Article #27409: C++Builder: Freezes on the splash screen and / or the icons on the component palette look corrupted

Question:

When I start up Borland C++ Builder it freezes on the splash screen and / or the icons on the component palette look corrupted and then it freezes. What can I do?

Answer:

If it works in safe mode but not in normal mode then there is a conflict. Your video card driver is most likely an older version which was probably less than perfect. You should contact the manufacturer of your machine or video card vendor via the website for updated drivers. In the meantime, you can change your drivers to a generic SVGA driver so that you may see the icons. You do this through the Control Panel | Display utility. You may also continue to run in Safe mode, which temporarily uses a plain VGA driver. We know that there are issues with the S3 video cards (particularly the S3 Virge) and if Borland C++ Builder has such a conflict you can expect problems with other software as well. We have a list of workarounds for the S3 Virge card, most of which apply to other cards, as well: Get the latest driver (www.s3.com or your vendor) Start BCB with the -NS switch by adding -NS to the end of the Target path of the shortcut. Try changing the color depth and/or resolution. 1024x768 in 16 bit color seems to be the worst. Under the [display] section of the system.ini file add the following line: BusThrottle=1 Reboot afterward. If that doesn't work, remove the entry and add the line: DeviceBitmap=0 Reduce the hardware acceleration for the card. Get the latest DirectX drivers. No desktop wallpaper or a wallpaper that is smaller in size has worked. Try to reboot into Safe mode and remove components that you know you won't be using. This will reduce the number of icons loaded at startup

Last Modified: 13-JUN-01