Ok i'm getting pissed off!

Jonah · May 16, 2003, 09:28 AM

Ok this has gone on long enough, i bought a graphics card around 4-5 months ago and have kept on the 2.4 drivers. I decided to download the 3.2's a while back and everything was fine until suddenly my whole computer froze. I thought this might be a one off so i rebooted my computer and again the computer froze within a couple of minutes. I decided i would give some games ago and i was playing them for a good hour without having one problem. I come out of the game back to windows and again the computer freezes. I was baffled this seems really strange for the drivers to just make the computer freeze in windows so i decided i should re-install my computer. I did this but with the same things going wrong.

I thought this might be some kind of 3.2 bug so i decided i'd give the 3.1's ago. Yes you've guessed it the exact same thing happens again. I was baffled and decided i would wait for the 3.4's to come out and see if it's a bug they have fixed. I am extremely sad to say that my computer is still freezing and i have had to go back to the 2.4's. Now i don't know much about tweaking these cards so i haven't messed with it at all and have left the gfx card with all the default settings.

Has anyone had this problem or can offer some advice on how to fix it? I am really begining to regret buying this damn card. Shoulda staying with nvidia

Thanks in advance.

Specs:
Windows ME
AMD Athlon 1.1GhZ
384 RAM
ATI Radeon 9500 128 MB

digitalwanderer · May 16, 2003, 09:59 AM

Do you know how to use "msconfig"? Go to your run box and type in "msconfig", go to the far right tab labelled "start-up" and list the programs that ARE CHECKED.

Also, how do you go about un-installing/re-installing your drivers? Making a mistake in how you do that is real easy and can cause the lock-ups you're experiencing.

Lemme know, I like fixing 9x/me problems a whole lot more better than XP ones.

toddsmack2k · May 16, 2003, 01:06 PM

Do you have DX 9 installed?

Jonah · May 17, 2003, 03:01 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by digitalwanderer
Do you know how to use "msconfig"? Go to your run box and type in "msconfig", go to the far right tab labelled "start-up" and list the programs that ARE CHECKED.

Also, how do you go about un-installing/re-installing your drivers? Making a mistake in how you do that is real easy and can cause the lock-ups you're experiencing.

Lemme know, I like fixing 9x/me problems a whole lot more better than XP ones.

Here are the ones that are selected.

TaskbarDisplayControls
PopUpStopperFreeEdition
ScanRegistry
TaskMonitor
PCHealth
SystemTray
EnsonigMixer
CHotKey
VsecomrEXE
VsStatEXE
LoadQM
WinampAgent
Quicktime Task
TkBellExe
ATIPITA
LoadPowerProfile
SchedulingAgent
SSDPSRV
*Statemgr
StilllmageMonitor
ATIPOLL
Microsoft Office Startup

I uninstall my drivers using the add and remove programs. After doing this i then reboot my computer and then begin to install the new drivers/control panel. Yes i do have DX9 installed aswell.

scobywhru · May 17, 2003, 03:28 AM

I had the Same Problem and what it ended up being was my BIOS was corrupt and/or the version didn't like my Radeon 9700 but when I put my original BIOS in my board F6 for the Gigabyte GA-7VRXP from what I had it F12 magically everything worked like it should, and i have left it as is for other reasons

This was under XP though so your milage may vary

Jonah · May 17, 2003, 03:31 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by scobywhru
I had the Same Problem and what it ended up being was my BIOS was corrupt and/or the version didn't like my Radeon 9700 but when I put my original BIOS in my board F6 for the Gigabyte GA-7VRXP from what I had it F12 magically everything worked like it should, and i have left it as is for other reasons

This was under XP though so your milage may vary

Yup that is definitely my problem. I don't know what the hell you just said

i've heard people talking about the BIOS <don't know what it is and the rest was all just gibberish. Anyway you can kinda dumb that down for me

scobywhru · May 17, 2003, 03:55 AM

BIOS, Basic Input Outpu System, its something you might want to mess with Unless you know what you are doing. It is the most basic operating operating system on your computer it lets the hardware talk to eachother, and what you would need to do to update your BIOS is go to your motherboard Manufacturer and Find he latest BIOS for your Motherboard, they will have directions on what to do.

I doubt that you would need to do that because it doesn't sound like you have done much to corrupt the BIOS since I corrupted mine by flashing it wrong, I had to flash it 3 times to update it correctly and only ever did 2 of the 3 flashes

Jonah · May 17, 2003, 03:58 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by scobywhru
BIOS, Basic Input Outpu System, its something you might want to mess with Unless you know what you are doing. It is the most basic operating operating system on your computer it lets the hardware talk to eachother, and what you would need to do to update your BIOS is go to your motherboard Manufacturer and Find he latest BIOS for your Motherboard, they will have directions on what to do.

I doubt that you would need to do that because it doesn't sound like you have done much to corrupt the BIOS since I corrupted mine by flashing it wrong, I had to flash it 3 times to update it correctly and only ever did 2 of the 3 flashes

How do i go about finding the manufacturer of my motherboard?

digitalwanderer · May 17, 2003, 07:38 AM

When your computer boots up it SHOULD have a BIOS string....a number/letter sequence that identifies your motherboard & the BIOS currently installed on it. You might like to think of a BIOS as the driver for your mobo, it's sort of what it is.

(BTW-I HIGHLY recomend you do a google search on flashing your BIOS and do a bit of studying first, it is NOT something you want to do unless you're pretty damned sure you know what you're doing!)

digitalwanderer · May 19, 2003, 11:31 PM

Go to msconfig again and uncheck all but the ones below:

ScanRegistry
SystemTray
EnsonigMixer

See if it boots helps.

BTW, I think "TkBellExe" is a virus, you might want to google it...I have a feeling it's going to re-install itself in your start-up box after you uncheck it...

toddsmack2k · May 19, 2003, 11:42 PM

TkBellExe has something to do with real player and if you uncheck it it will put another one in its place. Here they tal;k about how to fix it by altering the name in a file. I took dig's advice and googled for TkBellExe and that is what it came up with.

Jonah · May 20, 2003, 05:46 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by digitalwanderer
Go to msconfig again and uncheck all but the ones below:

ScanRegistry
SystemTray
EnsonigMixer

See if it boots helps.

BTW, I think "TkBellExe" is a virus, you might want to google it...I have a feeling it's going to re-install itself in your start-up box after you uncheck it...

Tryed that but sadly exactually the same result came out although i did have to enter safe mode to uninstall the drivers seems it seemed to crash alot more. Why o why won't this work?

Jonah · May 27, 2003, 05:00 AM

how do i go about accessing my BIOS???

shuki · May 27, 2003, 06:34 AM

I'm leaning away from anything to do with the BIOS for now. What I would like to know is a bit more details on your freeze. Is it random? or can you reproduce it each and every time? and you can game for hours just when you pull out of the game it freezes? does it freeze any other time? a bit more details on the freeze itself when you get a chance... and then I would start with investigating your memory. how much do you have? (not that I think you are short on memory but maybe a faulty stick. if you have two sticks, I would test each one independently and see if it helps anything).

Falstaff · May 27, 2003, 07:23 AM

a driver isn't loading properly, or corrupt driver? MS config diagnostic startup won't hurt anything..

Jonah · May 27, 2003, 09:54 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by fallang_jeff
a driver isn't loading properly, or corrupt driver? MS config diagnostic startup won't hurt anything..

What does this do??

Jonah · May 27, 2003, 09:57 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by shuki
I'm leaning away from anything to do with the BIOS for now. What I would like to know is a bit more details on your freeze. Is it random? or can you reproduce it each and every time? and you can game for hours just when you pull out of the game it freezes? does it freeze any other time? a bit more details on the freeze itself when you get a chance... and then I would start with investigating your memory. how much do you have? (not that I think you are short on memory but maybe a faulty stick. if you have two sticks, I would test each one independently and see if it helps anything).

i don't get chance to do anything really, it will definitely crash within 10 minutes of using the computer in windows, however if i am in a game it seems to work fine and i am able to play for a good few hours and have no problems. It seems to be a problem with windows in general. Sorry i can't give you more details but i don't get chance to do anything seems it crashes with 10 minutes but usually it only takes about one minute.

However if i leave the computer it doesn't seem to crash it's when i start loading up programs e.g. winamp and internet explorer it beging to crash. TBH though i haven't left the computer enough to back up that statement

toddsmack2k · May 27, 2003, 09:58 AM

Diagnostic Startup-loads only basic devices and services. It will load windows with the standard xp or such drivers. Basic OS drivers and services HERE is more info on Diagnostic Startup.

shuki · May 27, 2003, 11:00 AM

but my understanding is that you reinstalled windows altogether yes?? and that the problem is still present right?? if so, then it is not a software issue but rather hardware. again, how many sticks of memory do you have? and can you test them (if asnswer is 2+) individually? if not, can you borrow another stick from someone to test?

Kaspre · Jun 24, 2003, 11:39 PM

I'm having a similar problem with a 9600 Pro in Windows XP. Random freezes while playing games. I could play for only 5 minutes, or I could play for several hours, but sooner or later its gonna lock up. I've been trying to determine the cause - since its a new computer that I just built, its been hard to troubleshoot which component(s) might be causing the problems. I've been slowly deciding that the problem is with the video card and/or driver, and this problem would seem to verify it for me.

If I understand you correctly, with the 2.4 driver installed everything works perfectly. If you "upgrade" to 3.2 or higher, however, you get random freezes. Uninstall and go back to 2.4, and everything is good again. Is this right?

If so, I need to get my hands on an old driver ... all I have is 3.4 and 3.5. I had hopes that 3.5 would fix the issue for me, but if anything it was worse.

Still, you should try the 3.5 driver before you give up and go back to 2.4's. Who knows, it might work for you. Luck,

- Kaspre.