daz75

First of all, I want to say hello to everyone in this forum, as I am new here. The forum here looks ace & worthwhile.

Here's my problem. I know some about pc building etc, but this has got me puzzled.

My hardware - Asrock P4VM8 m/board, 1GB ram, 1 20 gb seagate hdd & a 80 gb maxtor hdd in ide 1, pioneer dvd writer in ide 2, PNY nvidia geforce 6600 in agp slot. plus 550W psu.

When I use this agp card my system crashes at random, on webpages, screensaver etc, the screen also goes black for 1-2 seconds then comes back again, there is also some flickering around the taskbar, when I don't have the agp card in the system is fine & never crashes, i.e when I use onboard graphics. The strange thing is when I play delta force land warrior online with the 6600 agp i my system doesn't crash?

Ive got service pack 3 on xp home & as far as I know everything is upto date, i.e drivers etc.

Ay idea's would be appreciated.


Daz.

daz75

Hi, again,lol...

Just wondering, could my bios need an update?

If so where do I get it from etc, I have visited the Asrock site & they have a 4 in 1 driver? What is this 4 in 1 driver/update?

I haven't installed or done anything. My system says my bios is version 1.0 as far as I can remember.

Thanks again.

Daz.

wrench97

Did the card ever work correctly on your system?
What is the brand of the 550w PSU and the amp rating on the 12v rail, there will be a label on the side of the psu inside the case.

daz75

Hi, thanks for the reply.

Good point, the card actually came from my partners dads pc, where it worked without fault. He now has a new board & cpu after upgrading to dual core, he didnt have need for this as he has pci-e now.

The psu says - "win power switching power supply unit", MODEL ATX 550, there is a sticker with "PFC" too.

on sticker the inputs & outputs are:-

INPUT 115 VAC, 12A MAX, 60 Hz, 230 VAC, 6A MAX, 50 Hz.

OUTPUT + 12V 28A MAX, +5V 40A MAX, +3.3V 32A MAX, -5V 0.5A MAX, -12V 1.0A MAX, & +5V/SB 2.0A MAX.

I hope, well im quite sure someone will understand all that..

Another point, this maybe helpfull, I don't know, I did have a ATI radeon R96 - 256 mb ddr, agp in this system originally,I thought this may be damaged so when I re-built it I kept it simple & used the onboard to start with until the system was up and running as it has been off for over 1 year, but when the nvidia card seemed to crash the system I thought id try the ATI card, & to my suprise it worked, i.e for surfing the net, etc, but - uh, when I loaded my online game - delta force(online army game) up I could see the build up of close items, i.e - when stood in a window the window frame was nearly transparent but with lines in it, like a wire frame makeup, the rest of the terrain - i.e distance was normal. Also the whole system seems very slow, even with agp in, loading windows takes a while & it takes time for the taskbar to appear properly.



Thanks again..

Daz.

Thanks guys.

DazI hope ive explained that right

wrench97

Which driver version did you use, the Nvidia d/l or the drivers on the Cd that came with the card?
I sounds a lot like a power issue the supply you have should be large enough to handle the the card without a problem when you reboot go into the Bios Pc health page and post the voltages reported for the 12v, 5v, 3.3v rails.

daz75

Hi again,

been into the bios and found:-

Vcore :1.48/532v (fluctuating)
+3.30v : 3.290/306v (fluctuating)
+5.00v :4.985/5.012v (fluctuating)
+12.00v : 12.129v (seemed stable)

oh, I used a downloaded driver from Nvidia.

I hope that helps.

Thanks again.

Daz.

wrench97

Voltages Vcore is CPU if you have speedstep enabled that's normal
The others are a little strange(fluctuating) but within tolerance.
Try downloading a older version of the nvidia drivers, uninstalling the current Nvidia drivers, reboot tapping F8 while booting, Select VGA mode from the list, Disable any antivirus/malware programs and install the older drivers, then reboot normally.

Try using these> http://www.nvidia.com/object/winxp_2k_94.24.html

daz75

Hi again,

Ive done as said, it seems smoother & faster, even the little things like mouse movement - no jerking.

What is the "vga mode" I selected?, just curious.

If it crashes ill remove the agp & go back to onboard, either way ill let you know,

thanks for trying to help.

daz.

wrench97

Just a basic video mode that uses generic drivers so you can install the drivers for the card without interference.
Let us know.

daz75

Hi guy/s...

I am afraid its bad news, the system is still crashing. I think you are on the right tracks though as it is abit faster at loading pages & smoother mouse movement, it isn't crashing as much as it was, or it doesn't seem to be at the moment, I dont know if thats just me or luck...

The agp card needs a power feed from the psu, id ot seen that before, I forgot to mention that, but when you asked about the psu details it got me thinking, or at least trying.

thanks again...

daz.

wrench97

Do you have the Aux power lead hooked up now?

daz75

Hi.

When I installed the driver for the card I put the card back in so it'd detect it & install, the agp card is still in & the power is still supplied to it, its the same lead (4 pin) as hdd/cd roms take that this agp card takes.

Thanks.

Daz.

wrench97

With the card in have a look at the voltages again.

daz75

hi ,
ok ive been in & looked.

cpu fan - 2266/2236 rpm fluctuating

Vcore : 1.548/532V fluctuating
+3.30V : 3.274/306V fluctuating
+5.00V : 4.985/012V fluctuating
+12.00V : 12.064/129V fluctuating.

The voltages were going crazy, they seemed to be changing quite fast, if that helps.....

thanks...daz.

wrench97

That may well be a contributing factor I don't suppose you have another psu to test with?

daz75

hi.

I don't have another psu, im afraid. I don't understand how the system with the agp card in doesn't crash while playing delta force online, thats the strange bit, id of thought that would of put more demand on the card & system. Could this also be why the other agp card, the ATI works, but not properly when displaying game terrain/graphics at close range.

Thanks for the help.

Daz.

wrench97

Voltage problems can sometime drive you buggy, I'm not sure it's the total problem but the reading are a little strange so that's where I would start.

daz75

Hi again.

Thanks for the help & advice wrench, I've learnt a few things from you - probably will help in the course I'm on at college.

The voltage readings, are they supposed to be a constant voltage with no fluctuating at all?

Ill look into checking the psu, either by borrowing someone's or buying another.

Are there any psu's that is recommended?

Thanks for the help

Daz.

wrench97

They should be steady when your in the BIos there really isn't a load on the psu that would be changing, our recommended units are are all 80 plus efficient and mostly larger then what you need but here's the list
Seasonic - any model
Corsair - any model
Thermaltake - "Toughpower" series only
Coolermaster - "Real Power Pro" series only
PC Power & Cooling - any model
Silverstone - any model

daz75

Hi again....

Oh I see, thanks for the info, ill look into the models you mentioned.

Thanks again for your time.

Daz.