Plz Help - New AIW X800-XT - Driver Update Question

[gary]

Just bought and installed AIW X800XT AGP card, and installed
all software from the CD that came in the box. Everything
seems to run OK, but with a few bugs (occasional hangs,
etc., but upgraded Dell 8300 system to 2 GIGs RAM to help
out). Anyway, can't tell which version of CAT/Drivers I
have, but appears to be at least a year old. Current MMC is
9.03, Remote Wonder is 2.5.

I noticed there are new drivers out for every product, and I
downloaded them all, including MMC 9.13, CAT 6.1, Remote
Wonder 3.03, and the DAO-MDAC, Decoder, Encoder files. But
haven't installed them yet.

Should I update any or all of these drivers/software, and if
so, which ones? Would I need to (in all cases) totally
uninstall everything, then re-install, including doing the
reg edits described in ATI's driver-update documentation?

I've read some postings here that, for MMC, you should
upgrade "over" the existing version or you'll have problems
with Guide+ and the video display.

Is it safe to, at least, install the latest REMOTE Wonder
software, if that doesn't impact any other programs?

I really appreciate any advice on updating these drivers,
and the best way to do it. I've searched all over ATI's web
site/KB, but can't seem to find these answers.

Thanks very much.
Gary

 

[kevin weaver]

Just bought and installed AIW X800XT AGP card, and installed all software
from the CD that came in the box. Everything seems to run OK, but with a
few bugs (occasional hangs, etc., but upgraded Dell 8300 system to 2 GIGs
RAM to help out). Anyway, can't tell which version of CAT/Drivers I have,
but appears to be at least a year old. Current MMC is 9.03, Remote Wonder
is 2.5.

I noticed there are new drivers out for every product, and I downloaded
them all, including MMC 9.13, CAT 6.1, Remote Wonder 3.03, and the
DAO-MDAC, Decoder, Encoder files. But haven't installed them yet.

Should I update any or all of these drivers/software, and if so, which
ones? Would I need to (in all cases) totally uninstall everything, then
re-install, including doing the reg edits described in ATI's driver-update
documentation?

I've read some postings here that, for MMC, you should upgrade "over" the
existing version or you'll have problems with Guide+ and the video
display.

Is it safe to, at least, install the latest REMOTE Wonder software, if
that doesn't impact any other programs?

I really appreciate any advice on updating these drivers, and the best way
to do it. I've searched all over ATI's web site/KB, but can't seem to find
these answers.

Thanks very much.
Gary

I never Install the CD drivers as there always old. Always Install the new
websites drivers.
I would get the ATI uninstaller program that does a complete remove of all
Installed ATI Drivers and reinstall the newest drivers that they have. Also,
I would Install the omega drivers. after you remove all the ATI drivers.

 

[R. J. Salvi]

Unfortunately, if you want to alleviate as many potential problems as
possible, it would be a good idea to uninstall everything. Below is a link
to the ATI uninstall utility:

http://support.ati.com/ics/support/...ef109fff37cbb40aaf28&accountID=737&deptID=894

After running the cat uninstaller, go into Add/Remove programs and uninstall
everything the cat uninstaller program missed. Also, delete the ATI
subdirectory from the root drive (your C drive).

I've found the best installation technique to be as follows:

WDM capture drivers (don't reboot)
Video drivers
-Reboot-
Control Center
-Reboot-
DAO
MMC (don't reboot)
Guide Plus
Remote Wonder
-Reboot-

Be prepared to potentially be there awhile in case of problems because it
takes time to go through this process over and over. Hopefully the first
time will be a charm!

 

[gary]

Thanks very much for the tips. I had a feeling I should
have installed all the latest drivers to begin with. But
since those didn't come with the Guide+ and a few other
things (including the integration of the products), I didn't
want to risk losing those.

As long as the Guide+ still works (which is one of the
coolest things, since recording videos and burning DVDs is
the main thing I use this card for) then no problem. Thanks.

Gary
========

 

[gary]

Forgot to mention, I had a helluva time finding the power
connection to this card. There wasn't anything inside my
computer (that I could see initially) that would connect
with the card. My previous ATI 9800 Pro took a different
(standard) type of connection.

Went back to CompUSA and was just about ready to return the
card when the sales guy told me the power cable to the
floppy drive should work. But CompUSA didn't sell the power
adapter, and neither did any other store I went to. So I
went back home and unplugged the floppy and it did work, but
then I didn't have a floppy. (Why couldn't the manual have
explained this? or ATI's web site?)

Next day, found a power cable adapter on ATI's (Shop ATI)
web site. What a rip-off and way to get money. So I
ordered it, and when that comes in I'll have a floppy again,
after having to reopen the computer one more time. Whew!

I noticed on the newer $500-600 ATI cards, the power adapter
"was included" in the box. Why does ATI think people's
computers have the right power connection for this card? I
tell ya, their marketing dept. leaves much to be desired.

And by the way, the instructions for putting this thing
together were not that clear. It was a near nightmare.
Wound up having to make two trips to Radio Shack for various
video and audio cables.

Anyone have a similar experience? Or willing to admit they
did? (hehe).

Oh well, I had no idea what to expect when I finally booted
up the computer. After the BIOS "no floppy" message, it
continued to boot normally. Thank goodness everything seems
to work OK. Haven't ran any 3D benchmarks yet, but am
interested to see how it does against the old 128 MB 9800.
Later, and thx again.

Gary
===========

 

[Harkhof]

Forgot to mention, I had a helluva time finding the power connection to
this card. There wasn't anything inside my computer (that I could see
initially) that would connect with the card. My previous ATI 9800 Pro
took a different (standard) type of connection.

The ATI x800xt I bought (retail version) had the adapter in it. Also, as
far as the drivers go, as has been said, you should definitely use the
uninstall utility to uninstall your existing drivers. That being said, you
may want to reconsider using the latest drivers, as they don't provide a way
to shut off "on demand" (time shift) recording, so your system is recording
at all times you run the TV app. Pretty silly, but true nonetheless. The
latest driver pack that allows shut off of On Demand is
5-13_xp-2k_dd_ccc_wdm_enu_29124.exe along with MMC 908.

Hark



<snip>

 

[fredgarven]

There is one thing you really need to consider and that is heat. I
most homebuilt systems, we usually provide more than adequate ai
flow through our cases. In your situation, this is not so. The Del
Dimension 8300 is an oven inside. There is no air intake whatsoever.
The only air leaving that case is through the 250W power supply with
fan that is designed to be nearly silent by using low RPM. Even i
there were plenty of fans, the poor cable management of the Del
Dimension 8300 would block all the airflow. For those of you wh
have never looked inside a Dell Dimension 8300, trust me, it's a mes
in there

The ATI x800XT All-in-Wonder is a hot card. I suspect that you wil
have no problems with the TV and video playback features of tha
card. But when you go to fire up 3D games, I bet you have problems.
Additionally the inefficient power supply in the Dell Demension 830
is only 250W MAX. ATI recommends minimum 300W for the x800XT AIW

Be on the lookout for the following symptoms while playing 3D games

Sudden reboots
Video freezing with 2-3 sound loops
Ugly and unexplainable triagular artifacts

There is hope though. If you begin to see the problems I mentione
above, you can purchase what is called a card cooler ($10 - $30). I
is designed to sit next to the video card and expel heat through
squirrel-cage fan which is vented through a PCI slot

Good Luck

FredGarve

 

[gary]

Thanks for the tips. But are you sure? I can't imagine
that the latest drivers and MMC 9.13 will ALWAYS RECORD TO
HARD DRIVE, when watching TV?

Pardon my ignorance, but this sounds crazy. I mean, if you
left your computer running, with the "TV" application
running, you could easily and quickly run out of hard drive
space, very possibly locking up your computer.

I just can't imagine ATI would not provide an option, even
with the latest drivers, to watch TV but "NOT RECORD TO DISK."

Is this solely related to the drivers? Or to the graphics
card as well? In other words, does it matter which AIW card
you have, as far as how the latest drivers work? Or does it
NOT matter which card you have?

Thanks again to you or anyone for any tips/advice regarding
this topic.
Gary
===========

 

[gary]

Just a follow up to previous message. You mean with the new
MMC 9.13, there is NOT a "TV ON DEMAND" button, or a
"RECORD" button?

Do you mean these are gone, and the TV program just
automatically records whenever the TV is running? And
there's no way to stop it without shutting off the TV program?

This just doesn't sound right, so am hoping to see if anyone
else might have found some way around this with the MMC
9.13, which I'm getting ready to install. Thanks very much
to anyone for help/advise on this topic.

Gary
=======

 

[Ted F]

We will have to wait another 8-10 months for a NEW release of MMC.

The NEW "ATI's MMC 9.13" is like "BeyondTV". You can't TURN OFF the "TV ON
DEMAND" in both software programs.

 

[Harkhof]

Just a follow up to previous message. You mean with the new MMC 9.13,
there is NOT a "TV ON DEMAND" button, or a "RECORD" button?

Do you mean these are gone, and the TV program just automatically records
whenever the TV is running? And there's no way to stop it without
shutting off the TV program?

This just doesn't sound right, so am hoping to see if anyone else might
have found some way around this with the MMC 9.13, which I'm getting ready
to install. Thanks very much to anyone for help/advise on this topic.

Gary
=======

Yes, ridiculously true. I suppose they feel as though they've experienced
some breakthrough in common sense, but we, the average joe, know better. But
no worries, the latest drivers that allow you to turn off TV on Demand are
the ones I mentioned in the above post, and they are just one or two
versions back and work fine. It is, however, essential if you have an
existing ATI card in your machine that you completely uninstall the drivers
BEFORE removing your old card. The ATI uninstall utility works fine here.
Other than those minor and "work-aroundable" issues, the X800XT is a pretty
serious card. About as good as you'll get in AGP.

In response to your question about HD space, you can set the space allowed
in the app settings, as little as a few minutes if you wish. I myself prefer
the previous drivers to allowing wasted cpu cycles and unecessary HD wear &
tear.

Hark