Radeon 9700 pro - display corrupted, help

piotr87 · Mar 16, 2006, 07:52 AM

Hi everyone !
I've got a big problem, for some time my graphic card started to display artifacts on the screen (it's not the drivers fault as boot screen display is also corrupted).
Here is screen of the problem :

I dont know what to do, and that is the reaseon of the problem. I've never overclocked my ATI Radeon 9700 pro. What can be the cause of the problem, and can it be fixed ?
I would be very glad if someone would help (sorry for bad english).

EDIT:
Also some icons in windows arent displayed, after installing omega drivers system slowed down, and has problem with initializing opengl or direct3d. Scrolling browser window is very slow also.

H3X4D3C1M4L · Mar 16, 2006, 11:49 AM

It could be a heat issue which it looks like to me, check the stock cooler to make sure that the fan is still spinning and that indeed the heatsink iss still attatched

piotr87 · Mar 16, 2006, 12:09 PM

Well, i have been cleaning the cooler lately (it was making loud noise, because of the dust and age). Right now it is spinning fast and silently, but there is an option that i made something wrong when i was putting it back to place. Also, what is "heatsink" ?
Big thanks for reply !

EDIT: Is this damage reversable ?

H3X4D3C1M4L · Mar 16, 2006, 12:14 PM

Heatsink is the big metal thing underneath the fan

Its reversable if the core isn't damaged and it just got a little hot and artifacted.

But those look like memory errors to me rather than core errors....check the video ram and see if its hot (Little black squares around the card)

piotr87 · Mar 16, 2006, 12:21 PM

Could those be 1x1 cm squares with samsung on them ? They are warm, but not hot. I can hold finger on them without pain.

EDIT:
The heatsink is on its place, just as other radiators.

**Asmoday** · Mar 16, 2006, 12:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by piotr87

Well, i have been cleaning the cooler lately (it was making loud noise, because of the dust and age). Right now it is spinning fast and silently, but there is an option that i made something wrong when i was putting it back to place. Also, what is "heatsink" ?
Big thanks for reply !

EDIT: Is this damage reversable ?

When you re-attached the cooler on the 9700 did you put some new thermal paste on the core?

piotr87 · Mar 16, 2006, 12:30 PM

No, i didnt.

EDIT:
Although i didnt take off whole heatsink, just the cooler. The heatsink went off a little, when i was trying to take the cooler off, but it was secured with some plastic screws, so it went off a centimeter, and then went back to its previous position.

**Asmoday** · Mar 16, 2006, 12:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by piotr87

No, i didnt.

There you have it, the cooler isn't making proper contact with the core. Go out and buy some new thermal paste like Arctic Silver ceramique, and spread a thin layer on the core and re-attach the cooler again. If you're lucky it haven't gotten damaged and you're good to go again.

piotr87 · Mar 16, 2006, 12:38 PM

Thank you all guys very very much. Asmoday, do i have to remove old paste in some way before putting new one ? And can i use my Radeon until i put new paste ? Or should i turn off computer until then ?
Big thanks again, i really apreciate all help i got

**Asmoday** · Mar 16, 2006, 12:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by piotr87

Thank you all guys very very much. Asmoday, do i have to remove old paste in some way before putting new one ? And can i use my Radeon until i put new paste ? Or should i turn off computer until then ?
Big thanks again, i really apreciate all help i got

I don't recommend that you use the computer until you got some new thermal paste on, it may break permanantly..

And you should remove the old thermal paste with acetone or Isopropyl Alcohol that won't leave a residue.

piotr87 · Mar 16, 2006, 12:44 PM

Ok, so im going offline for some time

Big thanks for help !

piotr87 · Mar 16, 2006, 12:48 PM

One more dumb question. If i put a fan (normal, summer-like), so it cools the card, will i be able to use it safely ?

H3X4D3C1M4L · Mar 16, 2006, 08:18 PM

Won't make a difference unless the card is transferring heat to the heatsink properly, otherwise it just sits building up in the core and getting worse

piotr87 · Mar 17, 2006, 12:34 PM

Well i've put some new thermal paste, but the display is still corrupted (white and black pixels mismatch when booting, can't check games right now, because system can't initialize directx or opengl) :/

EDIT:
How can i be sure i've put the paste the way it should be ? ( Making contact with the heatsink and the core ). Is there some way to check cores temperature ?
Is it possible that the graphic card isnt the problem ? Except for slow scrolling and hangy scrolling in browser (or ex.Adobe Acrobat), directx/opengl not working, and booting display corruption - windows now displays everything correctly, there are no artifacts, no icons missing in 1280x1024 - display seems fine.

At this moment FanSpeed shows temperatures as below:

Temp1 31C
Temp2 34C
Temp3 37C
HD0 30C
Temp1 31C

And temperatures keep at those level for the most time. Still, i can't say which temperature represents which device, so i leave it here as it is.

EDIT2:
Found another issue which might be useful. Each time i install omega drivers (or other gfx drivers), at next boot moniot goes standby mode. I have to reset again to make it work.
This seems to be agp problem, i am reinstalling chipset drivers over and over, still smartgart hangs up agp. Can it be agp hardware maulfunction ?

EDIT3:
I got agp to work and...back to the beggining, same problem as in post #1

piotr87 · Mar 19, 2006, 04:32 PM

I found some strange thing - compare those two screenshots :

First one was taken in 32 bit palette, second in 16 bit palette.
Also, after installing chipset drivers (which worked until now), directx and opengl stopped working, and agp read/write is off.
What can be the reason for this problems ? Is it the graphic card for sure ? And is it irreparable ? I want to be 100% sure before i buy new one. Please help !

piotr87 · Mar 21, 2006, 11:16 AM

Help please ?

Overeditor · Mar 24, 2006, 10:18 PM

I wanted to say that I have nearly the same problem, except my desktop has the artifacts at 32 bit color and looks fine at 16 bit. Similar artifacts appear in my games, along with bizzard texture "warping" that makes it look like there is a dimensional rift of some sort occuring. I'm using an ATI x800 pro agp board running the latest catalyst stock drivers. I have not tampered with the fan or heatsink.

Before all this I was using Omega's 2.5.97a driverset and everything worked fine. I started having artifacts with a new game (gta San Andreas) and decided I needed a driver upgrade, and from that moment onwards I have not gotten a single driverset to work properly. I use Drivercleaner Pro and Cab cleaner in safe mode every time I unistall an old set of drivers, and I've run out of ideas.

Thegr8est · Mar 26, 2006, 10:04 PM

I have this same exact problem. I pulled my 9700 pro from another computer. It was working fine then. I put it in mine let xp install a driver and I immediately noticed problems. I installed the omega drivers and noticed little vertical lines in videos and the blocks in 3D games. I installed the latest ATI driver and it solved my video issues but now when I run DXDIAG it shows directdraw not available, and my 3d games will not even run now. I am going crazy

piotr87 · Mar 27, 2006, 09:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Thegr8est

I have this same exact problem. I pulled my 9700 pro from another computer. It was working fine then. I put it in mine let xp install a driver and I immediately noticed problems. I installed the omega drivers and noticed little vertical lines in videos and the blocks in 3D games. I installed the latest ATI driver and it solved my video issues but now when I run DXDIAG it shows directdraw not available, and my 3d games will not even run now. I am going crazy

I've got exactly the same problem -vertical lines/blocks, after installing chipset and gfx drivers dircetx/opengl stop working.

H3X4D3C1M4L · Mar 27, 2006, 09:48 AM

I think your card may have been permenantly damaged.

piotr87 · Mar 27, 2006, 12:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by H3X4D3C1M4L

I think your card may have been permenantly damaged.

Are you sure it's the card ?

H3X4D3C1M4L · Mar 27, 2006, 03:21 PM

Try another video card to be sure but I'm pretty sure it is, display corruption very rarely is something other than the video card

piotr87 · Mar 28, 2006, 04:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by H3X4D3C1M4L

Try another video card to be sure but I'm pretty sure it is, display corruption very rarely is something other than the video card

Ok, thanks for the support !

H3X4D3C1M4L · Mar 28, 2006, 05:18 PM

No problem.

Hope you have good luck with your next card

pompeybob44uk · Apr 6, 2006, 04:11 PM

Hey piotr87,

How did you get on. I just had to post a reply b/c my Radeon 9700 has JUST started doing exactly the same thing. From boot I get a corrupted screen with squares and lines all over the place just like yours, and in windows the icons don't appear properly and the display is all messed up. I've tried transferring the card to another machine - same issues, so it's definitely the card. Bizarrely though, the view inside my web browser is completely fine (?!).

If you found any solutions let me know, I'm short on ideas.

G luck.

AD-CON · Nov 25, 2006, 05:45 AM

HEY GUYS NEWBIE HERE..CAN ANYONE POINT ME TO THE RIGHT DIRECTION ON THIS SITE...I got some issues with my radeon 9700 too, but I'm having problem navegating this site...is there a FAQ's somewhere? Where do I post a question? How do change my avatar? can anyone help me?