Weird game quirks - Vista 64 bit or my video card?

I recently got myself a Radeon 4850 and decided to upgrade to 64 bit Vista (had 32 bit previously). My previous graphics card was an NVIDIA 8600 GT. After installing 64 bit Vista + the Radeon 4850 I noticed several problems with some of my games.

1. Counter-Strike 1.6
Whenever I minimize the game it would automatically close it (forcing me to open up the game again). I changed the video mode to D3D instead of OpenGL and the problem was fixed.

2. Crysis: Warhead
On 32bit Vista it ran fine, DX10 + fullscreen mode, everything. After putting it on 64bit Vista however, the game would open up in windowed mode using DX10. Setting it to fullscreen in-game or using alt+enter would cause the screen to go black and all I'd see is the cursor (which was updated to the in-game cursor). I even waited a long time hoping it'd fix itself. What's weird though is setting it to DX9 enables me to play the game in full screen. As of now I leave it at DX9 so I can play in fullscreen at any resolution.

3. Assassin's Creed
On 32bit Vista it ran fine in DX10 + fullscreen mode. On my 64bit OS it now fails to load in DX10 mode (I think because it starts fullscreen rather than windowed) but will run just fine with DX9.

4. Bioshock
Updated: Got it to work in windowed mode. Again it fails to load properly (get an error) when it is fullscreen + DX10.

5. S.T.A.L.K.E.R Clear Skies
Ran this game it worked fine but when switched to DX10 in fullscreen mode it wouldn't start properly. Had to reinstall the game to get it back to DX9 because I couldn't find where the game options save to. Again when I switched to non-fullscreen in DX10 mode it works fine.

Note for each of the games running DX10 in fullscreen, the screen would just go black and I'd have to go to task manager or press the ESC key several times to close out of it.

Unfortunately I got my new video card and installed 64 bit Vista right after. I didn't get a chance to try out these games under 32 bit. Looking up the problem on google yielded results but no solutions ( http://www.google.com/search?hl=en [...] tnG=Search ). I tried several other search queries but couldn't come up with anything. I thought it might be easier to ask on the forums.

Quick Breakdown

• Isolated to DirectX 10 games
• DirectX 10 games work only in windowed mode
• All DirectX 9 games work in fullscreen/windowed mode
• Somehow when Counter-Strike 1.6 is minimized when using OpenGL, it closes completely (where using D3D mode it works fine).
• Under 32 bit Vista + using an NVIDIA 8600GT all games worked as expected.

Before you guys reply, here are a few things I've tried:

What I've tried

• Downloading latest drivers from AMD's website (last updated Sept. 17th, 2008)
• Contacting ATI about the issue for feedback
• Googled for a solution
• Downloading/installing DirectX SDK + ensuring I have latest version installed
• Having all windows updates installed
• Disabling Tablet PC Optional Components in Vista (was posted a solution to get Bioshock running properly)

So what do you guys think? A problem with 64 bit Vista or the Radeon 4850 graphics drivers? Has anyone experienced any similar problems or know of a solution? For most of these issues there are workarounds but it is annoying without a real solution.

I have a quirk on warhead too - the black screen and a frozen cursor - I forget all the details. I also get a funny thing where the mouse cursor is not where it 'appears' - in other words I can have it over a certain maenu item and that menu item will not activate but if I move the cursor over a few inches it will activate - same thing in game, it won't shoot where I am aiming. If I hit ctr+alt+del and then CANCEL instead of going into task manager it will correct this problem. I do this every time.

Not sure where these quirks originate, Vista, Vista +64, or vista + DX 10?
I'm using an Nvidia card BTW.

Just to add my 2cents... I'm currently re-installing a dual-boot Vista Business x64 &32 because the current x64 Radeon 4800 drivers are shitty at best... I was at the point where i was getting 0x0000000124 every time!! I know that it was these drivers because an impromptu Vista 32 install revealed that the 32-bit drivers are fine... many others out there have reverted to CCC 8.9 and the driver package like 8.4..... (something)... you will lose some of the nice features, but your best bet is to be patient, file a request with ATI, dual-boot Vista 32 (if possible)

**The windows update drivers will BSOD your machine, instantly; appartnetly M$ combined the CCC 8.9 driver pack with the wrong 2d drivers, as soon as CCC loads your done***

Keep checking for a fix...

I got DX9 SLi set up so I can't advise, but don't forget SP2 is now for Vista 64, Auto update did it last night. It sounds like you are maxing the card out.

zmanster and Olaus,
I have the solution for your problem! (which was my problem too).
You need the VSYNC option to be turned on. That's what will stop the jagged line/screen tearing.
It should be turned on from the graphics card driver, or from the game itself. The thing with Windows Vista/7 is that it's doing problem with this option from some reason. The solution is here: http://forums.evo-web.co.uk/showthread.php?t=54405 (read the first post, it's enough).

The funny thing about all this is that I had to turn back to the good old Windows XP to find out about it... But anyway, I think that I'll stick with it.

Good luck!