Author Topic: Connection Issues (Read 340 times)

AKWarp · « **on:** May 25, 2004, 07:34:40 PM »

Have had an insidious problem crop up in the last couple of weeks.......I can't keep a UDP connection to the server.

Initially this problem caused me to think I had hardware problems because for whatever reason, when I lose UDP, I don't get the nice "UDP connection lost, switching to TCP/IP" message and things continue on....when I lose UDP, my system locks up until finally it tells me "Host Connection Lost" and AH crashes, or closes. Sometimes it hard locks. Either way, 5 fresh reinstalls of Windows later, I've managed to figure that out.

I live in the boonies, so I don't have DSL or cable internet available, so I have the closest thing I can get...ISDN. I have a 2b+d line (128K dual channel). The entire cable from the box to my house is brand new as well as the card in the main box up the road...in other words, this thing is rock solid.

I play other games online that rely on UDP and those are rock solid. AH, for whatever reason, in the last couple of weeks is not giving me a solid UDP connect. I've done a trace route and various other things to see if there is a bad node somewhere in my path to the server, but I can't find anyhting. Besides, pings use TCP/IP so that sort of thing isn't going to tell me much.

I am desperate for help! It is driving me nuts!

OntosMk1 · « **Reply #1 on:** May 25, 2004, 08:39:02 PM »

Right there with ya Warp. Seems I'm not able to keep a solid connection. Cant figure it out. Anyone out there got any suggestions?

AKWarp · « **Reply #2 on:** May 26, 2004, 10:07:32 PM »

Well, I've managed to figure out my problem! It's my new RADEON 9800 Pro video card.....

Got it about a month ago and everything was fine up till about a week or so ago. The UDP loss and lock ups started, but tonight, as I was trying to play and figure out things, graphics performance went into the crapper. Anytime more than 1-2 planes were nearby, frame rates went to 2 or 3!!!! Whoa! I reloaded everyhting, drivers, etc....but the frame rates stayed low. Went to ATI's site and found one issue with WinXP and more than 512MB of memory, so I tried their suggested fix to no avail.

Just to ease my tortured mind, I pulled the RADEON and put my old GeForce4 TI 4200 back in the system and voila! Everything runs perfectly fine, including the game. I played online with it for a few hours and never lost UDP once and graphics performance was fine.

Have a warranty request in with ATI now, so we'll see what they say....

Dingbat · « **Reply #3 on:** May 29, 2004, 06:36:09 AM »

strange, I've got no problems and I have a Gig. What driver release?

AKWarp · « **Reply #4 on:** May 29, 2004, 07:55:51 PM »

Originally was running the card on the drivers that came on the disk..3.6 I think. I've downloaded the most recent drivers as well. Same problems regardless of drivers. I have also since posting tried the card in a completely different system...same problems. The card is fried, no two ways about it.

I'm starting to get a little upset with ATI's customer service at this point. I sent them a problem ticket and have received 7-8 replies and have sent as many responses. All I can get out of these people is references to their troubleshooting FAQ and suggestions to try that I have clearly stated that I have already tried. I guess they don't bother to actually READ what I send in my responses.

I'm going to send one more repsonse and tell them straight up the damn card is fried and I want an RMA and a replacement card. If that doesn't do it, I'm just gonna toss it in the trash and get an nVidia card. I've had issues in the past nVidia cards, but customer support has always been top notch. This is my first ATI card and so far I am not impressed with their customer support. The card was great when it was running correctly, but if all I can get is the run around when I have problems, and cards that last 3 weeks, I'll be just as happy to spend my money on nVidia.