Could this be causing my CTDs?

[Dace]

was just messin round tryin to think of something i didnt already do and it occured to me i never checked interrupt requests.
could this be my problem.....plz say yes and i'll take that modem out and introduce it to Mr. Sledgehammer

[StarOfAfrica2]

Yes.  


It COULD.  


Take it out and try, but if you arent using the modem, chances are its not your culprit.  Still wont hurt to remove it and ease up on the video card anyway.

[Dace]

well im on cable sooooo....the modem has never been used.
but i'll take it out and see what it does.

[StarOfAfrica2]

Dace, there are dozens of reasons I could list for CTDs and IRQ sharing is only one.  I hope it fixes your problem, but if not have you sent Skuzzy a copy of your Direct X Diagnostic report?  Perhaps he can track it down.  Or I can feed you a list of things to try that commonly cause CTD's for other people.  

As I read in an article out now on PC gaming, "The PC is a piece-by-piece system with every PC just a little bit different from every other one.”

I cant say it any better than that.  Everyone's system is different.  But every problem has a solution.  You just have to find the problem.  

[Dace]

I've actually tried some of ur suggestions from threads that other people hosted posted bout having the same problems. I sent my dxdiag to skuzzy monday, he said it looks just fine. I've tried absolutley everything i physically know how to do. I am exhausted to no end. BTW let me say how happy i am you replied to my post. I woulda been happy for anyone to, but u seem to be very knowledgable and always willing to lend a hand. Thank you.
I'll take any more suggestions u can give me.

Short list of things i,ve tried:
New vid drivers(Fx5700LE, omega 61.77 seem to work the best)
New 4in1 Drivers from VIA(chipset, IDE, AGP controllers)
changed AGP speed to 1x
Diasbled "fastwrite" in Bios

[StarOfAfrica2]

Turn the AGP back up to 8x.  That isnt going to solve anything with a CTD.  You turned off fast writes, try turning off sideband addressing?  Turn both AA and AF to Application Pref.  Turn Vsync to Application Pref.  Image settings to High Perf.  Force Mipmaps none.  Texture clamp off, extension limit off, trilinear optimization on, and anisotropic optimization on.  

Under More Direct3D, make sure pages to render ahead is set to 1.

If you are overclocking the card, reset to normal.  Make sure the fan is set to be on always.  Make sure the warning for high temp is enabled.  

You can turn off the sideband addressing and fast writes under AGP settings.  You can also set your card back up to 8x.

Make sure the resolution you have set for your monitor is not beyond its capabilities.  Try setting the refresh rate back down to 60 and see if the CTD goes away.  Then you can bring it back up and see if the problem comes back.  It shouldnt, but I've seen stranger things.

You didnt say what type of sound card you are using, but try turning down the hardware acceleration in your Direct X Diagnostic utility.  See if that helps.  Sound can cause CTD's alot, especially if you are using onboard sound.

Do you have a utility to keep track of temps inside your case and at  your CPU?  If not, try this utility here:

http://mbm.livewiredev.com/

Check your fans, heatsinks, etc. for dust buildup.  Make sure nothing is running too hot.  Try taking memory out one stick at a time and see if you have some bad memory in there.

[Dace]

Thnx for ur input SA. I'm gonna try a few of ur suggestions.


BTW i do have onboard sound still, so that gives me hope.
Its also the dreaded AC97. I've heard some strange crap bout em on this BBS.

[OOZ662]

Originally posted by Dace
Its also the dreaded AC97. I've heard some strange crap bout em on this BBS.

*hurl*

Get a REAL sound card and disable that lump o' turds.

[Dace]

Originally posted by Dace
I've heard some strange crap bout em on this BBS.

See what i mean.
OBTW I changed my AGP speed to 4x (as high as my MB supports)
Do u have a suggestion for apeture size? (at 128 now)
Didnt see a thing about sideband adressing.

[OOZ662]

I was running both AC97 sound AND an onboard Intel video chip on this poor thing. Never had a chance.

[StarOfAfrica2]

Originally posted by Dace
See what i mean.
OBTW I changed my AGP speed to 4x (as high as my MB supports)
Do u have a suggestion for apeture size? (at 128 now)
Didnt see a thing about sideband adressing.

128 is fine for your aperture.  I set mine higher, but every computer is different and 128 seems to be the "average" setting for most systems.  

When you bring up your adapter properties, go to the one called "AGP Settings".  There will be a slider that goes from 1x to 8x (or 4x for you), a check box for "Fast Writes", and a check box for "Sideband Addressing".  Uncheck both.  

If none of that works, I'm going to go out on a limb a bit.  I had a 4x AGP motherboard, and it never would run faster than 2x.  If I remember correctly, there was a problem with the 4x AGP setups that caused games to crash when running at 4x.  Many manufacturers were setting their cards to 2x by default to keep average Joe User from complaining.  My old motherboard was an SiS 735 chipset.  Decent for its day, but I always did have video problems.  You could be experiencing the same thing.  Or my memory could be wacky.  One way to find out the actual speed  your AGP is running at.

http://www.entechtaiwan.com/files/pstrip.exe

Powerstrip is a video utility that comes in really handy sometimes.  It tells you all sorts of things that can be hidden under software and lets you change things you cant otherwise change.  Treat it with respect, it will be your very good friend.

[Clifra Jones]

Here is a good explination about setting the apeture size. Although it doesn't come to a conclusive answer is does give you some understanding to work from and includes some benchmark tests.


http://www.tweak3d.net/articles/aperture-size/index.shtml

[Dace]

Well this'll probably jinx me but, I havent CTD in a couple days (it usually happens at least once a day). I've tried so many different things whos to say what actually did it. I'd say its a combo of things probably. I was generating some heat. And that P.O.S onboard sound is probably a problem. Actually now that I think about it , CTD hasnt happend since i turned my Hardware Acc. down. But like I said who can say. Anyway thnx for all ur help. If I got anymore questions I'll be sure to post here.

big ~S~

[Dace]

BTW powerstrip is cool thnx for the link.
And another quick question. When I try to uncheck "sideband adressing" and apply, it just rechecks it. I cant get it,to where that box is unchecked,for some reason.

[OOZ662]

Shoot it