Maximum PC

Canned responses from the computer that scanned your email to 'customer support' and it tells you to look thru the FAQ due to the problem(s) you report and it picked up on key words.
The FAQ then tells you to do exactly what you have already done and reported that you have already done in the original email to 'customer support'.
When you finally get a real person to help, they have you do the same stuff all over again. Even though you have told them you have done that twice already and you don't want to do it a third time because it still won't work.
This rant curtesy of the responses from Ubisoft and ATI. With a problem I'm having trying to play games in DX10.

sorry for your frustration with that

Since I'm technical and most of my customers are not, I will ask them to perform some troubleshooting steps that they may have already performed. When I get the occasional "rocket scientist", I'm like "oh great, I can skip these steps. what's your IP address". insert cricket chirp

So unfortunately I always start at the beginning. sometimes the techie customer did leave out a step or didn't do it properly. On the flip side, the techie cust may get a non techie cust rep. In those cases, post your issue to the MaxPC boards and I'm sure someone will help

Is there any else that I can assist you with today

I just a reply back from ATI support to try installing the 'hotfix' they have. If the person had actually read my first post he would have seen that I had already tried that several times to no avail.

Unfortunately, this is a set regiment that many Tech Support people must follow.

Boss' lappy had a bad screen, several vertical lines through the LCD. Told him to call Dell and make good on his warranty. Tech guy said, get the latest drivers. NO joy. Hit this button while you boot and get a diagnostic report, diagnostic said it's fine. Huh, still looks f'd up to me. Techie finally says, I'll send you a box to ship it to me in. Duh.

I'm sure that ATI is just covering all their bases before they have you RMA their card. Unfortunately for us, that means MORE headaches on top of the headache they have already given us.

Sorry to hear your stuck in the crappy boat.

I don't want/nor do I need to RMA the video cards. I only have a problem with them running a game in DX10. DX9 or earlier, I have no problems whatsoever, none.
GPU folding, no problem either.
What happens is that when I play a game in DX10 mode, I get dumped to the desktop without warning. I also get no errors 99.9999% of the time. The only time I did get an error it said that the video driver had quit and recovered.
I have communicated this to ATI tech support (and Ubisoft since it is Crysis, Crysis WARHEAD and Far Cry2 that do this).
I have all the drivers that they want me to get already installed (or attempted to install), BIOS updates, etc. All of that stuff. And I told them so in my post.

ATI support has finally started getting in to this. They are having me go into the registry to start deleting things.
Yes, I know about saving a backup before deleting just in case.
I guess someone finally looked at the verbage and files I sent.
Halleluyah !!
Only took them a week and 4 emails of: If you had looked at my original post.............

weird, i have been playing both of those games, in vista, on my x1950xtx, without issue, finished farcry2 for the 3rd time last nite, warhead twice.

I can play then all without problems. But only if I am in DX9 mode.
In DX10 mode I can play for varying times before something happens. Either a drop right to the desktop without warning or the video starts to stutter and then I am dumped to desktop.
Again, that only happens in DX10 mode.

Don't you wish you could just say that on your job?

Actually, I'm pretty damn happy that that phrase never ever has to pass my lips.

Understand the frustration there, but it all boils down to the CYA ( cover thine arse) game. if they didn't do that then they would have a pile of Returned equpiment, sky high!