CTD's

[Joker312]

I just installed a new video card. Its the Nvidia FX5200+.
I used the 61.77 drivers and I keep CTDing. Have no idea why. Anything I should know about seting up AH with this card?

Thanks.

[StarOfAfrica2]

Might not be the card Joker.  Try sending Skuzzy your Direct X Diagnostic report, maybe he can spot the problem.

[Joker312]

Think I have found the problem. It seems I left my old modem in and when I put the new  video card in it conflicted with it somehow? I have removed the old modem card (not sure whay I didnt do this 5 yrs ago when I started to use a cable modem) and the problem seems to be gone.

Damm I wish I knew more about computers.

The funy part is, it was never a problem b4?

[Joker312]

I am wrong. Its didnt solve the problem.

This is screwy, I just keep CTDing. No problem with any other program. I am out of ideas.

[StarOfAfrica2]

Alot of things can cause a CTD.  Are you using Windows XP or 98?  You could have major components sharing IRQ's, that happend to me for awhile.  Also check your sound card.  Try turning down hardware acceleration.  Did you completely remove the old video drivers before installing the new ones?  Windows can get funky if you try to overwrite or just replace old drivers without uninstalling them.  If everything else is good, try reinstalling Direct X.  Ive found in the past that installing new hardware (esp. video or sound cards) can cause some of your Direct X files to point to the wrong drivers (again a problem if you dont uninstall first), or corrupt files in the DX folder.  As habit I always reinstall Direct X after I install new hardware.

[Joker312]

I am using WinME. Soundcard acceleration is turned down and I used diskcleaner to remove old drivers. I will try reinstalling DirectX. Thats about the only thing I havent done besides a new install of Windows. Thanks for your help SOA, I appreciate it.

[Joker312]

Reloaded DirectX 9.0c and still the same thing.... a few mins in ofline mode CTD. Skuzzy I sent you my DxDiag report. Can you make any sense out of this?  Maybe the card is running too hot and just closes out AH?

This is really a pain in the arse especially since this 128 MB card gets less FR in this game than the 32 MB card it replaced!

I really cant believe this.

[Skuzzy]

What in-game settings are you running in the "Video Setup"?

[Joker312]

I will check the video settings when I get home later tonight. Just stopped at a computer store on the way to work and picked up a 500 watt power supply and an additional cooling fan. I have a feeling my 250w power supply is just not up to the task and is causing the new video card to heat up and close out any apps running.

Everything else seems to be running great. The only game I have loaded is AH so I cant even try another game to see what happens. If this fails I am gonna throw this old box away and start fresh:)

Thanks for your time and help all.

[Joker312]

Skuzzy,

    I put a new power supply in, with an additional cooling fan. I then reinstalled windows, installed the Omega drivers for the FX5200, the SB driver was the latest one I could find. Sound accelleration is all the way to the left. I loaded the latest AGP drivers for my MB from the vendor. The Computer is rock solid.
Runs great! I set the monitor to 800x600 16 bit. I start with a new DL of AH, no skins. Video Res in game set to 800x600, max texture size 256, max FR 60 FPS, hardware vertex on, textures preloaded in sys memory.

   I then get up offline and I see many (20-30) clipboards where trees should be. Play around for 5 mins CTD.

   I am starting to think its not anything I can fix:(

   BTW while I can fly around everything is great, looks good and FR of 30-40. Its just great, right up yo the CDT.

[Skuzzy]

You say you are using the Omega drivers.  Are they based on the 61.77 drivers from NVidia?  If they are based on anything newer, then you will have problems.

Also, what motherboard are you using?  And what sound card?  The modem thing is/was a definate problem.  Did you make sure you have the correct INF files for the motherboard loaded?
Check the AGP bus aperature in the system BIOS as well.  Should be set to 128 or 256.  Disable fast-writes as well.

[Joker312]

Skuzzy,

    1st let me thank you for your help, its really great to have a support guy that is as helpful as you are.

    I have an American meagatrends MB. Seems to be OK.I dont know how to check the AGP bus Aperature and I also have no idea how to change it. The soundcard is a SB live 24, all seems to be well with it. I am using the omega 45.23 drivers. they are the only ones I could find on their website and they are no longer supporting this card. I also dont know how to disable fast writes.

   I am no getting a blue screen "Windows Protection Error, you must restart your computer" while flying offline after a few mins.

   It seems this card is a POS and I have decided to return it to the store where I bought it.

   I was runing AH without any problems with an old 32 meg MX400 and getting 20-30 FR. If all else fails I will return to that card and just buy a new computer. The ammount of time I have wasted on this isnt worth it.

   Thanks again, if we ever meet I owe you a dinner.

   And SoA is a great guy also, hes always a huge asset.

[Joker312]

I managed to find and change the AGP bus aperature to 128 from 32. If I change it to 256 it dosent work at all. After going to 128 I get the same result CTD or now it just locks the computer.

[Joker312]

I put the GEForce2 MX400 32 MB card back in and it ran better than ever without a CDT for 45 mins offline. It was getting better FR's than the 128 MB FX5200 if you can believe that.

Whats even more surprising is the 32 MB card was using 17 MB of its resources (according to ctrl+i) and the 128 card was only using 20 MB or so.

I guess I will return this card and just get my money back. I think a totally new computer is in my future.

Thanks again, sorry for the time wasted.

FWIW I didnt research the card before I bought it, I just figured it had to be better, but after I read all the benchmarks I could find it seems the FX5200 cards are a waste of money. Just MHO.

[StarOfAfrica2]

The last card I upgraded from was a MX 440 64MB card.  One of the best video cards I've owned since the Voodoo3.  I tried an MX 4000, and an FX 5700 before getting my FX 5900XT I have now.  Its not bad but it needs tweaking to get good stable performance out of, and you have to know what you can and cannot do (at least in AH) with it.  I'm happy with it, but its not something I would recommend for someone that just wants to drop a card in and run with it and get good performance.  Anything below the 5900 it seems you take your chances depending on the company that built it.  I've noticed in the new packaging the lower end cards like the 5200 are being marketed as home and small office use cards, not gaming.  Not saying they cant be used, there are a few folks using 5200s.  Good luck.