Crashing Problems with my RADEON 9600XT

Mr. GOH! · 04-02-2005, 09:17 PM

Hello there; long time reader, first time poster. I'm in somewhat of a pickle regarding an annoying crash that will not go away. Here's the deal: I recently put together a semi-new computer. It has an ABIT NF7 series mobo, an amd athlon XP 3000+ processor and a RADEON 9600XT 256MB video card. The mobo and cpu were new; the video card, an external sound card (SoundBlaster Audigy 2 NX),power supply(450 watts), hard and disk drives (floppy, CD/DVD ROM and CD burner) are all from an earlier comp, which worked fine.

My problem: the darned thing crashes like mad, especially during 3D games. I cannot play an online game of Dawn of War, Battle for Middle Earth or Warcraft III without the comp locking up and forcing a hard restart. Sometimes it tells me to send an error report cause my vid card got caught in an infinite loop, but mostly it just checks the disks and starts up again. I'm pretty sure it's not overheating, as my CPU stays below 51 degrees celsius and the dratted computer will lock up when it's idle. One odd thing, though: it has *never* crashed during one of my extended (2+hours) sessions of Half-life 2, with the graphics turned up pretty high, no AA, tho.

I've messed with AGP, fastwrite and regular write and read settings to no avail. I've underclocked the CPU, even. I've updated the BIOS, drivers and game versions, as well. To me, it seems that it could be one of two problems: either the graphics card has gone bad in the new system or during transferral (tho I took care - I've built 4 other computers with no probs), or the mobo's AGP slot is, well, bad. I'd love to hear any suggestions as to how I could diagnose the problem without swapping video cards, as I have access to no others for about a month. I've done good ol' Prime95, but I havn't found any errors with it so far, tho the system has locked up twice while I was using prime95.

So, i know it was a long post, but I always thought more info is better than less. Please, if anyone can hear me, help me out with this! I have an otherwise decent computer which runs very well until it hits the freaking wall.

-Mr. GOH!

04-03-2005, 06:40 AM

Hi,

Some times, but not always, the Omega drivers for ATI will solve some problems. I have not used them, but have heard a lot of good about them, so might be worth a try:

http://www.omegadrivers.net/

dai · 04-03-2005, 12:44 PM

i think the 9600 pulls a fair amount of power you may be under powered,is your supply generic or quality

Mr. GOH! · 04-03-2005, 02:23 PM

I believe it's pretty quality. It's an Antec and cost me damn near a hundred bucks. Besides, if it were underpowered, why would the video card get the shaft and not the processor?

dai · 04-03-2005, 05:40 PM

i use antec 550w tru power one of the few quality brands available here cost me a weeks wages.
check your power requirements here and add 30% to the result
http://www.jscustompcs.com/power_supply/

Mr. GOH! · 04-10-2005, 02:32 PM

Well, I just switched out my 400watt antec with a 480 watt antec; the 12v rail has twice as many amps, but my comp still crashes during games. Guess it must be a bad card.

04-10-2005, 04:58 PM

Hi,

Did you ever take a look at the Omega drivers?

dai · 04-11-2005, 10:56 AM

in add and remove uninstall the video drivers
reboot the computer tapping f8
choose vga mode
when windows finishes booting
disable a/virus
install your choice of drivers
reboot the computer

Mr. GOH! · 04-13-2005, 08:05 PM

Yes; I installed the Omega drivers based on the catalyst 5.2 drivers - seemed to have fixed many of the random crashes requiring reboots. However, a few games still suddenly crash to desktop; notably simcity 4, one of my favorites. In short: problem somewhat alleviated, not solved. I'll try dai's suggestion next.

04-13-2005, 09:10 PM

Hi,

I agree with dai's solution. Be sure you continue with the Omega drivers with that selection.

04-02-2005, 09:17 PM	#1 (permalink)
Mr. GOH! Registered User Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Northern Midwest Posts: 4 OS: WinXP	Crashing Problems with my RADEON 9600XT Hello there; long time reader, first time poster. I'm in somewhat of a pickle regarding an annoying crash that will not go away. Here's the deal: I recently put together a semi-new computer. It has an ABIT NF7 series mobo, an amd athlon XP 3000+ processor and a RADEON 9600XT 256MB video card. The mobo and cpu were new; the video card, an external sound card (SoundBlaster Audigy 2 NX),power supply(450 watts), hard and disk drives (floppy, CD/DVD ROM and CD burner) are all from an earlier comp, which worked fine. My problem: the darned thing crashes like mad, especially during 3D games. I cannot play an online game of Dawn of War, Battle for Middle Earth or Warcraft III without the comp locking up and forcing a hard restart. Sometimes it tells me to send an error report cause my vid card got caught in an infinite loop, but mostly it just checks the disks and starts up again. I'm pretty sure it's not overheating, as my CPU stays below 51 degrees celsius and the dratted computer will lock up when it's idle. One odd thing, though: it has never crashed during one of my extended (2+hours) sessions of Half-life 2, with the graphics turned up pretty high, no AA, tho. I've messed with AGP, fastwrite and regular write and read settings to no avail. I've underclocked the CPU, even. I've updated the BIOS, drivers and game versions, as well. To me, it seems that it could be one of two problems: either the graphics card has gone bad in the new system or during transferral (tho I took care - I've built 4 other computers with no probs), or the mobo's AGP slot is, well, bad. I'd love to hear any suggestions as to how I could diagnose the problem without swapping video cards, as I have access to no others for about a month. I've done good ol' Prime95, but I havn't found any errors with it so far, tho the system has locked up twice while I was using prime95. So, i know it was a long post, but I always thought more info is better than less. Please, if anyone can hear me, help me out with this! I have an otherwise decent computer which runs very well until it hits the freaking wall. -Mr. GOH!

04-11-2005, 10:56 AM	#8 (permalink)
dai Manager, Hardware Forums Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: west australia Posts: 56,775 OS: win 7 32x 64x rtm	in add and remove uninstall the video drivers reboot the computer tapping f8 choose vga mode when windows finishes booting disable a/virus install your choice of drivers reboot the computer __________________

04-03-2005, 06:40 AM	#2 (permalink)
mark3567 Guest Posts: n/a OS:	Hi, Some times, but not always, the Omega drivers for ATI will solve some problems. I have not used them, but have heard a lot of good about them, so might be worth a try: http://www.omegadrivers.net/

04-03-2005, 12:44 PM	#3 (permalink)
dai Manager, Hardware Forums Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: west australia Posts: 56,775 OS: win 7 32x 64x rtm	i think the 9600 pulls a fair amount of power you may be under powered,is your supply generic or quality

04-03-2005, 02:23 PM	#4 (permalink)
Mr. GOH! Registered User Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Northern Midwest Posts: 4 OS: WinXP	I believe it's pretty quality. It's an Antec and cost me damn near a hundred bucks. Besides, if it were underpowered, why would the video card get the shaft and not the processor?

04-03-2005, 05:40 PM	#5 (permalink)
dai Manager, Hardware Forums Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: west australia Posts: 56,775 OS: win 7 32x 64x rtm	i use antec 550w tru power one of the few quality brands available here cost me a weeks wages. check your power requirements here and add 30% to the result http://www.jscustompcs.com/power_supply/

04-10-2005, 02:32 PM	#6 (permalink)
Mr. GOH! Registered User Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Northern Midwest Posts: 4 OS: WinXP	Well, I just switched out my 400watt antec with a 480 watt antec; the 12v rail has twice as many amps, but my comp still crashes during games. Guess it must be a bad card.

04-10-2005, 04:58 PM	#7 (permalink)
mark3567 Guest Posts: n/a OS:	Hi, Did you ever take a look at the Omega drivers?

04-13-2005, 08:05 PM	#9 (permalink)
Mr. GOH! Registered User Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Northern Midwest Posts: 4 OS: WinXP	Yes; I installed the Omega drivers based on the catalyst 5.2 drivers - seemed to have fixed many of the random crashes requiring reboots. However, a few games still suddenly crash to desktop; notably simcity 4, one of my favorites. In short: problem somewhat alleviated, not solved. I'll try dai's suggestion next.

04-13-2005, 09:10 PM	#10 (permalink)
mark3567 Guest Posts: n/a OS:	Hi, I agree with dai's solution. Be sure you continue with the Omega drivers with that selection.