Author Topic: video problems (Read 674 times)

Captain Virgil Hilts · « **on:** May 02, 2002, 06:47:38 PM »

I'm getting ready to return to AH, and I've hit SEVERE difficulties. When I select an arena, the screen goes nuts, and flickers, then I get to the tower and my computer is locked up and I have to hit the reset button.

FIC PA-2013 motherboard rev 2.0 (2MB cache)
AMD K6-III+ 550 CPU
Visiontek GeForce 3 Ti 200 64 MB video card
Creative SB Live! 5.1 soundcard
Seagate 8.4 Gig ATA 33 HD
Zoom 56K v.92 external modem
384 MB of PC100 SDRAM

Anyone have any ideas?

MrRiplEy[H] · « **Reply #1 on:** May 02, 2002, 06:53:30 PM »

Yep, try installing Dx8.1 and another version of display drivers.

I had similar problems with one set of detonators, I completely uninstalled the display drivers and installed new set which fixed the problem.

Also make sure your displaycard isn't overclocked because it might be unstable in AH causing these problems.

Captain Virgil Hilts · « **Reply #2 on:** May 02, 2002, 06:58:41 PM »

I just did a complete format and reinstall of Windows 98, DirectX 8.1, and the Nvidia drivers (original from Nvidia). Also the latest VIA 4in1 (4.38) drivers. As a matter of fact, EVERYTHING except the BIOS is the newest and latest. The BIOS cannot be changed, I'm using JI4.33 because that's the ONLY BIOS that supports a K6-III+ CPU. Thanks for the effort. ANY help is appreciated.

MrRiplEy[H] · « **Reply #3 on:** May 02, 2002, 07:01:23 PM »

What about the ti200 overclock?

Also check if your Soundblaster is sharing an irq with another pci device, it's notorious for porking your system if you run a VIA based motherboard.

SB Live floods the pci bus so bad that it makes your computer unstable.

Captain Virgil Hilts · « **Reply #4 on:** May 02, 2002, 10:36:43 PM »

Nothing is overclocked, I don't even have the utility to overclock the video card. There are no other PCI devices.

MrRiplEy[H] · « **Reply #5 on:** May 03, 2002, 02:28:40 AM »

So you have no soundcard, NIC etc..? Funny but I thought you mentioned several pci-devices in your post above.

Aces High won't work without them.

Lephturn · « **Reply #6 on:** May 03, 2002, 08:17:35 AM »

What version of the Detonators are you using? These are often a problem, particularly with later model experimental drivers.

I'd recommend a set, but I need to know what OS you are running here.

As a normal practice, you should only use WHQL certified drivers. The "latest" Dets are often the source of problems.

Captain Virgil Hilts · « **Reply #7 on:** May 03, 2002, 08:42:28 AM »

Quote

Originally posted by MrRiplEy[H]
So you have no soundcard, NIC etc..? Funny but I thought you mentioned several pci-devices in your post above.

Aces High won't work without them.

No, the only PCI device I have is the Creative SB LIVE! 5.1 card, the rest of the slots are empty. The modem is EXTERNAL, and the joystick is on a USB port. Well, there is no PCI card other than the soundcard, anyway.

Captain Virgil Hilts · « **Reply #8 on:** May 03, 2002, 08:55:37 AM »

Quote

Originally posted by Lephturn
What version of the Detonators are you using? These are often a problem, particularly with later model experimental drivers.

I'd recommend a set, but I need to know what OS you are running here.

As a normal practice, you should only use WHQL certified drivers. The "latest" Dets are often the source of problems.

I'm running the 28.32 drivers from Nvidia.

I've discovered that trying to force the system slower, by dropping the aperature size, slowing the memory down, dropping to 1X AGP, or adjusting the graphics accelerator setting in the display properties seems to make the problem worse.

I'm running Windows 98 (1st edition), VIA 4in1 4.38 drivers, the VIA patches, an IBM 17" G76 monitor, 100 MHz bus speed, original bus speed on the video card, the drivers that came with the soundcard, and nothing else. The CPU is not overclocked, nor is anything else. I WAS running a 3dfx Voodoo 4 4500 PCI card at 184 MHz before. But now, I reformatted the hard drive fully, backed up to a fresh full install of Windows 98, and then did a complete fresh install of the drivers and DirectX 8.1. I've seen a couple of people posting benchmarks for a setup like mine over at Mad Onion with 3DMark 2001 scores of over 2400, so I wonder why this thing won't run AH OR 3DMark 2001.
Thanks

Lephturn · « **Reply #9 on:** May 03, 2002, 12:04:32 PM »

What slot is your SoundBlaster card in? Is it right next to your AGP card? If so, there could be an IRQ conflict that can be solved by switching slots. Also, you should probably try updated sound drivers if you haven't updated in a while.

If it won't run the benchmarks, you have a bigger problem than just AH. For starters I would back up to an earlier version of the Detonators. Try the 14.10 WHQL version for starters.

akak · « **Reply #10 on:** May 04, 2002, 12:18:31 AM »

If you run DXDiag, can you run the D3D and DirectSound tests?

Doubt the 28.32 drivers are the problem, been using those drivers with my Geforce card without any troubles.

ack-ack

DennisR · « **Reply #11 on:** May 04, 2002, 09:08:59 AM »

Quote

Originally posted by Captain Virgil Hilts

I'm running the 28.32 drivers from Nvidia.

I've discovered that trying to force the system slower, by dropping the aperature size, slowing the memory down, dropping to 1X AGP, or adjusting the graphics accelerator setting in the display properties seems to make the problem worse.

I'm running Windows 98 (1st edition), VIA 4in1 4.38 drivers, the VIA patches, an IBM 17" G76 monitor, 100 MHz bus speed, original bus speed on the video card, the drivers that came with the soundcard, and nothing else. The CPU is not overclocked, nor is anything else. I WAS running a 3dfx Voodoo 4 4500 PCI card at 184 MHz before. But now, I reformatted the hard drive fully, backed up to a fresh full install of Windows 98, and then did a complete fresh install of the drivers and DirectX 8.1. I've seen a couple of people posting benchmarks for a setup like mine over at Mad Onion with 3DMark 2001 scores of over 2400, so I wonder why this thing won't run AH OR 3DMark 2001.

Window 98 (1st Edition) had some bugs which might be your problem.
Thanks

Captain Virgil Hilts · « **Reply #12 on:** May 06, 2002, 02:16:56 PM »

Quote

Originally posted by Lephturn
What slot is your SoundBlaster card in? Is it right next to your AGP card? If so, there could be an IRQ conflict that can be solved by switching slots. Also, you should probably try updated sound drivers if you haven't updated in a while.

If it won't run the benchmarks, you have a bigger problem than just AH. For starters I would back up to an earlier version of the Detonators. Try the 14.10 WHQL version for starters.

The sound card is down in the last slot. The video card is on IRQ 11, by itself. I tried those drivers you suggested, and a couple of other things. I got as far as the tower, offline, and it locked after a second or two. I removed the connector for the video card fan, and hooked the fan directly to the power supply to allow the card to use all the voltage from the AGP slot itself, instead of sharing it with the fan. I'm going to Windows 98 SE later this week. I'm searching for some more patches that may help the VIA MVP3 chipset work with the GeForce 3 card.

Is it possible that generic memory could be the problem? I have two sticks of generic memory, and a stick of Compaq memory in this thing (bucks down system here folks), but maybe I went too cheap on the memory.

Thanks for the effort and help, I'm making progress, just real slow progress. We may have Korean Era planes, a full ground division, and submarines before I get to fly again.

Captain Virgil Hilts · « **Reply #13 on:** May 06, 2002, 02:18:18 PM »

Quote

Originally posted by akak
If you run DXDiag, can you run the D3D and DirectSound tests?

Doubt the 28.32 drivers are the problem, been using those drivers with my Geforce card without any troubles.

ack-ack

No, I could not run the Direct 3D test with the 28.32 drivers, I have not tried with the WHQL 14.10 drivers.

Lephturn · « **Reply #14 on:** May 06, 2002, 08:19:45 PM »

The other ones to try are the 23.11's. They were fairly stable I believe.

In between driver swaps, clean out with http://guru3d.com/detonator-destroyer/

Also, what's your AGP Apature size in BIOS? Are you running AGP 4x or 2x? Try 128 for AGP Apature, and if you are at 4x AGP, try going down to 2.

Yep, that's some crappy RAM. Of all the things in your system, never scrimp on the RAM or the monitor I say.

I will buy nothing bur Crucial after much experience. Yep, it could cause a problem. What sort of timings are set up for it in the BIOS? If you are driving it too hard it could cause all kinds of wacky problems.