Optimus ftw again? Sonic Gen Fail

You come into the thread already knowing my question.

Sonic generations won't run because it can only detect the integrated card. I tried forcing discrete all that

Any other suggestions? Here is a copy of the Graphics.cfg file


Do not manually edit this file, use the configuration tool.
Intel(R) HD Graphics Family
\\.\DISPLAY1
1280.720.60
0
0
1
1
0
d7b78e66-4256-11cf-ea52-9d24b7c2c535
MONITOR\LGD0292\{4d36e96e-e325-11ce-bfc1-08002be10318}\0000
1515474505

Maybe I can manually adjust it?

Thanks!

 

you can try using the nvidia control panel to force it to use the nvidia card, i had to do it for killing floor and it worked, i havent picked up generations just yet tho so im not sure

 

I had the same issue, Sonic is not fun at 7-11fps!!!
Forcing discrete GPU does not work, white listing every exe in the game file doesn't work.... Shoulda bought it on my PS3....

Any help greatly appreciated, oh and I joined the M14x club - just upgraded from M11x r2 - happy days. Full speed GameCube emu here I come

 

Honestly I never understood why I have to rely on the system choosing for me...I'd rather have it like the m11x R1 and choosing it myself. If I wanted to rely on others so much I would've gone mac

I'm going try figuring it out today I tried altering the config file inside to say Nvidia and everything. I even tried to have the Nvidia GPU on 100% with Badaboomit to see if the Sonic Gens configuration would detect the Nvidia card instead of the INtel card...nothing.

sigh...I'll just play it on ps3 for now

Edit:

I also tried disabling the Intel, but then it just screwed up my system, as it couldn't see the Nvidia either...

 

OK I have a temporary fix,

If you connect to another monitor or tv via HDMI on extended desktop the game config picks up the Nvidia GPU. Playing at 1080p at 65-70fps @ max settings - it looks beautiful

Obviously only guys with a hdmi cable and a tv can take advantage right now. Hopefully a better permanent fix comes from Nvidia or Sega soon.

Btw, first decent Sonic game for a long time!!! It really moves fast

 

This the cfg file edited auto by the game, I manged to do the HDMI extend as well
but I tried to trick it back by not going back into cfg mode

Do not manually edit this file, use the configuration tool.
NVIDIA GeForce GT 555M
\\.\DISPLAY3
1366.768.30
1
0
1
1
0
d7b71e3e-4e8d-11cf-ea52-9d241fc2c535
MONITOR\SNY4201\{4d36e96e-e325-11ce-bfc1-08002be10318}\0003
1515474505
lol

 

hmmm weird, so if I duplicate the display I get 30-35 fps, hmmmm either way I'm not happy lol

 

hmm, think it matters if its the steam version or not?

 

I think they are all steam either way:S.

I think the game is steamworks, but I might be wrong.

I gave up on it, I'm playing it on ps3 for now lol

 

ill get the game tomorrow and see if i get any luck making it run on the gt 555, if not then off to the ps3 aswell

 

bugger, same position as you guys - should have read up on this before buying the bloody game

using a gt555m, doesn't work, can't force it OR manually edit the bloody config file to have any effect

hopefully this will get patched :-/

 

The game got a 25 meg patch yesturday, but didn't do anything for Optimus. its embarassing to see my m11x play this and my m14x barely play it.

 

I seemed to have somehow eliminated the critical error on my XPS 15 with Optimus. I can now successfully launch the game with the nvidia gpu. It's running pretty damn smooth @ 720p.

I'm not sure what I did actually. I've been ****ing around with this for about 2 hours and it finally started without any error and it's definitely not running on the integrated chip.

I did try the HDMI thing at first, but now it's running on the laptop itself without any external connections and I can choose the nvidia gpu in the config tool.

 

You would be the first on the entire web to do it, so if you know how it would be useful!

 

Same issue,I have the m11xr1 with manual switching,and I heard from every publication review etc how they wish it had optimus,how great it is I think pc mag said "optimus work's flawlessly".I don't mind the 2 second switch at all anymore,lol, sometimes the latest and greatest (ain't so great!).I am playing batman and I can switch and see the change with m11x,not so with my m14x.I love pretty much everything about these aliens except optimus is really flaky.It suck's having "the fastest 14 inch laptop on the planet" and we can't play a game that our 6 year old tech wise Ps3 play's perfect.Lol.Not bashing M14X at all,I just can't get over all of us getting the game's on a ps3,so we can play without issue's.Optimus has been around too long to be having these issue's,just my opinion.

 

Its a flawed Tech, just like a lot of tech can be flawed at launch. It seems that technology is making us be more reliant on Devs and companies than ourselves.

Keep every1 in line

I tried everything, I even tried running a game in Window mode to see if it would let the Configure tool detect the Nvidia.

No use.

 

I agree except it's not at launch optimus has been used in almost every SB Nvidia laptop for well over a year,in tech terms thats a lifetime,lol.They changed my m11x 3 times in a year.That's all I.m saying,I have both and I prefer my m11xr1 where I can switch and tell instantly no whielisting or hacking etc,I have androids also and I expect to constantly hack them actually that's why I got an android tablet,Ive already changed my Rom's 10 time's.So I agree we are relying on others devs and such for workarounds.That's not right for a system quoted as flawless over a year ago on a top line 14 laptop.Again I expect it with my apple ipad and my android tabs,just not with a 2500 .00 laptop that was said to be easily the best gaming laptop 15 inch or under, yet there's a lot of users who cant play games without messing around with half the unit.Its not like we are changing keys and using throttlestop etc, to OC or get more performance.We're doing it cuz without it we can't even do what we bought it for.

 

Hi, I have a similar problem with steam and Stronghold 3, I see that uses the Nvidia, even if I steam.exe combined with high performance graphics, there is no solution? apart from patches of waiting Dell/Nvidia/Steam.

Thanks and hi

 

Good question.I wish there was an easy answer it seems at this time Its like you said patches and workarounds,I don't expect dell to fix it,but someone on here usualy does,and nvidia is hit or miss,with regard to some manufacturers.I bet someone on these forums finds the solution before nvidia or dell.I remember the xps16 debacle,dell took a year to admit throttling even with engineer's proving it thousands of times,You know how they fixed that?After failing a million times and even monitoring this forum they just scrapped the whole system.

 

if it's consistantly working please post the contents of your cfg file so we can copy + paste

tbh, you'd hope that because so many laptops use optimus nowadays SEGA will patch it fairly sharpish

using an i7-2820QM I booted it up at 1600*900 with all settings (including fsaa) on before I knew about this issue... and it actually took me a while to figure out something wasn't quite right - still getting about 20fps. When I get home I'll turn fsaa off and drop it to 720p and see if it's playable until it gets patched at least

 

I agree and he's got an xps at best the graphics card in those systems are either nvidia 525 or 540,about half the performance of our systems 555.I have an Xps 15 l502 with 2720 I7,Nvidia gt540 2gb and Believe me,the m14x smokes it.I only use my XPS as a multimedia pc as it has one of the nicest screens I ever had the b+rgb 1080p led.And the best sound with the Jbl and max audio.Even better than M14x as far as screen and sound.That's it though.

 

I have tested, and I put in the withe list:
gameoverlayui.exe
steam.exe

and how nvidia global settings high-performance

and now I see that stronghold3 use nvidia gpu

see if the next time it still works.

the use of drv Dell 285.62 P08 of 31/10/2011

hi

 

tried that already...nothing.

 

That's what Im saying,you can change drivers whitelist whatever,It does't help.Obviously since theres a hundred different posts about various issues with optimus and games.You may have misunderstood,Im saying it doesn't work.This is a common issue and dell know's about it.So does nvidia,that's why I said someone here will find a fix before they will.Nvidia had 3 driver updates since around battlefield and dell,s Bios,yet here we are.

ALL of us tried those,I hate this whitelisting and global BS,and now I have to use my ps3.

 

there is a fix... but only for those people who have already connected an external monitor recently via HDMI after installing the latest drivers (the nvidia HDMI driver is not loaded until the first time you connect a display)

Originally Posted by BrainOfSweden
Found a working fix
First of all, I want to thank everyone that gave me ideas, this is kind of a mashup of all fixes I've found that only worked partly. Unfortunately I don't remember where I read everything, so, thanks to everyone who tried to get the game running.
Second, this fix requires no extra screens or cables.

I cant guarantee it will work on every laptop, but if you have an Nvidia Optimus card, try it. Here's how to:

Begin with opening Nvidia control panel. In the "Manage 3D settings" tab, go to program settings and click add.
Navigate to your Steam installation path, and go to \steamapps\common\Sonic Generations\ and choose the sonicgenerations.exe file. Force it to use your Nvidia card. I don't know if it's necessary, but I also did this with the config exe.
After you have applied the settings, go to your desktop.

Right click and select screen resolution. In this window you should click detect. If you can see two displays that are grayed out and named after your video cards, you're probably good to go.
Choose your Nvidia card and select "Attempt to connect anyway on (VGA in my case)". Don't remember which drop down menu it is, just fool around a little. When you found it, click apply.
Then, choose extended desktop and apply again. This will force-activate your discrete GPU.
Now the fun starts.

Open the Sonic Config tool and see if your Nvidia card is present (it really should be), and of course, choose it.
Now start Sonic, and it will propably work.

What's technically happening is that Sonic starts on the discrete GPU, wich is on the faked monitor. But since we forced Nvidia in their control panel, it will switch upon starting on the built in screen that Sonic only recognizes as the integrated GPU.

this will work ONLY if you've connected a display in the past... if, like me you've recently updated drivers and you're stuck in a hotel room then the nvidia card won't show up as an option for the "fake" extended display... just to confirm this is a fix to get sonic generations running with the NVIDIA card on your laptop screen, not an external display - it just relies on the NVIDIA HDMI driver being installed and activated

rubbishness, am stuck waiting for SEGA to update this fecking game

 

not working for me at all, and i use my hdmi out all the time and no luck

 

Seems like LOTR: War in the North is having the same problem as well.

 

it seems like the only option still is outputting it on a tv or monitor via hdmi, i personally have no problem with that, ill just use my ps3 controller

 

Bump,

Any news on the front?

 

ive tried everything with no luck, except outputting to an external monitor or tv via hdmi, seems to be the only fix unless there is a patch out that i didnt get

 

nope, none of the workarounds fix the issue for me... seems anyone with a gt555m I've spoken to cannot fix the issue

SEGA did email me back saying they were aware of the issue and "nvidia would be fixing it with a driver update" which I doubt will happen as it's not a problem with Optimus in the first place - it's a problem with the game refusing to boot once the NVIDIA card is activated because it doesn't match the hardware config.

case in point... modern warfare 3 boots automatically to the Intel HD card, the config tool doesn't recognise the NVIDIA card, when you force the game to use the nvidia card and boot the game it comes back with "hardware config has changed, would you like the game to re-calibrate settings based on current hardware"... you click "yes" and the game boots normally using the NVIDIA card without a problem

all sega need to do is remove the check that spazzes out once the game's booted with the NVIDIA card and all would be ok - I'd bet money that this NEVER happens

 

Had a similar thing occur with DOW 2 a year ago, the game wouldn't acknowledge the card and neither Nvidia nor Relic were taking responsibility. Eventually turned out to be Relics fault, only problem is I don't see Sega actually giving a damn.

 

I recently bought Sonic & Sega All Stars Racing through Steam (it was on sale). I first went to my config, changed everything to High settings (I have an M11X R2 with an i7 processor and 8GB or ram..so I figured I was safe). When I started up the game, I soon realized that everything from the intro video and menus to the game itself ran at a framerate of 0-5. I reset my values to Low settings... same exact performance.

When I went in a third time, I realized under display adapters it was showing the Intel HD Graphics card. AHA I said... I'll simply change this to my NVIDIA. But here's the catch. It doesn't show it!

This is the only game that I've bought through Steam that doesn't seem to see the NVIDIA card and I'm just at a loss as to why it's not and what I can do to solve this.

Thanks everyone.

I tried going into my Nvidia control panel and setting the Nvidia card to run specifically for S&S All Star Racing. However, once again, when I go into my config file, the Intel HD Graphics is the only thing that shows up. Getting tired of this...

I've seen other issues having issues with Optimus. Does the fault lie there or with the game? Thanks.

 

This is a problem with the game as I have the exact problem with Sonic Generations. If you plug in your M11x into a TV or Monitor through HDMI, it should use Nvidia. There is another fix which involves setting up a virtual display which doesn't exist but it didn't work for me.

 

Maybe you should see this in INI files or config files within the game.

I use to have that problem with Rayman 3 ( even with Nvidia GPU on , it uses the Intel one ) , and changing " primary GPU " or something like this line , you can change wich card it use.

Maybe it's the same kind of problem.

 

There is a settings ini file but it's impossible to trick it into using the gt555m, if I force the game to use the nvidia card then, upon booting it complains in a Jedi manner that "this isn't the config I was looking for"

It's impossible to force the sonic generations config to acknowledge that anything other than the intel hd card exists (unless you hook it up to an external monitor... Then everything is fine as the hdmi out is linked directly to the nvidia card)

Nvidia confirmed in a forum post about this issue (a couple of months ago now) that they were working on a fix via a driver update but whether or not this will ever materialise is questionable now... Realistically it IS a sega issue, you can force the game to recognise the card but it spazzes out when the graphics switch from intel to nvidia upon booting, shows a "I can't let you do that, dave" message and closes... All they need to do is remove the check when the game boots

Never mind, got a pc turning up next week with 16gb ram, i7 2700k and an amd hd7970 card... That should do it


---
I am here: http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=51.124093,-0.146801

 

This is from another site. It resolved my issue last night. Now I can not only run it, but I can run it with the correct graphics card. Works flawlessly with high settings on everything. Here you go: Edit this works for both Sonic Generations and Sonic & Sega All Stars Racing)


Here's how to step by step:
1 ) Open your NVIDIA Control Panel(By right clicking on the desktop and selecting the "NVIDIA Control Panel")

2 ) On the 3D Settings List, Chose "Manage 3D Settings"

3 ) On the "Program Settings" tab, add the SonicGenerations.exe and ConfigurationTool.exe in your installation folder, then force both of them to use the High Performance NVIDIA processor. (Don't forget to apply the changes)

4 ) Open your "Screen Resolution" window (By right clicking on the desktop and selecting "Screen Resolution").

5 ) Click Detect

6 ) It should display additional monitors greyed out and saying "Another display not detected". Find the one that is not Intel Integrated Graphics but your High Performance NVIDIA Graphics (Whichever it is) and select it.

7 ) On the "Multiple displays", chose "Try to connect anyway on: VGA" (it can be another slot depending on your hardware).

8 ) Apply.

9 ) Again on the "Multiple dislpays", chose "Extend these displays".

10 ) Run the ConfigurationTool.exe, it should show your NVIDIA graphics card as a graphics adapter.

11 ) Select your main display which is Intel Integrated Graphics. (Do NOT select your NVIDIA card!!! Because it is not associated with a monitor.)

12 ) Run the game normally. It should work fine now.

 

Hey Ceramic,

As this worked for you maybe you can help.

at point 6. It only displays one other monitor and this is associated with the intel HD graphics - the only other bein monitor 1 - also intel HD. There is no Nvidia Graphics there, hence the whole fix breaks down.

Any idea how to rectify this?

Cheers

Ash

 

It only displays additional monitors for some laptops... About 50% of people that try it say it doesn't work

Doesn't work for me either


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I am here: http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=51.124176,-0.146961

 

Mine was the same way. The second monitor (after selecting it) should have a drop down menu where it lists it as an Intel monitor. Simply select it to be an NVIDIA one instead (for the second greyed out monitor). Force the connection like the following step says (basically having the monitor "there", but not really there) extend the desktop and you're done. If for some reason you're still not able to get this down, I'll see if I can't make a video for you guys that you can follow.

 

No mate, we get it - just not all laptops with Optimus have the nvidia drop down option that you can force


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I am here: http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=51.124052,-0.146983

 

Sorry for your luck then. I figured your M14X laptops would be pretty much the same as my M11X. What a pain.

 

I'll check for the drop down option when I get home from work tonight and update. Fingers crossed!!!

 

If you have an M11X, it should be there! Good luck!

 

Unfortunately its not there and I sold my M11x for the M14x as I wanted more gaming grunt..... which performance-wise it has in spades over my old i7 R2. but I wish I could play sonic on my 14x without my tv connected....... Dammit Sega - sort it out!!!!

 

Nvidia might sort it in a driver update... Maybe ;-(


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I am here: http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=51.124220,-0.147017

 

Sorry to hear your bad luck. I still don't understand why our computers are different in this respect. Ah well.

And something tells me NVIDIA could care less about fixing your driver. I really hope future Alienwares don't have Optimus and just have one graphics card in there that does everything. Battery life be damned.

 

Hi,
since I manage to do every possible combination of the famous trick to make this game works with my Nvidia, could you please inform me how did you make it works with an external monitor using this damn graphic card? I have an optimum as you, but is the GeForce GT 630 M. Whatever I do, also connecting an external monitor, the computer forces to use the intel graphic card.
Is there anyone that could help me?

PLEASE, could you please inform me how did you do that?? I'm totally going crazy with this! I've tried everything. I've a Geforce GT 630M.
My HDMI output seems to be operated by the intel card and I cannot manage to let it be driven by the NVIDIA card.

 

Wow this sucks. Hope you figure this out because I have Sonic Gen on Xbox and its freaking awesome.

 

Well thanks, this sure is comforting -.-
LOL