When changing the graphics options in Codemaster’s Dirt 2, many DirectX 11 users have complained about their screens freezing, vanishing, or turning black after setting multisampling to 16xcsaa or 16xqcsaa.

The Problem

After switching to a 16x multisampling (anti-aliasing) setting, the background in Dirt 2 appears frozen but still working. You can continue navigating menus and hear the sounds, but the screen no longer works. This problem appears in both version 1.0 and 1.1.

The Reason

This problem, as far as I can see, is limited to FERMI card owners. Since the game came out well before the card, it is perhaps logical to assume the game cannot recognize the card and properly handle the setting. It would not be the first game to tell me it didn’t know what my GTX 470 was.

Also, while patching the game helps a lot of issues and addresses multisampling itself, it does not fix the problem. In fact, it only removed the 16xqcsaa option and left the other, which still caused the bug.

The Solution

Simply use one of the 8x settings if you just started to play Dirt 2. The game still looks great.

However, if you messed up your profile and can’t get back into it, follow these instructions.

  • Go to Documents\My Games\DiRT2\hardwaresettings\
  • Open the file hardware_settings_config.xml in text or word program
  • At the end of line 11, switch the value of multisampling to be multisampling="8xqcsaa"
  • Save the file and restart your game

If this fix helped you, leave a comment!