Directx 9.0bcrash problem with sapphire 9600xt

[Richmond]

Hi i'm having problems with my new system

2500xp barton (not currently o/c) with retail h/s and fan
sapphire 9600xt 128mb (ati driver 4.2)
ABIT NF7 mobo (latest bios and drivers from ABIT's site)with on board
sound
2 x 256mb ddr3200 generic memory
Windows XP sp1 + Direct X9b
Orion 300w power supply (came with a £30 case so not very good i'd
imagine but claims to have 15amp output and be p4 ready)
Tiscali's Sagem USB ADSL modem

Max Payne 2, Call of Duty, Jedi academy and Mafia (all directx 8.1
games I believe?) all run fine but Halo causes
the system to hard reset at the start of the game after the intro is
over. The UT2004 demo causes the same problem upon loading as does
XIII (all three of which run in directx 9). Certain web pages also
cause the same hard resetting problem but only in Internet Explorer
(i'm running verson 6), i tried Netscape last night and it was fine!
It also sometime crashes when i go to various parts of the start menu.
Windows does not
even recognize that the system has crashed each time so has suggested
no automated fix.

I have formatted both my hard drives and reinstalled windows xp with
no affect. I have also tried the 3.9 and 4.1 versions of ATIs drivers,
no affect. Removed and replaced the memory in different slots,
increased the memory voltage from 2.6 to 2.7, tried numerous
tinkerings with the CPU bios settings over and under clocking all
resulting in a similarly unstable system.

I have also tried several registry cleaner type software packages, no
joy!

I'm reaching the end of my tether! Does anyone know if there are known
issues with my card and directx 9 or have any other ideas for a fix?

Thanks!

 

[Neil Dela Osa [MS]]

If the system is rebooting vs. crashing to the desktop when you're running a
3D application I'd suspect the power supply isn't providing enough power for
the components in your system. 300 watts is on the light side for your
setup.

 

[Richmond]

If the system is rebooting vs. crashing to the desktop when you're running a

3D application I'd suspect the power supply isn't providing enough power for
the components in your system. 300 watts is on the light side for your
setup.

I have ordered a new 450w power supply but also pin pointed some more
things which make it crash which sound more video related. It hard
resets everytime i go to the 'all programs' part of the start menu
unless i turn off the fade transition effect and also crashes whenever
i run winamp (which previously ran fine) and when i go to reset or
shut down the system through the start menu it crashes when i hover
the mouse over the 'shut down' or 'reset' buttons (which normally
results in the desktop fading to black and white). Hmmmmmmm

Irritating!

 

[Chris H.]

How about posting to the DirectX newsgroup(s) where they may be able to
better assist you? They're the experts on DirectX, and you may get a quick
solution.

 

[Microsoft Video Driver OCA Triage]

Richmond,
Could you send me the minidumps from the crashes you've been
experiencing? You can find these at c:\windows\minidump. If you send the
most recent 5-10 minidumps to (e-mail address removed) I'll get back to you with
what caused the crashes and point you to any fixes I find.

--
Thanks,
Lance Naugle
Microsoft Video Driver OCA Triage
(e-mail address removed)
* This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no
rights.

 

[Richmond]

Thanks for the offer but i can't seem to find a minidump file or
folder anywhere on my c: drive

 

[Neil Dela Osa [MS]]

You can enable mini-dumps by opening control panel. Click on the system
tab. Go to the advanced Tab. Click on Settings for the Startup and
Recovery section. Go to the system failure section and select small memory
dump from the Write debugging information section.

BTW - ATI released some 4.3 catalyst drivers today. Those may help you out
in addition to the new power supply.

 

[Microsoft Video Driver OCA Triage]

If minidump creation is enabled, as Neil mentioned, either your CPU or power
supply is at fault. These are the only two parts in your computer which
can cause your system to reset without causing a minidump to be created. I
believe your motherboard monitors your CPU temperature and supplied power.
If your CPU is above 50c while Idle check your cooling setup. If your
+3.3v/5v/12v deviate more than .2v or CPU more than .1v Neils assessment of
your power supply was correct.

--
Thanks,
Lance Naugle
Microsoft Video Driver OCA Triage
(e-mail address removed)
* This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no
rights.

 

[Richmond]

Right then, I have checked the sytem setup and the small memory dump
was set up to write to the location you described but no minidump
file! Soooo, from what you're telling me it must be either a PSU or
processor problem. My processor runs at about 48 degrees idle
according to my hardware monitor software and the BIOS. I am waiting
for a new coolmaster aero 7+ heatsink and fan as well as my new PSU so
hopefully this should solve the problem, unless the cpu needs
replacing which would be really annoying as I only bought it last
month

I have installed Cat 4.3 but it's not made any difference. Anyway guys
thanks for the help (unless you've got any other suggestions!)

 

[Neil Dela Osa [MS]]

Thanks for the update. Let us know how the component upgrade goes.

 

[Richmond]

I have now installed a 450w PSU and the new cpu and case fans but it
still hard resets in all the same situations previously described
(although it now sounds like a tractor!). I discovered i could make
the far cry demo work if i set the detail level to medium accross the
board but anything higher causes a hard reset after the loading screen
for the first level. Could this be a problem with my graphics card or
is the cpu knackered?

Thanks

R

 

[Neil Dela Osa [MS]]

Thanks for sticking with it and letting us know what the resolution was.