[SOLVED] XFX 7900GT errors

Bakleth · 01-03-2008, 02:39 AM

Sorry if this is an old problem, but it's new to me and I've been through a bunch of forums checking similar issues and fixes, but nothing's worked.

I've got an XFX 7900GT (500/1400mhz) card in a PCI Express x16 slot and I regulary get spontaneaous re-boots, BSOD and stuck thread errors. I've tried various different drivers, re-installs, cleaning the case & improving airflow (card runs at 55-60c all the time), flashing the BIOS to allow fan control and keeping it at 100%, and installing a beta version of an nVidia loop fix I got from another forum post. I got the card second hand from a friend who had no issues at all and he's tried to help with no luck.

Basically, nothing works. If anything, since the loop fix, the re-boots have become more common. Used to be a 1 minute freeze after about 1 hour of gameplay followed by a 5/50 chance of re-boot or stuck thread error. Now, re-boots seem more common. Only happens in 3D games (nwn2, cod4, heores of m&m V, fear, HL2, TF2 etc...). I have no problems with 2D or video applications.

I'm running an Athlon x64 3200+, MSI motherboard, 1GB RAM, Antec 500w PSU.

Many thanks, in advance, for your help.

Dave

**1 g0t 0wn3d** · 01-03-2008, 11:01 AM

What are your volts and temps check with speedfan in my sig

Bakleth · 02-22-2008, 03:11 AM

Thanks buddy. Sorry it's taken me so long to reply. I'll check Speedfan later and post the results. I doubt temperature's an issue: I've got a Coolermaster case with an 80mm input fan at the bottom, a 120mm extractor at the top and a new CPU cooler with large heatsink and 80mm fan. It's not very full either, so there's plenty of room for air to circulate. Even at heavy load, the vga chipset stays around 60c and I've never seen it over 68c. Might have something to do with voltages, I guess. Watch this space and thanks again for your reply.

**Deleted090308** · 02-22-2008, 03:51 AM

Hi,

Disable "Automatic restart":
Control panel > System > Click the "Advanced" tab > click Startup and recovery - Settings > Untick "Automatically restart" > Click OK.

Include the BSOD error code(s) you get when you post back.

What model is the Antec?

Bakleth · 02-25-2008, 03:01 AM

Thanks. It's an Antec Smartpower 2.0 500w. I don't think Speedfan's reading the info from the PSU as the only voltage reported on the 12v heading is 1.81. I don't know a lot, but I'm pretty sure this is not right. I though it might have something to do with me having my settings too high in games, so I re-installed Call of Duty 2 over the weekend and the same thing happens even at 1024 res. Strangely, in online games (TF2, CS:S etc) I still get the occasional hang for around 20 secs, but then I get an internal Windows message saying nv4_disp.dll has stopped working properly, but I don't get the autoboot. I can just minimise the game, OK the Windows message and bring the game back up and everything's fine, for a bit. I was on the verge of picking up a Zalman GPU cooler, but I really don't think this will help. Thanks again for all the help.

Oh, if I disable the auto-restart, won't this just cause the PC to hang and force me to restart manually?

Bakleth · 02-25-2008, 03:14 AM

Just nicked the quote below off another, obviously inferior, forum. I can't seem to find anything official from Antec about the 12v amperage. Are there any other programs, apart from SPeedfan, that can give me this info I need?

"Antec Smartpower 2.0....dual 12V rails....total 38A across 12V"

**Deleted090308** · 02-25-2008, 03:35 AM

If you disable auto-restart there will be an error message (BSOD) instead with important info. And yes, you have to do a manual restart.

The Antec Smart Power isn't one of their quality series.
According to Antec it delivers 19 + 17A on the two +12V rails.
http://www.antec.com/specs/SP500_spe.html

Reinstall the chipset driver - reboot - then the graphics driver.

Bakleth · 02-25-2008, 04:28 AM

Thanks. I did re-install the graphics driver yesterday, but didn't do anything about the chipset (I assume that means the motherboard?). I updated this about 2 weeks ago, as I was running out of other things to try, and it didn't seem to help. Should I uninstall the current chipset drivers first? Do I get these from the motherboard manufacturer's website?

If it turns out to be the PSU I'm gonna be a bit cheesed off as it's only a year old and I specifically went for a decent brand/wattage instead of a generic one to avoid this sort of problem. Does the total amperage not count then (i.e. 19+17) or is the card just using one of these rails? Would I have the same problem if I swapped it for something like an ATI X1950XT? (nVidia's not my friend at the moment).

Anyway, I'll disable the auto restart and post the BSOD results tomorrow.

Again, many thanks.

Bakleth · 02-25-2008, 02:41 PM

Right, I've updated the motherboard drivers and installed the latest BIOS update. Uninstalled and reinstalled (after Drivercleaner in safe and normal modes) the latest nVidia drivers 169.xx. Still got the BSOD after about 2 minutes in Call of Duty 2. Card temp never went over 60c. BSOD results below:

Infinite loop. nv4_disp.dll

0x000000EA (0x85192DA8, 0x8652C558, 0xF7A8BCB4, 0x00000001)

Really, really, REALLY hope this helps! Thanks again.

**Deleted090308** · 02-25-2008, 06:19 PM

It's either the driver or the card.
Run the DirectX diagnostic tests. (Start >> Run >> type dxdiag, click OK)
Is it possible for you to try the card in another computer?

http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=293078&sd=RMVP

Bakleth · 02-26-2008, 05:56 AM

Thanks. At least that's narrowed it down and I can stop messing around with fans, heatsinks or power supplies! I have run the DX diagnostics and there are no problems. I have considered rolling back the driver, but there are so many, I have no idea which to go for. Any ideas on what the most stable driver might be? I did see a post which recommended the 94.24 (I think), but that was a couple of years old.

Obviously I hope it isn't the card, but unfortunately I'm not able to test it in another machine as none of the PCs at work have got PCIe slots.

I was in the BIOS last night and saw a few options like AGP aperture (currently 64MB) and some other PCI settings...might changing these have any effect?

**Deleted090308** · 02-26-2008, 07:24 AM

You can try the 84.21 driver version. It's known to be stable.

Also - check for IRQ conflicts:
(Start >> Programs >> Accessories >> System tools >> System information >> Hardware resources >> Conflicts/sharing)

I don't think changing settings in BIOS will help.

Bakleth · 02-27-2008, 07:09 PM

Thanks again. I've attached the IRQ info. Makes no sense to me, but maybe it will to you. Will rolling back that far affect any newer games that say they need the latest drivers? I'll give it a go anyway..can't hurt! Does that really mean that nVidia haven't released any decent, stable drivers for the 7900 series since then?

**Deleted090308** · 02-28-2008, 01:31 AM

Normal sharing and no conflicts.

Yes, the 84.21 driver is pretty old, but I don't think that would have an effect on the games (but I'm not a gamer anymore

).

NVidia produced a number of "unfortunate" drivers, but I've had no problems with the latest versions.

Another thing you should try is to reseat the card in the PCI-E slot and try another 4-pin Molex power plug.

Bakleth · 02-28-2008, 02:24 AM

Thanks, I'll give that a go. My power supply has a dedicated connector for PCIe cards, but I've got a spare so I'll swap them out and see what happens. I haven't changed the drivers yet, but last night I didn't seem to have any real problems. My son played Call of Duty for around an hour and then I had a bit of a session (ok, 5 hours!) on Team Fortress with only a couple of 5-10 second stutters in all that time. Kept checking temps and the GPU core stayed around 54c. I went ahead and got a better vga cooler anyway, just to keep the noise down, so I'll fit that tonight and swap the power cables while I'm at it. If that doesn't work, then I'll try rolling back the driver.

If that doesn't work, I'll quit the life and join a monastery. Or maybe a convent. I like nuns.

:

Bakleth · 02-29-2008, 03:06 AM

Right, looks like I might be getting somewhere. 2 nights without a crash now. Not sure which of the 20 or so measures actually worked, but something seems to have done the trick. Still stutters occasionally, but that's probably Norton System Hog, or whatever it's called.

Eneles, thanks a million for all the advice. It was far less frustrating knowing there was someone else with me on this! I doubt my meagre knowledge would be of any use to you, but you must let me know if there's any way I can repay the favour.

Cheers

**Deleted090308** · 02-29-2008, 09:35 AM

You're welcome.

I will mark this thread [Solved] - post back if the problem reoccurs.

01-03-2008, 02:39 AM	#1 (permalink)
Bakleth Registered User Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Midlands, UK Posts: 12 OS: xp sp2 My System	[SOLVED] XFX 7900GT errors Sorry if this is an old problem, but it's new to me and I've been through a bunch of forums checking similar issues and fixes, but nothing's worked. I've got an XFX 7900GT (500/1400mhz) card in a PCI Express x16 slot and I regulary get spontaneaous re-boots, BSOD and stuck thread errors. I've tried various different drivers, re-installs, cleaning the case & improving airflow (card runs at 55-60c all the time), flashing the BIOS to allow fan control and keeping it at 100%, and installing a beta version of an nVidia loop fix I got from another forum post. I got the card second hand from a friend who had no issues at all and he's tried to help with no luck. Basically, nothing works. If anything, since the loop fix, the re-boots have become more common. Used to be a 1 minute freeze after about 1 hour of gameplay followed by a 5/50 chance of re-boot or stuck thread error. Now, re-boots seem more common. Only happens in 3D games (nwn2, cod4, heores of m&m V, fear, HL2, TF2 etc...). I have no problems with 2D or video applications. I'm running an Athlon x64 3200+, MSI motherboard, 1GB RAM, Antec 500w PSU. Many thanks, in advance, for your help. Dave __________________ It's no fun if it's easy

01-03-2008, 11:01 AM	#2 (permalink)
1 g0t 0wn3d TSF Enthusiast Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Sedona, az Posts: 6,528 OS: Vista basic 32bit My System	Re: XFX 7900GT errors What are your volts and temps check with speedfan in my sig __________________ Bench Test \| PC Wizard \| System specs \| PSU info \| PSU calculator \| Memtest86+ \| Speedfan

02-22-2008, 03:11 AM	#3 (permalink)
Bakleth Registered User Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Midlands, UK Posts: 12 OS: xp sp2 My System	Re: XFX 7900GT errors Thanks buddy. Sorry it's taken me so long to reply. I'll check Speedfan later and post the results. I doubt temperature's an issue: I've got a Coolermaster case with an 80mm input fan at the bottom, a 120mm extractor at the top and a new CPU cooler with large heatsink and 80mm fan. It's not very full either, so there's plenty of room for air to circulate. Even at heavy load, the vga chipset stays around 60c and I've never seen it over 68c. Might have something to do with voltages, I guess. Watch this space and thanks again for your reply. __________________ It's no fun if it's easy

02-22-2008, 03:51 AM	#4 (permalink)
Deleted090308 Not... Join Date: Jan 2007 Posts: 22,277 OS: Xp	Re: XFX 7900GT errors Hi, Disable "Automatic restart": Control panel > System > Click the "Advanced" tab > click Startup and recovery - Settings > Untick "Automatically restart" > Click OK. Include the BSOD error code(s) you get when you post back. What model is the Antec?

02-25-2008, 03:01 AM	#5 (permalink)
Bakleth Registered User Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Midlands, UK Posts: 12 OS: xp sp2 My System	Re: XFX 7900GT errors Thanks. It's an Antec Smartpower 2.0 500w. I don't think Speedfan's reading the info from the PSU as the only voltage reported on the 12v heading is 1.81. I don't know a lot, but I'm pretty sure this is not right. I though it might have something to do with me having my settings too high in games, so I re-installed Call of Duty 2 over the weekend and the same thing happens even at 1024 res. Strangely, in online games (TF2, CS:S etc) I still get the occasional hang for around 20 secs, but then I get an internal Windows message saying nv4_disp.dll has stopped working properly, but I don't get the autoboot. I can just minimise the game, OK the Windows message and bring the game back up and everything's fine, for a bit. I was on the verge of picking up a Zalman GPU cooler, but I really don't think this will help. Thanks again for all the help. Oh, if I disable the auto-restart, won't this just cause the PC to hang and force me to restart manually? __________________ It's no fun if it's easy

02-25-2008, 03:14 AM	#6 (permalink)
Bakleth Registered User Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Midlands, UK Posts: 12 OS: xp sp2 My System	Re: XFX 7900GT errors Just nicked the quote below off another, obviously inferior, forum. I can't seem to find anything official from Antec about the 12v amperage. Are there any other programs, apart from SPeedfan, that can give me this info I need? "Antec Smartpower 2.0....dual 12V rails....total 38A across 12V" __________________ It's no fun if it's easy

02-25-2008, 03:35 AM	#7 (permalink)
Deleted090308 Not... Join Date: Jan 2007 Posts: 22,277 OS: Xp	Re: XFX 7900GT errors If you disable auto-restart there will be an error message (BSOD) instead with important info. And yes, you have to do a manual restart. The Antec Smart Power isn't one of their quality series. According to Antec it delivers 19 + 17A on the two +12V rails. http://www.antec.com/specs/SP500_spe.html Reinstall the chipset driver - reboot - then the graphics driver.

02-25-2008, 04:28 AM	#8 (permalink)
Bakleth Registered User Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Midlands, UK Posts: 12 OS: xp sp2 My System	Re: XFX 7900GT errors Thanks. I did re-install the graphics driver yesterday, but didn't do anything about the chipset (I assume that means the motherboard?). I updated this about 2 weeks ago, as I was running out of other things to try, and it didn't seem to help. Should I uninstall the current chipset drivers first? Do I get these from the motherboard manufacturer's website? If it turns out to be the PSU I'm gonna be a bit cheesed off as it's only a year old and I specifically went for a decent brand/wattage instead of a generic one to avoid this sort of problem. Does the total amperage not count then (i.e. 19+17) or is the card just using one of these rails? Would I have the same problem if I swapped it for something like an ATI X1950XT? (nVidia's not my friend at the moment). Anyway, I'll disable the auto restart and post the BSOD results tomorrow. Again, many thanks. __________________ It's no fun if it's easy

02-25-2008, 06:19 PM	#10 (permalink)
Deleted090308 Not... Join Date: Jan 2007 Posts: 22,277 OS: Xp	Re: XFX 7900GT errors It's either the driver or the card. Run the DirectX diagnostic tests. (Start >> Run >> type dxdiag, click OK) Is it possible for you to try the card in another computer? http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=293078&sd=RMVP

02-26-2008, 05:56 AM	#11 (permalink)
Bakleth Registered User Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Midlands, UK Posts: 12 OS: xp sp2 My System	Re: XFX 7900GT errors Thanks. At least that's narrowed it down and I can stop messing around with fans, heatsinks or power supplies! I have run the DX diagnostics and there are no problems. I have considered rolling back the driver, but there are so many, I have no idea which to go for. Any ideas on what the most stable driver might be? I did see a post which recommended the 94.24 (I think), but that was a couple of years old. Obviously I hope it isn't the card, but unfortunately I'm not able to test it in another machine as none of the PCs at work have got PCIe slots. I was in the BIOS last night and saw a few options like AGP aperture (currently 64MB) and some other PCI settings...might changing these have any effect? __________________ It's no fun if it's easy

02-26-2008, 07:24 AM	#12 (permalink)
Deleted090308 Not... Join Date: Jan 2007 Posts: 22,277 OS: Xp	Re: XFX 7900GT errors You can try the 84.21 driver version. It's known to be stable. Also - check for IRQ conflicts: (Start >> Programs >> Accessories >> System tools >> System information >> Hardware resources >> Conflicts/sharing) I don't think changing settings in BIOS will help. Last edited by Deleted090308; 02-29-2008 at 02:59 PM.

02-28-2008, 01:31 AM	#14 (permalink)
Deleted090308 Not... Join Date: Jan 2007 Posts: 22,277 OS: Xp	Re: XFX 7900GT errors Normal sharing and no conflicts. Yes, the 84.21 driver is pretty old, but I don't think that would have an effect on the games (but I'm not a gamer anymore ). NVidia produced a number of "unfortunate" drivers, but I've had no problems with the latest versions. Another thing you should try is to reseat the card in the PCI-E slot and try another 4-pin Molex power plug.

02-28-2008, 02:24 AM	#15 (permalink)
Bakleth Registered User Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Midlands, UK Posts: 12 OS: xp sp2 My System	Re: XFX 7900GT errors Thanks, I'll give that a go. My power supply has a dedicated connector for PCIe cards, but I've got a spare so I'll swap them out and see what happens. I haven't changed the drivers yet, but last night I didn't seem to have any real problems. My son played Call of Duty for around an hour and then I had a bit of a session (ok, 5 hours!) on Team Fortress with only a couple of 5-10 second stutters in all that time. Kept checking temps and the GPU core stayed around 54c. I went ahead and got a better vga cooler anyway, just to keep the noise down, so I'll fit that tonight and swap the power cables while I'm at it. If that doesn't work, then I'll try rolling back the driver. If that doesn't work, I'll quit the life and join a monastery. Or maybe a convent. I like nuns. : __________________ It's no fun if it's easy

02-29-2008, 03:06 AM	#16 (permalink)
Bakleth Registered User Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Midlands, UK Posts: 12 OS: xp sp2 My System	Re: XFX 7900GT errors Right, looks like I might be getting somewhere. 2 nights without a crash now. Not sure which of the 20 or so measures actually worked, but something seems to have done the trick. Still stutters occasionally, but that's probably Norton System Hog, or whatever it's called. Eneles, thanks a million for all the advice. It was far less frustrating knowing there was someone else with me on this! I doubt my meagre knowledge would be of any use to you, but you must let me know if there's any way I can repay the favour. Cheers __________________ It's no fun if it's easy

02-29-2008, 09:35 AM	#17 (permalink)
Deleted090308 Not... Join Date: Jan 2007 Posts: 22,277 OS: Xp	Re: XFX 7900GT errors You're welcome. I will mark this thread [Solved] - post back if the problem reoccurs.