resolution, you will see the vertical scan frequency range followed by the supported refresh rate range. Change the minimum refresh rates to the highest ones that your monitor supports (you'll see what I'm talking about when you look at the file). They will usually all be 50 or 60 by default and should be increased. You then need to load that file into Windows through the device manager's "update driver" function. You may need to do it two or three times for it to work. When it works, Windows will complain that the driver is not WHQL certified, but that's fine. Now you're all set.

Just as there is a limit to how high the refresh rate can be without damaging the monitor, there is also a lower limit. This procedure makes Windows use the high refresh rates under all circumstances since it thinks that your monitor is not capable of displaying the lower refresh modes.
 
Ok, thanks a lot, I will definitely give that one a try.

But I also wonder, how do I make sure that the refresh rates will stick to 3D applications ?

Do the changes you're suggesting apply universally in the OS (Desktop AND Applications) ?

Additionally, I also use RivaTuner, so in case it doesn't work as you suggested, then how could RivaTuner "do it for me" like you said ? Do I have to look for something under the Power User options ?

And, finally, will it work in Vista 64-Bit ?

Thanks.
 
Yeah, they work fine in 3D programs. Windows seems to have a protection mechanism that prevents it from ever outputting an unsupported (and potentially dangerous) refresh rate, so you're basically using that system to your advantage.

I did this about two years ago and have never worried about refresh rates since then, as Windows automatically puts it on the highest setting everywhere since it thinks that's only the rate that is safe for the monitor.

If you want to use Rivatuner, select the "low level refresh rate settings" thing (the picture of a monitor) and go to the monitor driver wizard tab. It can make the driver for you, although editing the file is simple enough that this isn't really needed.

Of course, this is on XP. I don't know if this works on Vista, but my guess is it will.
 
Oh I see, so everything you've suggested and said that worked was in fact for XP ? But as you can see this thread is about Vista. I guess the best way to know if it works is to try it. Last week-end I didn't had the time to re-install my Vista but I will definitely try this upcoming week-end due to these new tips that I wasn't aware of. Thanks for stepping in and letting us know 🙂
 
Yes, I thought that was clear from my first post in here. But as long as Vista has that "hide modes that this monitor cannot display" checkbox in the diplay properties, chances are that Vista still has this overscan protection system and my method will work. It's worth noting that I tried numerous refresh rate forcing programs before this and they all failed to work in some program or another, while this has been flawless. I hope you get it working. (all the more so since I will run into the same problem at some point, as I have no intention of giving up my CRT either 😛)
 
Something is still not clear enough to me though.

Will it work in 64-Bit Vista ? I don't know much about what's different in 32-Bit or 64-Bit drivers and files and such, but wouldn't it be incompatible ?

Well, take my case for example actually, my monitor is a LG F900B. The drivers for it are on the CD-Rom it came with, that's cool. If I tried your suggestion, I would need the drivers files first, to edit them of course. But those "files", the drivers, I mean more like the whole data in the CD-Rom was made for Windows XP 32-Bit.

Now let's say I try that in Vista 64-Bit (it will be the case, I don't have the 32-Bit version). Then wouldn't Vista tell me something like "this driver is not a 64-Bit driver" and wouldn't install ?
 
The inf files, although technically drivers, are so simple that I don't see how there would be any 32-bit specific data in them. They're just text files with some entries containing information about the monitor, not binaries at all.
 
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