[SOLVED] Refusing to start up; graphics card problem? 8800gts

SkyRay · 02-15-2009, 04:11 PM

Posted this on another site, with no replies...

Summary: Vista refuses to start up properly except in safe mode (primary problem). As well as coloured lines running down my screen (secondary problem).

In depth: I have had my computer for 1 year now and I made it myself. During the year it hasn't had any major problems whatsoever; I was very pleased with it. One day while I was playing RA3 (worked many times before), the screen blanks out and I get the "your display driver has recovered from a serious crash". After around several of those, the game's colour goes all weird and I am forced to close it.

I downloaded a new more recent driver, however when I tried unintalling my old driver, the computer froze up. I gave it one hour to unfreeze itself thinking it was doing something, but after the hour I rebooted the computer where I was greeted with the funny coloured lines. Afterwards I found out vista wont even proceed after the loading bars at the startup.

I went to safe mode (with all the funny lines still there) and uninstalled the driver (with driver sweeper) and put in new ones, but that didn't work either. In the end I had to wipe my hard drive and reinstall vista. At first everything was fine (though the lines were still there). I installed my old driver (new ones give me a blank screen on start up or a blue screen) and the lines went away. Unfortunately after 10 minutes or so, the computer freezes up with blue spots appearing on the screen forcing a reboot and the old problems appeared all over again.

The situation now: vista only starts up properly when the drivers are gone (uninstalled) otherwise I am forced to use safemode. The lines are still there and when I reinstall the driver, the lines go away for 10 secs before the computer freezes up with blue spots.

I am thinking of getting a new graphics card...

System specs:

Intel quad core 2.4Ghz CPU
ASUS PK5R mother board
Foxconn Geforce 8800 GTS 640mb factory O/C
4GB ram

I am sure that the system is getting enough power with proper heat management. If you guys need more info I'll be happy to comply.

Thanks.

sethy666 · 02-15-2009, 05:15 PM

Weird...

Have you done anything tricky lately, flashed a BIOS? Installed a dodgey program?

You mentioned that you uninstalled your "old" GPU driver. Was that the original driver that came with the card? If not, have you tried installing that one again.

Failing that, you could try borrowing another card and see it that works.

But it is strange... sounds kinda like a BIOS thing.

Just found this from Wrench... was this the process your followed?

Quote:

What comes first...

SkyRay · 02-15-2009, 07:21 PM

Thanks for the reply.

I'm sure I didn't do anything tricky, what happened was:

Tried to play RA3 > had "your display driver has recovered from a serious crash" errors forcing me to quit game > downloaded newer driver > started to uninstall current driver > BAM problems.

The old GPU driver was a 169.25 driver that I downloaded from the internet. The drivers that came with the card were only for XP and not Vista, so I was forced to use that. It was working well for the year until I encountered this problem. I tried to install this same driver and it get rids of all funny lines, but after a moment (anywhere from 10 secs to 5 mins) the computer slows down and I get funny coloured streaks and dots on my screen before the computer stops altogether. Upon a reboot it reverts back to the old problem (though sometimes the lines are still gone, but vista won't load at all; only safemode works. Other times lines come back along with the Vista problem).

shotgn · 02-15-2009, 08:18 PM

sounds like you overheated
What are your temps on the cpu and gpu when playing?

SkyRay · 02-15-2009, 09:04 PM

Roughly 50C while I used to play Crysis and Supreme Commander.

It was my first rig that I have ever built and I was a bit cautious on the PSU and fans, so I made sure that my system had ample ventilation and power supplied to it. Though I'm not an expert on the subject.

sethy666 · 02-15-2009, 10:32 PM

Quote:

Roughly 50C while I used to play Crysis and Supreme Commander

These sound like those temps are past-tense, can you advise what your temps are when you have the problems now?

dai · 02-15-2009, 11:02 PM

power supply
brand
wattage

SkyRay · 02-16-2009, 01:55 AM

PSU model: GSM-6600P G1
Brand: ZIPPY/EMACS
Wattage: 600W

To sethy666: Was still around the 50C mark (peaks at around 70C) around the time when it went down, I used past tense as those games no longer run for me anymore as the problem has effectively shutdown all major gaming capabilities for my computer

dai · 02-16-2009, 03:39 AM

redo the paste on the cpu with some arctic silver
blow any dust out with a can of air

http://www.arcticsilver.com/arctic_s...structions.htm

sethy666 · 02-16-2009, 04:36 PM

And while you are doing what Dai suggested, take some time and check all your connections to the mobo and as well as the video card.

SkyRay · 02-20-2009, 04:40 PM

Thanks for the input guys, but they didn't really work. But I got myself a new ATI card and everything is smooth sailing again.

Thanks.

dai · 02-20-2009, 08:03 PM

glad you have it sorted

02-15-2009, 04:11 PM	#1 (permalink)
SkyRay Registered User Join Date: Feb 2009 Posts: 5 OS: Vista 64 bit	[SOLVED] Refusing to start up; graphics card problem? 8800gts Posted this on another site, with no replies... Summary: Vista refuses to start up properly except in safe mode (primary problem). As well as coloured lines running down my screen (secondary problem). In depth: I have had my computer for 1 year now and I made it myself. During the year it hasn't had any major problems whatsoever; I was very pleased with it. One day while I was playing RA3 (worked many times before), the screen blanks out and I get the "your display driver has recovered from a serious crash". After around several of those, the game's colour goes all weird and I am forced to close it. I downloaded a new more recent driver, however when I tried unintalling my old driver, the computer froze up. I gave it one hour to unfreeze itself thinking it was doing something, but after the hour I rebooted the computer where I was greeted with the funny coloured lines. Afterwards I found out vista wont even proceed after the loading bars at the startup. I went to safe mode (with all the funny lines still there) and uninstalled the driver (with driver sweeper) and put in new ones, but that didn't work either. In the end I had to wipe my hard drive and reinstall vista. At first everything was fine (though the lines were still there). I installed my old driver (new ones give me a blank screen on start up or a blue screen) and the lines went away. Unfortunately after 10 minutes or so, the computer freezes up with blue spots appearing on the screen forcing a reboot and the old problems appeared all over again. The situation now: vista only starts up properly when the drivers are gone (uninstalled) otherwise I am forced to use safemode. The lines are still there and when I reinstall the driver, the lines go away for 10 secs before the computer freezes up with blue spots. I am thinking of getting a new graphics card... System specs: Intel quad core 2.4Ghz CPU ASUS PK5R mother board Foxconn Geforce 8800 GTS 640mb factory O/C 4GB ram I am sure that the system is getting enough power with proper heat management. If you guys need more info I'll be happy to comply. Thanks.

02-15-2009, 07:21 PM	#3 (permalink)
SkyRay Registered User Join Date: Feb 2009 Posts: 5 OS: Vista 64 bit	Re: Refusing to start up; graphics card problem? 8800gts Thanks for the reply. I'm sure I didn't do anything tricky, what happened was: Tried to play RA3 > had "your display driver has recovered from a serious crash" errors forcing me to quit game > downloaded newer driver > started to uninstall current driver > BAM problems. The old GPU driver was a 169.25 driver that I downloaded from the internet. The drivers that came with the card were only for XP and not Vista, so I was forced to use that. It was working well for the year until I encountered this problem. I tried to install this same driver and it get rids of all funny lines, but after a moment (anywhere from 10 secs to 5 mins) the computer slows down and I get funny coloured streaks and dots on my screen before the computer stops altogether. Upon a reboot it reverts back to the old problem (though sometimes the lines are still gone, but vista won't load at all; only safemode works. Other times lines come back along with the Vista problem).

02-15-2009, 08:18 PM	#4 (permalink)
shotgn Registered User Join Date: Aug 2008 Posts: 197 OS: xp My System	Re: Refusing to start up; graphics card problem? 8800gts sounds like you overheated What are your temps on the cpu and gpu when playing? __________________ Do or do not, there is no try -yoda-

02-15-2009, 09:04 PM	#5 (permalink)
SkyRay Registered User Join Date: Feb 2009 Posts: 5 OS: Vista 64 bit	Re: Refusing to start up; graphics card problem? 8800gts Roughly 50C while I used to play Crysis and Supreme Commander. It was my first rig that I have ever built and I was a bit cautious on the PSU and fans, so I made sure that my system had ample ventilation and power supplied to it. Though I'm not an expert on the subject.

02-15-2009, 11:02 PM	#7 (permalink)
dai Manager, Hardware Forums Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: west australia Posts: 56,711 OS: win 7 32x 64x rtm	Re: Refusing to start up; graphics card problem? 8800gts power supply brand wattage __________________

02-16-2009, 01:55 AM	#8 (permalink)
SkyRay Registered User Join Date: Feb 2009 Posts: 5 OS: Vista 64 bit	Re: Refusing to start up; graphics card problem? 8800gts PSU model: GSM-6600P G1 Brand: ZIPPY/EMACS Wattage: 600W To sethy666: Was still around the 50C mark (peaks at around 70C) around the time when it went down, I used past tense as those games no longer run for me anymore as the problem has effectively shutdown all major gaming capabilities for my computer

02-16-2009, 03:39 AM	#9 (permalink)
dai Manager, Hardware Forums Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: west australia Posts: 56,711 OS: win 7 32x 64x rtm	Re: Refusing to start up; graphics card problem? 8800gts redo the paste on the cpu with some arctic silver blow any dust out with a can of air http://www.arcticsilver.com/arctic_s...structions.htm __________________

02-16-2009, 04:36 PM	#10 (permalink)
sethy666 Registered User Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Sydney, Australia Posts: 123 OS: Windows Vista Home Premium SP1 My System	Re: Refusing to start up; graphics card problem? 8800gts And while you are doing what Dai suggested, take some time and check all your connections to the mobo and as well as the video card. __________________ Do YOU hear the voices too?!?

02-20-2009, 04:40 PM	#11 (permalink)
SkyRay Registered User Join Date: Feb 2009 Posts: 5 OS: Vista 64 bit	Re: Refusing to start up; graphics card problem? 8800gts Thanks for the input guys, but they didn't really work. But I got myself a new ATI card and everything is smooth sailing again. Thanks.

02-20-2009, 08:03 PM	#12 (permalink)
dai Manager, Hardware Forums Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: west australia Posts: 56,711 OS: win 7 32x 64x rtm	Re: Refusing to start up; graphics card problem? 8800gts glad you have it sorted __________________