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| Thread ID: 29668 | 2003-01-29 02:25:00 | XPpro SP1: Graphics Card Problems | craig_b (2740) | Press F1 |
| Post ID | Timestamp | Content | User | ||
| 116965 | 2003-01-29 02:25:00 | I have a Geforce2 MX 400 w/ 32Mb RAM. It is about 18 months old, and most of the time gives no problems. I am running windowsXP Pro SP1. My other hardware is a Gigabyte motherboard, 384Mb Legend RAM, Athlon Thunderbird 1200MHz, AC97 sound, and a 250W power supply. Recently I have been unable to play two games that I have just purchased because of the card. These are Unreal Tournament 2003, and Simcity 4. I am unable to use the latest, semi-latest and even old XP drivers from either Nvidia or the manufacturer of my graphics card. When I install them, windows will start, but I cannot play ANY 3D game - even ones that work with the driver I currently have. The only driver I have been able to use is one from Nvidia's site that I got before they developed their unified driver architecture. It was specifically for a geforce2MX400 and windows 2000/XP. The problems I get only occur with some games - for example I can play Need for Speed - Hot Pursuit 2 with no problems, and Battlefield 1942, both at reasonable detail levels. However, the games I cannot play will start fine, and I will begin to play, get started in the level or whatever, and bang, the computer resets with absolutely no warning, and on the restart winXP displays the 'recovered critical error' box. If I change to a different driver, the reset problem occurs when any complex 3d graphics appears. I can start a game as far as the menu, but as soon as a level begins or a map picture loads, bang - reset, critical error. The latest critical error message (after playing simcity 4) has been a little different. All of the others result in an xml file with some program names in, and that is all. The ones after playing simcity have described my card getting stuck in infinite loops (I used to get these when I first played battlefield, but they disappeared after the third or fourth try, and I hadn't changed any settings, just reloaded the game for another try, and the error never came back.) I have taken a screenshot of the messages and a copy of the error log here: scone.orcon.net.nz I am wondering if anyone can help me pin down the cause of the problem, as right now I will try almost anything, and I am about ready to buy a new graphics card to sort this out as I have over $300 of unplayable games sitting on my desk. What I really need to know though is whether this is definately an issue with the card as I do not want to purchase a new graphics card if it turns out to be something else (I cannot afford that AND something else as well). Cheers, Craig. |
craig_b (2740) | ||
| 116966 | 2003-01-29 02:39:00 | Your power supply is of borderline capacity for your system. You could try disabling fast writes, and setting you AGP to 2x in the BIOS. I would also guess you are using a VIA chipset, if so make sure you are using the latest 4 in 1 drivers. |
BIFF (1) | ||
| 116967 | 2003-01-29 04:03:00 | Cheers Biff, I will try the chipset drivers, and changing the agp and fast write settings . With the power supply, what wattage do you recommend? I have 2HDD's and a cd-writer in addition to what I originally posted . Cheers, Craig . |
craig_b (2740) | ||
| 116968 | 2003-01-29 04:38:00 | At least 300 maybe 350 if you can afford it. If you don't have those settings in your BIOS you can set the registers using a program called wpcredit (www.google.com) You will need a plugin for wpcredit to match the chipset you have in your computer. Once you have that you can edit the appropriate registers. |
BIFF (1) | ||
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