AIW 9000 Pro problem

[Alfred Einstein]

I have a 4-year-old Dell 4600 that came with an AIW 9000 Pro. Originally, it
worked fine, although the multimedia (TV/capture/etc) would fail every so
often ... a driver reinstall would fix that, using the original Dell driver
CD.

Eventually I got a game that would not work well with the card. But an
upgrade driver from ATI did the trick. That was about 2 yrs ago.

After re-installing Windows last August, I applied the original
Dell-supplied drivers. System worked fine. Then installed that very same
upgrade ATI driver. Problem: the Windows desktop was too big for the screen.
If I mouse over to the side of the screen that was "cut off", the whole
desktop scrolls over to bring the cut-off portion into view. Sux.

When I uninstalled that driver, I got a blue screen on reboot (error in
atiXXX.dll). After hours of fruitless troubleshooting, I ended up
re-re-installing Windows. I did not attempt to install the upgrade drivers
this time, since I no longer played the games that needed them.

Well, now, with new games out, I really need a driver upgrade. But when I
follow ATI instructions (uninstall from Add/Remove progs) and reboot, I get
the same problem ... the Windows desktop does not fit on screen. That's
BEFORE even installing the new driver!

I'd hoped that the new driver would bring things under control (version
6-11). But no. An I can't even use Catalyst control center to readjust the
screen. The up/down/left/right controls that SHIFT the video around work
just fine. But the up/down/left/right RESIZE controls are grayed out, so I
can't resize the video to fit.

This is NOT fixable by adjusting the monitor's size controls (Dell Trinitron
21" monitor).

BTW, another/concurrent problem: The overlay controls ("standard" clone
desktop to TV, theatre mode, and "same on all") don't work either. They are
grayed out.

Do these peculiar symptoms ring a bell with anyone?
Does anyone have a fix?

 

[First of One]

The latest drivers for the AIW 9000 Pro is Catalyst 6.11 and MMC 9.14. Is
this what you are using?
http://ati.amd.com/support/drivers/xp/aiwradeon-prer300-xp.html

The scrolling-desktop thing is called "panning" and is a feature in the
drivers. Make sure your desktop resolution is not set higher than what the
monitor is capable of. Reinstall the monitor INF file to make sure XP
properly detects all the supported display modes. Monitor INF files can be
found here:
http://support.dell.com/support/topics/global.aspx/support/product_support/en/monitor_download

Panning is controlled in CCC. See screenshot:
http://img152.imageshack.us/my.php?image=panningcccit8.png

 

[Alfred Einstein]

The latest drivers for the AIW 9000 Pro is Catalyst 6.11 and MMC 9.14. Is
this what you are using?
http://ati.amd.com/support/drivers/xp/aiwradeon-prer300-xp.html

I tried 6.11. But the download doesn't mention MMC ... I presume that the
MMC drivers are packaged with the Catalyst installer? The install process
says "installing drivers", so they must be in there.

Odd thing though ... the pan problem appeared when I UN-INSTALLED the
original (4-year-old) driver. Why would that be?

The scrolling-desktop thing is called "panning" and is a feature in the
drivers. Make sure your desktop resolution is not set higher than what the
monitor is capable of. Reinstall the monitor INF file to make sure XP
properly detects all the supported display modes. Monitor INF files can be
found here:
http://support.dell.com/support/topics/global.aspx/support/product_support/en/monitor_download

Panning is controlled in CCC. See screenshot:
http://img152.imageshack.us/my.php?image=panningcccit8.png

Why couldn't the ATI tech tell me that? His answer to the problem was
"reinstall the drivers". I replied "Installing drivers CAUSED the problem".
His reply was "". I wonder how much he gets paid for such brilliance?


Anyway, I'll give your idea a try. I had gone all through the CCC options
when this problem cropped up, but the panning thing never caught my
attention.

And thanks for the intelligent reply. That's more than I got from Dell or
ATI or another (un-named) NG.

 

[Lol]

I have a 4-year-old Dell 4600 that came with an AIW 9000 Pro. Originally,
it worked fine, although the multimedia (TV/capture/etc) would fail every
so often ... a driver reinstall would fix that, using the original Dell
driver CD.

Eventually I got a game that would not work well with the card. But an
upgrade driver from ATI did the trick. That was about 2 yrs ago.

snip

Hope the other issues work out, but I just wanted to add that I ran with a
9000 AIW for a while until some apps wouldn't go with it, I found a cost
effective solution - a cheap 9800 SE AIW from Ebay.
Being the poor relation SE it doesn't have the outright speed of a proper
9800 but it does still havew all the software compatibility.
HTH,
Lol

 

[First of One]

I tried 6.11. But the download doesn't mention MMC ... I presume that the
MMC drivers are packaged with the Catalyst installer? The install process
says "installing drivers", so they must be in there.

Nope. Go to the link I gave you. MMC is actually part of an 85 MB
"multimedia software suite" separate from the Catalyst installer.

Odd thing though ... the pan problem appeared when I UN-INSTALLED the
original (4-year-old) driver. Why would that be?

When you uninstall video card drivers, it sometimes uninstalls the monitor
drivers as well. Remember, panning is designed into the ATi drivers as
feature, allowing the user a bigger desktop than what the monitor can
support. Problems occur if Windows doesn't properly detect the monitor's
supported resolutions. Back in the old days, 3dfx always recommended
reinstalling the monitor INF file every time after the video card drivers
are updated.

Anyway, I'll give your idea a try. I had gone all through the CCC options
when this problem cropped up, but the panning thing never caught my
attention.

Panning has existed in the ATI drivers for at least a decade, since the
Mach64 days. However, normally with a 21" Trinitron you would never have to
deal with it, unless the monitor's capabilities are not being detected
properly.

 

[Alfred Einstein]

Nope. Go to the link I gave you. MMC is actually part of an 85 MB
"multimedia software suite" separate from the Catalyst installer.

OK. I installed the MMC, too.

When you uninstall video card drivers, it sometimes uninstalls the monitor
drivers as well. Remember, panning is designed into the ATi drivers as
feature, allowing the user a bigger desktop than what the monitor can
support. Problems occur if Windows doesn't properly detect the monitor's
supported resolutions. Back in the old days, 3dfx always recommended
reinstalling the monitor INF file every time after the video card drivers
are updated.

I think that's what fixed this. Dell did not have the files for my Dell 1130
monitor. They have files for a P1230 ... probably similar. But instead, I
went to HP's site and found a P1130 there. I think that Dell re-sells HP
monitors, and so a Dell P1130 is probably the same as an HP P1130.

Normally with a 21" Trinitron you would never have to deal with it,
unless the monitor's capabilities are not being detected properly.

That was probably the killer. With the .inf etc stuff now installed for the
P1130, it works. (It didn't work right away, but I did a bit of tweaking in
Win Display Props and ATI CCC, and I finally got the RESIZE buttons to
operate. Now I have a "normal" desktop!!!)

I think the CCC option about limited-res displays and panning was not
relevant here. (I set it to "List only modes supported by all displays".) I
think the monitor .inf file thing is what fixed this.

The only thing that still does not work is Theater mode. In CCC, the
"Overlay Display in Clone Mode" buttons are grayed out. The default setting
is stuck on "Standard". I cannot choose "Theater Mode" or "Same On All".

There's an item on the Windows Display Props (Settings tab) that let's me
"Extend desktop" onto monitor #2 (TV). With that set, the TV becomes an
extension of my desktop. That works (but it's fairly useless But CCC
won't let me change to Theater Mode.

I had this problem WAY back when the system was fairly new. I fixed it
somehow ... but I've forgotten how. Age does that to you

Anyway, Tomb Raider plays quite well now. So I won't have to drop $100 on a
new video card. For that, I say YOU DA MAN. Thanks.

 

[Alfred Einstein]

The only thing that still does not work is Theater mode. In CCC, the
"Overlay Display in Clone Mode" buttons are grayed out. The default
setting is stuck on "Standard". I cannot choose "Theater Mode" or "Same
On All".

There's an item on the Windows Display Props (Settings tab) that let's me
"Extend desktop" onto monitor #2 (TV). With that set, the TV becomes an
extension of my desktop. That works (but it's fairly useless But
CCC won't let me change to Theater Mode.

I had this problem WAY back when the system was fairly new. I fixed it
somehow ... but I've forgotten how. Age does that to you

Anyway, Tomb Raider plays quite well now. So I won't have to drop $100 on
a new video card. For that, I say YOU DA MAN. Thanks.

I got the Theater Mode to work. The trick was to go to Video in CCC, and
click the Default button at the bottom. This enabled the Standard, Theater,
and Same buttons. Click on Theater Mode and ... voila!